hdpostcross – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Oddball machine makes ‘analog’ techno music with vinyl records

Many techno DJs are used to playing music on vinyl , but creating it? That’s another matter. However, Graham Dunning has found a wonderfully strange way to make that idea work. His Mechanical Techno device produces full-on dance tracks by driving several heavily modified records at once with a turntable, with each record relying on unique triggers to produce a sound. Electrical contacts will produce a synth sound as one record spins around, while piezoelectric triggers create that all-important beat on another disc. The result is techno that’s at once analog and not. It sounds digital, but it has the imprecision and unpredictability that you’d never get from software. Via: Boing Boing , Nerdcore Source: Graham Dunning

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Oddball machine makes ‘analog’ techno music with vinyl records

Surely someone cares about the official ‘Angry Birds’ sequel

Angry Birds revolutionized the mobile gaming market after its launch in 2009, and developer Rovio has since released numerous off-shoots , follow-up games and bits of retail merchandise , plus it’s working on an animated film due in theaters next April, starring Peter Dinklage and Maya Rudolph. Now, six years and 3 billion series downloads later, Angry Birds 2 is officially on its way. The sequel is due to hit app stores worldwide on July 30th and, yes, it seems the game will still feature exploding crates, a bunch of pigs and some deeply upset birds. Rovio doesn’t specify which app stores Angry Birds 2 is coming to, but it’s safe to expect a fairly comprehensive, simultaneous launch across iOS, Android, Amazon and Windows app stores. While Angry Birds remains a ubiquitous name in mainstream mobile-gaming conversations, it now operates in a crowded marketplace filled with fresh experiences such as Monument Valley , Device 6, Minecraft, Crossy Road, Goat Simulator, Five Nights at Freddy’s and thousands more. Surely Rovio wants excitement for Angry Birds to remain high ahead of its theatrical debut in April, so expect more announcements from the company after the launch of this month’s full-fledged sequel. Filed under: Gaming , HD Comments Source: Rovio

Sony posts PS3 4.46 firmware update, instructions to fix consoles busted by 4.45

After the 4.45 firmware update knocked some PlayStation 3s out of commission last week, Sony has fulfilled its promise of a fixed version. 4.46 is now available to download, while a series of steps has been posted to the support site to walk users through updating any consoles that installed 4.45 and then failed to reboot . Additionally, for users that successfully installed 4.45 and later complained of NAT and “IP fragment issues,” a post on the support forum confirms that has been fixed as well. Owners of frozen consoles will need a USB memory stick with at least 168MB of space, although certain older models can also use SD, Memory Stick or Compact Flash cards. There’s still no word on exactly what went wrong, but for instructions on how to configure the flash storage and reboot into safe mode so you can start gaming again, just hit the source link below. Filed under: Gaming , HD , Sony Comments Via: @PlayStation (Twitter) Source: PlayStation Support

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Sony posts PS3 4.46 firmware update, instructions to fix consoles busted by 4.45

PlayStation 3 firmware update coming June 27th, promises to fix bricked systems

Are you one of the “small number” of folks with a PlayStation 3 that was bricked in this week’s 4.45 firmware update ? Though Sony’s been aware of the issue since the update launched, apparently a fix isn’t coming until June 27th — that’s nine days after 4.45 launched to an unsuspecting populace. The PlayStation Europe Twitter account announced as much this morning in a tweet. “We have identified the issue related to PS3 software update (4.45) that impacted a small number of PS3 systems earlier this week,” the feed reads. “A new system software update is planned to be released on June 27 that resolves that issue,” it adds. There’s also a bit of an apology, but that won’t do much for the folks who are without their PlayStation 3 for the next six days. PlayStation’s US arm also confirmed that the update will arrive in North America on the same date. Filed under: Gaming , Software , HD , Sony Comments Via: The Verge Source: Sony , @PlayStationEU

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PlayStation 3 firmware update coming June 27th, promises to fix bricked systems

Quantic Dream’s The Dark Sorcerer demo highlights PS4’s graphics power

Remember the Emotion Engine from back in the PS2 days? Well, Sony’s still on about the emotional connection its consoles will bring to gamers — specifically, that of the PS4 . And to showcase the console’s graphical sophistication, Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida played a 12-minute tech demo of Quantic Dream’s upcoming PS4 title, The Dark Sorcerer . The majority of the demo focused closely on the sorcerer in question, giving gamers an early glimpse of the nuance and hyper realistic expression capable in characters’ eyes and faces. Only a short snippet was shown on stage here at E3, but if you want to digest the entire thing, Sony’s planning to unveil the full 12-minute demo tomorrow afternoon. Gallery: Sony E3 2013: The Dark Sorcerer Filed under: Gaming , HD , Sony Comments

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Quantic Dream’s The Dark Sorcerer demo highlights PS4’s graphics power

