Drink up me hearty pirate wallpapers!

Yo ho, yo ho… It’s a pirate’s life for me!

Pirate has been a loaded word for centuries, and now in the digital age, that name is even more loaded. In the old days, pirates actually had to go out and steal something physical, something tangible. Today, everyone’s been a pirate at one point or another — don’t tell me you haven’t! — and pirates are harder to spot because we can plunder digital goods from the privacy of our homes. Fear of pirates has kept services from Android for years, the thought of piracy drives companies to extremes and extreme annoyance for the customers as they have to navigate the chaos of DRM and other anti-piracy features.

But there’s still a romantic air to pirates. The hats, the swords, the freedom of the oceans… So raise a bottle of rum and break out the Jolly Roger!

ARRRRRRGH!

Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most iconic theme park rides on the planet, and that was before the films sharing the sanme name earned over a billion dollars. Of all the iconic scenes in this iconic ride, this is the one that is most recognizable. You see a dog with keys in its mouth, and you instantly think Pirates. This Disney Parks Blog wallpaper’s simplistic lines and broad palette put you and your phone back in those boats, ready to dive into the world of swashbuckling and scurvy scoundrels.

Pirates of the Caribbean Wallpaper

Treasure Planet is Disney’s forgotten pirate franchise. Tell the truth! You’ve forgotten about it, too! And I don’t know why — Treasure Planet was an out of this world adaptation of one of the world’s most memorable pirate novels, Treasure Island. Buried treasure, bloodthirsty alien pirates, the most adorable fluid-based sidekick until the Ocean in Moana… Treasure Planet was an interesting film with some gorgeous artwork, and this 4K wallpaper adapted from the official poster is just jaw-dropping.

Treasure Planet by jaksonstoker

When sailing the seas, your have the sun, the stars, and your trusty compass to guide you. To use a compass that doesn’t point north defies logic and sanity… but no one ever said Captain Jack Sparrow was sane. Sparrow’s compass doesn’t aim for the Northern Star, but rather for what the holder truly desires, which sounds great right up until what you want changes in the middle of the open ocean and gets you hopelessly lost.

Jack Sparrow’s Compass by ResenZhu

One Piece is more than an anime series that refuses to die. I’ve had friends and colleagues ask me if they should watch One Piece, and I ask them if they’ve got a free month to do that. One Piece is a hell of a ride, it’s not just a pirate show; it’s the pirate show. Between crazy high-seas adventures and ridiculous superpowers, One Piece has so many feels that you can’t help as they steal your heart… and no one can steal hearts and slice them into a million pieces faster than master swordsman Roronoa Zoro.

Roronoa Zoro Minimalist Wallpaper by Darkfate1720

“We wants the redhead! WE WANTS THE REDHEAD!” “Quiet, you swabs!!”

Of all the controversial scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean, the one that has managed to stay almost completely intact is the auction scene, which is home to my favorite character and line of the ride: the Redhead. The auction scene when you think about it is a pretty horrifying concept, and rather than quivering and cowering as so many of the other women in line do, the Redhead takes back a little control of her life by drawing the bidders’ attention with her bright colors and saucy show. This wallpaper is also available as a shirt, if you want to show you love for our awesome Redhead on your next trip to the parks! Now, say it with me:

WE WANTS THE REDHEAD! WE WANTS THE REDHEAD!!

We Wants The Redhead!

Deal: Score 10GB of Data with unlimited text and calling from $27 Per Month

Looking for a killer deal on a new cell phone plan for yourself? Don’t miss this awesome offer from Mint SIM!

In the recent years, we’ve seen a whole lot happen to cell phone plans. First unlimited data, then price hikes, then tiered data, cheaper plans, the return of unlimited data and so much more. Competition continues to grow in this field, and Mint SIM is getting in on the action with some extremely aggressive pricing for its plans. Mint SIM is an alternative carrier that offers you an extremely affordable way to have the data you need on your phone, and right now you can save an additional 20% off any 6- or 12-month plan using the coupon ACMINTSIM20.

