Philips AmbiLux PUS8901 review: Projector-laden 4K TV is mad, but brilliant
When we first clapped eyes on Philips AmbiLux, back in 2014, we thought the engineers responsible had lost the plot. Sure, we’ve always had a soft spot for Philips Ambilight, the LED edging that casts puddles of coloured light onto surrounding walls, but AmbiLux goes several steps beyond by using a full-blown projection system.
AmbiLux is currently only available in 65PUS890 form, as a 65-inch 4K UHD TV, but it’s not unreasonable to assume a wider number of screen sizes will offer the technology before the year is out. Big scale or not, however, what we first considered a crackers idea transpires to be rather beautiful. And rather expensive.
Philips 65PUS8901 AmbiLux 4K UHD TV review: Slim-line design
It may come with a backpack of projectors, but the 65PUS890 is fashionably thin. There’s an ultra-slim black bezel with a chromed trim wraparound, while the back panel is stylishly white. The set stands on arty “Bladewire” feet which are not adjustable, so plan your TV furniture accordingly.
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Connections are generous. There are four HDMI inputs, all of which test positive for HDCP 2.2 compliancy – which means you can use them with external 4K sources, such as UHD Blu-ray, the Amazon Fire TV box and Sky Q (when its 4K services launch). There’s also a SCART, component with stereo phono inputs, an optical digital audio output, Ethernet and three USB ports. Tuners include Freeview terrestrial and generic HD satellite.
The screen is Bluetooth equipped, for the remote control, and supports dual-band Wi-Fi. The zapper is a weighty affair, with a slightly hit-and-miss touchpad and a keyboard on the reverse. There’s a dedicated Netflix button (of course) and integrated microphone for Google Search.
The 65PUS8901 is not just a smart looker though. The connected platform of choice here is stock Android, bolstered by a Philips curated content shelf, offering BBC iPlayer and recommendations from Netflix and other services. Sony, the other big TV brand to back Android, helpfully has a YouView overlay with access to all main channel catch-up services, but there’s nothing “on top” for the Philips: you’ll have to make do with YouTube, Dailymotion, Deezer and BBC News & Sports apps instead, plus whatever’s left in the Opera store.
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The set’s media file playback functionality is good. We were able to play most files on a networked QNAP server running Twonky, including AVI, WMV, MKV, MOV, MP4, plus MP3, WMA and FLAC audio.
Philips AmbiLux 65PUS8901 4K TV review: Project the light fantastic
The AmbiLux system uses nine Pico projectors arranged in a half-circle on the 65PUS8901’s back panel. When setting-up the screen you’ll need to ensure the screen is exactly 9cm from a wall. Any more and the projected light show is spoiled by the shadow of the hub.
There are multiple light modes, which can follow video or sound. You can have the TV extend the live video image (albeit in deliberate fuzzy vision) across the entire width of your wall (Extreme, stretching some 3m), or filter it with Dome, Standard, Cube, Tunnel or Relax treatments, all of which are variations on a theme. The sheer vibrancy of the AmbiLux light show is often thrilling. Hues are vivid and the effect dramatic. In Extreme mode you can just about make out the live video being mirrored on the wall.
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Alternatively, there are seven audio “moods” which pump and pulsate to the beat of any music, making them a good choice for live concerts or tracks being played by the screen’s media player.
But the AmbiLux treatment doesn’t work for everything of course: it’s essentially an over-the-top light show, so moody movies hardly benefit. Games might seem a natural bed fellow, but again content needs to be appropriate – we found AmbiLux an unwanted distraction with first-person shooters that require considerable concentration (as if Overwatch isn’t manic enough), but more casual games like Home Grown look just fabulous, with great swathes of colour enhancing the ambiance.
While there is no classic Ambilight mode on the AmbiLux, you can bathe walls in a static colour: Hot Lava (red), Deep Water (blue) Fresh Nature (green), Warm (yellow-ish) White and Cool White being the options. While there is some compensation offered for different coloured walls, plain white is always going to work best.
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Like other Ambilight TVs, the AmbiLux set can also be integrated into a Philips Hue lighting ecosystem.
Philips AmbiLux projector TV review: Picture performance
Visually, the 65PUS8901 is something of a mid-ranger, but that sounds more disparaging than intended. At 65-inches it’s a great size to appreciate the pixel density of 4K – Ultra-HD means there’s no visible grid structure, so even upscaled HD looks cinematically smooth.
