With the Consumer Electronic Show being bigger then ever this year there is no question that certain industries are some of the highest performers during the event. Audio is nearly at the top as companies sport their newest audio systems and speakers. We got a chance to check out a few at CES 17 and here are some that stood out.
Home Theater Audio
SVS is an Up-and-comer of the audio speaker world and they’re showing big promise with newer tech and performance without the highest price tag. They showed off their bad boy subwoofer the PB16-Ultra which has a 16″ driver and 1,500 watts RMS (5,000+ watts peak). Our favorite was the ability to control all settings through their app for it and it was packing quite a punch.
Onkyo was showing off what their latest soundbar can do. Featuring Dolby Atmos and DTS:X the SBT-A500 sound bar has 6 drivers in the front and two overhead drivers on top, comes with a subwoofer and its own receiver as well. The receiver can be synced with bluetooth, has a number of functions like streaming music apps and 4k support. While it is up in the air if you are receiving immersive sound from upward firing sound this soundbar definitely seemed to have been doing the trick.
If you’re looking for just the right punch for your existing home theater setup it may be worth checking out AudioControl. Their audio experts put passion in everything they do including their receivers. The Concert AVR-9 comes Dolby Atmos and DTS:X ready and seemed to have great sound with the current setup. They also have all kinds of bells and whistles which we’re go over at a later time.
LG is entering the game of immersive audio with their latest soundbar the LG SJ9. This is said to be a 5.1.2 soundbar and comes with a wireless subwoofer. It has a very sleek design with a number of functions but can be connected within the soundbar itself. I got the chance to hear this in an inclosed room which gave an immersive sound of Dolby Atmos but would love further testing to see in different environments.
There was clearly much more going on at CES but this was just a snippet of some of the best I’ve experienced. Stay tuned as I’ll be giving more round ups of the best the show had to offer.
Gaming definitely has its place in CES and some of the gaming headphones coming out this year are aggressively competing for the space in your living room. We got a chance to check out a few at CES 17 and here are some that stood out.
Gaming Headphones
Lucid Sound hasn’t even been around for a year but is making big moves with their veteran team. I got to check out a bit of the LS30 and LS40‘s and came out impressed. The LS40‘s sport DTS:X and both have 50mm drivers, they have a lifestyle audio mentality and stress it’s not only for gamers. We’ll be giving a full review on some of their headphones soon!
PDP showed off a number of headphones and accessories but more notably was the Legendary Collection Sound of Justice headphones. These headphones boast a powerful 50mm driver and noise and echo canceling technology. Reasonable price point and out now if you’re looking to step up your game.
Plantronics is no rookie to the game and they know headphones. There standout for gaming is definitely the RIG 800HS for PS4 giving you 24hours of continues playtime wirelessly these will keep you gaming and less time worrying what battery life you’re on. Plantronics also mentioned that the Xbox One flavor of these headphones will be coming out soon!
Mad Catz / Tritton displayed their upcoming flagship gaming headphones the Tritton ARK 300 Wireless 7.1 Headset. This has DTS:X equipped, great separation of and will be released in an Xbox One version and PS4 version later this year.
HyperX entered the market not to long ago and they are a serious competitor at the gaming space. Their hit the Cloud Revolver is now getting a refresh with their Cloud Revolver S. The Revolver S offers plug-and-play Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound with a new USB dongle delivering immersice audio with a push of a button.
There was clearly much more going on at CES but this was just a snippet of some of the best I’ve experienced. Stay tuned as I’ll be giving more round ups of the best the show had to offer.
The next generation of sound has been out for sometime but it is now getting more aggressive then ever and CES 2017 was the ultimate platform to showcase it. There are currently three formats and i’ll be getting into it in just a second but let me explain a little of what I mean by all of this.
We have been used to surround sound systems having 7.1 which consist of three front speakers, two surround side and two surround back but to truly create immersive sound it would have to come from above as well and that’s where height speakers come into play.
Lets start with DOLBY ATMOS as they were appearing in most peoples home widespread early and this year at CES they are dominating the market and have over 50 titles that support the format for home. That’s quite a lead to have and it will only continue to grow from here. Dolby has be making strong partners and at CES companies have been showing it off not only in their systems but in their SOUND BARS including companies like LG and Onkyo.
DTS has finally taken charge with solidifying DTS:X, DTS claims that DTS:X equip receivers, sound bars and even gaming headphones will give consumers immersive height surround at a cost effective rate. What does this mean? They don’t want you to break the bank to get next generation sound. DTS also says that the format is also backwards compatible so if you have DTS-HD tracks they can be played in immersive 3D sound. Now since being absent over the years it most likely will be for UHD movies only but don’t quote me on that.
