#I will of course make a bigger and better set when the HD version comes out 👍

[tatakaeeren]

Long-haired Ginooooo!!! 💖

[coursecube]

COURSECUBE Reviews | Scam Or Does It Really Works?

What Is Called CourseCube?

The worldwide eLearning market is projected to be worth $398 billion by 2026 and it’s NO secret that courses are the hottest thing going! Now is the perfect time to get in and profit from this kind of explosive growth!

(Buy now) Get your hands on CourseCube from its official website at some exclusive rates

In order to do that, you obviously need things that you can sell… and Danny & his team have got you MORE than covered with 50 plus DFY courses in 25 skill niches you can start with right now! This is the world’s easiest tool to create your own incredible e-learning website with the potential to earn billions of dollars within minutes

Here’s a Sneak Peek!

· University & School Programmes

· Yoga

· DIY Makeup Tips & Tricks

· Weight Training & Fitness

· Digital Marketing

· Dance

· Gardening

· Photography

· Accounting

· & So Many More…

(Buy now) Get your hands on CourseCube from its official website at some exclusive rates

You don’t need to just stick to a particular niche. Here’s your chance to become the Jack of all trades and Master them too!

You don’t even have to set any of them up, they’re all ready to go in a matter of minutes and with zero set up time on your part. Of course you can adjust them, add your own or others as well!

CourseCube is an all-in-one solution for creating online education marketplaces like Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, etc.

This platform is packed with lots of awesome features like online courses, live classes, quizzes, and an advanced certification plugin based on real business needs so you can start your online education business right now.

You Are A Few Clicks Away From Launching Your Own E-Learning Empire

· Build your own fully designed & hosted E-learning website within minutes…simply pick a domain name to begin

· Access fully loaded authentic guaranteed-to-convert courses along with a dedicated lesson manager

· Pick from 50 hot-selling courses across the top 25 trending niches

· Host live courses by instructors, add advanced quizzes & distribute certificates to maximize engagement

· Interact with students in real-time using LIVE classes feature using Zoom, Google Meet & Jitsi integration

· Built-in marketplace with 24X7 support to earn the top dollar for every enrolment

· Video & banner ad selling for extra mileage and commissions.

· Increase customer satisfaction using personalized gamification badges to reward users

· Build you list on-the-go using optin forms & ranking high on search engine thanks to daily auto-curated blog content

CourseCube can be purchased at discounted prices from the official store

CourseCube is a cutting-edge software that creates Udemy like sites packed with ready-to-sell HD im training videos, dfy sales funnels & support desk in just 7 minutes… no course creation, no hosting, no monthly or yearly fee.

It’s a cloud-based software with tons of ground-breaking features that requires no training creation, no technical hassles and any recurring cost. Its’ bigger & better… comes with 40+ im training video courses to sell as your own.

So don’t hesitate to check he next parts of this Course Cube Review as I’ll show you how powerful it is!

CourseCube Review – Key Features & Benefits

For more information about this product, click the button below: ⇒ QUICK-START

CourseCube’s interface is incredibly easy yet brilliantly advanced, you can get started within minutes, you don’t need any prior experience or skill!

Inside this package, it takes longer to think of a name for the domain than it does to create your own E-learning website using CourseCube.

⇒ FULLY LOADED CONTENT

You will no longer need to wait for even a moment before you publish your site. Simply select the niche of your choice from the top 25 niches once you login. Pick from a range of 50 hot-selling courses and hit publish instantly, each course has multiple video modules for you.

⇒ DFY CREATION & MANAGEMENT

This all-in-one platform not only creates and hosts your website but also makes it a money magnet. It takes care of the selling, payment collection, and maintenance.

In-built marketplace, support system, lesson manager, and other incredible features are game-changing. Also, enjoy enormous flexibility when you add your own course, you can also customize the design & layout of the site!

⇒ MAX ENGAGEMENT

CourseCube gives you the chance to engage with your audience like no other platform, it supports advanced quizzes and the distribution of certificates.

You will be able to add live courses using the seamless integration with popular video conferencing platforms like Google Meet, Zoom & Jitsi.

⇒ REWARD SCHEME

This feature helps you to increase customer satisfaction or increase your commissions using gamification badges that are designed for various metrics like sales, registration days, courses, purchases, ratings, etc.

With each milestone a user reaches, you can reward them with personalized badges, you can also charge users for these badges and make additional profits.

⇒ ADDITIONAL REVENUE STREAMS

Use advertising as an effective means to multiply your profits inside this CourseCube. You are able to insert ads pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll and charge advertisers accordingly. Rent out your web banner space for the top dollar too!

⇒ FREE TRAFFIC GENERATION & LEAD CAPTURING

Don’t invest a single penny in promoting your platform, this CourseCube generates blog content daily to help you rank higher on search engines.

Thus, enjoy free traffic flooding your site, capture leads on the go using in-built opt-in forms.

⇒ BEGINNER FRIENDLY

CourseCube has been designed to make beginners and experts profit alike! So you don’t need any experience or special skill-set to begin. Everything is ready for you, all you need to do is count your profits!

CourseCube can be purchased at discounted prices from the official store

Who Should Use It?

From what I have experienced, CourseCube is the perfect choice for anyone, whether you are a beginner or an experienced person, you will still need it because of the much more outstanding features compared to other products.

This product is designed for:

♥ Business Owners

♥ E-com Store Owners…

♥ Product Creators

♥ Content Creators

♥ Freelancers

♥ Bloggers

♥ Affiliate Marketers

♥ Vloggers, eCom Store Owners

♥ Social Media Marketers

♥ Agency

♥ Freelance Designers

How Much Does It Cost?

Please Check The Funnel & Each Upgrade Details Below:

CourseCube can be purchased at discounted prices from the official store

♥ Front End: CourseCube ($17)

♥ OTO1: Coursecube Pro ($37)

With this CourseCube Unlimited Edition you get…

· 25+ DFY HD Video Courses To Start Selling Immediately

They are serious about giving you every single thing you need to capitalize on this booming eLearning industry and make the most out of it. That’s why this Pro upgrade pack includes 25+ Fully Done-For-You HD video courses in sizzling HOT niches that will help you make more sales which means more revenue for you.

It’s no secret that videos are one of the best formats for teaching and learning almost anything. This is an entire library of video courses PRE-loaded in your CourseCube platform, so you can start selling them immediately. Not just 25 videos, but 25 entire courses containing many video lessons!

· Build UNLIMITED Course Academies

With this Pro Upgrade, you can create unlimited academies for your every project, niche or business, or client… and once again they are all fully hosted for you.

Just imagine if ONE Academy makes you $100 a week, with 100 Academies you could MULTIPLY that by 100…. Turning a decent $100 a week income into a mind-blowing $10,000 a week.

Sure, you may want to start with just one academy, but why limit your future potential? Who knows what ideas you may have in the future and how many niches you may want to pursue?

There is no limit on what you create and generate with the CourseCube – Pro Upgrade.

· Upload UNLIMITED Courses

Remember… having more courses means more students, more sales and more profits. This PRO upgrade pack gives you the power to create unlimited courses with unlimited lessons for any audience, in any niche, for each of your academies without any hassle or extra cost.

With the ability to create unlimited courses in unlimited niches, you can cover the things that people want to learn about in a changing world, and continue to add new courses as trends develop.

· Get Unlimited Sub-Domains

With the PRO upgrade version, you aren’t limited to a small number of academies and subdomains. You will get unlimited personal sub-domains for your unlimited academy sites.

Choose a new sub-domain for every academy site you create, for every niche, for all your students. It will instantly build your authority and credibility and also give you a better exposure in search engines

· Attract Unlimited Students

And many More Incredible Features..

♥ OTO 2: Done For You ($97)

They’re giving 43 Action Takers the Opportunity To Do All The Work For You Setting Up Your Course Platform. With the “done for you” upgrade, you won’t have to do a single thing yourself. They will do literally everything for you.

Here’s What You’ll Get…

· CourseCube E-learning Platform Account Setup: There’s no need for you to stress out over properly setting up your CourseCube account, as they’ll do it for you with this upgrade…

· 6X Faster Results: They will dedicate 6x more server resources towards the users of this upgrade.

· Special Profit Boosting Tweaks Added To Your Account: They’ll add on simple yet powerful tweaks that are proven to boost your profits & sales even more…

· FULL BLOWN CourseCube Business Set Up

· AND for anyone who upgrades to “done for you” today: They will EVEN give you special one-on-one skype support throughout the whole Done For You access and for as long as you use CourseCube

♥ OTO 3: Agency License ($67)

With this, you’ll be able to start offering people access to CourseCube under your branding. It’ll look like you worked hard and invested thousands, when all you did was invest in CourseCube Agency. They’ll never know

You’ll get access to CourseCube account license keys you can revoke, sell, and create new accounts with. Do whatever you please with them. To reward those who take action, they are offering the customers of CourseCube the chance to upgrade to the agency version for a massive discount…

After this limited time discount expires, the price will rise to $297. If you wait any longer, you could end up paying more for the same thing. Remember… CourseCube Agency pays for itself.

You’re getting access to CourseCube license keys you can revoke, sell, and create new accounts with all under your own branding. All it takes is the sale of a few accounts, and BAM, you’ve paid for your investment. And there’s no risk, because…

They Take Care Of All The Support. You don’t have to do anything, just collect your 100% profit and find a way to spend it. This is amazing for you if you do not have a product you sell online and EVERY ONLINE MARKETER WANTS for their business.

♥ OTO 4: Traffic Club ($67)

· They’ll Do The Setup For You

· They’ll Select Products For You

· They’ll Drive Traffic For You

· They’ll Drive Sales For You

· Finally Leave Your Day Job

· Only 25 Spots At A 1-Time Price

· 250-Day Guarantee

♥ OTO 5: CourseCube Whitelabel ($297)

This opportunity Its for the biggest action takers ONLY Because what I’m offering you is a complete White label license to

So you’ll get your own version of the CourseCube E-Learning software, but with your own name, your own branding, AND your own domain.

You’ll be able to create accounts, sell the software to others, giveaway accounts, and even launch your own rebranded version of the software on JvZoo, WarriorPlus or anywhere you want.

Not only that, they will even HOST the software for you. They will update it for you, They will handle all the support and they will even buy you a domain and set everything up for you too!

All you’ll need to do is choose the name you want for your new software and they will take care of the rest.

They will even design an all new logo for you, and help you out with setting up your sales pages and videos for your new rebranded software.

Conclusion

That’s all what I want to share with you about CourseCube. I hope that my review can give you a helping hand in deciding what is best for you.

[littlemisssquiggles]

(1/2) So this isn't specifically RoseGarden related but I love all the ideas you come up with so I thought I'd get your opinion on this. I've had this idea in my head for a while now that, what if the CRWBY decided to remake RWBY from V1C1 in the Maya engine with all the skills and things they've learned? I personally think that would be a cool idea since they could use that idea to fix up the story and have it start at the beginning rather than in the middle of V3.

(2/2) They could tighten up the story since, V1 (at least to me) seemed like a rough draft of what they really wanted and it would be a great opportunity to fix up the writing people always complain about. They could also make so much better scenery so we could actually see what Vale looks like and Beacon wouldn't just be a 2D picture in the background! I know some people wouldn't be fond of it since Monty wouldn't be behind it but personally I think it would be cool. Anyway, what do you think?

‘Sup Velian. Hmmthat’s actually not a bad idea. I can definitely see the CRWBY committing tosomething like that as part of some kind of anniversary milestone special,y’know what I mean? As of now, RWBY had been on the web for at least five yearswith a total of 6 seasons and 79 episodes as of Volume 6’s conclusion. If theCRWBY have the resources, the budget and the production crew to pull this offthen I can see this idea being like a full remaster of theBeacon Trilogy. I’m not sure if you’re a Kingdom Hearts fanbut KH is notorious for this kind of thing. Kingdom Hearts had its first originalgame start on the PlayStation 2 but over the years spread its game storyline acrossmultiple different consoles correlating in different engines and more or lessdifferent styles to cater to each engine, as in the case of Chain of Memories.And don’t even get me started on all the Re-Done games andFinal mixes which had additional scenes from the English versionsince the Final Mix Kingdom Hearts games were only available in Japan.

However,later…years down the line, we inevitably got Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and Kingdom Hearts 2.5 (andbegrudgingly KingdomHearts 2.8) which basically takes all the games and clump themtogether onto 2 discs redone in beautiful HD graphics.

Overall Ican see the CRWBY doing a remaster of theentire Beacon Trilogy (V1-V3) in the Maya Engine if they’re feeling ballsy andagain, have the time and budget to pull such a stunt off without interferingwith their schedule for other upcoming seasons of RWBY.

Or…evenbetter, they can do what Kingdom Hearts did with Unchained X, it’s game available onmobile. In 2.8, they basically created this movie that summarized the events ofUnchained Key with all the characters being modelled in the new game engine.

For yearsI’ve wanted to see the CRWBY possibly do a RWBY feature length movie. RoosterTeeth hasalready done original movies before. I’m just waiting for them to grow biggerto the point that they can evolve again and branch out to have another studiothat’s in charge of creating feature animated films including ones for known RoosterTeethproperties like RWBY.

Who doesn’t want to see a RWBY moviesomeday? Thissquiggle meister would for sure.

Besides,if the CRWBY Writers don’t wish to hot up their heads over coming up with an original concept for a movie that possibly deviates from the canonanyways (like how the Pokémon films used to move), they can always create afull feature length RWBY movie that basically summarizes the events of theBeacon Trilogy while adding a new spin on it, as you suggested.

Nowcontrary to what you and other fans might think, this squiggle meister actually thought the Beacon Trilogy was flawless. Don’t get me wrong, it had its fairshare of faults, yes, however the key thing that impressed me the most aboutthe Beacon Trilogy and why I personally will defend it as the best trilogy ofRWBY so far is because of its plot structure.

Let meexplain. I’m a glutton for a well thought out, well-written, well-paced and well-structuredplot. I love stories that give me a plot where every piece ofinformation shown on screen means something in hindsight to the overallnarrative. I love it when stories create this perfectly woven spider web thataffirms that everything in the story---even those little throwaway details thatsome audience members might overlook, meant something in the development of theoverarching plot. So that when you get the final payoff, you feel this biggersense of excitement because it’s something you know the story has been buildingup to for ages. It’s why I get why fans love the Marvel movies. Each movie wasjust a piece of a thought out Cinematic Universe that’s been building for yearsand it’s still going strong.

I mean, Ilove surprises and moments just thrown in for shock value in stories too but Ilove it even more when I get stories where everything is connected andadds up to something bigger; y’know what I mean?

This iswhy the Beacon Trilogy will always be perfect in my eyes because it had a great structure. Everything addedup. Almost every detail the CRWBY Writers introduced to us between V1 and V2meant something in the grander scheme that led up to V3.  If I had to compare the Beacon Trilogy tosomething, it would be a well-baked lasagne with each volume representing theperfectly staked layers of meat and cheese that slowly build up to a savouryplot of baked perfection (meaning V3 and the Fall of Beacon) that anyone cansink their teeth into.

This iswhy if the CRWBY ever redid the Beacon Trilogy, I don’t want nor do I expectthem to change anything. At this moment, the Beacon Trilogy---the first threeseasons of RWBY are by far some of the best seasons in the show. Between the Beacon Arc and the Mistral Arc, Beacon still stands superior to itssuccessor because of that strong plot structure; something that Miles and Kerryunfortunately did not carry over into the Mistral Arc.

Theystarted off decently in V4 but messed up sadly in the middle with V5. V6 waspretty much damagecontrol for what transpired in V5while setting up for V7 and for the most part, V6 was a great season. Still thebest of the Mistral Arc for me, hands down. It’s just unfortunate that theCRWBY Writers had that slip up in V5 because that’s what most fan critiqueskeeping bringing up. I, as always, have a different stance on this.

I actuallydisagree with you Velian. The overall story did technically start in V1. I meanfrom V3, the key plot of RWBY definitely did kick in more but everythingstarted from V1.V1, by my observation was a solid good season to me. V1 wasabout establishing the important details---our main cast of colourful characters,the setting for the arc and our course our key villains while at the same timeproviding the first instance of what was going to be the main conflict goingforward.

The mainconflict of the Beacon Arc which was the Fall of Beacon at the Vytal Festivalwas something that had clues dropped as early as V1 with Torchwick. RomanTorchwick was the man who the audience identified with since he was the villainwe mostly got to see this scheme get conducted through. It wasn’t until V2 whenthings started to pick up with the involvement of Cinder, Emerald and Mercury.I don’t want to go too much into this but…everything about the Fall of Beaconstarted to build up from V1. In V2, we got more clues but we still weren’tclear on what the main plan was until V3. The CRWBY did a great job of buildingthe suspense and mystery toward the Fall of Beacon so when it finally wentdown, you were surprised but you also got this sense of revelation when yourealize that everything that happened in the volumes before it meant somethingin the grander scheme of things. At least by my eyes. You, of course, have yourown thoughts on that.

I guesswhat I’m trying to say overall is that I like your idea. I think it canhonestly work better as a remaster as part of an anniversary type of event orperhaps a movie where we get to relive our favourite moments of the BeaconTrilogy. However it’s not a straight retelling of the original story. I likeyour idea of it adding more to the story than what we received before plus itreally would be lovely to see Vale remastered in the Maya engine with all thatthe CRWBY had learnt over the past three seasons.

Not sureif they would actually do something like that. However, it’s a pretty sweet idea=) Hope this answers your question, fam.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[bittenappletv]

Capcom Live Concert Review; 9/29/18 Gramercy Theater NYC

Mega Man 2 on the NES was that video game for me. The one that made me realize video games can be art. The music! The graphics! The music! Doctor Wily's Castle! The music! The ending! Oh and did I mention, the music! Because... THE MUSIC!  I've been a lifelong fan of Capcom ever since. Mega Man used to be my favorite Capcom franchise. Eventually it became Street Fighter and later in life it became Devil May Cry. So it's almost like I've grown up with Capcom throughout the years. As I've matured so have my interests. So of course I’m going to attend a concert that features music from Capcom video games because… Just in case I haven’t mentioned this before… THE MUSIC!

The Capcom Live Band spun out of Video Games Orchestra. Video Games Orchestra has their own show called Video Games Live where they play music from lots of different video games. I've seen them perform twice and I definitely recommend checking them out if they come to your neck of the woods!

The members of the Capcom Live Band originate from Boston. They made the Chrono Trigger song that was performed at Video Games Live and is available on one of the Video Games Live CDs. Well they have broken off into their own thing just to perform Capcom music but they will still get down with Video Games Live when the occasion arises.

On to the performance! I also saw Capcom Live perform at Anime Next in 2017 so I will be comparing both performances.  Spotlighting what was different between both shows when I can.

So first up at the New York show was an arrangement featuring a lot of classic Capcom video games while they displayed video footage of said games. The first one was Commando, the first Capcom game I ever played in an arcade a long time ago! Followed by Trojan, Sonson, 1942, Strider, the NES version of Bionic Commando and wrapping up with Ghosts 'n Goblins!

On to Street Fighter! They played the intro song from Street Fighter II. You may be more familiar with it as Ryu's theme in the first Marvel vs. Capcom game or the intro song to the American Street Fighter cartoon. "Ba Da Da Da Daaaa Da Daaaa!" You know that song! While the track played we got to see Ryu face off against a lot of the Street Fighter II characters finishing up with his confrontation against Master Bison! The next track was a medley they also do at Video Games Live. Ryu, Guile and Ken's themes mashed together as a rock song. When they did this at Anime Next they showed images from the HD version of Street Fighter II, essentially the new imagery from Studio Udon that you can currently see in Ultra Street Fighter II The Final Challengers on the Nintendo Switch. For the New York show they stuck with imagery from the original version of Street Fighter II. While I fig both versions and Udon did an amazing job, I liked seeing the older version at a show like this. Events like these are even better when they evoke nostalgia.

