Vizio’s SmartCast E-Series of TVs is about to get a lot more colorful thanks to a new firmware update that brings a number of new features, most importantly streaming support for HDR10 content. HDR content from streaming apps and HDR playback on gaming consoles or UHD Blu-ray players will now be supported by all 2017 Vizio SmartCast E-Series UHD TV models from 55 inches and above.
HDR, or High Dynamic Range, increases the color range and detail of a TV, resulting in dramatically increased contrast and color brightness. HDR10 is essentially the standard “open source” HDR format, which means most devices that can play HDR content will support HDR10. It also means that a large portion of the HDR content out there is HDR10. For example, all UHD Blu-rays as well as Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 Pro consoles all use use HDR10.
Furthermore, HDR content carried by streaming services like Netflix, Vudu, and FandangoNow1 is HDR10. With this update, users will be able to stream HDR content from any of the aforementioned devices, or streamed directly from the apps included on the TV.
Long story short, having HDR10 on Vizio’s SmartCast E-Series TVs — with their full-array backlighting already making for a crisp and bright picture — is going to be a major improvement, and of great benefit to users.
In addition to enhanced picture thanks to HDR, users will also now have easy on-screen access to all picture settings, allowing for quick and immediate picturing tuning with either their Vizio TV remote, a universal IR remotes that include a menu button, or with their Android or iOS device with the SmartCast App.
Customers who already own an applicable SmartCast E-Series display will have immediate access to HDR playback and the new picture settings accessibility once the firmware update is performed (note that the TV will need to connected to the Internet in order to download and install the update). For anyone looking to pick up an HDR-enabled SmartCast E-series for themselves, they are available at Costco, Sam’s Club, and Walmart.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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