Mint SIM utilizes T-Mobile’s growing 4G LTE network to ensure you have great coverage and fast speeds across most of the United States. The way it works is Mint SIM buys access to networks and packages and then is able to resell them to its customers for better rates than the major carriers are charging.

Save 20% with coupon ACMINTSIM20 Learn More

With Mint SIM you can port your existing number over, or start service with a new one if you wish. You can pay monthly, or buy in 3, 6, or 12-month bundles, which help you save even more.

The additional 20% off comes when you buy either 6 or 12-months, but the savings is pretty big. The Big Four carriers charge upwards of $90 a month to gain access to a reasonable amount of data, meaning you are paying nearly $1,100 a year for service. With Mint SIM you can get 10GB of data per month with unlimited talk and text for just $323 for the year.

You can’t afford to miss out on this deal Learn More

There are a ton of deals out there, but none of them are quite this good. You can use the unlocked phone of your choice with any of these plans, so pick one you like, order a new SIM card and give it a shot today!

10GB per month at $27 based on one year plan using coupon code. Does not include regulatory fees of $4.

Cloak & Dagger exploit: What you need to know

Should you be concerned about this new Android exploit called Cloak & Dagger? Here’s what you need to know!

A new Android exploit has been unveiled called Cloak & Dagger and, true to its name, it describes ways in which ill-intentioned apps can take advantage of two Android permissions to steal keystrokes and trick users into divulging personal information.

But is it dangerous? Let’s break it down quickly.

What is Cloak & Dagger?

Cloak & Dagger is the name for a combination of two exploitable Android permissions that, when used independently or separately through an ill-intentioned app, can have dire consequences.

It was published as a proof-of-concept by a four-person team at Georgia Institute of Technology and University of California, Santa Barbara.

It is not an active exploit, and to date there have been no known public uses of it.

How does it work?

According to the team, Cloak & Dagger takes advantage of two Android permissions — SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW (“draw on top”) and BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE (“a11y”) — that, when working together or separately, make it possible for an app to “listen in” and either steal text input such as passwords, two-factor authentication numbers, or personal data.

Cloak & Dagger is a new class of potential attacks affecting Android devices. These attacks allow a malicious app to completely control the UI feedback loop and take over the device — without giving the user a chance to notice the malicious activity. These attacks only require two permissions that, in case the app is installed from the Play Store, the user does not need to explicitly grant and for which she is not even notified. Our user study indicates that these attacks are practical.

The “draw on top” permission is known as the Android overlay feature and is used by many apps like Facebook Messenger and Samsung’s own Multi Window feature to enable “windows” that can be minimized and moved around on top of other apps.

How does the exploit work?

Because both the permissions are not part of Android’s explicit permission granting system that began in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, when a malicious app is downloaded, the app can automatically grant the “draw on top” permission.

Once that happens, the app, once opened, can create an overlay on top of a well-known app, like Facebook, to “phish” input like passwords. It can also overlay on top of the Android keyboard, picking up all inputted text.

The accessibility permission is a little bit harder to force a user to enable, but the team says that its proof of concept used the overlay permission to trick users into activating it. Once both are enabled, a “god mode” app can potentially steal data from any app used on the phone.

Everyone is affected

Cloak & Dagger affects all versions of Android, according to the team, including Android 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0, up to the latest release of Android 7.1.2.

Android 7.0 and above makes it a bit more difficult for some of the overlay exploits to work, but some ingenuity can still get around it.

Should you worry?

Right now, there are no known apps that take advantage of these permissions for malicious purposes, though now that they are public, that may change. The team published the research to force Google’s hand to improve the experience, since, unlike other Android vulnerabilities, these exploits take advantage of design flaws in the permissions themselves, not holes or bugs in the software.

What can you do to protect yourself?

This will not be a problem for you if you are careful with the apps you use.

Much is often made of Android’s security flaws, but Cloak & Dagger is not something you need to worry about as long as you’re careful about granting overlay permissions.

In order to mitigate the potential effects of Cloak & Dagger, it’s a good idea to review which apps can create overlays on top of your Android system. On most versions of Android, here’s how to do it:

Open Android Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Apps.
Tap on the Menu or Cog icon.
Find and tap on Special access. It’s usually under the “Advanced” heading.
Tap on Draw over other apps. These are the apps that can create overlays using the above permission.
Disable any apps you don’t recognize.