Now for something new! They played the music you hear in Street Fighter V when you are in the mode select screen or waiting for an online match. Now if you've upgraded to Street Fighter V Arcade Edition it is no longer the first song that plays,  but if you stay on mode select long enough you'll hear it. It's the song that starts off with a Spanish guitar. You know, I never even gave too much thought to the Spanish guitar that comes on during the track until I heard it live. I'm Latino so naturally my heritage woke up WORD! What was cool is that a performer who looked kind of like Reuben Langon (AKA Dante's voice and motion capture actor in the Devil May Cry series) just with longer blonde hair and a smaller frame sang English lyrics to that Street Fighter V song! The singer's name is David Vives by the way.

So yeah we got a Dante look alike IN THE HIZOOOOOOUSE so OF COURSE he's going to sing something from Devil May Cry! When the beginning of Devil May Cry 4's "We Shall Never Surrender" (AKA my current smartphone ring tone heh heh heh) started playing David Vives yelled for everyone to get up! I was sitting down and normally don't get up and dance,  pretty much ever unless I am drunk out of my skull. But I love Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition. I played that game until I finished Bloody Palace Mode with Dante and Vergil, and I still fire it up now and again. So if you tell me to get up and dance during a Devil May Cry 4 song MAAAAANG I'm gonna be on my feet dancing all night and that's how I spent the remainder of the concert! So David sang the lyrics to the song and the New York venue had two levels. When he got to the middle part of the song that sounds like a prayer sermon he got up on the balcony level and looked down at those of us on the lower level. For the third part we all sang "Come With Me. We'll Fight Until Eternity..." We all raised our arms and waved them left arms right. So much fun. Felt like I was part of the game for a bit. I didn't get Lady's phone number though. D'OH!

"Go Tell Aunt Rhody!" You guessed it! David Vives sang the main song from Resident Evil VII. He did this at Anime Next too and when I went to the bathroom at that event someone in the stall near me asked me if David was the original singer of that song in the game. Um nah it's a cover the song is sung by a female in the game, Jordan Reyne. That just goes to show how talented David is!

Monster Hunter time! At Anime Next the band was surprised that there were a lot of Monster Hunter fans in the audience since the franchise is a lot bigger in Japan. Well it wasn't a shock that there were even more Monster Hunter fans in New York since this year we saw the release of Monster Hunter World, which has become the highest selling video game Capcom has ever made! We got to hear three Monster Hunter instrumental tracks while seeing images of warriors, Felynes and Monsters on the screen!

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney time! I didn't hear any OBJECTION to that! First they played the famous arrangement from the first game followed by some music from the latest game. The music from part 6 was accompanied by footage and anime cut scenes from the game!

Video Games Live has this great set that includes the Mega Man 2 intro song, the Mega Man 3 intro song and the famous music from Doctor Wily's castle from Mega Man 2. I wish we did hear that track at Capcom Live, but I've been to two of their shows now and that hasn't happened yet. The tracks they do play are really cool though. First up is a rock version of Cut Man's theme from Mega Man 1. I'm still dancing at this point so I can cut a rug to Cut Man's theme word! After that there's a Spark Mandrel theme from Mega Man X!

SENGOKU BASARA OH MY GOD! I knew that it was part of their show in Japan since it's way more popular there but I never expected to hear any of it in the US. It wasn't at Anime Next but New York definitely had my fam Date Masamune, Sanada Yukimura, Kasuga and more up on the screen while they played the main track of the last game we did get in the US, Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes. Myself I'm a huge fan of the series but it's not always at the top of my mind when I think of Capcom because I always have to import the games to play them. Playstation 3 and 4 are region free systems and there are lots of online guides to help you play the games so this isn't extremely difficult to do at least. As an aside, the current Gakuen Basara anime airing on HiDive is hilarious and makes me laugh every week! Check it out if you can,  the Sengoku Basara franchise needs all the love it can get in the West!

That's not all for Sengoku Basara! Following that track they had a special song for Ii Naotora! Wait a second hang on, she debuts in part 4 and has never been on an American console. So this must be a track just for their Japanese show right? Wrong! They played her main theme while David sang lyrics to the tune, AND THE LYRICS WERE IN ENGLISH! THE SONG WAS JUST FOR US! WE WENT NUTS AAAAAH!!!!! I guess this is how young women felt in the 60s when the Beatles performed! The footage on the screen was a lot of Sengoku Basara part 4 with a bit of 3 mixed in. Anyway,  go ahead and import some games. The universe said it's okay!

Two Okami tracks! One instrumental and another with English lyrics. For the one with lyrics we were asked to hold up our smart phones and wave them from side to side. So a few days prior to the show my Samsung S4 got water damaged and I upgraded to a Samsung S9. The flashlight button on my S9 is much easier to locate and a lot brighter than my S4, so it was way better for this candlelight... or smartphone light vigil! Big up to the Okami God Amaterasu for messing up my S4 to make me get an S9 so I could be concert ready word!

Since this was the first time the Capcom Live Band played in New York City they wanted to play something special for us. At Anime Next, since it's an anime convention we got to hear the One Piece "We Are" song in English and The Attack on Titan original intro song in it's original language. Well us New Yorkers got something a little different. David Vives noticed that some of us went nuts and jumped up and down during the Sengoku Basara songs. That was me of course! So they played the Van Halen song "JUMP" for us! I guess it didn't have much to do with Capcom, but  if you hear it you can think of Bionic Commando 2 Rearmed where they added the jump feature. Only maybe pretend Rad jumped into a barbershop and got rid of that stupid mustache! Not a fan of that mustache! The Shinkiro design from Grin's first Bionic Commando Rearmed game is my favorite.

The show closed out with a Resident Evil 6 song with English lyrics! 6 is not my personal favorite Resident Evil game, but it's a good song to close things out with! Also 7 is such a departure from all of the previous games so it was nice to see a few familiar faces up on the screen.

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! We all chanted for an encore and we got it! David Vives sang the first Attack on Titans intro song in Japanese and German, "Feuerroter Pfeil und Boge" for us just as he did in Anime Next! And hey this one is kind of Capcom related since Capcom almost made an Attack on Titan Japanese arcade game! Something fell through the cracks and it didn't happen. However it's probably for the best since Arthur from Ghost 'n Goblins would sneak into the arcade machine and defeat all of the Titans in two seconds. Oh hey I saw a documentary called "Wreck-It Ralph." Stuff like that is possible I tell you!

Suffice it to say I had an amazing time both times I attended the concert,  but I had more fun at the New York show. Mainly because the energy was different and there were a lot more of us dancing and having a good time. There's things I'm leaving out like how each member gets introduced to us and they get to shred on their instruments. The was also stage diving and fun stuff like that but those are the parts you are better off experiencing yourself.

Final grade: I give the concert 5 Felicias from Darkstalkers performing in front of a live audience out of 5! If you're a fan of Capcom music and games or if you just want to hear some cool music accompanied by nice imagery and have a good time I definitely recommend checking out Capcom Live! - Anthony

http://www.capcomlive.com/

[anissagraces]

Big ass gif tutorial

It’s been a while since I made a coloring tutorial, and I thought it would be useful if I made a full tutorial on how I make my gifs. I will go over: 

how to screencap

making your gif in ps

sharpening

coloring that gif

putting subtitles on a gif

saving that gif

you will need

a hd copy of the episode/movie you want to gif 

potplayer (or kmplayer)

a version of photoshop (I use CC)

a sharpening action 

A psd or patience to color your own gif

end result:

Everything will be under the cut. Warning: this will be picture heavy and text heavy. English is my third language so there will probably be some mistakes in here.

If this is the first time using photoshop, your startpage will look pretty blank. I’ll show you what you need to make visible to gif. 

Click on “window”. The screencap I made of the settings is pretty big so click here if you need to see it.

Not seen in the picture but useful: actions, properties, character, paragraph

STEP 1: THE FILE

Okay first of all, you’ll need your file. I recommend downloading µtorrent, then going to a torrent site (like rarbg.to) and searching for your episode or movie. ALWAYS choose 1080p and web dl if possible (web dl means logoless) Example: wynonna earp s01e01, then in your search results, look for one that has both 1080p and web dl in the title. 720p is also good. 

You can also find twitters that post logoless episodes and movies, this is better if you don’t like using torrents or if you live in a country that gives you fines for torrenting (I’m lucky, Belgium doesn’t care). If you want a list of a bunch of twitters that share logoless episodes and movies, message me off anon so I can link you privately. 

STEP 2: CAPPING

When you have your file, download potplayer (or kmplayer). Open the program and open the file you want to cap. 

Search for the moment you want to gif. Tip: hover over the playline thing to see what scene is at what time. Normally it looks somthing like this: 

  Press ctrl + g when you have the moment you want  This window opens:

Change your settings to mine ^^. I made a new folder in my Pictures folder where all my caps go bc it’s easier to go to. It’s up to you where you save all of them, but I suggest you pick one you can easily access. Click start.

Click escape and start your video. Pause again when you have what you wanted (this can be a whole scene or a moment, depends on what kind of gifset your making). Press ctrl+g again and click “stop”, then close. 

Now go to the folder where you saved your caps. I always make another new folder inside that one, put all the captures in there (unless I’m doing a scene, then I’ll make 6-8 new folders and distribute all the captures in those folders. Note that with the 3mb limit you’ll be able to use about 60-120 captures per gif, sometimes more. You can always delete layers of your gif in case it goes over 3mb)

Tip: make all your screencaps before opening photoshop. If you’re making a general character/ship gifset, that can take a while, but it’ll save you time if you seperate the two actions. 

After you have taken all your caps, open photoshop. You can download it on any photoshop tumblr like yeahps or itsphotoshop. I cannot give you the link to mine because it doesn’t exist anymore, but I got it from kickass (rip).

STEP 3: OPENING AND MAKING THE GIF IN PS

We have our caps and our ps open, but now we have to open those captures in photoshop. Do not use ‘open’, but Files > Scripts > Load multiple DICOM files

I know a lot of people choose ‘Load Files into Stack’ but Load Multiple DICOM files is SO much faster. 

This window will open

Now you go to the folder where you saved all your caps, choose the file with the screencaps for 1 gif and open it. 

It might take a little bit for everything to load, especially if there’s a lot of screencaps, so just wait. 

When you have everything, click on ���Create video timeline”. It might be called something different if you have another version of PS, but whatever it says here:

(I know I know, I make pretty arrows lmao)

Then click those 3 boxes on the left side

Next step is ‘make frames from layers’, after that click “flatten frames into layers”

STEP 4: CROPPING

Obviously our gif doesn’t have to be as big as it is in ps right now, so we’ll crop to make it smaller. For this, you need to know the dimensions Tumblr uses: 

540px for 1 gif in a row 

268px for 2 gifs next to each other

177px - 178px - 177px for 3 gifs in a row (this is something annoying à la tumblr, and because it’s hard to predict which gifs you’ll put in the middle when cropping, I make them all 178px in width and then crop the ones I won’t use in the middle to be 177px after)

You can choose to use the old dimensions which are 500px, 245px and 160px.

These are the widths, you can choose the heights yourself. For this gif I’ll be cropping 268 x 150

This is the cropping tool

click it and you’ll see this on the topbar of your screen. Type in your dimensions

Then crop as you wish. This is my result. 

STEP 5: CHANGING YOUR IMAGE SIZE + SHARPENING

The gif is way too big at this moment, so go to image > image size, this window opens:

Click “okay” and your gif will be a lot smaller. Use ctrl + “+” to make it bigger 

This is what our photoshop looks like right now

These steps look like A LOT of work but as soon as you’re used to the steps, it’ll take you about a minute to do all of this. 

Next is sharpening. I use a sharpening action made by ilanawexler but it’s pretty complicated, so I do not recommend it if you’re a beginner. I will however explain it fully here. Note: I had to do something different than the directions the blogger gave, so what I get might not work for others and you might have a different outcome

Select all your frames (from 1 -)

then click “convert to videotimeline” (it’s possible it’s called differently in your ps)

when you did that, add two layers on top of your other layers

Select all your frames (frame 1 to layer 2), right click and click “convert to smart object”

Then, go to your actions. If you just downloaded your action, you have to add it. 

When that’s done, open the bobbiesdraper sharpen and click “action 2″. Thn click the play icon

It’ll a LOT of stuff, but just let it be. 

Warning: if you changed anything to the frames in the timeline section, this won’t work. I noticed that if I delete frames or change the delay, ... before sharpening, it won’t work. 

If it worked, you now have this

I’m not sure if it’s normal, but I now have twice the frames I had before, but only the SECOND amount is sharpened. So I delete frame 1-35 now in the timeline section. 

This is my gif after sharpening (you can use this to practice coloring or to follow along with my coloring tutorial below)

this psd automatically sets the delay for your gif to 0,05, I always change it to 0,06 (sometimes 0,07). Just select all your frames, then click on the 0,05, ‘other’ and choose whatever you like. The max I would go is 0,08 (0,07-0,08 is the speed the episodes go btw when you watch them)

STEP 6: COLORING

Now the fun part!! You can either choose to use a psd (here are my psds) or you can color it yourself. 

For this tutorial, I’ll be doing a basic coloring. (that means: steps I always use to start my colorings).

We start with curves. For this gif, these are the settings: (this is a pretty bright gif so for darker scenes you’ll have to use more, but don’t start with too much, build it up)

then some levels to give the gif more depth

I usually enter 10 for the black (unless it’s a very dark gif) and I’ll move the arrow of the white to where the little line starts. 

Some brightness

Some black selective color (I always enter 10, unless it’s a dark gif)

Color balance (also usually start with this, unless it’s a blue gif, then I’ll move the arrows to red, magenta and yellow). If the gif is VERY yellow, I’ll add more in cyan and blue.

Then I’ll add a vibrance layer, +100 vibrance. 

This is what I have now (with a pretty watermark). These are the layers I will always start with. 

You can stop here, but I like to add some more to my gif so I’m continueing

I like adding more blues so I’ll add a selective color layer: (you can also decrease magentas is the “blue” ones to make the blues more cyan)

For blondes, I like making their hair stand out more so I’ll add a selective color layer for the yellows:

Of course, there’s a lot of yellow in the skintone so chances are the skin will look very yellow now, I add a color balance layer and change the highlights. (In darker gifs you might need to change the midtones instead)

Some magentas to make the lips stand out

and some contrast

That’s all for coloring. This is what my gif looks like right now:

STEP 7: SUBTITLES

If you want to add text, click this icon

these are the settings for my text

Then we’ll add some other adjustments to make the text more visible:

click on the fx icon

then click ‘stroke’

click okay, and click on the FX icon again, then click “drop shadow”

when you added all your adjustments, duplicate the textlayer and delete the first one (if not, your adjustments will only show on 1 layer instead of the whole gif)

If your text isn’t in the middle of your gif. Click your text layer, then click this icon

then in your topbar, adjust with these tools

this is what the text looks like now:

here is the psd for the text

STEP 8: SAVING

Of course, you have to save your gifs. Go to File > Save for web and this window will open

Make sure your settings look like these:

Make sure this number isn’t above 3 mb

That’s all!!! If you have any questions, you can always come ask me. I’m sorry if this wasn’t clear, but I hope it made atleast a bit sense.

[dipulb3]

Anker Nebula Solar Portable projector: More white dwarf than supernova

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/anker-nebula-solar-portable-projector-more-white-dwarf-than-supernova/

Anker Nebula Solar Portable projector: More white dwarf than supernova

The Anker Nebula Solar Portable is a 1080p projector with a built-in battery and Android TV. It’s a complete package that lets you enjoy movies and TV with a huge image just about anywhere. You can even use it as a Bluetooth speaker. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s similar to another Nebula projector, the Mars II Pro, which we reviewed a few months ago. The Mars II Pro is our favorite portable projector overall and while the Solar has its (ahem) bright spots, it’s just not as good.

Like

Sleek, compact design

1080p resolution

Built-in battery lasts 3 hours

Don’t Like

Fairly dim

Mediocre contrast

Android TV is wonky

On paper, the Solar Portable addresses two of the issues we had with the Mars II Pro: resolution and its app store. The II Pro is only 720p, and uses a “curated” Google experience called Aptoide. Unfortunately, fixing those two problems comes with decreased light output. No projector this size is particularly bright, but the Solar is about 40% dimmer than the Mars II. Android TV beats Aptoide, but it still has some quirks that mean you might be better off attaching a streaming stick anyway. Yes, that flat design is unique, but Anker’s own Mars II Pro is a better choice.

Little Anker Nebula Solar Portable projector, big pictures

See all photos

Basic specs

Native resolution: 1,920×1,080 pixels

HDR-compatible: Yes

4K-compatible: Yes

3D-compatible: No

Lumens spec: 400 ANSI

Zoom: No

Lens shift: No

Lamp life (Normal mode): 30,000 hours

The Solar accepts HDR10, but is not HDR. It accepts 4K, but is not a 4K projector. Since this projector is incapable of actually displaying these higher-resolution and high-dynamic-range signals, their inclusion seems more like something to beef up a features list on a website than anything else.

There’s no lens shift or zoom on the Solar, but neither is expected in this price range. There’s autofocus, however, which works pretty well. A pivoting foot on the bottom tilts the front of the projector upward for a bit more flexibility in placement.

There’s a claimed three hours of life from the 20,000-mAh battery. This is a bit odd since the brighter Mars II Pro has a smaller battery and yet the same amount of play time.

Speaking of brightness, Anker claims 400 lumens. I measured about half that. The Mars II Pro had a claimed 500, and I measured over 300. No projector in this size and price range is very bright, but side by side the Mars II Pro’s picture looks significantly brighter, which allows it to look better on bigger screens.

You can use the Solar as a Bluetooth speaker. The two 3-watt speakers sound pretty good, which is always a bonus in a portable projector. They’re not as loud as the Mars II Pro’s dual 10-watters, however.

If you want to download some content to watch offline, there’s 8GB storage.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Connectivity and convenience

HDMI inputs: 1

PC input: No

USB ports: 2

Audio input and output: No

Digital audio output: No

Wi-Fi: 802.11a, b, g, n, ac

12-volt trigger: No

RS-232 remote port: No

MHL: No

Remote: Not backlit

The Solar’s HDMI input is capable of accepting HDR and 4K, but since the projector is neither, this is a six-line highway connecting two small towns with no cars.

The USB-C connection is for charging, and included with the Solar is a fast-charger you could use for your phone or tablet when you’re not using or charging the projector. The other USB connection can accept files or charge a streaming stick. The power rating isn’t specified, but I was able to get a streaming stick running on it, so it should be enough.

I like the Android TV app store but unfortunately some apps, like Vudu, would only send the standard-definition versions of their content. This is disappointing, to say the least. It makes the resolution of the projector less relevant. Others, like Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu looked fine, however. 

Then there’s Netflix, which requires several steps to get installed on the Solar. You need to install the Nebula Manager app, which then allows you to download the mobile version of the Netflix app. To watch Netflix after you install it, you need to go to the Manager app and then Netflix. Which, even after all those steps, looks exceptionally soft. Because it’s the mobile version, it also means it’s not designed to work with a traditional remote, so you need to use the Nebula Connect app on your phone to navigate. 

These issues spoil the goodness of built-in Android TV to a certain extent, but as I mentioned an easy solution is attaching an external streamer. 

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Picture quality comparisons

The Mars II Pro and the PH30N are both direct competitors to the Solar. To compare the three I ended up using a mix of internal apps, external streaming sticks and a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier due to the different resolutions of the projectors, and the fact that the Solar accepts 4K (and for some frustrating reason that became the default when connected to the Monoprice). I viewed everything on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen.