Amazon introduces Storyteller tool to turn scripts into storyboards

Amazon Studios has been forging ahead with its push to develop original movies and TV series, and it has now introduced a new tool that it’s hoping will help foster further development. Dubbed Amazon Storyteller, the tool lets writers quickly turn their script into a storyboard without the need for any actual artistic skills. As Amazon explains it, the tool first scans the writer’s script and then “identifies the scenes, locations and characters from scene descriptions, and ‘casts’ them from a library of thousands of characters, props and backgrounds.” Writers and filmmakers can then choose to customize the storyboard or upload some of their own images if they like, before sharing it with others to solicit feedback (naturally, it’s only available if you submit your script to Amazon Studios). According to the company, the tool works best with contemporary dramas or romantic comedies given its current art assets, so you may still have your work cut out for you if you’re looking to storyboard your post-apocalyptic fantasy epic. Filed under: Internet , HD , Amazon Comments Source: Amazon Storyteller

Rock Band creators team up with Disney for next-gen in ‘Fantasia: Music Evolved,’ headed to Xbox One / 360 in 2014

The tattoo-laden, musically-inclined game developers behind Frequency , Amplitude , Guitar Hero , Rock Band and Dance Central are taking on Disney’s Fantasia , this morning announcing next-gen Kinect game Fantasia: Music Evolved . Like its last game franchise, Harmonix is keeping exclusive to Microsoft game consoles with Kinect — the game is planned for launch some time in 2014 on both Xbox One and Xbox 360. Fantasia: Music Evolved — which we’re assuming must feature Master Chief somewhere given the naming convention and Microsoft exclusivity — aims to turn gamers into aspiring orchestra conductors. Er … sort of . The game is played by using both your arms to synchronously gesture in a variety of directions, with two on-screen icons indicating how to place your arms and which direction you’ll be gesturing toward. Ostensibly, the game asks players to conduct various pop songs (Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Queens’ “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among others), occasionally punctuated with a push, depth-wise, for various auditory flairs (among other things). You are the sorcerer’s apprentice, conducting the heavens (as it were). Moreover, the songs get remixed as you go along, with players choosing one of four musical styles to introduce dynamically as the track continues to play in the background. If it sounds overwhelming, that’s because it is. Gallery: Fantasia: Music Evolved Filed under: Gaming , Software , HD , Microsoft Comments

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Rock Band creators team up with Disney for next-gen in ‘Fantasia: Music Evolved,’ headed to Xbox One / 360 in 2014

Sony’s Laser Light Source Projector with 3LCD to be available in August

It wasn’t too long ago that Sony kind of introduced us to its inaugural Laser Light Source Projector with 3LCD technology, but now it’s time for the company to let us know a little more about the device. For starters, Sony’s officially dubbing it VPL-FHZ55, and it’s also emphasizing that it’s indeed the world’s first laser projector to be powered by 3LCD imaging tech. Just as we’d heard back in January, the lamp-less VPL-FHZ55 can deliver 4,000 lumens of color light at a maximum resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, which Sony says should be more than enough steam to “deliver bright and vivid color reproduction.” The VPL-FHZ55 is expected to be available later this August, however there’s no word on how much you’ll have to spend to add one of these to your setup. But, while we wait for those details to come to light, perhaps you’d be interested in perusing the gallery below. Gallery: Sony VPL-FHZ55 Laser Light Source Projector Filed under: Misc , Home Entertainment , HD , Sony Comments Source: Sony

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Sony’s Laser Light Source Projector with 3LCD to be available in August

Microsoft announces Halo live-action TV series created by 343 Industries and Steven Spielberg

The Xbox One is a big deal for consoles, but Microsoft just made a massive content announcement at today’s reveal event — a live-action Halo TV series. As if the existence of such a television show weren’t enough, it turns out that 343 Industries is teaming up with renowned moviemaker Steven Spielberg to bring the world of Master Chief to life in serial form. Spielberg will be the executive producer and the show will provide “exclusive interactive Xbox One content,” whatever that means. Unfortunately, neither Microsoft nor Mr. Spielberg are telling when the show will actually be available for your eyeballs to view, but it is, most assuredly an actual thing . And just knowing that the follow-up to Halo: Forward Unto Dawn is coming is enough, right? Filed under: Gaming , HD , Microsoft Comments

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Microsoft announces Halo live-action TV series created by 343 Industries and Steven Spielberg

Netflix keeps its lead in streaming video use at home, YouTube rules the road

When we last checked in with Sandvine’s stat trackers, Netflix reigned supreme in online video traffic at home, especially downstream. It’s still sitting pretty several months later, Sandvine tells AllThingsD . Quite possibly helped by the House of Cards debut , Netflix kept a healthy lead at 32.3 percent of downstream use on wired networks this past March. That’s no mean feat when some of its competition took big strides forward — YouTube jumped up to 17.1 percent, and Hulu likely rode sweeps season to get 2.4 percent. In mobile, it’s a different story. Netflix use on cellular almost doubled to 4 percent, but YouTube kept an uncontested lead at 27.3 percent of downstream use. It’s not hard to see why after looking at other video formats people prefer on the road: raw HTTP video (19.2 percent) and Facebook (8.6 percent) were the next-closest, which suggests that many still grab snack-sized videos on their phones instead of full movies or TV shows. We don’t expect the status quo to budge much in the near future, whether it’s on mobile or a fixed-line. Without major initiatives from veterans or the arrival of a new upstart, it isn’t clear just what would rock the boat. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD , Google , Facebook Comments Via: AllThingsD Source: Sandvine

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Netflix keeps its lead in streaming video use at home, YouTube rules the road