More: How to turn off screen overlay on the Galaxy S8

Don’t panic!

Seriously, this is not a big deal if you’re careful about the apps you download, especially since Google now scans 50 billion apps for malware every day using its Play Protect system.

Hopefully, Google will address this issue publicly or at least provide some clarification about what it intends to do with app overlays. Android O should eliminate this problem altogether by refactoring the overlay problem with a new API, but it’s unclear how or if Google plans to address the concern on earlier versions.

Magikarp Jump is a decidedly more casual Pokemon game, now available in Google Play

The Pokémon you want, but without leaving the house.

Maybe you’re tired of walking playing Pokémon Go but still need to get a Pokémon fix — well, why not give the new Magikarp Jump game a try? This casual Pokémon-themed game is far less involved than Go but still kicks in with the nostalgia we crave. Announced earlier this week with a limited release, Magikarp Jump is now available in the U.S. and most other countries.

Everything you need to know about Magikarp Jump is right in the title: the objective of the game is to train your Magikarp to jump higher than the other Magikarp. Yes, that’s rather simple and somewhat pathetic, but, y’know, so is Magikarp itself. You’ll train your Magikarp to gain jumping skills, feed it so it grows stronger, and then head into competition where you see just how high your Magikarp can jump.

There’s little more to try and sell someone on this: you’ll just need to download it and play. If you’re a Pokémon fan, you’re going to enjoy playing this casual title (it’s already picking up tons of five-star reviews). It’s free but has in-app ads by default, so expect to drop a little money to clean up the experience.

Pokémon Go

• Pokémon Go Game Guide!
• Pokémon Go Gen 2 FAQ
• Pokémon Go tips and tricks
• How to deal with GPS errors in-game
• How to play without killing your battery
• Join our Pokémon Go forums!

Reminder! Play the sci-fi game, complete the survey, and see how you compare to other developers!

The Developer Economics survey is the most entertaining global developer survey, providing the dev community with knowledge, insights, and fun!

We are excited to announce that the Developer Economics Q3 2017 survey, run by our friends at VisionMobile, is currently underway! This is the thirteenth developer survey, focusing on tools, training and career development. Every year, more than 40,000 developers around the world participate in the survey, so it is a chance to be part of something big and make your own contribution to the developer community.

The survey features questions on topics like development resources and where to find them, tutorials and courses, distribution channels, developer tools and SDKs, as well as languages, platforms, app categories, new technologies, and revenue models.

Developer feedback speaks for itself

Feedback from developers already taking the survey is more than positive. Have a look at what they have been sharing so far:

• “You somehow always make these surveys really interesting and entertaining”

• “I thought the theme was pretty interesting, I like the ability to opt into doing parts of the survey that interest me. Quite a large breadth of questions that I thought were well thought out and worth asking.”

• “Developer economics surveys are significantly better planned and implemented than most online surveys. I love the gamification :)”

What makes the Developer Economics survey so special?

It’s set in outer space

Interesting how everyone mentions the sci-fi theme, right? The survey is not just simply sci-fi themed but it also includes a sci-fi game designed to offer an extra fun factor. While taking it, your answers are gradually forming a profile, showing you what kind of character you’d be in a sci-fi developer universe. When you finish, you’ll get to read your full profile in your Developer Scorecard. What’s your character going to be? A cyborg trooper, a technomancer, a bounty hunter? Your profile will also include graphs showing how your responses compare to other developers’ answers in your country, so you’ll get a sense of how you compare to other devs.

So many tools so little time: find out about new ones!

While taking the survey you will be asked about a big range of tools platforms and technologies. You may be surprised to see that some of them are new to you!
And don’t forget that you will receive the Developer Economics Q3 2017 report (due August 2017) based on key survey findings.

If you really like it you can share your enthusiasm and win cash.

The process is very simple, once you complete the survey you will be asked to join the referral program. Sign-up and start promoting! It is very important to promote the referral exclusively to your fellow developers and not other acquaintances of yours. The top 50 win up to $700 in cash.