The most obvious difference was light output. The Mars II Pro was easily the brightest, followed by the Solar and the LG. Brightness is not the only important factor in a projector’s image quality but it’s a huge part. Not only does it determine how compelling the image is overall, but it also determines how large an image you can create that’s still watchable. This is one of the reasons I liked the Mars II Pro: It’s very bright for its size and price. The Solar’s picture looks dim in comparison, and the LG’s is the dimmest of the three. 

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Contrast ratio is poor across the board compared with something like the BenQ HT2050, but that’s par for the course. No inexpensive projector has a good contrast ratio. The Solar is technically better than the Mars II here, at 407:1 compared with 354:1, but that’s too close to see even side by side and is barely outside the range of normal measurement error. This low contrast ratio is fine on the Mars II, as it’s relatively bright, but on the Solar it means the image is flat. Not fully washed out, but it doesn’t impress either. The LG is lower still, but again, it’s all in the same ballpark.

With the added distraction of its undefeatable soap opera effect, I put the LG aside and concentrated on the two Ankers.

Fan noise on the Solar is far quieter than the Mars II, which is welcome when you’re sitting close.

While I welcome the switch to Android TV over the troublesome Aptoide store, there’s a glaring issue: HD. With some apps the content you get is SD-only. So what then is the point of the Solar’s 1080p resolution? This could be an Android/Google issue, but it doesn’t really matter where the problem is, the result is that the easiest way to get content on the projector means taking a hit in picture quality. 

Using an external streaming stick the extra detail is apparent. After you turn down the sharpness control, that is, which is set extremely high out of the box (as usual, massive amounts of edge enhancement mask actual detail). Now it’s the Mars II Pro’s turn to look soft, lacking fine detail on things like hair and beards. However, the Solar’s greater resolution, even when configured correctly, is not enough to win out over the Mars II Pro’s better brightness.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Conclusion

The adage goes “Two steps forward, one step back.” In this case, it’s more like two steps forward, two slightly smaller steps back. With their huge images, projectors certainly see a big benefit from greater resolution, so the Solar’s 1080p should be an obvious improvement over the Mars II Pro’s 720p. But with SD internal apps, that improvement is negated. Worse, the lower brightness means its image is far less compelling. The bigger battery seems good on paper, but claimed viewing time is roughly the same. Even the Solar’s speakers are less powerful.

All that, combined with a higher MSRP, and I’m not sure what the Solar has to offer over the Mars II Pro. That projector is a little gem, and the Solar is left to play catch-up.

[aion-rsa]

Razer Blade 15 Is a Dream Gaming Laptop for PC Gamers

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article is presented by Razer.

What are you looking for in a gaming laptop? 

Performance that won’t let up, even with the most demanding games. A fantastic screen, capable of pushing triple-digit frame rates for that competitive edge. Plenty of storage because games are only getting bigger, plus a great keyboard and trackpad. 

That’s quite a long wishlist that becomes almost impossible to tie together if you’re also looking for something lightweight and slim. Fortunately, there’s the Razer Blade 15 laptop. While it’s slight in size and weight, it’s anything but in terms of performance. Here’s why this is one of the best gaming laptops you can get…

Everything a Gamer Needs

Let’s start with the raw specs, because even the entry-level Razer Blade 15 is pretty generously equipped. Powered by Intel’s latest 10th-generation Core i7 processors, buyers get a choice of either the six-core 2.6GHz/5.0GHz i7-10750H on the Base Model or the even more powerful eight-core 2.3GHz/5.1GHz i7-10875H on the Advanced version. These are two of the most powerful CPUs you can buy right now and offer tip-top performance, whether you’re in game or taking a breather on Twitch.

All of the Razer Blade 15 variants come with a generous 16GB DDR4-2933MHz RAM (except the top-of-the-range, 32 GB RAM Quadro RTX 5000 model built for content creators and professional designers). Not only does this lead to buttery smooth performance in game, but multitasking performance is solid too: throw as many tabs at the Razer Blade 15 as you like. 

And with fast SSD storage on all models, games load in the blink of an eye, too. While the Base Model “only” comes with up to 512GB PCIe SSD storage, there’s an open SSD slot designed for an easy upgrade at a later date. 

Learn More About the Razer Blade 15 Here

A gaming laptop’s performance is only as good as the graphics chip powering things, of course, and Razer offers six of NVIDIA’s finest GPUs that offer the best in resolution and frame rates. While the entry-level GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers excellent performance, the other options are all RTX models, meaning they’re also capable of delivering jaw dropping ray tracing effects. 

We’ve covered the Razer Blade 15’s ray tracing capabilities in depth here, but the quick explainer is that NVIDIA’s RTX line is so advanced that it can dynamically render light and shadow by realistically tracing every ray of light in the virtual world. In short, reflections, shadow, and water effects look unbelievably realistic, resulting in more immersive experiences. Ray tracing is truly at the cutting edge of gaming graphics, so if you’ve yet to experience ray tracing, getting a Razer Blade 15 is a great way to jump in. 

All of this raw power is wasted if the screen isn’t up to scratch, though. Thankfully, Razer hasn’t scrimped on performance here. For gamers who value framerate over everything else, the laptop’s Full HD screens come with either 144Hz (Base) or 300Hz (Advanced) refresh rates and 5- or 3ms response times respectively. Those refresh rates mean you can hit triple-digit frame rates for incredibly smooth gameplay, while the low response time will give you a competitive edge on the battlefield. For creators who need the best possible image quality, this Razer laptop also has 4K OLED options available, including a touchscreen variant, but most pro gamers will probably want the extra frames that a 1080p panel ensures. 

Whichever model you choose, you’re guaranteed a top-notch display. All Razer Blade 15 laptops are individually calibrated to ensure supreme color accuracy out of the box, and with bezels just 4.9mm thick, there’s nothing between you and your next adventure. 

But what you really want to know is how it actually feels to game on this laptop, right?

Hands-on with the Razer Blade 15

For the purposes of this piece, I was lent the Razer Blade 15 Advanced model, an incredibly powerful laptop that doesn’t disappoint. This particular unit comes with the eight-core Intel i7-10875H processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics, and a 300Hz 1080p screen. In short, this gaming laptop is a thing of great beauty that I will sorely miss as it makes its way back to Razer HQ.

For starters, it’s surprisingly light. When I think of gaming laptops, I instinctively picture something back breakingly heavy with over-the-top decals and lighting. The Razer Blade 15 certainly doesn’t fit this stereotype. It weighs under five pounds, and while it’s undeniably eye-catching, it’s sleek and slim, which means you can take it to the office without attracting stares. Despite being a premium gaming laptop, it’s an undeniably discrete choice for players who don’t want something so massive or flashy.

Given the Razer Blade 15 is considerably faster than my own desktop PC, I intended to make our short time together as memorable as possible. I dug into my Steam library to hunt down two games I knew have the magical combination of in-game benchmarking and graphical candy aplenty: GTA V and Wolfenstein II. 

Despite first emerging in 2013, GTA V still looks stunning today, and thanks to the Natural Visions Evolved mod that was released earlier this year, you can even play it with ray traced effects on PC. And with the frame rate meter uncapped, it’s an absolute joy to play. The city now looks photo realistic, and the real-time weather effects are nothing short of spectacular. The game ran more smoothly than ever before too, producing between 100 and 130 frames per second for the most part, only dropping under three figures for a particularly ostentatious explosion. Impressive.

Next up was Wolfenstein II, turning the game up to “Mein Leben!,” its top graphics setting, for buttery smooth visuals. In short, Wolfenstein II at max settings ran like an absolute dream, with the in-game FPS counter clocking in at 160fps plus on a particularly action-packed section I’ve been stuck on for six months. Sadly, the extra frame rate didn’t make me any better at the game, but the graphical improvement cheered me up. 

I then turned to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Warzone battle royale mode to check out the game’s advanced lighting and shadow effects in action. Aside from the sci-fi action-adventure game Control, which I didn’t get a chance to try for this article, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is currently one of the best showcases of ray-traced dynamic lighting effects, making my time surviving on Verdansk feel more immersive than ever before. As you’d expect from a laptop of its caliber, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced handled this ray tracing test with aplomb, while hitting triple-digit frame rates in the process.

Finally, I took the opportunity to test the Razer Blade 15’s VR performance with the biggest VR release of the year: Half-Life: Alyx. I’d been meaning to try it for a while, and the five-pound, compact Razer Blade 15 made it easier than ever to find a space where I wouldn’t knock things over while using the headset.

Read More About the Razer Blade 15 Here

Aside from needing a USB hub for a third Oculus camera (I’m still rocking the original Rift), setting up for VR was very easy, and I was throwing cans and doodling on whiteboards in no time. Performance was incredibly smooth without any frame rate dips on the Razer, which made me truly feel like I’d been transported to City 17. When you’re jumping into such a rich game world, you want to make sure frame rate drops aren’t going to ruin the spell for you. You can definitely rest easy with this laptop.

The Razer Blade 15 is a joy to use from a gaming perspective, and I’m going to miss those high frame rates and portability when it’s gone. But what about day to day browsing? No complaints here. The keyboard is generously sized with a good amount of tread on the keys (with an extended right shift key and half-height directional keys – an improvement on last year’s model). The track pad is smooth and accurate, and while a 300Hz screen might feel like overkill for day-to-day office work, it’s no coincidence I’m idly looking at gaming monitors in one tab as I count down the hours until I return to my humdrum 60Hz setup.  

In short, the Razer Blade 15 is everything you could want in a laptop. Yes, it’s a premium price, but you’re paying for quality. You won’t find the combination of specs this good and a design this sleek in most gaming laptops. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The Razer Blade 15 is available to buy now. Prices start at $1,699 for the Base Model and $2,399 for the Advanced Model. 

The post Razer Blade 15 Is a Dream Gaming Laptop for PC Gamers appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/33Rmr2M

[ebestlaptop]

Acer Predator Helios 300 Review 2020

This is the acer predator helios 300. there's a lot of names in there isn't it so this is their mid-tier gaming laptop the nitro 5 in the 15 inch size would be the entry level model this one sits in the middle and then of course there are more expensive helios models like the helios 500 so this one has a lot to offer though for the price it starts around 1200 with an rtx 2060 and an intel core i7 10 gen cpu we have the rtx 2070 max q model which is around fifteen hundred dollars you might find it on sale for less but for that money you get a metal lid you get fast 240 hertz refresh display pretty good calling on this and it's quite relatively speaking for our gaming laptop thin and light we're going to look at it now and now a shout out to our sponsor wondershare and their demo creator and this is for windows and it's also coming for mac you know i tried it and i actually really like it what is it it's the screen capture and video editing utility so you know what a screen capture is so you need to record say gaming like we do a lot of gaming footage to show you how well laptops like this perform so you can do that but not just that the video editor is really very simple to use it's pretty intuitive it reminds me of imovie a little bit i think anybody can learn it so you record your clips and you can do things like split your clips put in transitions put in title screens you can change the playback speed you can crop it you can choose the resolution but you've got things like annotation or you can put a little fireworks going in the video which is something you certainly don't usually see in a caption utility also it's obviously great for things like training software demos if you're a teacher and you have to make lessons for school that sort of thing be sure to check out the link in the description to get a hold of it it's very affordable in fact there's even a free version that has a watermark on it unlike the paid version of it and now back to our video so confession i actually don't mind gaming laptops that look like gaming laptops as long as they look kind of cool well cool to my eyes obviously the predator tries to look a little more chill you've got anodized matte black aluminum on the lid but you do get those blue stripes hey instead of red anyway and the logo the logo the logo looks so cheap it looks like a piece of plastic just glommed right on there kind of takes away from the looks which is too bad but it's a little more toned down than the nitro which is also kind of a chill matte black but it has a reddish sort of reddish accents well you can see we'll put them both on screen for you now so you can compare the nitro is around a thousand dollars with an rtx 2060 and a core i7 so it is about 200 less than the entry level predator of course the nitro is all plastic and our predator helios has a more robust cooling system which is always important for gaming laptop and of course that 240 hertz ips map three millisecond refresh display there is a base model which is 144 hertz which is still nothing to sneeze at and speaking of the display actually the metrics are pretty good we checked it out with our colorimeter it's a little brighter than average for a gaming laptop they typically aren't very bright so it was over 300 nits by a good amount there and pretty good color gamut so that's a nice self for something that is again mid tier usually in gaming laptops the display is what takes the hit they don't get the greatest quality displays so this one's better than average which could be nice for those who are thinking of using this for content creation photo editing video editing doing some 3d blender work or something like that inside we have an intel 10th gen core i7 6 core cpu we have two ram slots so you could in theory you should be able to go up to 64 gigs though acer only mentions going up to 32 gigs this ddr4 ram rs has 16 gigs they sell dual challenge configurations in 16 and 32 gigs you have not just the m.2 boot SSD drive which is nvme and benchmark pretty well on ours but you also have a hard drive bay even if you buy a configuration that doesn't have a two and a half inch hard drive the brackets in place and they include the connector cable that you need to put that in for yourself which is sweet the cooling system on this is relatively speaking again in this price to your pretty robust and i think that helps because this is fairly thin and light acer says it's five and a half pounds which is 2.5 kilograms but ours actually measured a little bit less than that so yeah go then i when playing games yes if you're playing triple a titles on ultra settings or full hd resolution which is exactly what we do in our tests that you see running on screen well yes it will thermal throttle but a hundred millivolt undervolted using throttle stop no problem that brings it down eight degrees centigrade you can see the temperature difference right now in one game where i was actually under vaulting it but still for something this didn't like the temperatures are not that bad especially in this price tier and again for those who like to fiddle and tinker and all that sort of thing with things like under vaulting you can do that they have the acer predator sense app as always on this and you can do things like give these gpu a mild overclock set your fan speeds manually if you want certainly that could help with cooling speaking of the fans not terribly loud i mean it's a gaming laptop yes you will hear them when you're doing things like gaming or if you're doing a complex render in blender or something like that but not that loud so there is certainly thermal room there for going even higher they also have the turbo button built and keyboard deck there and that one basically does the gpu overclock sets the power profile to high performance and blasts the fans some probably most people don't want to get that loud either you might get about five percent more performance improvement by doing that but yeah if you get this play with the fan profiles on this and do a little under vaulting and good times especially for the price once again has a microsoft precision trackpad no complaints with that that keyboard is a four zone rgb backlit we don't expect per key rgb backlighting at this price point uh the keys are a little on the soft and mushy side pretty decent travel but i would like them to be a little bit firmer and a little bit crisper it's not a hideous keyboard or anything like that though but you know if you like that crispy kind of firm keyboard this one would not be it speaking of the internals again there is a second nvme SSD slot and it is possible to set up two drives in raid 0 if you want to do that acer mentions thunderbolt 3 for some of the configurations others i think just have usbc but the rest of the ports on here are pretty hardy you've got killer ethernet by the way you also have killer wi-fi 6 on board which is an intel based card so that's good but you've got plenty of usb a ports you got three of those you got your mini display port 1.4 in addition to the hdmi 2.0 so yeah it's pretty well equipped and obviously a headphone jack when it comes to the speakers they're average they're not so great they're not so terrible and again fitting for this price range there's dolby dts x ultra software there so if you're playing plugging in a set of surround sound speakers or something like that you can get some pretty nice audio out of it and even your headphone audio quality is quite fine on this but speakers you're right that's about it it has a 59 watt hour battery which is you know this is how they get them thin and they get them light folks in this price tier so that's not a very big battery it's a little bit bigger than you would see in an ultrabook but there's obviously a lot more horsepower going on here to consume it we do have nvidia optimus switchable graphics no g-sync by the way but so that's going to help if you're doing light work you're just streaming video or something like that or working in office then it's going to run on integrated graphics but still you don't expect a whole lot of battery life out of this you know about four hours on a charge doing light work i don't mean really pushing it hard and doing 3d renders or something like that our max q2070 card came with a 230 watt charger i assume that you probably get 180 watt charger for the lesser configuration with a 20 60 inside speaking of that 2070 max q yes the max q version of the car which does help us run less hard but the performance is exactly where you would expect it to be which is to say that 2070 max q is not mid-range it's getting into upper tier there so you can play any game on the market now on ultra settings and certainly have frame rates that exceed 60 frames per second on this and given that you have a fast refresh display if you're using it for something more like battle royale or apex legends you know those kind of things you can easily go into the hundreds in your frame rate with this which is sweet you're not going to overrun the 240 hertz display but maybe with something even lighter less demanding like overwatch you just might come closer to that so it punches above its weight there and if you're thinking about future games like cyberpunk 2077's coming out soon this should be able to handle absolutely no problem okay the bottom cover is plastic unlike the lid that is metal and that means real tight fit unfortunately phillips head screws to unscrew it that part's easy start at the front edge and notice that the front edge is a wraparound kind of thing so you see that so that's how that works so you have to get that off first and then you go around the size and then the back also wraps around so just so you can see where the separation point is because it might be a little confusing because of all the little grille decor so that entire thing comes off and then we finally get inside it's not much fun folks but you can do it we have speaker vents on the side plenty of ventilation over here for the cpu and gpu and the fans and uh so there's our battery again 59 watt hour not really terribly big two ram slots we have dual channel memory there 16 gigs in our model the speakers are flanking over here they're pretty small and that's why well the sound is pretty small on this and nice heat sinks see all this is not some teeny-weeny little thing we've got a lot of component coverage here so that does help it run relatively speaking for a gaming laptop with an intel 10gen cpu not too hot and here is our boot ssd we got a 512 gig in ours and right next to it is the killer wi-fi card that's the 1650i wi-fi six card based on intel hardware and there is a second ssd slot over here this is where the ssd would plug in it's kind of a tight fit there but hey and the hard drive bay visible and we've got the the mounting hardware there even though we don't have a drive and again the cable that's required to connect the drive to the motherboard is in the box so that's the acer predator helios the 2020 edition with intel 10th generation cpus and in our case the rtx 2070 max-q gpu but even if you get the rtx 2060 it's no slouch and you'll still be able to play games on high or ultra settings at the full hd resolution in this panel for the price it's not bad it competes obviously with things like the dell g5 msi's mid-range gaming laptops but as always i think acer really does a good job with the low to mid end the gaming laptop front

[pellerini]

My CES 2020 recap is coming fresh off a four day trip to Las Vegas!  It was filled with aisles and aisles of new technology products, many conversations with interesting people, and a lot of great food (stay tuned for an article about some of the hot spots to eat when in Sin City).

Top CES 2020 Innovations 

A lot has changed since my CES 2019 recap.  Since there were so many amazing innovations, I’ve narrowed it down a bit (it was very hard!).

Transportation

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some of the most amazing innovations are in the automobile vertical.  From even-more-advanced electric cars to the self-driving variety which we have been hearing about for the past 10 years.  

I was very impressed with the Hyundai and Uber collaboration.  Could you imagine being transported in a self-driving helicopter/drone to your final destination?  

Pets

I love animals, so when I see technology put into play for the better of our furry family members, I am all for it! CES 2020 was very pet-friendly.

Imagine a treat dispenser that is also an HD pet camera, 180 degree lens, and voice commanded?  This Petcube Bites 2 was part of the Amazon booth since it is Alexa-friendly.  What isn’t these days?

What about an automatic feeder with similar capabilities?  Arf Pet offers just that, along with portion control, voice recordings, and up to four scheduled feedings per day.

Cat lovers rejoice with the newest in litter boxes.  I saw a few iterations, with this one by iKuddle catching my eye because of its design.  This littler box not only cleans itself and helps to reduce odor, it packages the clumps in individual baggies.  I so wish I had this when our cat Harley was alive.