The fine detail available from native 4K content is wonderful. The grit on Matt Damon’s space suit in The Martian (via 4K Blu-ray, no less) looks utterly believable. Similarly, period drama Marco Polo (available via Netflix 4K) has almost three-dimensional depth (there’s no actual 3D support here, the TV is 2D only).
Remember though, when using the set with an external 4K source, you’ll need to manually enable the HDMI inputs, either for 4:2:0 colour subampling or upsampled 4:4:4.
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In Standard mode, there’s genuine shine to its images. There’s the usual wide selection of image presets too: Personal, Vivid, Natural, Standard, Movie, Photo, plus ISF calibrated Day and Night modes. The screen has vibrancy to spare throughout, and the fine detail and nuance in its images is a real treat.
The set currently does not support HDR (High Dynamic Range) content, but a firmware update is promised to fix that at some point. We think the screen should lend itself to effective HDR, as it’s above average in terms of brightness, plus that background projection will further enhance the screen’s apparent white levels, we suspect. The viewing reality of HDR is surprisingly close to the often derided Vivid mode, and here that preset is enjoyably garish. By way of contrast, the Movie mode is old school dull.
The implementation of Philips’ Perfect Natural Motion video processor here has only limited value. While it combats horizontal panning judder, it adds unwanted motion artefacts. Some might like the icy smooth sheen it brings, but for movies we preferred it switched off. The consequence of that though is the loss of motion resolution.
If the panel does have an obvious limitation then it’s black depth. Not only does it not go deep dark, there’s a limit to shadow detail revealed by Philips’ Micro Dimming Pro backlight system. In the opening sequence of Star Wars The Force Awakens, where Poe Dameron sits around the fire, his shadowed jacket looks oddly hollow. Conversely, the laser-toting stormtroopers are dope.
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Off-angle viewing is also limited. Sit left or right of the screen and you’ll notice a dramatic drop off in contrast and colour.
Audio has always been a strong point of Philips TV design, even during the flatscreen era, and with AmbiLux the set sounds perfectly acceptable for everyday viewing. Rated at 30W all up, there’s more than enough volume on tap to make Game of Thrones sound epic, so no need to rush out for a soundbar.
Verdict
Overall, there’s much to like about AmbiLux. From a hardcore AV point of view, there are better ways to spend £4,000 if you want a leading 4K UHD TV, but that’s not exactly the point here. This TV is a lifestyle proposition; a showman and focus point in the home.
TV-meets-extreme-lighting sounds as though it makes little logical sense as a design concept, but the AmbiLux viewing experience is defiantly enjoyable. It isn’t suitable for everything, of course, and the installation requirements are demanding, not least the need for a clear wall that allows the Pico projectors to strut their stuff.
In a world of cookie-cutter televisions, the Philips AmbiLux PUS8901 stands-out as something genuinely different and exciting. If you’ve got the cash and the space, anyway.
Suunto Spartan Ultra multisport GPS watch dares you to find a sport it can’t track
Suunto has updated its multisport watch line with a new do-it-all device that promises to track everything you’re doing. The Suunto Spartan Ultra epitomises everything the Finnish company stands for.
Suunto, meaning “bearing, heading or direction” has been all about precision tracking for years – a company that started in 1936. The latest Suunto Spartan Ultra wants to use that GPS expertise but also combine daily tracking and community smarts to offer more.
The Spartan Ultra can withstand water submersion to 100 metres, making it dive friendly. It’s tough too thanks to a glass fibre reinforced polymide casing, a sapphire glass colour display and grade 5 titanium or stainless steel bezel options.
When it comes to tracking, the Spartan Ultra is equipped with GPS, barometric altitude sensors, a digital compass, FusedAlti, FusedSpeed, accelerometer and optional heart rate monitor. That means it can track triathlon, swimming, cycling, running, adventure racing, snow sports and more. These break down into various modes for race day or training – so for a runner you could pick basic mode, interval mode, trail running mode and more.
All that tracking also means visual feedback on metrics like training load, recovery status and even daily step and calorie counting.
Everything works on the watch and, for a more detailed view, in the Suunto Movescout app right there on a connected smartphone. This offers a new heatmap mode which shows where training of others has happened – allowing you to find new routes to train for specific needs.
The Suunto Spartan Ultra will come in four styles: Suunto Spartan Ultra All Black Titanium, Suunto Spartan Ultra Stealth Titanium, Suunto Spartan Ultra White and Suunto Spartan Ultra Black. The Titanium will be £585 while the standard Ultra will be £545. If you want a heart rate sensor with either, that’s an extra £40.