There are some mega prizes too.

Participants can win one of the many prizes available including an iPhone 7, a Pixel phone 32GB, an Oculus Rift, a Surface Pro 3, a 12-month Xbox Live Gold Membership, and more.

It’s fun – we promise!

There are jokes in this survey. Developer jokes. You know – the ones everybody else usually doesn’t get.

Take the survey

Andy Rubin expected to show off Essential’s first phone on May 30

A fresh player in the Android smartphone game.

Essential, the phone brand founded by Andy Rubin, is building up the hype to making an announcement next week. Essential has launched a new Twitter account and is teasing some sort of announcement for May 30

Almost ready to share with you what we’ve been up to. Please follow our new twitter handle @essential and stay updated…

— Andy Rubin (@Arubin) May 25, 2017

Hi, welcome to our Twitter page. We’re here to let you know something big is coming May 30th! Stay tuned…

— Essential (@essential) May 25, 2017

That conveniently overlaps with Andy Rubin’s appearance at Recode’s Code Conference, which starts on May 30. It’s expected we’ll get some sort of details on the device — and the company itself — and could even see the hardware.

Aside from a single teaser image showing a tiny corner of the phone, we don’t really have any details on what’s in store. We expect a futuristic phone that’s running Android and has some value-added features based on artificial intelligence, but then again, that’s sounding a lot like every other top-end phone launched in 2017.

We’ll have to wait a week and see how much Rubin has to show off.

BBC Store to close, get a refund for any digital TV shows you bought

The BBC is closing its online digital content store, BBC Store, on 1 November 2017, just two-years after its launch. It is also shutting the cloud content locker so those who bought shows through the service will no longer be able to access their paid-for shows.

It will, however, refund customers for any content bought since November 2015.

Customers will either get a full refund or vouchers for digital TV or film rentals and purchases on Amazon.co.uk. The vouchers will even be worth more than the total value of your original BBC Store purchases, should you choose that option. And they can be used on any Amazon content, not just BBC programming.

Speaking to Engadget, a BBC spokesman said that BBC content on streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Video, has negated customer interest in buying digital content outright: “Since the appetite for BBC shows on SVOD and other third party platforms is growing in the UK and abroad, it doesn’t make sense for us to invest further in BBC Store where demand has not been as strong as we’d hoped in a rapidly changing market,” he explained.

The BBC also recognises that the BBC Store was the only place to get digital copies of programming not available elsewhere. It will be looking to make archive content available in “new ways” though.

You’re more rational on a smartphone than on a PC

Could the device you’re using — smartphone versus PC — affect the moral decisions you make when using the device? A study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior suggests that it’s possible. The results reveal that people are more likely to make a rational decision when a dilemma is presented on a smartphone. PC users, on the other hand, rely more on intuitive emotional decision making.

The researchers hypothesized that smartphones focus user attention on a single task, while PCs allow for more outside information. To test this theory, they presented multiple dilemmas to a sample set of 1,010 people and judged how they reacted based on whether the participant was using a smartphone or a PC. The participants were assigned a device at random.

One example of the questions participants were asked is the classic “trolley problem”: A runaway trolley is headed towards five people tied up on a set of train tracks. You can do nothing, resulting in the deaths of five people, or push a man off a bridge, which will stop the trolley. The utilitarian, rational response is to kill one man to save five lives, which 33.5 percent of smartphone users chose, compared to 22.3 percent of PC users.

In another variation on this question, which involved pulling a lever that would divert the trolley from the five people but would result in the death of one person, the results were closer: 80.9 percent of smartphone users, compared to 76.9 percent of PC users, chose to divert the trolley. But in both cases, smartphone users picked the utilitarian response more often.

“What we found in our study is that when people used a smartphone to view classic moral problems, they were more likely to make more unemotional, rational decisions when presented with a highly emotional dilemma,” Dr. Albert Barque-Duran, the lead author of the study, told City, University of London. “This could be due to the increased time pressures often present with smartphones and also the increased psychological distance which can occur when we use such devices compared to PCs.”