For Kids (Or the Young At Heart)

One of my favorite toys growing up were LEGOs.  I would put the sets together like a puzzle, following the step-by-step directions.  Once I’d had enough of playing with the set, I would take it apart and build something new, straight out of my imagination.  

http://pellerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200109_132238.mp4

Today’s LEGOs are mirror images of the toys I loved from the past, but technology has stepped in.  There are devices that can bring your creations to life AND have them move to music!  

Board games, such as this one above, work in tandem with Alexa to make the gaming experience even more exciting!

My boys would be on me like white on rice to get their hands on one of these dual screen smartphones.  I saw a few different versions, the most popular being LG and Samsung. 

The only update we would recommend is to be able to open, for example, two Excel spreadsheets at the same time.  Currently, the software only allows you to open one file from each app.  (Of course, my kids could care less…they just want to be able to play Fortnite on it!)

Televisions

What would my CES 2020 recap be without a snapshot of the future of televisions?

LG television furniture hybrid

This Samsung TV has been super hot in Europe, and recently introduced in the United States.

TVs have come a long way.  Each year I visit CES, there is a bigger and better rendition of the television.  This year I was pleasantly surprised to see how brands such as LG and Samsung are designing televisions to become more like art and furniture!

Aside from all of the walking and talking, I did get in some quality tourist time.  Stay tuned to Pellerini for a recap of some of the best places to dine when on and off the Las Vegas Strip!

Which innovations peak your interest?  

A Modern Mom’s CES 2020 Recap My CES 2020 recap is coming fresh off a four day trip to Las Vegas! It was filled with aisles and aisles of new technology products, many conversations with interesting people, and a lot of great food (stay tuned for an article about some of the hot spots to eat when in Sin City).

[componentplanet]

2019 BMW X7 Review: The Best Big SUV Yet

Your first thought upon viewing the BMW X7: The massive front grille turns this amazing full-size SUV in the direction of self-parody. But step into the cockpit, where you don’t see the schnozz, and you’ll find a wealth of performance, handling, and driver-assist features that make this the best big SUV you can buy, at least until the next-generation (2020) Mercedes-Benz GLS arrives in quantity. What makes the X7 worth the better part of $100,000 is the seamless Level 2 self-driving with automatic lane changes, the big cockpit displays, the camera systems, the fabulous seats, the ride and handling, and reasonable third-row room.

The biggest (non-grille) downside is cockpit switchgear that has become at once prettier, harder to use, and harder to read. Also, a car this big would be more socially conscious if a plug-in hybrid version was offered in the first wave of X7 shipments rather than waiting for 2020 or 2021. And: Before you commit to lease payments up to $1,600, make sure you really need the marginally bigger interior the X7 provides. The BMW X5 is nearly as big in most ways unless you must have that third seat. On price, the X7 is clearly bigger, as much as $122,000, and even something of a public service: BMW is doing more to claw back money from the rich than Bernie and AOC combined.

Fabulous on Highways and Back Roads

I test-drove the 2019 X7. The 2020 model is virtually the same, adding a higher-power M design version. The BMW X7 is in its element gliding along the highway on 400-mile treks, whether you drive it yourself or engage the Active Driving Assistant Pro self-driving feature and let radars, cameras, and microprocessors do the work. Perhaps surprisingly — if you don’t know BMW-Audi-Mercedes-Porsche SUV engineering — it’s also quite at home on country roads as long as you factor in the 5,500 pounds of weight.

There are a lot of cars that have Level 2 self-driving, meaning your car paces the car in front up to the speed you set using adaptive cruise control and keeps the car in the middle of the lane (lane centering assist), while you lightly keep hands on the steering wheel. BMW does it as well as anyone. I was impressed by the auto-lane-change feature. Tap the turn signal, the car checks to the rear and side, and if the coast is clear, shifts lanes left or right. Not once was there an issue with the car trying to shift lanes at the same time a car behind was coming up quickly. Although it doesn’t hurt to look in the side mirror just to be sure, as some Tesla drivers have learned.

An X7 slides through the primordial soup. Actually, an off-road course at the BMW Performance Center outside Palm Springs, California. The X7 fords up 20 inches of water.

Long-haul driving is helped by the quality of BMW’s seats, the optional seat massagers, the side window shades in row two, heated and vented seats, and even the pillows attached to the headrests. At night, the mood lighting makes the car feel like a private jet. The console cupholders warm or cool drinks. USB jacks are abundant. Onboard Wi-Fi is available. Many of these features are optional (and desirable, and not cheap), and BMW’s close competitors offer many of the same features and options.

The mondo front grille is mostly trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) that makes you suspect the X7 is bigger in every way than BMW’s other SUVs. It took me a day of driving to realize that the X7 is fine on twisty back roads because it’s no wider, just a bit longer, and about 500 pounds heavier than the X5, a happy back-road-warrior.

Among European automakers, there’s an arms race to have the family SUV be an off-roader and river-crosser. BMW has a package that lets you climb rocks and then cross a stream 20 inches deep. It’s an option. If you want to tow a trailer, you can, and with the trailer package, you can tow 7,700 pounds.

BMW’s self-driving suite, the Driving Assistance Professional Package, is slick; it even changes lanes by tapping the turn signal. (Note that mail truck is being towed and not wrong-way driving.) And only Wikipedia presents more information than BMW’s head-up display.

BMW in the Lead on Tech

BMW in the US has been the ultimate driving machine for half a half-century. Now it dazzles you with technical brilliance as well. Example: If you get the surround camera package, when you park, you see the view ahead (if you’re pulling in going forward) on the big center stack display side-by-side with a stitched 360-degree overhead view; as you get closer to the car in front or to the garage wall, the view-ahead camera angle rises up to help gauge the final couple feet, all automagically. Or if you get the parking assistant option, you can let the car ease itself into parallel or perpendicular spaces. If you do it yourself, nearby vehicles, walls, raised curbs, or light stanchions shown onscreen radiate green-yellow-or-red force fields outward to indicate how close you are. When you’re away from the car, the cameras let you monitor its well-being from your phone. At a time when even some mainstream cars — Ford Explorer, say — have auto-parking, BMW marshals overwhelming-show-of-force technology to make the case for premium cars.

The dual 12-inch displays (instrument panel and center stack) allow multiple panes of information. If you want, the center display can be dialed back to, say, just the moving map. The iDrive controller works well and you have multiple ways to interact: the control wheel, a finger-writing pad on top of the wheel, adjacent buttons to summon common features, voice input, and gesture controls including a Tinder-like swipe to answer the phone. Okay, gesture control may seem like a stupid pet trick, but BMW’s point is: We give you every way possible to interact with the car. The modes you don’t like? Don’t use them.

The head-up display is big with lots of information that you can choose to show or hide. When the HUD maps out the lanes you need to be in for the exit, it’s pretty hard to mess up. BMW monitors the driver for inattention via an instrument panel camera, which is faster and more accurate in determining if your attention has drifted. You won’t like being ratted out, but you’ll live longer. Most of BMW’s USB jacks are Type C, which is the way the industry is heading. You may need to buy a $5 adapter now, but your next phone will probably be Type C at both ends, and you’re ready.

And this is tech of a sort: the Panoramic Sky Lounge LED Roof creates six LED light patterns in the roof — white, blue, orange, bronze, lilac, and green — for more enjoyable nighttime driving.

BMW X7 center console: The function selectors forward of the iDrive controller are blocked by the optional crystal shifter, and the button cluster lost its find-by-shape pronounced vee-design.

Cockpit Controls Won’t Please Everyone

When a car costs this much, the owner has high expectations. Repeat buyers may be disappointed with the direction taken by the interface to the iDrive controls and control surfaces. Function buttons to control entertainment, phone, map, and navigation were arrayed in side-by-side vee shapes with the home button in between. You could tell without looking if you were touching the front or rear button by the way it sloped, and the left or right button set by where the flat home button was in relation. The buttons now are hard to access because the driver’s hand has to reach around the gearshift selector.

On the steering wheel, buttons are now finished in brushed satin chrome with black lettering that glows a weakish red at night. Drivers over 40 with imperfect eyesight may find them a challenge, especially those who don’t use their reading half-glasses while driving.

The X7 includes no adaptive cruise control in the base version, reserving it for the $1,700 self-drive package called the Driving Assistance Professional Package. BMW should include adaptive cruise control in the base price as Honda and Toyota do so the basics are all there: ACC as well as the provided lane departure warning, blind-spot detection, forward collision warning, and auto-emergency braking.

BMW does give you 10 free years of telematics service (not 10 years of free data) so emergency calling and crash notification are always there, BMW can download software updates, and you can reach out to the dealer to set up service. But there is no Android Auto, and access to Apple CarPlay costs $80 a year (after a free first year).

Cockpit fit and finish are fabulous on the X7.

BMW X7 Trim Walk

A basic X7 is $75K. But move up the ladder to the V8 and the M version, and/or add in as much as $20K in options, and you can easily surpass $110,000. The X7 SAV, or sports activity vehicle, as BMW calls it, comes in three variants with an eight-speed automatic transmission and air suspension. Plus lots of options packages and standalone options. All models are all-wheel drive with three rows of seating along with with Active Driving Assistant (daytime pedestrian protection, frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation, lane departure warning, active blind-spot detection, and rear cross-traffic alert), adaptive LED headlamps with auto high beams, panoramic moonroof, ambient cockpit lighting with 12 lighting themes, telematics with a Wi-Fi hotspot, and 21-inch alloy wheels.

BMW X7 xDrive 40i ($74,895 including $995 freight). The 3.0-liter 335 hp turbo inline-six-cylinder engine is rated at 5.8 seconds 0-60 mph with an EPA rating of 20 mpg city / 25 mpg highway / 22 mpg combined on premium fuel. The base audio system has 10 speakers, a 205-watt amplifier, satellite, and HD radio.

BMW X7 xDrive 50i ($93,95). The 4.4-liter turbo V8 reaches 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and is EPA-rated at 15 / 21 / 17 mpg. Audio is branded Harman Kardon with 16 speakers (464 watts).

BMW X7 M50i ($100,595). The V8 hits 523 hp and goes 0-60 in 4.5 seconds (EPA rating pending). Standard alloy wheels are 22 inches. There even-nicer upholstery and trim choices. Note to enthusiasts: While there’s an M in the name, this is not the same as an M in front of the series number (M3 versus X7 M50i). But it will still outperform every most other big SUV currently on the road.

There are a half-dozen options packages for the X7 from $800 to $4,100. The Premium Package ($2,800) has the HUD, rear side shades, soft close doors, 12-speaker Harman audio, soft-close doors, and gesture control. The Executive Package ($4,100 on the six-cylinder) incorporates the Premium Package plus the Panoramic Sky Lounge LED Roof, heated and cooled cupholders, and “hand-made, diamond-cut glass trim elements” for the shifter, audio volume control, start button, and iDrive wheel.

The Driver Assistance Package ($1,700) is a must-have twice over: once because BMW omits adaptive cruise control from the base price and secondly because BMW rolls in a raft of other truly useful assists including Level 2 self-driving. The Cold Weather Package ($1,200) has heated front seat armrests and steering, and five-zone climate control. A Luxury Seating Package is $1,600.

You can order one or the other of these two: an Off-Road Package ($1,650) has specific modes for sand, rock, gravel, and snow); or the Parking Assistance Package ($800) with automated parallel parking, surround-view of the car while driving or while parked and way from the car, plus a video drive recorder.

Standalone options included Night Vision ($2,300), a trailer hitch that boosts towing capacity to 7,500 pounds ($550), a leather dashboard ($850), scented cockpit aromas (350), second-row captain’s chairs ($850), Alcantara (synthetic suede headliner, $1,000), “Shadowline” trim ($350), rear entertainment ($2,200), M Sport brakes ($650), and integral active steering ($1,150). All these have some degree of utility and can also drive the six-cylinder version to $87,000. More if you add premium paint (up to $1,950), pothole-finder 22-inch wheels ($1,300), specialty seat leathers ($3,700), or an M Sport design package ($4,350) that is about show more than go (it does include an aero kit to glue the car to the road at near-Autobahn speeds). The most costly X7 I managed to price reached $121,845, about $1,600 a month on a lease.

BMW X7 is 203 inches to the X5’s 194 inches. Width and height are essentially the same.

The Big SUV: What Took BMW So Long?

The Berlin Wall had barely come down when BMW first pondered an SUV, the X5. It arrived in 1999 and was a more immediate hit than the first Mercedes-Benz ML (now GLE) that rode like a truck (because it was built on a truck frame), or the first Lexus RX, 1998. BMW added the compact X3 as a 2004 model, the subcompact X1 in 2008, and fastback SUVs (X6, X4) along the way. The X7 was almost a decade in gestation if you count the years of internal deliberations and the five years from public announcement to first shipments this year. In the meantime, Mercedes-Benz ruled with the full-size GL (now GLS) that dates to the 2007 model year. The first X7 barely beat the third-generation GLS to market.

Why did BMW wait? For certain, BMW wanted to be sure the big honker would handle decently. Perhaps it had doubts about the propriety of building such a big vehicle at a time when many parts of the world have concerns about the car’s impact on the planet. You might approach 30 mpg in very cautious highway driving with the six-cylinder if you stick to the speed limit), and with a 21.9-gallon tank, cruise 550 miles or more between refills. Actually, if you gauge your speed by the amount of road and wind noise, you’ll think you’re doing 55, look at the speedometer, and realize you’re rolling at 85.

When you parallel park the X7, you’ll know it’s bigger: 203 versus 194 inches long. The 122-inch wheelbase, 5 inches more than the X5, smooths out the highway ride. Interior head, leg and shoulder room are no more than an inch better for the X7. Rear legroom, often the measurement that most determines rear-seat comfort, rounds to 38 inches for both, fair-to-good for a full-size SUV, but almost 7 inches less than the decade-only Ford Flex. Put all but the front seats down and the X7 trumps the X5 on cargo space, 90 to 72 cubic feet. But with all the seats up, there is a puny 13 feet behind the X7’s third-row versus 33.9 for the X5.

Be sure to try the third row for comfort. I’d describe it this way: good headroom, decent legroom, seat too low to the floor (but that allows for decent headroom). If you want a comfortable third row, either go to something like a Ford Expedition that is 2 feet longer, or get a — gasp — minivan. In other words, the third row is okay but you might have expected a little more room. The third row does get its own sunroof.

BMW offers two V8 engines with 523 or 465 hp (X7 M50i, X7 xDrive50i) or or an inline six 335 hp (X7 xDrive 40i). Choose your 0-60 time: 4.5, 5.2, or 5.8 seconds 0-60 mph.

BMW X7 vs. Mercedes GLS and the Field

Lincoln Navigator.

Among full-size luxury/sport SUVs, they all do a good job wrapping you in leather seating surfaces and making the straight-line driving experience joyful. Take a look at the direct and wannabe competitors:

The US-flagged brands, for the most part, do not pretend to be SUV versions of the brands’ sport sedans. Most come in big and bigger editions, including the Cadillac Escalade (204 and 224 inches long) and Lincoln Navigator (210 and 222 inches long), with the ability to tow at least 7,900 pounds. They weigh 5,500-6,200 pounds and use body-on-frame rather than a weight-saving unibody construction. The Navigator is new for 2019 and gets high marks for luxury appointments (even in this class), straight-line acceleration, second- and third-row room, and highway ride thanks to wheelbases of 123 and 132 inches. (The new Lincoln Aviator is more X5-sized.)

The Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, and GMC Yukon (especially Denali trim line) can be considered luxury vehicles: You can easily get the price over $70K, twice the average of a new car. The unibody Buick Enclave (204 inches long) and new Cadillac XT6 (199 inches) are less bulky than the Escalade-Yukon. Some reviewers found the XT6 didn’t match the luxe feel of the equally new, and larger, Navigator.

The Audi Q7 at 199.6 inches is borderline full-size with a tasteful cockpit and excellent technology; it is more of an X5 competitor. The Audi Q8 is a fastback Q7 that is shorter despite the higher numbering, and more of a BMW X6 competitor. The Porsche Cayenne is a midsize model with only two rows, but it is a Porsche, which means handling and cachet (also a pricey options sheet).

There are also off-road-centric big SUVs such as the aging Toyota Land Cruiser living off the same design since the 2008 model year and the sibling Lexus LX, with V8 engines and snug third rows. The Land Cruiser has reliability and exclusivity on its side: US sales average just 3,000 a year (although global sales dating to 1951 just passed 10 million). These vehicles are not remotely BMW X7 / Mercedes GLS competitors except that if you buy one, it will probably be the only such vehicle in the prep school pickup lane, and exclusivity has value. Just remember: 15 mpg on a good day.

Acura’s biggest SUV, the MDX, is more of a midsize three-row SUV at 196 inches, it’s aging (the third generation dates to MY 2014) and the next-gen MDX arrives within the year, but it’s a solid value. The well-regarded Lexus RX 350 L is an even smaller, still midsize, three-row. From Korea, the new Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride are also midsize three-row SUVs and exceptionally well outfitted for the price, offer Level 2 self-driving, for less than $50K; they define “class above” SUVs. That reduces to one the significant Asian competitors: Infiniti, with the 210-inch QX80 featuring a roomy interior, good cargo capacity, and outstanding fit and finish; handling will not be as inspired as the X7’s.

The Land Rover Range Rover has evolved to a beautiful car inside with plenty of room (especially the $110K long-wheelbase model), and superb off-road and wading capabilities.

The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS is the closest competitor to the X7.

That leaves the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS, now arriving at dealers. It offers six- or eight-cylinder engines and dual 12-inch dashboard displays (same as BMW), excellent handling and safety, and a starting price, like BMW, in the low- to mid-$70s, in part because so many desirable features are extra, such as the E-Active Body Control that scans the road ahead for bumps and continuously adjusts the adaptive suspension. A loaded V8 GLS 550 reaches $120,000 and the AMG version starts at $125K. Specs suggest the GLS will be more comfortable for passengers aft of the first row compared with the X7, and a look at the front end shows one of the few big SUVs that haven’t succumbed to the big-grille fetish.

What to choose? Right now, the 2019/2020 BMW X7 is the best premium big SUV you can buy. Most likely the X7 and GLS will separate themselves from the field for those whose criteria include great handling, a tasteful interior, good passenger room in all three rows, state-of-the-art driver-assist features including Level 2 autonomy, and comprehensive safety features to avoid, deal with, and reach out after accidents. Look at the Lincoln Navigator long-wheelbase if you need to carry three rows of people most of the time and you’re less concerned about spirited driving on country roads. Or about getting it in the garage at night.

Before you commit, take one last look at the X5. Unless you must have three seating rows or need 7,500 not 6,600 pounds of towing capacity, the X5 is a match for the X7 in interior spaciousness (first two rows), technology features, and engines. Either one, X7 or X5, is fine with the six-cylinder engine. Where the BMW X5 and X3 are the top SUVs in their categories, the X7 may wind up sharing the crown.

Now read:

2019 Range Rover Sport HSE P400e Hybrid Review: The Premier Off-Roader Conquers the HOV Lane

2019 BMW X5 SUV Review: Best All-Purpose Vehicle for Those With Means

2018 BMW X3 Review: the Best Compact Crossover Money Can Buy

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/298217-2019-bmw-x7-review-the-best-big-suv-yet from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2019/09/2019-bmw-x7-review-best-big-suv-yet.html

[soukacatv]

What is 8K TV? What’s the difference between 4K and 8K? | Soukacatv.com

Heard the buzz about 8K TVs and wondering what all the fuss is about? We've got all the details you need to know about the next big TV resolution.

No sooner has 4K finally started to make sense – with 4K Blu-rays now commonplace and the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Sky Q and BBC iPlayer streaming hours upon hours of 4K content – than manufacturer’s are starting to look to what’s next. The answer? 8K TVs of course, which are front and centre at CES 2019.

