So far, New York Comic Con has been very kind to fans of Philip K. Dick, the legendary science fiction author whose works inspired popular (and occasionally groundbreaking) films such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and A Scanner Darkly.
In addition to blessing us with the first trailer for upcoming anthology series Electric Dreams, NYCC 2017 marked the debut of our second official look (following a teaser which dropped in January) at The Man in the High Castle‘s third season, in the form of a three-minute clip (viewable above).
In the clip, SS Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) meets with a Nazi scientist who is overseeing experimentation on a young film courier, Fatima Hassan. The scientist explains to Smith that the woman is a “traveler” — a version of Hassan from an alternate reality within the “multiverse” — and provides evidence for his claim (along with the film reel she was carrying prior to her capture).
The existence of alternate realities is a recurring thread in High Castle, featuring most prominently early in the first season and acting as a catalyst to bring together lead characters. Season two ended with Smith taking command of the Third Reich alongside Heinrich Himmler following a coup which exposed a nefarious plot by Martin Heusmann against Japan; we’re curious to see whether he decides to investigate these “travelers” further, given his newfound power. The film reel taken from the “traveler” could also play a prominent role, especially considering the final scene of season 2, where Smith gains access to the film collection of the late führer.
For those unaware, The Man in the High Castle is a 1962 alternative history novel, in which Dick explores a hypothetical scenario where the Axis powers prevailed in World War II, thus subjecting the United States to the oppressive regimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Alexa Davalos (Defiance), Rupert Evans (Hellboy [2004]), and Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) star in the series.
In 2015, we had our first look at Amazon’s television adaptation of the novel at Comic-Con (though it was the San Diego flagship convention). In the years since, the series has become one of the most popular Amazon originals, rivaling acclaimed shows like Transparent in terms of popularity and reputation. Season 3 will arrive sometime in 2018.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.