Last but not least this one might be the least familiar of the bunch and that is AURO 3D. Auro was the first to introduce and demo immersive sound with an AVR at CES 2014. Dolby announced Atmos at Cinemacon 2012, I believe, in which their strategy was that Dolby was not bringing Atmos to the consumer market immediately with the format to give theaters a competitive advantage and to bring back moviegoers to the cinema. What sets them a part is the ability to set an 11.1 system with a center height speaker which they call THEY VOICE OF GOD. AURO 3D looks to put a foothold in the market and are doing so with the inclusion of delivering immersive sound on the Xbox One S soon, as well as the other formats,
They have partnered with Denon and Marantz to be put in their receivers and will also be included in the new Porsche Panamera. They also have a sophisticated Auro-Matic upmixing algorithm which upconverts any sound into a smart multi level track that I had the pleasure of experience myself.
NOW there was no clear winner at the show but Dolby Atmos looked to have been in most booths,With DTS:X becoming available in newer devices and gaming headphones but promises the library will grow.
and while have the lowest market share among what I’ve seen in CES Auro 3D looks to make their partnerships stronger and become more available then ever.
Only time will tell for the new immersive sound formats and who will win the consumer war but I know I’m ready are you?
If you think that led strobe lights at the sole of a sneaker and self lacing shoes was the future of footwear think again! A new company Vixole is looking to bring the first customizable E-sneaker to the market. I got to sit down with the crew at Vixole to find out what they were all about and their vision scopes beyond your traditional thinking of what sneakers can do.
The Vixole sneakers main feature is it has a flexible LED screen at its side which allows you to personalize it with thousands of unique designs, animations and photos instantly from your smartphone. You can dress up what is shown for a specific occasion, present a message or represent a brand, the choice is yours. They managed to show me and tell me a bit of what is going on with the shoe and rigorous process of prototyping they’ve had to endure to make it all possible. Stress testing such a thing is harder then one might think but their drive for wanting to make the perfect product is unprecedented.
Another key component is fitting the tech for the LED opened up the door to be able to build a smart sneaker like no one has before with all kinds of things including 1 to 1 fitness tracking, heart rate, steps and more. It can also be synced with newer applications such as motion tracking for games and VR which would drive the level of immersion through the roof. The possibilities could be endless and they’re hoping with the success of this sneaker paves the way for future endeavors.
The campaign for Vixole is currently up on Indiegogo which can be find here and with only a couple of days left they’ve more then exceeded their goal. They are looking to release the sneakers in full around June and for those that are looking for the next generation of footwear may find it here so reserve yours today! We’ll be taking a closer look at Vixole and its progress in the coming months so stay tuned!
Capcom announced their newest installation to the Marvel vs Capcom series, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite. It’s been about 5 years since their last installation of the MvC series, and the amount of excitement from seeing the trailer has every fighting game fan screaming for joy. Right from the get go, fans are welcomed with a returning champion Megaman, but it’s Megamn X. On top of that, Infinity Stones are back in play, and it seems like they can be used during battles to bolster combos. Also as far as new challengers come about, Captain Marvel has entered the fray. What power’s she brings looks to be pretty brutal since she has energy blasts and super strength to her arsenal. Capcom also released first ever gameplay footage of the game showcasing, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Mega Man and RYU. They also gave us a better glimpse at even more fighters like Captain America and Morgan as well which you can check out on top or here.
Their are many routers out there claiming to give you reliable bandwidth speeds but what they don’t tell you and most consumers don’t know is that they work within the traffic limitations they’re constraint on. Most consumer routers cannot go beyond a certain amount of channels but the Portal wifi router is changing that. Portal opens the door for other wireless channels wi’ll giving you some great functionality along the way.
Initially launching on Kickstarter, Portal came in with the idea that they would break the barrier of congestion most consumers have in a high traffic wireless area, so does it deliver on that? Simple answer is Yes, what Portal does really well is having the ability to use wireless channels that are not used by other normal home routers. What you get for the most part is wifi signals that no longer dip to crippling speeds by high wireless traffic areas or ones that suffer from congestion at peak hours.
Hardware
What Portal packs is a nine antennas system inside its round sleek white case unlike other routers of the same variety which have multiple antennas sticking out in a less attractive fashion. It is a AC2400 and Enterprise-Grade Security & Advanced Privacy. Aside the hardwire ports to connect units with it also has two usb ports. unfortunately it lacks a USB 3.0 port however. It also has a Mesh 2.0 system when connecting more then one unit for ultimate coverage (we’ll be doing an overview featurette soon).