Digital and Analog modulator manufacturer from Soukacatv.com

HD Encoder To DVB-T RF Modulator

16 IN 1 Digital Modulator Headend System

Dual HD Input Modulator With ISDB-T And DVB-T Modulation

DVB-T And ISDB-T Encoder Modulator

The next-gen resolution is looking like the year’s biggest TV news, with the first 8K displays making it to market at the end of 2018, and pretty much every big manufacturer floating their first 8K wears in 2019 ahead of the first planned in 2020.

But is 8K something that you should care about right now? We’ve broken down everything you need to know about TV’s next big thing.

What is 8K and why should I care about 8K TVs?

When we talk about 8K, we’re talking about the resolution of the screen we’re looking at, which equates to the number of horizontal and vertical pixels that a screen can display.

The more pixels of an image we see, the better quality the image should be, as you’re getting more of the finer detail that lesser screens gloss over.

With 8K, you get a total resolution of 7680 pixels horizontally and 4320 pixels vertically – four times the pixels you’ll get with 4K (2840 x 2160) and 16 times that of Full HD (1920 x 1080).

4K vs 8K: Isn’t 4K enough?

4K is superb, and if you haven’t upgraded your home TV to 4K yet, you’ll be amazed at the differences between 4K content and the Full HD you’ve been watching. In theory, 8K will offer a similar leap.

The differences might not be quite as stark, but when you’re looking to get the most immersive experience possible, the more detail you can pack into a shot, the better.

In practical terms, it’s the difference between looking at an 8-megapixel picture and a 33-megapixel picture – with an HD picture being just 2 megapixels by comparison. For the naysayers doubting whether those extra pixels will be worth it, we’d argue there’s a good chance they will.

What 8K TVs are there? When will 8K TVs be released?

Manufacturers have been talking about 8K before 4K was even really established, but in 2018 things started to get more serious.

Sharp is already on its second-generation 8K television, producing the £100,000, 85-inch LV-85001 for the Japanese market a few years ago now, it’s familiar household manufacturers like Samsung and LG showcasing more consumer-focused sets that have really got interests piqued.

Unbelievably, the Samsung Q900R came to market at the end of 2018, including in the UK, where it was available in time for Christmas.

LG is setting itself a more leisurely timeline, predicting five million sets will be sold by 2022, but equally it’s offering up its first 8K TV at CES 2019.  Toshiba and Sony have also shown off concept 8K sets at recent shows, but they remain very much in the planning stages for now.

How much with an 8K TV cost?

The Samsung Q900R will be available in an 85-inch model to begin with, followed by 82-, 75- and 65-inch versions at a later date.

No prices have been announced for any of them just yet, but we predict you’re going to have to set aside a fairly hefty budget if you want to bring one of these home in time for the holidays – as a rough idea, Sharp’s existing 70-inch 8K TV costs €11,199.

Does 8K need a big screen?

The average size of our TVs has been slowly shifting upwards in recent years. That’s down to a combination of reduced prices, improved design, and higher quality picture resolution.

As screens get larger, pixel density decreases, soo higher resolutions simply make more sense on bigger TVs.

That explains why the majority of  8K demos have been shown on screens of 85 inches and above, although as we’ve mentioned, Samsung has announced its Q900R will eventually be available in a more accessible 65 inches – much more living room friendly, and no doubt much cheaper too.

What can I watch in 8K?

Long story short? There isn’t really any 8K content right now, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t on its way.

Japan (where else?) ran some 8K demo broadcasts on its TV channel NHK back in 2016, and has since announced plans for a dedicated 8K TV channel later this year, where Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic Games will be broadcast in the format.

Brazil even showed some of the 2018 World Cup in 8K, at Rio de Janeiro’s science museum, though the tech support required to make it happen was far from straightforward, so it’s not exactly ready for mass consumption just yet.

From a film perspective, Hollywood has already dipped its toe in the water with 8K – just as it started with 4K long before that was really a ‘thing’.

Currently, it’s mostly to give editors more options in the editing suite than it is for actually producing an 8K movie, but the equipment is out there to make these kinds of films happen when the time is right.

In fact, the first one is already in the can. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) was the first film to be shot on RED’s 8K Vista Vision camera, and we expect to see plenty more following in its footsteps in the next year or two.

There’s also things like VR to think about. The £4200 GoPro Omni VR might not be in many budgets, but it is capable of shooting at an 8K 30fps spherical resolution for VR. The Insta360 Pro camera offers similar virtual reality shooting, while the oft-rumoured Apple AR/VR headset is thought to be packing dual 8K displays – one for each eye.

Gaming isn’t one for lagging behind the curve, either, with a plethora of YouTube videos showing 8K–- and, whisper it, even 16K – gaming rigs. The Dell Canvas UP3218K gaming monitor is 8K capable, but the hardware to make it happen is slightly more complicated.

A Thirty IR Witcher III playthrough in 8K last year required four Nvidia GTX Titan Xp graphics cards costing $1200 each to achieve – and that’s before you even get to the processor and memory required. Hardly a hobby, for now at least.

What else is happening right now? What is 8K upscaling?

With so little content currently available, 8K right now is really all about upscaling, and from what we’ve seen at recent shows, the results can be pretty impressive.

For example, Samsung’s Q900R uses the company’s new Quantum Processor 8K chip, which uses ‘AI upscaling’ to boost lower-res footage to 8K.

This uses complex algorithms to recognise patterns in images and calculate the extra pixels required to fill in the gaps that 4K (or even HD) is missing. The chip uses a huge image database, which Samsung says will be constantly updated to keep it as accurate as possible.

Sony showed off similarly impressive upscaling at CES 2018 using a concept 8K panel and its forthcoming X1 Ultimate processor, though that remains very much a ‘watch this space’ endeavour for now.

8K vs 4K TVs: Should I buy a 4K TV or wait for 8K?

That’s the big question and, for now at least, the answer is pretty clear cut.

As there’s not really any true 8K content yet, you’d only really be buying an 8K TV for bragging rights and to get a glimpse of its potential via upscaling – we’re still a long way from seeing 8K hit the mainstream. After all, there’s only really one 8K TV you can likely buy!

Remember: 4K is still far from ubiquitous, and given the amount of investment in the technology by major networks, studios and companies, it’s extremely unlikely it will be usurped any time soon in the consumer market.

Those wanting to get the most out of their TV viewing experience right now should therefore buy 4K – whether it’s as an upgrade from Full HD or a ‘good to great’ 4K swap. There are loads of great affordable options out there, like the Panasonic TX-50CX680, and you’re spoilt for choice if you can stretch to a high-end Ultra HD set (the Samsung Q9FN and LG G8 OLED spring to mind).

The 8K vs 4K TV battle may now be nascent, but buying a quality 4K TV will serve you well for some time and comes as our recommendation for most people.

Established in 2000, the Soukacatv.com main products are modulators both in analog and digital ones, amplifier and combiner. We are the very first one in manufacturing the headend system in China. Our 16 in 1 and 24 in 1 now are the most popular products all over the world.

For more, please access to https://www.soukacatv.com.

CONTACT US

Company: Dingshengwei Electronics Co., Ltd

Address: Bldg A, the first industry park of Guanlong, Xili Town, Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

Tel: +86 0755 26909863

Fax: +86 0755 26984949

Mobile: 13410066011

Email: ken@soukacatv.com

Source: trustedreviews

[netunleashed-blog]

Best TV 2018: which TV should you buy?

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=33825 Best TV 2018: which TV should you buy? - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=33825 Best TV Buying Guide: TechRadar's guide to the best TVs on sale in 2018.There's no worse feeling than staring down an aisle of TVs at Best Buy and thinking, "Huh, these all look good." We know the feeling – it seems like every TV that has looks great with its brightness cranked up and colors beyond oversaturation. In places like this it can be really hard to tell which TV is really good and which ones ... well, aren't.We understand money's tight, and you'd rather just have someone who's really tested TVs give you the insider knowledge you need to make the perfect pick.The good news? You've come to the right place.Some screens really do outperform others, offering better contrast, higher clarity and new technologies like Wide Color Gamut (WCG) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) that will dramatically improve your TV watching experience. We've tested them for ourselves and can now say with utter certainty which screens you should buy and which ones you should avoid. Our picks are listed below from the best-of-the-best to the still-fantastic – and unlike perusing the TV aisle at Best Buy, you can't go wrong with any of them. "So, should I buy a TV now or wait it out?" This is a question we get a lot. Like most technology (cough, iPhones) TVs are getting incrementally better all the time – which means, yes, if you wait a year there will probably be a bigger, flashier TV out there for less money. But while doing so will certainly net you a larger screen at a better price, some of the best panels are already being manufactured today. While tomorrow's screens might be a bit larger, a bit brighter and a bit cheaper, today's screens are just as competent in their own right. We can say that with confidence knowing that most manufacturers have finally embraced the three most important standards in TVs: Ultra HD , Wide Color Gamut and HDR (HDR10 and, if you're lucky, Dolby Vision). If a TV you're looking at doesn't support at least one of these, you should probably look somewhere else.Not sure where to start? Here are the best TVs we tested this year. After an underwhelming debut, Samsung’s QLED technology really needed to bounce back in style in 2018. It didn't surprise us in the least, then, to discover Samsung threw the kitchen sink in with its new Q9FN QLED Series of TVs. As well as being even brighter and more colorful than last year’s equivalent model, Samsung's 2018 flagship screens use a completely different lighting system to combat its predecessor’s contrast problems: Full Array Local Dimming rather than edge-lit LED lighting. The FALD panel works in tandem with Samsung QLED Quantum Dots to produce a picture that's brighter and more colorful than near any we've seen come from the South Korean manufacturer. Do those features alone make Samsung Q9FN the best TV on the market? No, but throw in technology like HDR10+ and Q HDR EliteMax – what Samsung bills as its maximum High Dynamic Range experience that’s exclusive to the Q9FN – and there's very little doubt in our mind that this is Samsung's best TV ever. Read the full review: Samsung Q9FN QLED TV (65Q9FN) At the top of our list for 2018 is the LG C8 OLED – available in both 55 and 65-inch iterations. It's here because it combines an impressive picture, an extensive set of features, an attractive design and its unrivaled smart platform, to deliver one of the best TVs we have seen to date. It’s not as bright as an LCD TV but those deep blacks make a huge difference to the dynamic range of the image. It’s also capable of vibrant and gorgeous colors, not to mention an astounding level of detail with native 4K content.There are other OLEDs worth considering this year (see: Sony's A1E and A8F OLED or LG's own E8 and W8 OLED models) but we think the OLED C7 offers the best price-to-performance ratio of any TV under the sun in the year 2018.Read the full review: LG OLED C8 (OLED55C8, OLED65C8) From the moment we laid eyes on the the XBR-65Z9D we’ve been desperate to get our hands on one. It is, hands down, the holy grail of television for 2018: a TV able to combine the extreme, high dynamic range-friendly brightness of LCD technology with a backlight arrangement capable of getting LCD closer than ever before to the stunning light control you get with OLED technology.This backlight arrangement comprises more than 600 LEDs that sit behind the 65Z9D’s screen that are capable of outputting their own light levels independently of their neighbors. This should enable the TV to produce more of the extremes of light and shade associated with new high dynamic range (HDR) technology while suffering less than other LCD TVs with distracting clouds, stripes or halos of unwanted, extraneous light.As if this wasn’t already attraction enough, the 65Z9D also sports Sony’s new ‘X1 Extreme’ video processing system and the latest version of Sony’s reliable Triluminos wide color technology for unlocking the extended color spectrums associated with HDR sources. The LG W7 OLED is truly something special. Not only is it one of the thinnest TVs to ever grace our vision (it’s 2.75mm thin), but it’s also one of the most gorgeous. When fed the right kind of content – in this case, 4K HDR10 or Dolby Vision video – it truly shines. A super-slim design alone wouldn’t have been enough to warrant the extra cost to upgrade to LG’s latest panel. But the thin frame on top of a Dolby Atmos soundbar on top of four types of HDR support on top of the magnetic mounting system on top of the new webOS 3.5 operating system surely did the trick. This incredibly gorgeous TV isn’t without its faults (see: motion handling, its sticker price and soundbar issues), but in terms of sheer picture performance there’s nothing else like it right now.  If LG's OLED isn't your thing, spend some time checking out Sony's new OLED.The 55A1 – and the A1 OLED series overall – are crowd pleasers in just about every way. Their ‘picture only’ design has been beautifully realized, managing to be simultaneously subtle and dramatic. Their vibrating screen delivers a far more powerful and effective sound performance than I’d thought possible, too. The real stars of the show here, though, are the A1’s exquisitely detailed, contrast-rich and colorful pictures. These prove emphatically what we’ve long suspected: More brands using OLED technology can only lead to good things.  OK, so you don't want (or can't afford) Sony's new A1E OLED or the fantastic-but-pricey ZD9. So what should you buy? Check out the X900E series. With superb 4K image clarity, powerful SDR-to-HDR remastering, and a smooth direct LED backlight, Sony is offering something very different with the X900F. We loved the consistency of its images, the eye-popping vibrancy of its wide color gamut panel and its easy-to-watch HDR – you get spectral highlights without accompanying eye fatigue. Given this set’s high-but-fair price point, any niggles we have are negligible. The X900F is highly recommended and deserved our Recomendded award. Read the full review: Sony Bravia X900F (XBR-65X900F) review Having potentially pushed the hardware capabilities of its current OLED screen technology as far as they can go, LG has for 2018 turned its attention to the software that drives these screens - and this shift in focus has yielded surprisingly impressive results, improving and even removing many of the residual niggles associated with 2017’s already in truth outstanding OLED sets.The OLED65E8 loses a bit of ground sonically from its predecessor, and there’s some stiff competition this year from Samsung’s new Q9FN flagship LCD TV, but all the growing legions of OLED fans will probably need to hear is that the OLED65E8 is comfortably the best OLED TV LG has ever made. We've already recommended a couple of different OLED sets on this list, and the B7 is the most affordable of the bunch. But rather than compromising on that glorious panel to hit a more wallet-friendly price point, LG has instead compromised on sound. This puts the LG B7 in a slightly weird situation audio-wise. It technically supports Dolby Atmos, but played through its mediocre downward-firing speakers the technology lacks most of what makes it impressive. Thankfully you're of course able to plug in an external sound system, and we'd advise you to do. If that's something you're prepared to do then you'll find the B7 has every bit the talent of its more expensive siblings at a fraction of the cost. Read the full review: LG OLED B7 If you had deep pockets and checkbook filled with blank checks, we’d tell you to reach deep and shell out for only the best TVs on the market - LG’s crazy-thin OLED W8 or Samsung’s ultra-bright Q9FN QLED (both featured on this list). But that’s not realistic. For the vast, vast majority of us, our budget to spend on a TV is limited to somewhere under $1,000 - and often less than that. To that end, it’s absolutely fair to say that the TCL 6-Series is the best TV you can possibly get in this price range. Its performance per dollar is unmatched and its picture quality - despite a few minor flaws - will truly impress you.Read the full review: TCL 6-Series (R615, R617) The B&O BeoVision Eclipse is the full package. It’s smart, its picture looks awesome, and the sound-quality is stunning. But then there’s the price - $9,995, and that’s for the 55-inch model and doesn’t include the floor mount. If you go for the larger, 65-inch model, and want the floor mount, you’re looking at $15,595.So should you buy it? Well, if you’re absolutely loaded, and want a TV that looks and sounds great, plus it fits in your ultra-modern home setup, then it’s not a bad option. If you’re willing to put a little more time into your setup, however, you may be better served simply buying an LG OLED TV and a dedicated surround sound system.Read the full review: Bang & Olufsen BeoVision Eclipse Continue on to page two to read about what to look for when buying a TV!  Want better audio? Check out our guide to the best soundbars available.Once you've decided on a panel, make sure you read our guide on to make sure you're getting the most out of it. Are you looking for the best universal remote for your new home theater setup? What TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What's the difference between LCD and LED TVs?The answers aren't always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be stressful even for the tech-savvy - there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colors, technologies and flavors to choose from.So which one is right for you, your family and your living space? In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about buying a new TV. What types of TV are there out there? There are a lot of different screen types out there, all working in different ways to produce the same results. Each technology has its own unique strengths and weaknesses so here are some basics to consider:LCD TV: CCFLUntil recently, all LCD TVs were backlit by always-on, CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lamps. This ageing technology has been superseded by the superior LED method on more expensive sets, but is still standard on some cheaper models.LED TV: Direct LEDThese displays are backlit by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) directly behind the screen. This enables localised dimming – meaning immediately adjacent areas of brightness and darkness can be displayed more effectively – and greatly improves contrast. LED TVs are also more power efficient and capable of a wider colour gamut than CCFL sets. Because of the extreme cost of mounting these arrays of LEDs, Direct LED TVs have largely been out muscled by Edge LED...LED TV: Edge LEDWith these TVs, LEDs of the backlight are mounted along the edges of the panel. This arrangement enables radically slender displays and offers superior contrast levels to CCFL, but can't achieve the same picture quality as directly lit LED sets. However, they do come in far cheaper which is why most LED TVs out there now use this technology.OLED TVThe backlighting on OLED (organic light emitting diode) sets is achieved by passing an electric current through an emissive, electroluminescent film. This technique produces far better colours and higher contrast and also enables screens to be extremely thin and flexible. This is the holy grail display technology and only in 2014 did a bigscreen OLED TV go on sale. So it's new, it's expensive and the top brands are still struggling to get their heads around it. To date, only LG has been able to release full sized OLED TVs. Quantum DotAs yet we're not quite at the stage where we're going to get self-emitting quantum dot LEDs, but they're a-coming. What we do have though is Samsung producing its Nanocrystal filter based on quantum dot technology to produce a seriously improved colour palette and contrast levels that get mighty close to the pinnacle of OLED.Plasma TVPDP (plasma display panel) TVs use glass panels containing millions of tiny cells filled with a mixture of inert gases. Electricity excites the gases, causing them to illuminate the pixels across the screen. Plasma, while arguably superior to LCD in terms of contrast and colour accuracy, is only viable on large (42in+) screens and has been dropped by all but a handful of manufacturers. You'll be lucky to find one on the shelves these days.Curved TVSome manufacturers are now making TVs that have slightly curved screens. But unlike old CRT TVs, the curve is inwards rather than outwards. The idea is that this makes every pixel equidistant from your eyes, delivering a more satisfying picture. However, there are drawbacks for this type of screen - the main one being that if you sit far enough to one side – more than 40 degrees or so – the curve clearly starts to affect the image's geometry, foreshortening content near to you and compressing the image's centre. What resolution tech should I go for? HDHD TVs come in two resolutions. Sets with the HD ready are required to be able to display a minimum 720p picture, and generally has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Meanwhile, Full HD TVs have a higher resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It's highly advisable that you don't go for anything less than full HD in this day and age.Ultra HD and 4KThe resolution of Ultra HD is exactly four times higher than full HD - 3840 x 2160. It means a far more detailed picture, with content requiring a lot more bandwidth and storage space. 4K TVs tend to be good at upscaling HD video to Ultra HD but there are currently very few options for watching native 4K content. Read more about 4K.HDRPotentially the next big thing in TVs, HDR produces astounding levels of visual fidelity and can be found in some of the latest Ultra HD TVs. Arguably the shift to HDR video could make a more dramatic difference to your viewing experience than moving from HD to 4K. Like still HDR images, the moving version expands the range of both the light and dark ends of spectrum, providing more detail for both. HDR needs new filming methods though - at the moment there is no way to backfill HDR into existing video. It also needs new TV tech too, with Samsung the only ones to create specific screens, though LG and Sony are going be able to update some of their existing stock to be compatible. What's the best smart TV platform around today? What else should I consider? Buying a flatscreen television is a major investment and one that you can't afford to take lightly. Just popping into the closest store and grabbing the first plasma or LCD you see won't get you the best deal, the screen that suits your needs, or the gear you require to make the most of your new purchase.Size mattersPeople tend to pick the size of their flat TV based on the amount of space they have for it, this isn't necessarily wise. Flat TVs take up much less space than you might think, so your new TV may end up a foot or two further away from your viewing position, making the picture appear smaller.Also, with hi-def, you can have a bigger screen and the same viewing distance without worrying about seeing blemishes inherent to the source. HDTV's lack of noise means that the ideal distance to sit from the screen is three to four times the height of the TV. How to calculate the right size HD TV: The trick here is to ensure that your TV is big enough to fill your line of vision, but small enough to be sharp and clear. Remember, if you intend to only watch standard-definition sources, the bigger the screen gets, the worse the image will look.The ideal screen size can be calculated by multiplying the distance that you intend to sit away from it by 0.535 and then rounding this up to the nearest size.So, if you sit 80in away from your TV, the ideal size is 42-inch (80 x 0.535= 42.8). What features should I look out for? Features are too numerous to go into here, but here are some things you should consider.Photo viewing: If you have a digital camera, a TV that has a slot for memory cards or a USB socket for a card reader will let you view your photos onscreen.Here are some of the things we look for when we review a screen, so you should, too...Contrast: Bright whites shouldn't have any signs of green, pink or blue in them, while blacks should look solid and not washed out, grey, green or blue.Colours: Look at how bright and solid they are; how noiseless their edges are; how 'dotty' richly saturated areas are and how natural skin looks, especially in dim scenes.Fine detail: How much texture does the screen give? Does a tree look like a green lump, or can you see the individual leavesEdges: Check for ghosting, bright halos and jaggedness, especially around curves.Motion: Check moving objects and quick camera pans for smearing or blurring, trailing, jerkiness and fizzing dotty noise.Image artefacts: Look for blockiness, colour bands, grain, smearing, dot crawl: anything that looks like it's added by the TV picture processing or a weak TV tuner. Tinker with a TV's picture settings before making a final decision. Factory settings are rarely good for everyday viewing. What about sound? To provide the best audio to complement the pictures, your TV should be hooked up to a surround sound system, but this isn't always an option. So, here's what we listen for when testing a TV's speakers:Bass: Deep, rounded rumbles that don't cause the set to rattle or speakers to distort, cramp or overwhelm the rest of the sound; but that expand when needed.Vocals: Voices should sound open, rich and clear, not boxed in, nasal or thin.Trebles: Treble effects should sound clean, rounded and smooth in loud scenes and shouldn't dominate the soundstage.Soundstage width/depth: A good TV should throw the sound away from the TV, to the sides, forward and back, to give an extra dimension to what's on screen, without losing any coherence. Questions to ask before you buy Taking the time to consider these questions will make choosing the best TV easier... HD or 4K? 4K TVs are stunning and even though there is currently little native 4K content to enjoy, the good ones are able to upscale HD to 4K very well. That being said, unless you're buying a very large TV - we're talking 65-inches plus - full HD should be adequate. What size do I need? This is dictated by the dimensions of the room where the TV is going and the amount of cash you're prepared to spend. As a general rule of thumb, work out how far from the set you'll be sitting (in inches), multiply that distance by 0.535 and then round up the result to the nearest screen size. Bear in mind that a decent smaller telly is often a more sensible investment than a larger, less accomplished one. And if you're going to buy a 4K TV, you can sit much closer because of the higher resolution. How many HDMI sockets do I need? For a living room TV you should be looking for a minimum of 3 HDMI inputs. If you want to attach a set-top box as well as games consoles etc, those HDMI ports will fill up fast. Can I connect my older, analogue kit? Most new sets carry no more than two composite connections, while S-video is fast approaching obsolescence. Check that your new TV can hook up to older digiboxes, VCRs or DVD decks that you might want to plug into it. Do I want to hang my TV on the wall? First off, you'll need to consult a construction expert to check that the wall in question is strong enough to support a flatscreen. Then find out if the set you want is designed to be wall-mounted and, if so, ask if the relevant bracket is included in the basic package or as an optional extra. Will I be connecting it to a home cinema? If the answer is no, you might want to think more carefully about your set's audio performance. Look for a screen that can go as loud as you'll need without distortion or cabinet rattle. Consider how dialogue sounds and how much low-end rumble the bass is capable of.Conversely, it's pointless paying out more cash for exceptional built-in speakers if you already have a decent home cinema system.Happy shopping! Source link