As for why the researchers started this study, Dr. Barque-Duran noted, “Due to the fact that our social lives, work and even shopping takes place online, it is important to think about how the contexts where we typically face ethical decisions and are asked to engage in moral behaviour have changed, and the impact this could have on the hundreds of millions of people who use such devices daily.” It’s clear we need more research on how our devices affect our moral decision making because we’re using screens at an ever-increasing rate.

Via: Phys.org

Source: Computers in Human Behavior, City, University of London

B&O hides high-end speakers in hexagonal wall art

When buying a new piece of tech that’s going to live with you for years, your primary concern is balancing price, features and future-proofing. But some products don’t wave spec sheets around, instead focusing on design that complements minimalist spaces, or conceals its true function. Bang & Olufsen’s new BeoSound Shape modular speaker system falls firmly into that category, and would look more at home in a modern art gallery than a high-end Hi-Fi store.

B&O is exhibiting the BeoSound Shape as part of London’s Clerkenwell Design Week, and the accompanying presentation is slanted appropriately. I heard about how the mosaic speaker system is “domesticating technology” and how the peaked, many-faced design plays with light in the same way mountain ranges do at dusk. The tagline “good sound, good silence” came up at one point, but cut through the colorful, emotive pitch and you’re looking at a fairly elaborate bit of kit.

Not all tiles that make up the speaker installations are equal. The heart of every system is a hexagon B&O calls the “Core.” This is what drives the amps that, in turn, power the speakers. It supports several wireless streaming protocols including humble Bluetooth, as well as AirPlay and Chromecast, and plays nice with B&O’s other speakers for multi-room shenanigans. The Core is also responsible for tweaking the output of individual speakers, so no matter the eye-pleasing geometric arrangement, sound is spread across the canvas like musicians across a stage. This means vocals are prioritized in the center, with other pockets emphasizing specific ranges/instruments.

They aren’t dainty little modules, either, kicking out a wall of sound that can easily be overwhelming. But as there’s so much speaker footprint (at least with regard to the demo setup I heard), it excels in filling the room with a subtler background sound of ambiguous origin. The size of your wallet is almost the only factor limiting how expansive and elaborate you want your wall art to be. B&O offers plenty of tile textures and colors, every Core supports 11 amps, and every amp can drive four speakers. That means one system can comprise up to 44 speakers or 56 hexagons in total, not including acoustic dampener tiles: Inert modules you can use to flesh out designs.

Only the deepest of pockets could entertain such an audio display, though. Ahead of the BeoSound Shape’s August launch, B&O has released speculative pricing of $4,025/£3,400 for “a standard setup” that includes one Core, one amp, two speakers and two dampeners. Pricing aside, the tiles are pretty big — each roughly the size of a dinner plate — so finding the space to mount a multi-amp setup could be problematic.

Then again, if you’ve got the capital to dump $25,000 into speaker art, you probably also have a huge loft somewhere with high ceilings and so much wall space you don’t know what to do with it.

Binge-watching will be as easy as breathing

It’s never been a better time to be a media addict. We’re in the midst of a television renaissance, where writers are pushing the medium to new heights. It’s easier than ever to get access to foreign and independent films. And the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, as well as digital rentals, makes it a cinch to watch just about anything we’d like at a whim. If anything, one of the biggest issues with the media landscape today is that there’s simply too much to watch.

Just 10 years ago, though, things were much different. Netflix’s streaming video service was just getting started, with around 1,000 films at launch and a very limited amount of viewing time (the $18 plan got you 18 hours of video, at most). Consumers were trying to wrap their heads around HDTVs. And HD-DVDs were still fighting it out with Blu-ray discs. Given how quickly the media industry changed over the past decade, we’re expecting similar shifts in the decade ahead.

Streaming thrives

If there’s one certainty, it’s that streaming video isn’t going anywhere. When it comes to media formats, the more convenient one always ends up winning over consumers. That was true for VHS (compared to better quality, but more expensive, technology like Laserdisc and Betamax) and compressed audio files (MP3 and AAC, which killed off CDs), and it’s already the case for streaming video, which has led to a major decline in Blu-ray and DVD sales.