The watches will be available in August but more details will be announced in July, including battery life which currently is simply being called “competitive”.
READ: Garmin Fenix 3: Adventure ready for any sport
New algorithm may lead to a picture of an actual black hole
MIT grad student Katie Bouman and her team have developed an algorithm that could finally show us a photo of an actual black hole. See, all the black hole “photos” you’ve seen thus far, including the one above, are merely artist interpretations depicting what we think they look like. In order to capture, say, a picture of the supermassive black hole in the center of our own galaxy, we’ll need an enormous telescope with a diameter almost as big as our planet. Since it’s impossible to build something that massive, Bouman’s algorithm called Continuous High-resolution Image Reconstruction using Patch priors or CHIRP stitches data gathered by the Event Horizon Telescope array.
The EHT array is made up of several radio telescopes from around the world that can penetrate through galactic dust. Astronomers treat them collectively as one large, Earth-sized telescope by combining the data they gather. Problem is, the telescopes don’t receive data at the same time due to all the dust and dirt in outer space.
CHIRP can filter out all this atmospheric noise and fill out any missing data to create an image clearer than other algorithms can make. One of the study’s authors, Michael Johnson, told PopSci that scientists might ultimately “be able to make movies of materials being eaten by a black hole” using the algorithm. For now, we’d settle for an actual picture of the phenomenon and see how close Interstellar’s black hole is to the real thing.
Source: MIT, VLBI Reconstruction Dataset
Comcast brings its gigabit internet service to Nashville
Comcast announced that it’s beginning an “advanced consumer trial” of gigabit service in Nashville. It’s the second area to roll out the DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem powered speeds after Atlanta, and it doesn’t look like the policies have changed. Customers living in areas where it’s available can get the 1Gb down / 35Mb up speeds for $70 with no bandwidth cap… if they’re willing to agree to a 36 month service contract. Otherwise, a 1TB capped offering is available with no contract for $140 per month. As DSL Reports points out, the contract offering should keep customers tied up until whenever Google Fiber properly rolls out… almost as if it were planned that way.
Source: Comcast (Businesswire), Xfinity Gig & Multi-Gig Availability
Some big websites might require you to change passwords
If you receive an email from Netflix or Facebook asking you to change your password because it matches a credential from an older security breach, you may want to heed its advice. Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs says some big companies, including the streaming service and the social network, tend to go through data from other websites’ security breaches to look for log-ins that match their users’. They then force those users to change the passwords they reused to keep them safe. If you’ll recall, hackers recently sold the millions of log-in combinations they stole from LinkedIn, Tumblr and MySpace a few years ago.
According to Krebs, Netflix has already begun sending out password resets after scouring the log-in credentials leaked online. The company apparently uses a tool it released in 2014 to comb through leaked log-ins — so, yes, the email is legit and not an attempt to phish for your details. Of course, the best way to ensure you’re safe is to use a unique password for every online account and to delete anything you don’t use anymore.
Source: KrebsOnSecurity
Google Contacts lists verified Maps info for businesses
Google has updated its Contacts web app to become much more useful, especially to people visiting new places. So long as you save a business’ official phone number that matches its info on Google Maps, its Contacts card will automatically show its Maps-verified name, official address, website URL and operational hours. 9to5google spotted the new feature and also noted that the card comes with a shortcut that links to the business’ Maps listing, as well.
Google launched the preview version of the redesigned Contacts web application over a year ago to pool “together all… the people you talk to most in Gmail.” It has remained largely the same ever since. According to 9to5google, all users will get Maps integration within the next three days. We don’t have access to it yet, but the publication has posted this example:
[Image credit: 9to5google]
Source: 9to5google
Apple Patents Water-Resistant Speaker Port and Bone Conduction Earbuds
Apple was granted patents today that include a concept for water-resistant iPhone speakers and a bone conduction technology that could bring advanced noise cancellation to future earbuds (via AppleInsider).
The first application granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is titled “Liquid resistant acoustic device” and details a protected acoustic port that uses a special mesh “umbrella” inserted between apertures in a device’s housing, similar to the design of the mesh-covered loudspeaker found in current iPhones.
If liquid enters through the housing apertures it immediately comes into contact with the umbrella and is directed away from the internals, although in some versions a small amount of liquid is allowed to pass through if the handset is under significant pressure, to avoid structural damage.