[tanjansan33-blog]

New Phone OnePlus 6 review – Best Affordable Android Phone of 2018

PROS

A huge leap in design

Seriously fast

Dash Charge is still great, if slightly restrictive

A well-thought-out version of Android with great extras

CONS

Camera still needs improvement

Missing a few ‘flagship’ features

KEY FEATURES

6.2-inch FHD+ screen

Snapdragon 845

6/8GB RAM

64/128/256GB storage

16MP + 20MP cameras w/ OIS

16MP front camera

3300 mAh battery, Dash Charge

Android 8.1

WHAT IS THE ONEPLUS 6?

In a mere four years OnePlus has gone from an unknown Chinese startup to one of the best phone makers around. Its pairing of high-end features and specs with a lower-than-average price initially caught the eye of the tech-obsessed, but it’s no longer just for those who lurk on the OnePlus forums.

The OnePlus 6 is the most mainstream device from the company yet. It’s the first to get a proper launch in London – at the Olympic Park, no less – and also the first to really feel like a phone that should have Samsung and Apple at least slightly worried.

This isn’t simply a rebadged Oppo device in the way of the OnePlus 5 and 5T, but a thoughtfully designed handset that should really be taken seriously.

DESIGN

Much of what makes the OnePlus 6 feel extra special is the completely new build and design. It’s now made almost completely of glass, which curves around the rear and feels fantastic. There’s a rim of metal sandwiched between the glass to add some rigidity.

My first impression when I took it out the box was that it looked and felt like the offspring of a Samsung Galaxy S9 and iPhone X.

There’s a highly polished black version that’s gorgeous but a real fingerprint magnet, plus there’s a more conservative Midnight Black matte-finished model, and a stunning white-and-pinky-gold variation that sadly won’t arrive until after launch. OnePlus told me the latter version was made with powdered pearl dust, and while that sounds like the beginnings of a mythical witch’s brew, it does give the phone a jewel-like finish.

The Mirror Black is ridiculously shiny

There’s been a switch-up in other classic OnePlus design aspects, too. The alert slide is still present, but it sits on the opposite side, and the fingerprint sensor is now an oblong shape, perched beneath the centrally positioned dual cameras. The alert slider lets you easily jump from silent to loud mode without unlocking the phone, and I miss it a lot when using a phone that isn’t from OnePlus. I’d love to see more phones have one.

Despite being heavily rumoured in the run-up to launch, the OnePlus 6 doesn’t hold an IP-rating for water-resistance. However, the company has said that while the device holds no official rating, much work has been done to improve its protection against water. These come by way of extra seals around the ports and between the screen.

I’m still slightly confused, though, by the lack of an official IP rating. Maybe the company is trying to save some cash by not officially garnering an IP rating; similar to the way it previously lacked the necessary codecs to play HD content from Netflix and Amazon.

The bottom line is that, despite the lack of IP rating, OnePlus appears confident that if you leave your phone in the bathroom while you’re having a shower or the device is caught out in the rain, it will be fine.

On the bottom of the phone you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack – always nice to see and getting rarer by every phone launch – alongside the USB-C port for charging.

SCREEN

The launch of the 5T in late 2017 appeared to be OnePlus’ quick response to the trend of the time, which was reducing the bezel and stretching out the display. With the OnePlus 6, the company jumps on another trend: the screen ‘notch’.

The small cut-out at the top of the 6.3-inch display is fine, but I still can’t really understand the reason it’s here. There isn’t anything special going on inside the notch – just a regular 16-megapixel sensor, speaker and LED – and it simply feels like a device trying to imitate the iPhone X. It’s likely that most flagship phones in 2018 will sport a notch, but I still don’t really know why.

At least the notch doesn’t really interrupt anything when you’re using the phone. Apps either blank it out completely or comfortably deal with it by altering the UI, while further support and tweaks will come in Android P.

Videos don’t cover the notch when they’re playing

Thankfully, the display itself is excellent, and if you really despise the notch then there’s a software update that will enable you to cover it up. The 2280 x 1080 (FHD+) OLED panel is bright, sharp and very colourful, with great viewing angles. It doesn’t seem to suffer that much with the usual shift to yellow tint that’s ruined many OLED displays over the past year either.

It would have been nice to see OnePlus increase the overall resolution of the screen to quad-HD, considering every OnePlus phone to date has packed a 1080p resolution. The issue with this again comes down to price, and of course whether the trade-off in battery life is worth that extra resolution.

If you’re not satisfied with the default colours on the display, the OnePlus 6 also enables you to tweak endlessly. The default setting out of the box is a little white and saturated for my liking, while the Adaptive mode toggles between various settings depending on what you’re doing. My pick is the DCI-P3 mode, which is softer on the eyes and displays a nicer range of colours.

PERFORMANCE

Screen

6.3-Inch, 2280 X 1080, Optic AMOLED

CPU

Snapdragon 845

RAM

6/8GB

Storage

64/128/256GB UFS 2.1

Rear Camera

Main 16-Megapixel Sony Sensor F/1.7; 20-Megapixel Secondary Sensor. Portrait Mode. 480fps 720p Slo-Mo For A Minute. 19% Bigger Pixels In The Main Sensor Over The 5T

Front Camera

16-Megapixel Sensor With Portrait Mode

Battery

3300mAh, USB-C, Dash Charge – 30-Minute For A Day Of Use, No Qi Charging

OS

Android Oreo 8.1 With Oxygen OS Skin

Features

Dual-SIM, 1.2Gbps Download Speeds, Headphone Jack

OnePlus has always jammed top-end specs inside its phones, and nothing changes here.

A Snapdragon 845 powers the OnePlus 6, alongside 6GB or 8GB of RAM and the option of 256GB of storage. The option of 8GB of RAM feels odd, with its inclusion likely because OnePlus can put it there. It’s a status symbol, rather like the storage offering of 256GB.

I’ve been using the 8GB model for the review period and it’s so fast that the idea of things lagging and taking time to load didn’t even cross my mind. Apps open instantly, multitasking is fluid, and every single game I tried worked flawlessly. This is comfortably up there with the fastest phones I have ever used, and when I put it side by side with the Huawei P20 Pro, the latter’s performance issues were more obvious than ever.

Still, I would say you won’t lose any of this by plumping for the cheaper 6GB RAM model, though. But, as there’s no expandable storage, you should think about your storage options wisely.

The excellent day-to-day performance I noticed during my near two weeks with the phone was also obvious when I ran it through our usual benchmarking tests and compared it to some of the competition. OnePlus has done a lot to optimise the internals and software, and that really shows both in actual usage and synthetic tests.

Single-CoreMulti-CoreAnTuTu 7

OnePlus 621249045267001

Huawei P20 Pro19216837209658

Huawei Mate 10 Pro19066740178091

Galaxy S9 Plus37208890251205

IPhone X425710364235607

Pixel 219176312184336

The natty marketing tagline OnePlus is using for this phone is ‘The Speed You Need’, and that idea goes beyond basic performance. This phone is fast in other areas, too. There’s support (where available, of course) for 1.2Gbps download speeds, improved 4×4 MiMo Wi-Fi, and a camera app that is one of the quickest I have ever used. Bluetooth 5.0 is here and keeps a strong connection to attached devices – even ones that are normally finicky with Android phones, such as Apple’s AirPods.

Previous OnePlus devices have suffered with poor connectivity, especially over Wi-Fi, but I haven’t noticed that at all here. There’s also excellent call quality and the obvious benefits that come from having two 4G-capable SIM trays. The down-firing speaker, on the other hand, is poor and easily gets blocked when you’re watching something horizontally.

SOFTWARE

OnePlus is one of the few manufacturers that doesn’t diminish Android with its own customisations. Oxygen OS retains the look of vanilla Android, adding only extras that I think improve on Google’s operating system.

Customisation is available with icon packs, a system-wide dark mode, and plenty more little touches that make for a great experience. You can also ditch the on-screen navigation buttons and use a bunch of swipes to get yourself around – much like the iPhone X. This is off by default, but I turned it on almost as soon as unboxing the OnePlus 6 and it grew natural to use after a few hours. Basically a swipe up takes you home, while a swipe up and hold puts into the multitasking view.

Getting rid of the classic, and in my opinion often useless, three Android navigation buttons is something Google is actually doing in Android P. Still, I think the gesture-based version OnePlus has crafted is better and easier to learn.

Speaking of Android P, OnePlus is one of a few manufacturers who’ve partnered with Google to allow you to load an early developer version of Android P onto the OnePlus 6 right now. This should be a good indication that a snappy update to P is coming soon after it launches later in the year.

Another fantastic software addition to the OnePlus 6 is a dedicated reading mode that’ll turn the screen black and white when you’re in apps such as Kindle or Pocket. The effect this achieves is similar to an e-reader and is much softer on the eyes.

While the fingerprint scanner on the back is one of the fastest around, the Face Unlock function on the OnePlus 6 is almost equally as snappy. Unlike on the iPhone X where you unlock the screen and then swipe to unlock the phone, here you just tap the lock-button and if it recognises your mug it’ll jump you directly to the homescreen. There are of course some caveats to this unlocking method: as it’s not as secure as Face ID or the fingerprint scanner you can’t use it to authenticate payments from Google Play or log into banking apps. It’s not as reliable when it’s dark, so if i’m checking my phone in a dark bedroom then I tend to stick with the fingerprint sensor.

CAMERA

In just about every area, the OnePlus 6 outshines its price tag. But when it comes to the camera there’s still a noticeable gap between this and £700+ phones like the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2 and Samsung Galaxy S9.

The camera on the OnePlus 6 can’t be described as bad, but none of the photos I have taken with it have made me say ‘wow’.

Before I get into the results, let’s take a look at the specs. On the back there are two cameras: a main 16-megapixel f/1.7 one that’ll take the majority of photos, and a secondary 20-megapixel sensor for helping with the portrait mode. A big update this time around is the introduction of optical image stabilisation (OIS), which has been missing since the OnePlus 3T.

OnePlus has been altering how the secondary camera functions since it introduced the feature with the OnePlus 5. Originally it acted as a fairly poor telephoto lens for 2x zoom, with the 5T switching that to a dedicated low-light camera. Neither were overly successful, and again it doesn’t work so well here. The Portrait shots I took were relatively weak, with poor detailing around hair and a blur that was far too forced.

The main sensor fares a lot better, though, reliably snapping well-exposed and detailed shots in varying outdoor conditions. I’d like the auto-HDR mode to be slightly more aggressive to offset the average dynamic range I ran into, as by default pictures lack the contrast and pop you’d get from pricier phones. There is a nice Pro mode built into the camera app and I found myself using it slightly more than usual here, as the results are noticeably better.

Unlike a lot of the flagship phones in 2018, there’s no AI stuff going on inside this camera, so it doesn’t automatically switch modes depending on what you’re shooting. That’s no big deal, as that whole area is still a bit hit-and-miss at the minute, and the results are never that obvious. Still, even without dedicated things like a Landscape mode, I still captured some nice city shots with plenty of depth and detail.

Low-light performance has always been an issue for OnePlus phones and while the OIS  and the bigger pixels inside the sensor (OnePlus said these are 19% bigger than the 5T) does make it noticeably better than before, it still lacks the flagship touch. Skies in photos taken when it getting dark often have an odd, false colour and light sources overblow easily. Not every shot is a dud, and if light is even and not all focused in one spot then the wide f/1.7 aperture does help get some nice photos.

The portrait mode struggles with hair and fine details

It struggles in poor light

The HDR mode takes a while to kick in, but does help

Details and colours are nice

There’s plenty of detail in shots like this

The sky can often look wrong in low-light

Landscape shots are impressive

  On the front you’ve got a 16-megapixel camera that will, after an upcoming software update, also offer a Portrait mode. It’s an okay selfie camera that’s pretty much the same as on the last two OnePlus devices.

Video can be recorded up to 4K 60fps and uses a form of electronic image stabilisation to keep it steady, Footage is good, but it does struggle to accurately represent colours in some environments. For some video samples, check out the video review. Super-slow-motion support is here too, although unlike the Galaxy S9 or Xperia XZ2 it’s capped at 480fps. Unlike those two phones, however, you can record a whole minute of 480fps footage, rather than just a few seconds.

BATTERY LIFE

Like the prospect of an IP rating, there were many rumours before launch that the OnePlus 6 would be the first in the series to enable wireless charging.

Considering there’s now a glass rear, and wireless charging is becoming more common, its addition felt obvious. Sadly, this isn’t the case. I was told the decision to leave it out came down to cost, and the fact that Dash Charge is quicker. Nevertheless, it’s a feature I’ve come to appreciate for quick top-ups at my desk, so I see its omission as a shame.

It’s a good thing that Dash Charge is pretty swift, mind. The charging method hasn’t changed much here and you’ll still get what OnePlus calls ‘a day of use’ from 30 minutes of charging. It is important to note that you only get these fast speeds with a Dash Charge cable and plug – use anything else and the charging time doubles.

The battery life of the OnePlus 6 is neither great nor poor – in fact it’s very similar to both the OnePlus 5 and 5T. Considering the battery size is the same (3300mAh), that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

Throughout much of my time using it, the OnePlus 6 managed to just about make it through a busy working day and would normally require a short top-up around 9pm. Coming from the Huawei P20 Pro that’s massively disappointing, but it’s on par with the iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

WHY BUY A ONEPLUS 6?

Up until the moment it was announced on stage, my biggest question about the OnePlus 6 revolved around price. It was clear this was going to be the most expensive OnePlus phone yet, but by how much? I was convinced it would be £499, though really considering what’s on offer here £549 probably would have seemed fair.

At £469 though, this is an absolute steal. It’s the best-value phone you can buy right now, without a doubt.

Even when you take price out of the equation it’s still impressive. This is one of the fastest, best-looking Android phones at any price, with a lovely screen and perfectly optimised software.

Of course, for OnePlus to sell it at this price, not every component is from the top drawer. The camera is good, but it’s not going to compete with those on the Huawei P20 Pro or Pixel 2. Also, the battery is just okay and there’s no official IP rating or Qi wireless charging.

We are SPECIALIZED in wholesale supply of brand new 100% original China brand phones factory unlocked, Such as apple iphone, Samsung phone, Huawei,xiaomi,HTC and so on available in all colors and model such as 32GB and 64GB. Order from www.saleholy.com

VERDICT

You won’t find a better phone for £469.

[mediacalling]

Facebook Image Sizes 2018: Everything You Need to Know

What are all the Facebook image sizes you need to know in 2018? Well, consider this your one-stop guide to everything from Facebook cover photo size to profile picture size, ad sizes, and more.

In the beginning, Facebook was mostly text and links with the occasional baby photo flying through your stream, however, with the changing trends in social media, visual content has become a dominant force.

Photos. Videos. Animated GIFS. They’re all the rage.

Truly, a picture is worth more than a thousand words, and Facebook has ensured that you can effectively communicate your thoughts and experiences with the use of high-quality images.

And those making great use of Facebook’s visual nature are getting the best results with their social media marketing.

Facebook is the leading social media platform, after all, so it’s important that you approach it armed with all the information you need.

Keeping up with the ever-changing image sizes and formats on Facebook is a dizzying, and exhausting task.