Naturally, streaming video quality will get better over time. You can already get great looking 4K/HDR (high dynamic range) content from Netflix, Amazon and Vudu today, but it’ll get even better as compression and internet speeds improve. The real turning point will be when streaming can deliver picture quality that looks as good as a 4K Blu-ray. Many consumers might already be hard-pressed to tell the difference, but it’s not tough for A/V experts to detect the telltale signs of lower bit rates.

A decade from now, streaming video will be even more seamless than it is today. Loading times will practically be nonexistent, buffering will be a thing of the past (you’ll be able to preload several hours of video in seconds), and there will be even more ways to access your streaming libraries. Both Netflix and Amazon already offer offline viewing, and that feature will only become more widespread as storage capacities and download speeds improve. Honestly, the idea of being “offline” might even be extinct in 10 years, except for the most extreme circumstances.

At this point, streaming video has conquered TVs, PCs, phones and tablets. That’s largely due to how simple it is. You don’t have to worry about carrying a disc around and switching between devices. As long you’ve got internet access, you just have to load up your streaming service of choice and hit play. Moving forward, we’ll likely see a bigger push toward bringing video to screens all over your home, car and office. That could be through displays integrated into new types of devices, like Amazon’s recently announced Echo Show, as well as things like your bathroom mirror.

LG and Samsung have been trying to stuff screens into refrigerators for years. The screens haven’t caught on yet, mostly because they didn’t do much. The prospect of watching video in your kitchen, and integrating digital assistants like Alexa (which LG is doing), could make smart refrigerators much more appealing.

The influx of connected cameras, speakers and other devices could also improve the way we watch things at home. With most streaming services today, you can easily pick up where you’ve left off watching a video across many devices. As our homes get smarter, it’s not hard to imagine a video “following” you throughout your home, across different screens and rooms, without any effort on your part. You could, for example, easily move from binging on your favorite show on the couch, to streaming it on a display in your kitchen as you make dinner. It might sound like a Big Brother nightmare, but it’s also the sort of thing consumers would lap up if it makes their lives easier.

Screens everywhere

We might eventually have to rethink the notion of a “screen” altogether. It won’t be long before any blank surface could become some sort of display. You can do that today with pico projectors, which are bright and portable enough for casual viewing. Eventually, they could be integrated into homes to throw images onto your bedroom or living room wall, working in tandem with connected speakers. And we’re already seeing plenty of innovation with short-throw technology from the likes of Sony, projectors that can be placed right against walls to throw up a huge, bright image.

As someone who’s already been bitten by the projector bug, the idea of bringing screens all over my home is much more enticing than bigger TV sets. Not only do you get large images, you also don’t have to worry about physically installing a screen. That’s something even LG’s glorious wallpaper OLED TV can’t offer. Standalone TVs won’t disappear a decade from now, but they’ll probably look much more different than you’re used to. The move towards OLED has already led to insanely thin sets from LG, and unique designs like Sony’s latest, which uses the screen as a speaker. Being thin and light will likely be the main focus for most OLED sets going forward, but I wouldn’t rule out further advancements from traditional LCDs. Samsung and Vizio have done wonders with their newest LCD TVs, which edge closer to the quality of OLED for far less.

Although cinephiles might object to it, you can also expect more people to rely on their phones for watching video. “Convenience is going to trump quality every time,” John LePore, creative director of the visual effects firm Perception, said in an interview with Engadget. “There’s a degree to which I subscribe to David Lynch’s rant against watching something on your phone phone [see above clip]. At the same time, my phone has a beautiful display, and watching something with headphones on might get me a better audio experience than my noisy home.”

Indeed, future generations of phones and tablets will probably make them even better suited for binge-watching. There’s also a chance that mobile VR will reach a point where you’d actually want to slip on a headset for hours just to watch video. Mobile VR headsets are already lighter and more portable than their desktop siblings, but we’re still waiting on battery and display improvements to make them truly compelling. Eventually, they could deliver an experience that’s akin to sitting in the middle of your favorite theater.