Apple’s invention also includes a second line of liquid defense, in the form of a “hydrophobic” coating applied to the outer surface of the iPhone housing and mesh umbrella, while a “hydrophilic” coating applied to the inside of the mesh works to draw liquid out.
As with all patents, whether or not Apple decides to use the invention in any future product remains unclear, although AppleInsider notes that a similar port design can already be found on the current Apple Watch.
Several rumors claim that the upcoming iPhone 7 could be properly waterproof, but it’s not obvious that the invention described above would meet the requirements of such a specification.
Another Apple patent was awarded today, called “System and method of mixing accelerometer and microphone signals to improve voice quality in a mobile device”. This one describes a headset that uses bone conduction technology to effectively filter out ambient noise.
The invention works by using accelerometers that detect vocal chord vibrations which reverberate through the user’s skull. Coupled with an onboard microphone, the system is able to measure output signals and effectively parse out ambient noise vibrations.
Output from both systems are processed through a noise cancellation unit which then outputs a clean signal for transmission.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Lumsing 8000mAh ultrathin power bank: Reliable, right-sized and perfectly priced at $10 (review)
No matter how hard we beg manufacturers for better battery life, they don’t want to listen. Granted they’re also listening to us ask for faster speed, higher resolution displays, better cameras, more powerful software, and more, which means they need to find a balance as to what “most” customers will be happy with.
You could be a power user, or you could have poor reception which makes your phone work harder thus draining your battery. Luckily, for those of us who need more power we have portable power banks.
Today’s review is about the Lumsing 8000mAh ultrathin power bank.
Design and Usage
Lumsing is a company that focuses on keeping things simple. Technology is complicated and requires an immense amount of effort to keep up with all of the changes. I work a M-F, 8-5pm job and write about tech for fun. As much as I love technology, I actually dislike tech that brings about more complication and appreciate Lumsing for taking a stance on simplicity.
The approach that Lumsing takes with simplicity is very apparent in the 8000mAh ultrathin power bank. It’s so simple that it doesn’t even have a name.
Yet it is designed to give you what you need most, the right amount of power while staying extremely thin for pocketability. 8000mAh is enough power to get two full charges for my Samsung Galaxy S7 edge which has a 3600mAh internal battery. The iPhone 6 has an 1810mAh internal battery, which means the Lumsing power bank can easily provide four full recharge cycles.
What’s nice is that 8000mAh could be squeezed into a very small package. The casing is made from one piece of metal, and as you can see in the images above that mine is a bright blue. The bright color makes it much easier to spot in my laptop bag, and it stands out amongst all of the portable gadgets I have in my office.
–Capacity: 8000mAh
–Input: Micro USB 5V / 1.5A
–Output: USB 5V / 2.1A
–Dimensions: 5.08×2.83×0.3 inches
–Weight: 5.96 oz
It can output power at 2.1amps, which is fast for iPhone users, but not quite fast enough to qualify for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge. On the front of the battery pack is where you will find a small flashlight that is activated by double tapping the power button. You will also find the battery indicator, output USB port, and microUSB input.
The Lumsing 8000mAh ultrathin power bank is easy to use. All you have to do is plug in the supplied coiled cable into the battery, then plug the other end into your smartphone, tablet, wireless headphones or speaker and let it recharge your device.
I like this battery because it is extremely reliable where it consistently gets me two full recharges on my S7 edge. The best part though, is its fantastic price point at just $9.99 with free shipping included.
Conclusion
Lumsing prides itself on keeping technology free from complications. It does that with the 8000mAh ultrathin power bank that I have been using. Lumsing also made the battery extremely affordable at just $9.99. With enough power to get at least two full charges on my S7 edge, $9.99 is quite justifiable on this purchase.
I highly recommend this battery based on its price, form factor, and reliability. They’re great to have if you ever experience power outages, or just need more power when you’re on the go. I leave one in my glove box, and one in my emergency kit as Lumsing batteries hold their charge quite well.
Get the Lumsing 8000mAh ultrathin power bank at Amazon or at Lumsing for just $9.99.
The Blitzwolf Bluetooth Selfie Stick is the only selfie stick you need…unless you have a Nexus
Whether you love them or hate them, it looks like selfie sticks are here to stay. At least, for the time being. We have seen these arm extenders all over the world and even in amusement parks and museums. If you aren’t totally sold on jumping onto the selfie stick wagon, let me introduce you to the Blitzwolf selfie stick, and maybe you will change your mind.