But I’ve got you covered.

In this post, I’m going give you the most accurate and up-to-date references to the ideal Facebook image sizes and dimensions. This post includes:

Facebook Profile Photo Size

Facebook Cover Photo Size

Facebook Page Cover Photo Size

Facebook Event cover photo size

Facebook Group cover photo size

Uploaded Image Sizes

Link Post Image Size

Now, this information will be extremely helpful to the many of us who are plagued with perfectionism. But if you’re just looking for some quick and dirty “get-r-done” templates, you’ll want to download my Social Media Image Templates.

With that said, let’s dive in!

Download the Templates Skip straight to the end to download all the Facebook image templates.Get!

Facebook Profile Picture Size (Profiles & Pages)

Unlike cover photos, profile pictures will not only appear on your timeline but will also appear on each post that you share, every comment you leave, in Facebook search results, and on people’s timeline where you post messages.

Needless to say, this is probably the most important visual representation of you on Facebook, so you’ll want to get this one right.

A profile picture is a square image that measures 168px by 168px on desktop. However, be aware that even though you’ll be uploading a square photo, it will be cropped into a circle.

So make sure your picture accounts for those corners being rounded off. You don’t want any logos or focal points to be cut off.

Facebook also stores a higher resolution version at 320px by 320px.

The size of the profile picture that is seen in the comments you make, however, is resized to a square image of 40px by 40px.

Lastly, if someone clicks on your profile photo, it can be displayed as large as 761px by 761px. The highest resolution Facebook will store is 2048px by 2048px.

Holy heck, Dustin, that’s a lot of sizes to remember—my head is dizzy trying to follow all that.

Have no fear, friend; I’m going to make it really easy for you.

When creating your profile picture, I recommend creating them at the highest resolution, 2048px by 2048px.

That will ensure that you are presenting the highest quality image for your most important Facebook asset—your profile picture. It’s how people will come to know you, so you want it to be good.

Down and dirty dimensions:

Max size: 2048px by 2048px

Minimum size: 168px by 168px

Minimum recommended size: 761px by 761px

Aspect ratio: 1:1

Pro-tip: People like to connect with your eyes, so make sure your eyes (and mouth, preferably a smile) are visible in the smallest size of your Facebook profile picture.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

Facebook Cover Photo Size (Profile)

Located at the top of your personal timeline, your cover photo is the perfect place to showcase your personality.

A cover photo measures 851px by 315px. This is the minimum size that Facebook will display the photo at.

For those of you who like aspect ratios, the cover photo comes in at 2.7:1.

However, just like Instagram’s image sizes, the display size isn’t the only size you should know.

If you peek behind the source code, you find that Facebook is storing a higher resolution version, and the upper limit seems to be 2037px by 754px. So, if you want the highest resolution image use those dimensions.

However, if you’re viewing it on a mobile device with Retina Display or other high resolution displays (which most smartphones have nowadays) the actual display size is 1125px by 633px.

Down and dirty dimensions:

Maximum size: 2037px by 754px

Minimum size: 851px by 315px

Aspect ratio: 2.7:1

Pro tip: Make your profile cover something personal that makes you look like a real human being.

Don’t think of it as a banner ad, think of it as an extension of your profile picture. Avoid text and calls-to-action at all costs.

Also, be aware that because of certain user interface elements, parts of your profile cover will be covered up.

If you like, I’ve gone ahead and mapped out a template for you below.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

I’ve also created free social media cover photos templates for all the most popular networks if you want to give them a look.

Facebook Page Cover Photo Size

For Business Pages, the cover photo dimensions are slightly different. They display at a size of 820px by 312px.

As with everything else, Facebook will store a higher resolution version if you upload it. The maximum resolution you can upload is 1958px by 745px.

Facebook will automatically resize it as needed for various screen resolutions.

The great thing about these new Facebook Page Cover Photos is that they no longer have any obstructed area on them. There are no interface items over the cover photo, nor is your profile photo partially blocking it.

You get to utilize 100% of the space to maximize your cover photo.

As with my previous recommendation, however, I would not use this space as just another banner advertisement.

Use it to give personality to your page—a branding opportunity rather than a marketing opportunity.

Down and dirty dimensions:

Maximum size: 1958px by 745px

Minimum size: 820px by 312px

Aspect ratio: 2.63:1

And here’s a simple template to give you a starting point.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

Facebook Group Cover Photo Size

Now, this one is tricky because Facebook decided to make it complicated.

You see, it’s not as simple as just uploading an image in the exact display dimensions. The group cover photo requires you to have a cropped area and adjust the image vertically in the viewable zone.

Why? Nobody knows.

But here’s the details you need to know.

The minimum viewing area is 820px by 332px. But if you upload an image that size (or equivalent ratio) you will need to adjust it horizontally. It’s a nightmare.

So, instead, what looks to be the optimal size to upload is an image that is 820px by 461px. This will allow you to reposition the image vertically within the viewable area.

For the highest resolution, I recommend going with double those dimensions (to accommodate retina displays) and use the dimensions of 1640px by 922px.

There are other templates and tutorials out there recommending to do 1640×921, but I like clean numbers. Especially knowing that Facebook will resize the image to only be 820px wide on standard displays, I don’t want them sizing down to a half-pixel size.

Down and dirty dimensions:

Maximum: 1640px by 922px

Minimum: 820px by 461px

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Feel free to use the following as a template to make sure you’re getting all of your important elements in the viewable area.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

I’ve created it so that the bigger gap is on the top, so when you upload the final image to your Facebook Group, all you need to do is drag the photo up as high as it will go.

Facebook Event Cover Photo and Video Size

If you’re hosting an event on Facebook, you’ll want to utilize their cover photo as well.

An event cover photo displays at 500px by 262px on standard displays.

For the best result, however, you can double those dimensions to be 1000px by 524px to ensure that the photo looks great on all screen resolutions.

Down and dirty dimensions:

Maximum: 1000px by 524px

Minimum: 500px by 262px

Aspect ratio: 1.91:1

And if you’re looking for a handy template to get started with, here you go.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

You can also upload video to your Event Headers, and it will be displayed at the same size as an image header.

The resolution of your video can be standard HD, but just be aware it’s going to get resized and cropped to the dimensions mentioned above. Users can view at full screen, however, and it will not be cropped there.

Facebook Image Upload Sizes

Over the years, Facebook has gotten much better at maintaining image quality when uploading photos. It used to be absolutely horrific.

(Of course, I’m slightly exaggerating. But only slightly.)

I’m very glad they’ve now made image quality a priority when resizing and optimizing photos on their platform.

When you upload a single image to a Facebook post, the maximum width it will display in-stream is 492px.

The height will depend on the orientation or aspect ratio of the image you’re uploading:

Square: in-stream display will be a maximum of 492px by 492px

Portrait: in-stream display will be a maximum of 492×738

Landscape: in-stream display will be a maximum of 492×276

Expanding Images in Theater View

When you click on the image to expand it in “theatre” (a.k.a. Lightbox) view, it will scale up to fit whatever screen size it’s being shown on.

There is no way to account for every possible screen size in the world, so the following are basic guidelines.

Facebook seems to have an upper limit of 2048px for height or width.

So regardless of your image orientation, if one of its measurements is higher than 2048px, then Facebook will resize the image to get that value as close to the 2048px as possible while maintaining the same aspect ratio for the image.

Make sense? Of course it does—you’re very smart. I like you.

Now, the following sections are for the super-obsessive types that want to know the exact pixel sizes of everything.

If you’re one of those people, good for you. And here you go!

Multiple Square Oriented Photos

For uploading square images, here are the various sizes based on how many photos are uploaded:

One square: 492px by 492px

Two squares: 245px by 246px (both)

Three squares: 492px by 245px (top), 245px by 245px (bottom two)

Four squares: 245px by 245px (all)

Five squares: 245px by 245px (top two), 163px by 163px (bottom left, bottom right), 162px by 163px (bottom middle)

Six squares: Same as 5 but bottom right photo has an overlay displaying the number of photos not shown.

For everything over six images, the layout will be exactly the same.

Multiple Portrait Oriented Photos

If you’re uploading multiple portrait oriented photos, here are the various sizes according to how many are uploaded:

One portrait: 492px by 738px

Two portrait: 245px by 492px

Three portrait: 327px by 492px (left), 163px by 245px (right top and bottom)

Four portrait: 327px by 492px (left), 163px by 163px (right top and bottom), 163px by 162px (right middle)

Five portrait: 245px by 245px (top two), 163px by 163px (bottom left, bottom right), 162px by 163px (bottom middle)

Six portrait: Same as 5 but bottom right photo has an overlay displaying the number of photos not shown.

Again, for everything over six images, the layout will be exactly the same.

Multiple Landscape Oriented Photos

Hopefully, now, you see a pattern. Here are the layouts for uploading multiple landscape photos.

One landscape: 492px by 276px

Two landscape: 492px by 245px

Three landscape: 492px by 327px (top), 245px by 163px (bottom left and right)

Four landscape: 492px by 327px (top), 163px by 163px (bottom left, bottom right), 162px by 163px (bottom middle)

Five landscape: 245px by 245px (top left and bottom left), 245px by 163px (top right and bottom right), 145px by 162px (middle right)

Six landscape: Same as 5 but bottom right photo has an overlay displaying the number of photos not shown.

And if you guessed that for everything over six images, the layout would be exactly the same, you’d be 100% right!

Uploading Photos with Multiple Orientations

If you’re uploading different images, all with different sizes and orientations, Facebook is going base the layout on the first photo.

So if your first photo is a Portrait, you can expect to see the Portrait layouts applied based on how many photos are being uploaded.

Make sense? Great, now let’s move on.

Facebook Ads Images

In case you didn’t know, there are various ways in which you can use images in Facebook Ads. And the image specs vary based on where you want your ads to be viewed.

Current Facebook Ad image placements include:

Facebook Feed: Displayed inline as a standard Facebook post

Facebook Right Column: The small spot at the bottom of the right sidebar in Facebook on Desktop only

Facebook Instant Articles: This is a specialized article format for delivering fast-loading articles on mobile

Facebook Marketplace: This similar to the Facebook Feed type, and is only displayed in the Marketplace (mobile only)

Sponsored Message: These ads show up just like any Facebook message from a friend

Messenger Home: These will be seen on the main “Home” page of the Facebook Messenger app

The recommended image size for an advertisement image is 1200px by 628px which works out to an image ratio of 1.91:1.

However, since you can advertise on Facebook by promoting your page’s posts, all of the previous image sizes, dimensions, and layouts can apply.

The only instances where the 1200px by 628px image rule applies is on Link Posts, which are the next thing we’re going to talk about.

Link Post Images

Shared link images that appear on personal timelines or when they appear on the news feeds measure 476px by 249px. To ensure a high resolution image, the recommended image size is 1200px by 628px.

Now, the problem here is that if you’re sharing a link to a website, Facebook no longer gives you the ability to customize that image that shows up. The image has to be automatically pulled from the destination web page.

So that means if you’re sharing your own website pages, you’ll need to make sure you have the proper HTML markup on those pages that will identify the image that Facebook should use.

It just so happens that one of the products I co-created, Social Warfare, will allow you to do this easily if you’re using WordPress.

And, of course, I’ve got a template for that as well.

You can right-click the image to “Save as” or you can just download the entire set of templates from this article at the end of this post.

Facebook Image Sizes Infographic

It wouldn’t be right for me to have all these beautiful image size graphics and not put it into one, beautiful infographic for you.

So here you go:

And if you would like to share this on your website, just copy and paste the code below:

<a href="https://dustn.tv/facebook-image-sizes/" target="_blank"><img src="https://dustn.tv/free-resources/facebook-image-sizes-infographic.jpg" alt="Facebook Image Sizes Infographic by Dustin Stout" /></a><br /><em>Image courtesy of <a href="https://dustn.tv" target="_blank">Dustin W. Stout</a></em>.

All Facebook Image Templates

If you want the quick and dirty templates I’ve created for all the vital Facebook image things, just enter your email below and I’ll email you the download link.

Download the Facebook Templates

Once you confirm that you are a real person the download link will be sent straight to your inbox. 100% spam free!

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

//<![CDATA[ var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id='62';form.settings={"objectType":"Form Setting","editActive":true,"title":"Opt-in: Facebook Image Templates","show_title":0,"clear_complete":1,"hide_complete":1,"default_label_pos":"hidden","wrapper_class":"","element_class":"","key":"","add_submit":0,"changeEmailErrorMsg":"Please enter a valid email address!","confirmFieldErrorMsg":"These fields must match!","fieldNumberNumMinError":"Number Min Error","fieldNumberNumMaxError":"Number Max Error","fieldNumberIncrementBy":"Please increment by ","formErrorsCorrectErrors":"Please correct errors before submitting this form.","validateRequiredField":"This is a required field.","honeypotHoneypotError":"Honeypot Error","fieldsMarkedRequired":"Fields marked with an <span class=\"ninja-forms-req-symbol\">*<\/span> are required","currency":"","unique_field_error":"A form with this value has already been submitted.","logged_in":false,"not_logged_in_msg":"","sub_limit_msg":"The form has reached its submission limit.","calculations":[],"formContentData":["email_1524529395946","download_1524529428734","url_1524529420260"],"drawerDisabled":false,"ninjaForms":"Ninja Forms","fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink":"Insert Link","fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia":"Insert Media","fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile":"Select a file","fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress":"File Upload in Progress.","fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload":"FILE UPLOAD","currencySymbol":"$","thousands_sep":",","decimal_point":".","dateFormat":"d\/m\/Y","startOfWeek":"1","of":"of","previousMonth":"Previous Month","nextMonth":"Next Month","months":["January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"monthsShort":["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],"weekdays":["Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"],"weekdaysShort":["Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat"],"weekdaysMin":["Su","Mo","Tu","We","Th","Fr","Sa"],"currency_symbol":"","beforeForm":"","beforeFields":"","afterFields":"","afterForm":""};form.fields=[{"objectType":"Field","objectDomain":"fields","editActive":false,"order":999,"type":"email","label":"Email","key":"email_1524529395946","label_pos":"hidden","required":1,"default":"","placeholder":"Email address","container_class":"two-thirds first","element_class":"","admin_label":"","help_text":"","custom_name_attribute":"email","drawerDisabled":false,"id":290,"beforeField":"","afterField":"","parentType":"email","element_templates":["email","input"],"old_classname":"","wrap_template":"wrap"},{"objectType":"Field","objectDomain":"fields","editActive":false,"order":999,"type":"submit","label":"Download","processing_label":"Processing","container_class":"one-third","element_class":"subscribe-form","key":"download_1524529428734","id":291,"beforeField":"","afterField":"","label_pos":"hidden","parentType":"textbox","element_templates":["submit","button","input"],"old_classname":"","wrap_template":"wrap-no-label"},{"objectType":"Field","objectDomain":"fields","editActive":false,"order":999,"type":"hidden","label":"URL","key":"url_1524529420260","default":"{wp:post_url}","admin_label":"","drawerDisabled":false,"id":292,"beforeField":"","afterField":"","label_pos":"hidden","parentType":"hidden","value":"https:\/\/dustn.tv\/facebook-image-sizes\/","element_templates":["hidden","input"],"old_classname":"","wrap_template":"wrap-no-label"}];nfForms.push(form); //]]>

Of course, it should go without saying that I will never share your information with any third parties.

By entering your email you are only being subscribed to my newsletter which grants you access to all the free things I create as well as the occasional update from me (typically no more than once per week).

Anyone Else Ready for a Nap?

It was exhausting coming up with this list. But I hope it saved you from scouring the internet for hours on end looking for all the proper image sizes and dimensions you need.

If you feel I’ve missed anything, or just want to say, “thanks for this amazing Facebook image size guide”, please let me know in the comments below.

The post Facebook Image Sizes 2018: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Dustn.tv by Dustin W. Stout. If you are reading this on a website that is NOT dustn.tv, it is STOLEN.

Facebook Image Sizes 2018: Everything You Need to Know posted first on http://getfblikeblog.blogspot.com