There’s also plenty of promise in virtual retinal display technology, which beams images right onto your eyes. We first saw it in action with the Avegant Glyph, a pair of headphones that also doubles as a personal cinema. It managed to recreate the experience of watching a big screen TV from far away. And though it wasn’t perfect, it was a surprisingly effective first stab at using the tech. Virtual retinal display technology has been around for years, but now it finally seems be ready for consumers. I’d wager that cinephiles wouldn’t mind spending a bit extra for the privilege of watching films on a “big screen” just about anywhere.

On the augmented reality (AR) front, there’s light-field technology, which can project virtual images that you can focus on just like real-world objects. It most recently appeared in Avegant’s new prototype headset, and it’s landed Magic Leap plenty of hype and funding. The big advantage with light-field tech: It doesn’t completely block your vision. It’s the sort of thing that could eventually be integrated right into glasses and goggles. It’s the key to making AR more than just a tech demo or gimmick.

A CES attendee inspects Sharp’s 8K TV set.

JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images

The 8K dilemma

And what of 8K? While it’s the logical upgrade from 4K video, with quadruple the amount of pixels (7,680 by 4,320, compared to 4K’s 3,840 by 2,160) it might not find much of a place in homes. “To me, 8K might as well be ‘Smellovision,’” LePore said. “It’s not going to be something people can appreciate.”

For most consumers, it’s already difficult to see a huge difference between 1080p and 4K displays under 50 inches. Most advantages with 4K sets come from upgrades beyond the mere resolution bump, like better panel quality and HDR’s massive color and brightness improvements. You’d need a cinema-sized screen to really perceive the resolution difference between 4K and 8K video. (Most digital projectors in theaters today spit out 4K.)

NHK is testing out 8K satellite broadcasts in Japan, but it’s going to be a while before any others follow suit. It wouldn’t make much sense to stream massive 8K files, which can reach upwards of 200GB today. Of course, network speeds and compression will inevitably get better, but there’s a point where simply throwing more pixels on a screen doesn’t actually improve anything.

Although 4K Blu-ray will likely go down as the last consumer-facing physical format, there’s a chance that 8K could find its way to extreme A/V enthusiasts through another disc technology. Just be prepared for it to be very expensive and somewhat inaccessible — think of it like an extreme version of Laser Disc. I’m the sort of home theater geek who doesn’t mind investing in a doomed format like 4K Blu-ray, but even I see the writing on the wall.

The theatrical experience

With so many things to watch, and so many places to watch them, it’s no surprise that movie theaters have it rough. They won’t disappear a decade from now, but those that remain will look much different. We’re already seeing some evidence of change today, with things like reserved seating, reclining chairs and in-theater dining becoming more widespread. And we’re also seeing disastrous attempts at making the cinema experience more “extreme” like 4DX.

If we’re going to see 8K video anywhere, it’s going to be in theaters. You can also expect things like HDR and laser projection to become standard. Hopefully that’ll mean the end of dim screens, something that still plagues theaters today (and 3D glasses only make things worse).

Even as consumers invest in bigger screens at home, theaters still deliver a grander cinematic experience. The best upgrades typically involve making the cinema feel more like your perfect living room, such as with those aforementioned comfy chairs. But I wouldn’t be surprised if theater chains also catered more to specific audiences.

Cinepolis, for example, already has a few screens with playgrounds, where parents can let their kids let loose before the movie and during a short intermission sequence. We might even see the dreaded idea of a theater where you can use computers and phones. That’s not my cup of tea, but it’s a reality I could live with if it meant keeping a local theater in business.

“More” is the future of media

Ultimately, the media landscape a decade from now will look similar to what we have today — except it’ll reach new heights thanks to more content, more screens and more ways to enjoy it all. You’ll be able to catch up on shows as easily during your commute as you can anywhere in your home. It’ll be a utopia for TV and movie addicts. But if you’re the sort of person who already has trouble keeping up with the vast amount of video out there, it might look more like a dystopia.

[Photo credits: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images]

Welcome to Tomorrow, Engadget’s new home for stuff that hasn’t happened yet. You can read more about the future of, well, everything, at Tomorrow’s permanent home and check out all of our launch week stories here.