Design
The Blitzwolf selfie stick has a fairly unassuming plastic and metal build, which also leads to a lightweight stick that is easy to hold. The compact length comes in at just under 9 inches, but fully extended, this selfie stick measures almost 3 feet. That is plenty of length for you to get all of your friends into frame. The plastic handle has a slightly matte finish which provides a nice grip so the stick won’t be slipping out of your hands while to try to capture the moment.
The body of the selfie stick is made of locking metal tubes that allow the selfie stick to extend and compress by simply twisting and pulling the end. The phone mount at the top of the stick can stretch to accommodate both large and small devices. I didn’t even have trouble getting my huge Nexus 6 fitted securely. The mount can also be rotated 180 degrees to fine tune your composition, and there is a thumb screw to lock the mount in place once you find the right angle.
Features
On the handle of the selfie stick, you will find far more than just a shutter button. Since the selfie stick connects to your phone via Bluetooth, there is an On/Off switch on the right side for power along with a microUSB port for charging the stick. On top of the handle, there is a button for switching between front and back cameras, buttons for zooming the camera in and out, and a shutter button for snapping the final picture. All of the buttons are laid out so they can easily be reached when using the selfie stick with just one hand.
Usage
Setting up and using the Blitzwolf selfie stick is simple and straightforward. After turning on the selfie stick, you need to find and connect to it through the Bluetooth menu on your phone. I liked the fact that I did not have to connect any wires to my phone since everything was controlled over Bluetooth. Also, extending the selfie stick is quick and easy, which makes setting up for the photo much quicker.
In order to take full control of the selfie stick, you will need to download the Blitzwolf Shutter app. Here is where I found the biggest flaw with the selfie stick. When using the Blitzwolf app on my Nexus 6, my front facing camera always appeared upside down. Interestingly, the back camera was not upside down. Having the image flipped on your phone makes centering yourself or the subject in the frame much harder than you’d think.
After looking at reviews for the app, it appears that this is a common problem among Nexus devices. Thankfully, this should be fixable with an update to the app and hopefully Blitzwolf will update it soon. If you are not using a Nexus device, you should experience no trouble using the Blitzwolf this selfie stick.
Upside down picture aside, the app is fairly minimal with a zoom indicator and option to preview photos. There is also a Record button, Flash toggle, and Setting menu with a few more options. The app responds fairly quickly to each button press on the selfie stick, which is important for capturing those last second selfies. One thing that I would like to see is the ability to launch the app by simply pressing the shutter button.
If you want to use this selfie stick with a Nexus device, you can still use it to take pictures through the normal camera app; however, you will not be able to use the camera switching or zoom functions as the zoom buttons are actually what take pictures in the stock camera app. That being said, I would recommend another selfie stick for all of you Nexus users.
Conclusion
As long as you do not have a Nexus device, I would definitely recommend the Blitzwolf Bluetooth selfie stick if you have not yet gotten into the selfie craze. The build is sturdy and the zoom and camera switch features are great additions to have. Its compact size, lightweight construction, and quick deployment mean that you can take it pretty much anywhere and have it ready in a moment’s notice. Get yourself a Blitzwolf Bluetooth selfie stick for only $17 here!
Volition’s newest project is ‘Agents of Mayhem’
The Saints Row series has always been appropriately wacky and out there thanks to developer Volition, but shortly after Saints Row IV released, the company went a bit quiet. It’s back now with a brand new game with a whole new attitude. It’s called Agents of Mayhem, and it’s an open-world adventure set within the Saints Row universe.
Revealed earlier today via IGN, Agents of Mayhem finds players taking up the mantle of three agents as part of team M.A.Y.H.E.M. (the Multinational Agency for Hunting Evil Masterminds) as they look to squash supervillain organization L.E.G.I.O.N. (the League of Gentlemen Intent on Obliterating Nations).
Across several locales in Seoul, South Korea, both teams will clash, armed with superpowered abilities. There are 12 unique agents to choose from as you work to take down the “diabolical lieutenants” of L.E.G.I.O.N.
As the lengthy reveal trailer demonstrates, it’s very much a game with the trademark silliness and humor of past Volition titles, along with a healthy dose of familiar Saints Row fun. Currently, the game is set for a 2017 release for PC, with additional information eking out over the next week via E3 2016. It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride for sure.
Source: IGN
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