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus review: Follow the leader Samsung doesn’t need to revolutionize the smartphone industry in 2018 — it needs to iterate on all the hard work it did with the Galaxy S8 line last year. But with the added pressure of the tenth-anniversary iPhone out on the market, Samsung isn’t just resting on its laurels. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus bring both iterations on the Galaxy S8 design and some much-requested new features, but is the company’s focus in the right areas? Samsung Galaxy S9 review notes: We’ve been using the Galaxy S9 Plus on Vodafone’s network in Barcelona, Spain for roughly a week and a half. Our review unit is running Android 8.0 Oreo, Samsung Experience version 9.0, and build number R16NW.G965U1UEU1ARB7 on the February 1, 2018 security patch. We’re holding off on adding review scores until we can put both the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus through our full suite of tests, the results of which will be coming in a deep dive review in the near future. Show More Design If you’re not careful, you might mistake the Galaxy S9 for an S8, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus were two of the prettiest phones to launch in 2017 (or, dare I say, ever), and the S9 refines the design even further. Both the S9 and S9 Plus feature Samsung’s now-signature curved glass panels on the front and back, separated by an aluminum frame. Those curved pieces of glass make the devices feel extremely comfortable to hold, almost like they cradle right into your palm. The curved edges on the front panel are less intense than on the Galaxy S8, which makes swiping in from the edges of the screen a bit easier. The one big change in this year’s design is the location of the fingerprint sensor. The Galaxy S8 and Note 8‘s fingerprint sensors were in the worst place imaginable — to the right of the camera sensor. It was awkward and not at all well thought out. The sensor’s now where it should be, right under the camera in the middle, where your finger naturally falls when holding it. All the buttons, ports, and slots are in the same places as the S8. The SIM tray is on the top, the power button is on the right, and the left side houses the volume key and dedicated Bixby button. On the bottom, you’ll find the USB Type-C port, 3.5 mm headphone jack (yes!), and a slightly redesigned bottom-firing speaker grille (more on the speakers later). The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are slightly smaller overall than their predecessors. This is because Samsung shrunk the top and bottom bezels, making the S9 1.2 mm shorter than the S8, and the S9 Plus 1.4 mm shorter than the S8 Plus. Both new models are heavier though — the Galaxy S9 weighs 163 grams compared to the S8’s 155 grams. and the S9 Plus weighs in at 189 grams compared to the S8 Plus’ 173 grams. The differences in weight are actually pretty noticeable. Samsung gave us the Midnight Black model for review, but the S9 and S9 Plus also come in Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, and the all-new Lilac Purple, which has been a favorite of ours ever since Samsung announced these phones. Whichever color you choose, be prepared for the Galaxy S9 to be an absolute fingerprint magnet, which is common with all-glass phones. Fingerprints aren’t the only things you need to worry about. These phones are fragile. It didn’t take long for our review unit to get some scuffs on the display. The top layer of Gorilla Glass 5 is already wearing away, which is easy to see when the screen is off. This has happened to a few other of our other glass-on-glass Samsung devices in the past, too. As premium as they might be, they aren’t perfect. These phones are fragile The design may not be durable, but at least these phones are IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. This means they’ll be able to survive a dunk in fresh water at 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes. Display Samsung has had the best smartphone displays on the market for years, and the Galaxy S9 lineup is no exception Samsung has had the best smartphone displays on the market for years, and the Galaxy S9 lineup is no exception. Both Super AMOLED panels offer deep blacks, vibrant colors, and superb viewing angles. Seriously — these displays are a joy to look at day in and day out, no matter what you’re doing. Though the Infinity Display is a recurring feature of all Samsung flagships, the immersion aspect is a little dialed back because the left and right sides no longer bleed all the way to the edge. This minimizes the number of accidental palm presses users experience when reaching to the opposite edge of the phone’s screen. The displays also get 15 percent brighter than those on the Galaxy S8 line. They’re so bright, in fact, that turning the brightness all the way up is way too intense for anything but outdoor viewing. Fortunately, they get very dim too, which makes them great for reading on your phone before bed. The Galaxy S9 has a 5.8-inch, 18.5:9 aspect ratio display. The Galaxy S9 Plus comes with a bigger 6.2-inch screen. Both displays have a maximum resolution of Quad HD+ (2,960 x 1,440), though they are set at Full HD+ out of the box. They can also be downscaled to HD+ if you’d like to save some battery life. Samsung’s wonderful always-on display makes a return this time, too. This continues to be one of the more useful always-on display implementations out there. You can display the current time and home time if you’re traveling, as well as battery percentage, and all your notifications. Double-tapping a notification quickly opens it up too. Performance Samsung has gone the Apple route with its two smartphones, offering slightly higher-end specifications in the bigger model. The Galaxy S9 comes with 4 GB of RAM and the S9 Plus has 6 GB. It’s unfortunate to see this, as it feels like a way to make users spend more on the Galaxy S9 Plus just to get that extra boost in power, not because the device actually needs it. Both devices are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC in the United States, and Samsung’s own Exynos 9810 elsewhere. We have a Snapdragon 845-powered unit, though we will certainly be covering the Exynos version soon. Read more: Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus specs: All about refinements It should come as no surprise that we encountered absolutely no slow-downs or stutters throughout our testing period. We’re positive the Galaxy S9 runs wonderfully as well, though we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with it at time of writing. Games like Tekken and Final Fantasy IX performed without any problems throughout our testing, though we had some issues getting Final Fantasy Omnia Opera to load on our review unit. We’re sure this will be remedied quite quickly, though. Whichever model you get, you should be happy with how these phones perform. Hardware It wouldn’t be a Samsung device unless it packed in everything but the kitchen sink. Samsung gives users a hefty amount of on-board storage with 64 GB, which can be expanded via microSD up to an extra 400 GB. That extra storage is great news for those who like to load up their devices with plenty of music and podcasts. If you’re not streaming audio over the S9’s Bluetooth 5 connection, you can plug in your favorite headphones to the 3.5 mm headphone jack. That’s right — though seemingly every other manufacturer is removing the headphone jack, Samsung has decided to keep it. After all, everyone still uses it. I, for one, am very happy about this decision. Though seemingly every other manufacturer is removing the headphone jack, Samsung has decided to keep it. After all, everyone still uses it. Samsung also included headphones in the box, unlike some companies. In this case, it included the same pair of AKG earbuds in the box as with the Galaxy S8, which is a nice bonus. There’s also Dolby Atmos support built in, to provide a more immersive listening experience over wired audio. If you’re not listening to music with headphones, you’ll be happy to hear Samsung is finally focusing on improving the quality of its speakers too. The S9 and S9 Plus still have a bottom-firing speaker, though it’s now accompanied by a front-firing speaker on the top of the device, above the display. These AKG-tuned dual speakers are 1.4-times louder than the speakers on the S8 line, which is a welcome improvement. Because Samsung didn’t change much on the design front, neither the Galaxy S9 nor S9 Plus have room for bigger batteries. They sport the same 3,000 and 3,500 mAh batteries as the Galaxy S8 lineup. That’s not particularly great news — last year’s flagships didn’t have stellar battery life. The 3,500 mAh unit in our S9 Plus doesn’t perform any better or worse than the previous generation, at least so far. With heavy usage, our Galaxy S9 Plus achieved a maximum six hours of screen-on time over the course of a 12-hour work day. The workload consisted of video calling, YouTube and Hulu streaming, sending email, and scrolling through social media. During our heaviest camera testing days, our S9 Plus drained very quickly. After a full day of taking photos and videos around Barcelona, we managed to only rack up three hours of screen-on time, which only consisted of 90 minutes of camera app usage. So you’ll definitely want to bring a battery pack if you’re constantly shooting photos and videos. Of course, until we get to spend more time with it, we can’t vouch for the regular Galaxy S9’s battery life. Samsung at least makes it super easy to charge the S9. Both devices are compatible with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 standard through wired charging, which means it will take about 90 minutes to get from single digits to over 90 percent. The addition of fast wireless charging through WPC and PMA standards is also quite convenient too, though that is usually used when the phone is idle. Finally, Intelligent Scan is the merging of two biometric features, Face Unlock and Iris Scanner. The S9 will automatically search for either your face or your iris when the phone is woken up. It isn’t an instantaneous unlock all the time though. Most of the time, the phone looks for a face, but might not get it because of an incorrect angle or something else, and then switches to infrared light for an iris scan. This takes time. Multiple prompts appear at the top of the lock screen giving advice on how to achieve the unlock, but for the most part you just have to make sure the phone is pointed right at your face and you are looking right at the phone. Face Unlock is not easy for the phone to do in the dark, but infrared light can always find an eyeball. At night, this has definitely proven useful. Camera If there is one place Samsung really focused (no pun intended), it’s the camera. Samsung has improved its cameras a lot in the last few years, so it was interesting to see where it could possibly bring more innovation. As it turns out, there was plenty of room for improvement. Don't miss AR Emoji vs Animoji: The differences explained The Galaxy S9 is here and like the rumors suggested, Samsung has taken a leaf out of Apple’s book with its new AR Emoji feature. The iPhone X bought Animoji last year and Samsung’s comparative … Let’s start with the fun stuff — AR Emoji. Samsung’s take on the Apple Animoji is a self-customized avatar that can either be a caricature of oneself or a completely different thing altogether. It’s easy enough to make, no matter which camera is being used — let the camera detect the face and it will give you a starting template. The facial recognition is not perfect, but it probably was never meant to be. All AR Emoji face shapes are about the same so not everyone is going to get a picture-perfect version of themselves. Skin tone, hair style, and clothing can all be customized and the end result is saved in the camera app. Users can take pictures with their AR Emoji or even record video of the avatar’s face moving along with their own. Only the face is tracked, but it tries to move even the eyebrows correctly for more accurate expressions. AR Emoji are far from a polished product. This mode, while fun, is far from a polished product — plus, they’re pretty creepy if you ask me. You can also make yourself the character, but the face tracking is a little buggy and can lead to some odd twitches here and there. We’re sure there will be more options for customization eventually — perhaps sponsored by clothing companies or beauty brands. For now, it’s an easy way to make 18 GIFs of various emotions that can be shared easily with friends on any platform. Since we’re on the topic of personal expression, let’s talk about the front-facing camera. An 8 MP camera with autofocus is up front and it should be familiar to any recent Samsung user. The selfies from this camera are good, but may not be as good as results from the Google Pixel 2’s machine-learning shooter. A type of portrait mode is now available in the form of Selfie Focus, which tries to find the cutout of the subject and pleasantly blur the background. The results are hit and miss, even ignoring how soft the photos are to begin with. Regardless, selfie lovers will have plenty to enjoy with the Galaxy S9 front-facing camera, even with its quirks. If there is one thing we really wish the front-facing camera had, it’s the multi-frame processing of the main camera module. Whereas the Google Pixel 2 applies its machine learning to either camera, it seems Samsung gave this new processing power to only the rear camera — and only the main lens, at that. Related Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs Pixel 2 XL: Two of the best Now that Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is official, one of it's biggest and most obvious competitors will be the Google Pixel 2 XL. Both are the larger variants of each company's respective flagships so naturally … That said, Samsung is clearly putting its best foot forward with the rear 12 MP shooter, which sports a dual aperture mode (more on that in a second). Multi-frame processing is a technical term for the camera’s ability to capture dozens of photos in a split instant and use all of the data to properly process a good final result. All of this work happens on the camera module itself, where the built-in DRAM holds the data during processing. This has been seen in previous forms like HDR+ on the original Pixel. We will compare Samsung’s implementation a little more to the Pixel 2’s machine-learning algorithmic methods soon, but there is one distinct difference — Google has a massive photo database to draw its data processing from, which is a huge advantage. The pictures coming from the main shooter all look pretty great, even in low light. This is due in part to the f/1.5 aperture which helps flood in an incredible amount of light for a smartphone. The S9 manages to pull a good photo out of a less-than-ideal situation better than any Galaxy device before it, using the large aperture in concert with multi-frame processing and optical image stabilization to minimize blur from the lowered shutter speed. F/1.5 is great, but it is not the only aperture you can use on the S9. Yes, dual aperture is possible now, with actual mechanical blades closing down over the sensor to bring a f/2.4 option on the same lens. Photographers will say this is not a huge change, but when exposing a photo in super bright daylight situations, every little bit helps. It certainly is true for the f/1.5 setting in the opposite direction with dark scenes. The depth of field effects of the f/2.4 setting are noticeably different, as background elements don’t have as much blur. If you want to have that super soft background, it is easy enough to go into the Pro mode and change the aperture setting accordingly. Some optimization is still required, though. The camera still prioritizes lower shutter speed over higher ISO sensitivity and thus motion blur is somewhat common. Using different apertures means the rest of the settings have to change accordingly, and if the S9 is always trying to figure that out on the fly, it simply gets the math wrong sometimes. The Samsung camera isn’t perfect, but it has the most tools to get the job done. If you want every camera tool possible, the S9 Plus is definitely the one to look at — the question is just if you really need it. The telephoto lens does not seem to get the same multi-frame processing treatment as the main sensor, which makes sense because the main sensor is developed with the smaller S9 in mind. The telephoto lens is an extra on the bigger model. However, having a zoom lens affords the S9 Plus a proper portrait mode in Live Focus, instead of the software-driven Selective Focus of the S9. We got to test the differences between these two and the zoom lens combo clearly yielded better cutouts and overall better portraits. Selective Focus on the regular S9 is as hit or miss as the Selfie Focus on the front-facing camera. You’ll have to decide for yourself how important zoom and portrait mode are to you — and whether you’re willing to pay the extra to get them. Galaxy S9 Selective Focus (left) vs Galaxy S9 Plus Live Focus (right). Image 1 credit: Chay Lazaro/GadgetMatch Samsung knew photography buffs would get a kick out of the lens hardware upgrade — no one else will really notice the difference. The rear camera is capable of 4K 60 fps video capture, which is nice for very fluid motion capture. Videos from the S9 Plus are detailed and helped along by optical image stabilization in the rear module. The camera is also capable of very high speed, 960 fps video capture at 720p. The lower resolution might not be ideal for smartphone filmmakers, but the result is still eye-catching. In those cases when the moment is tough to capture, the camera app also has an Auto mode that triggers the Super Slow Motion at, hopefully, the appropriate time. One thing is clear: Samsung knew photography buffs would get a kick out of the lens hardware upgrade — no one else will really notice the difference. Typical users will like the AR Emoji and the Super Slow Motion, but when shooting in auto mode, the apertures change accordingly without user input. The f/2.4 aperture was a necessary move to cover the pitfalls of such a wide open f/1.5 lens. Sure, it floods in superb amounts of light, but having super fine focus isn’t ideal in all situations. Samsung found a way to engineer the best of both worlds in a way most users won’t notice and experienced photographers can exploit. If anything, this camera is a great example of Samsung actually finding a way to please everybody. Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus camera samples Software Samsung went with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality with the Galaxy S9, leaving basically all aspects of its Samsung Experience launcher unchanged from the S8. That’s not a bad thing — the Galaxy S8’s software was a huge step up from Samsung’s previous phones, and we’re happy to see a very similar software experience here. We just wish it ran the latest version of Android. Samsung has an update problem Related Android 8 review: Oreo is for everyone Three years ago Google introduced us to its new design language called Material Design. It was flat, graphical and colorful. It was the visual change that ushered in the beginning of a new age for … The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are both running Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, which at the time of writing is a seven-month-old version of Android. Don’t get me wrong — Android 8 is fantastic, but it’s not Android 8.1. Samsung has no excuse for launching its over-$700 smartphones without the latest version of Android, especially when it’s been available for three months. The good thing is that this likely won’t be the case going forward, as the S9 and S9 Plus are primed for faster updates thanks to Project Treble. One thing that hasn’t changed between generations is the number of duplicate applications Samsung includes in its software package. For some reason, the company still finds it necessary to include its own apps when Google’s apps are perfectly acceptable. Some of Samsung’s apps offer extra features which might not be available in Google’s ecosystem, but the fact remains the app drawer is pretty stuffed out of the box. For what it’s worth, Samsung’s stock Gallery app comes with a few unique features of its own. The GIF creator feature is a really fun way to extract up to six seconds of an existing video and makes it easy to share on just about any platform. If you put a little bit of extra thought into it, you can get a fun looping GIF like one of the few presented below. One of the smaller changes to Samsung’s launcher is that both the app drawer and home screen can now be used in landscape orientation. This may not be the flashiest feature on the Galaxy S9, but it’s certainly going to make some users happy. The company isn’t giving up on its virtual assistant anytime soon, either. Bixby returns on the S9 line, bringing only a handful of minor improvements, which likely won’t change the way you feel about it. If you used it before you’ll likely continue to, but if you didn’t, there’s no major reason to start. Samsung has added a few augmented reality features to Bixby Vision, including the ability to live translate text from other languages. Just point the camera at some text, tap the Bixby button, and it will (try to) translate the text in real time. The text appears as an AR overlay. Live translation has not been accurate in our testing, but it could be just good enough to help if you’re lost in translation. Bixby also has the ability to summon nutritional information for food it recognizes. In theory, you should be able to point your camera at a donut, press the Bixby button, and receive nutrition facts about the donut in just a few seconds. This doesn’t work extremely well, either — it’s been pretty hit or miss at best. There’s also a new mode in Bixby that lets you overlay makeup from Sephora, Cover Girl, and more, allowing you to see how it looks on your face before you buy it. We’ll just leave this here: You can still access Bixby Home by swiping over to the left-most home screen. This remains a worthy landing page for anyone who doesn’t already use the Google Feed. Pressing the dedicated Bixby button will also bring you to Bixby Home, but you can disable the button if you don’t want to use it. Related Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs Note 8: A glimpse of the Note 9 If you're in the market for a high-end, large-screened Samsung device, your best options are now the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note 8. The differences between the two phones might be obvious — only … Holding down that physical Bixby button will trigger Bixby Voice, which is slowly but surely gaining unique voice recognition improvements. Bixby is still one of the only virtual assistants that can recognize multiple commands at a time (“add coffee to my shopping list and call my wife”). Bixby is still miles away from Google Assistant in terms of speech recognition, reliability, and features, but it is making progress. Bixby 2.0 will likely launch this year and will supposedly bring voice recognition enhancements to better recognize individual voices. If you’re unimpressed with Bixby in its current form, you might feel differently on the Note 9. Though we briefly mention it in the display section above, a large amount of customization options are given to the user through the lock screen and always-on display settings. Videos created using the Super Slow Motion mode can immediately be made into a lock screen background, as can just about any 15-second video. Unfortunately, unless you are actively making it play, biometric features like Intelligent Scan or the fingerprint scanner make this a moot feature because you blaze past it to the home screen very quickly. Apps Edge remains on the edge of the Infinity Display and a number of panels allow for easy access to most used apps, most contacted people, and a number of other features. Samsung’s own gaming features provide Do Not Disturb modes and button locks while playing. Dual Messenger helps users with multiple accounts on social media applications. Features like Secure Folder, Samsung Health, Samsung Notes, and any other app you may or may not use from previous Galaxy S or Note device are all here too. While the experience might be generally overwhelming, it will all be familiar for Samsung veterans. Specs Samsung Galaxy S9 Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Display 5.8-inch Curved Super AMOLED 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (Quad HD+) 570 ppi 18.5:9 aspect ratio 6.2-inch Curved Super AMOLED 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (Quad HD+) 529 ppi 18.5:9 aspect ratio Processor Global: 10 nm, 64-bit, octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.8 GHz quad + 1.7 GHz quad) U.S.: 10nm, 64-bit, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Global: 10 nm, 64-bit, octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.8 GHz quad + 1.7 GHz quad) U.S.: 10nm, 64-bit, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 GPU ARM Mali-G72 (Exynos) Adreno 630 (Snapdragon) ARM Mali-G72 (Exynos) Adreno 630 (Snapdragon) RAM 4 GB 6 GB Storage 64 GB microSD expansion up to 400 GB 64 GB microSD expansion up to 400 GB Cameras Rear: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12 MP AF sensor with OIS, f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures Front: 8 MP AF sensor, f/1.7 aperture Rear: Dual camera with dual OIS Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12 MP AF sensor with OIS, f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures Telephoto: 12 MP AF sensor, f/2.4 aperture Front: 8 MP AF sensor, f/1.7 aperture Battery 3,000 mAh Non-removable Fast Wired Charging compatible with QC 2.0 Fast Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA 3,500 mAh Non-removable Fast Wired Charging compatible with QC 2.0 Fast Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA IP rating IP68 IP68 Network Enhanced 4X4 MIMO / CA, LAA, LTE Cat. 18 Enhanced 4X4 MIMO / CA, LAA, LTE Cat. 18 Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) VHT80 MU-MIMO 1024QAM Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps) ANT+ USB Type-C NFC Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) VHT80 MU-MIMO 1024QAM Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps) ANT+ USB Type-C NFC Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou Sensors Iris Pressure Accelerometer Barometer Fingerprint Gyro Geomagnetic Hall HR Proximity RGB Light Iris Pressure Accelerometer Barometer Fingerprint Gyro Geomagnetic Hall HR Proximity RGB Light Authentication Lock type: pattern, PIN, password Biometric lock type: iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, face recognition, Intelligent Scan Lock type: pattern, PIN, password Biometric lock type: iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, face recognition, Intelligent Scan Audio Stereo speakers tuned by AKG, surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology Audio playback format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF Stereo speakers tuned by AKG, surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology Audio playback format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF Video MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM Virtual reality Gear VR with controller (SM-R325NZAXAR) Google Daydream View Gear VR with controller (SM-R325NZAXAR) Google Daydream View Software Android 8.0 Oreo Android 8.0 Oreo Dimensions and weight 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm 163 g 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm 189 g Colors Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple, Titanium Grey Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple, Titanium Grey Gallery Pricing, availability, and final thoughts As you’ve probably guessed, these phones aren’t cheap. The Galaxy S9 is now available for pre-order for $719.99, and the Galaxy S9 Plus can be pre-ordered for $839.99. Both phones arrive Friday, March 16, on Samsung.com and through a variety of other online retailers, carriers, and brick-and-mortar stores. Buy the Galaxy S9 from Samsung For those prices though you get two of the most beautiful, feature-packed smartphones ever made. These phones deliver in all the areas we expected. The displays are top-notch (and notch-less). They sacrifice nothing under the hood. Both boast solid camera performance. These are probably the best Android phones for most users, and I’d have no problem recommending them to almost anyone. These are two of the best Android phones for most users If we had to choose, we’d recommend the smaller Galaxy S9. Both are great phones — don’t get us wrong — but the S9 is easier to hold without sacrificing too much screen, and it still comes with most of the new camera features Samsung introduced this year. Sure, the S9 Plus is the obvious choice if you want dual cameras, a bigger battery, or more screen, but we think the smaller model will be the right choice for most people. However, they’re not perfect — Samsung needs to get better at software updates, or at least launch its phones with the most recent version of Android. They also lack the level of polish found in the Pixel 2 and iPhone X. AR Emoji are a bit buggy, and there’s still no compelling use case for Bixby. Luckily, those things can be fixed with software updates or by simply not using them. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are predictable, iterative devices. But is that so bad when their predecessors were two of the best phones of last year? We certainly don’t think so. We hope you enjoyed our Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus review! Are you buying either one or passing? Let us know in the comments, and don’t miss out on our other related videos below: , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2F3z0fC