While giving you consistent speeds is great how did it fair against other routers at its top speeds? Well when testing with a normal modem/router it blew it out of the water hitting the maximum download/upload speeds of 100-100%. When testing against a Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band Gigabit at close range it exceeded expectations and beating the speed while giving us a lower latency as well. The Portal also worked great at mid range as well and might actually have had better speeds then the Nighthawk but it does however lack in range versus it as the 5ghz channel couldn’t get as far as 700-800ft depending on the obstacles when we saw others that could do slightly better.
Software
Using your home computer to make modifications or customization to your router is also now a thing of the past as Portal is one of the few that let you make full adjustments to it via the app that can be downloaded. You can switch the mode of the router to primary or bridge mode while also tinkering with other features and viewing who maybe on the network as well. This opens up the door for many possibilities as the people behind Portal are looking to bring many things within the app and the router itself since as it stands is lighter on features then other routers. The security of the router is also up there with some of the best and can even give you control within the app as well. You can let people access or lock them out of the router by using the app.
Bottomline
It’s without question that Portal is the most stable and unique wifi router on the market. With the ability to upgrade the software to take advantage of unique features that are out or coming in the future along with it being able to connect to channels that are not hit with everyday traffic to give you the smoothest speeds at all times it’s almost hard to compete with it. The router has some work to do when it comes to features for consumers to take advantage of and what it lacks in bigger areas looks to solved by using multiple units which we’ll give an in depth view on. The ground work is laid out so whether you adopt now or later you certainly won’t be disappointed.
The company behind these smart 3D headphones are looking to make a real splash in the market by introducing consumers to a wave of features they haven’t before. These are smart, adaptive, voice controlled headphones that can tell you things like the weather and update you on your route all while being wireless headphones that are controlled by your voice and powered by cloud technology. There’s also no need for your smart phone as well as they boast 16gb and 32gb of memory within them.
There are currently two versions up for order which are the Vinci and Vinci Pro. These including all other info can be found on there page here .
I love Nintendo, many of my fondest memories involve playing Nintendo games and I own almost every major piece of Nintendo hardware and despite it all this past console generation was the first time I didn’t buy a Nintendo home console. I can go on about why I never felt motivated to buy a Wii U despite a solid library of games but I want to focus on what’s next for Nintendo, the Switch was revealed a few weeks ago and fans have had plenty of time to speculate on all of the details yet to be revealed. But it’s important to focus in on where the Wii U went wrong and how Nintendo can avoid those mistakes with their new system. There’s reason to be optimistic though, just from the reveal video alone Nintendo has shown a clear shift in the direction it wants to go in. One of key aspects of the Switch reveal is that there were noticeably no kids or families gathered around the living room like we’ve seen many times with the Wii and Wii u, instead we got a mixture of twenty to thirty year olds walking their dogs and hanging out at rooftop parties. This change in target audience alone makes a difference which leads into the first point.
1. Stop Targeting The Family Market
Nintendo has obviously found success with the family market in the past, the Wii and DS being prime examples, but the market has shifted dramatically since the mid 2000s. Almost every kid now has access to a phone or tablet which gives them access to hundreds of free games, many debatable in quality sure but the fact is most kids have moved into the mobile market where there’s a variety of games they can play without begging their parents to spend $40+ every time they want to play something different. The majority of the family market is casual which means they can’t be counted on to prop up hardware sales in the long run. What Nintendo needs to do is talk directly to the core gamers, the vast majority whom all started gaming on a Nintendo device. The same people who felt left behind by Nintendo with the Wii and Wii u need to be spoken to directly to show Nintendo hasn’t given up on the hardcore Nintendo fans that have stuck by them through the years. Theirs an appetite in the market for Nintendo to return to form and if gamers are confident that the Nintendo they remember is back they gladly buy-in.
2. Strong launch lineup
We already have an idea of the games we’ll be seeing soon on the Switch. During the reveal video we saw Zelda: breath of the wild, a new mario game, skyrim, and what appeared to be enhanced versions of mario kart 8 and splatoon. What was teased in the video is promising but we don’t know for sure what will be there on launch day. Historically Nintendo will put out one flagship game with a handful of ok games that aren’t must plays, then followed by a dry period where very few games are released thereby losing momentum. Nintendo needs to avoid that situation this time by having several flagship games, perhaps not all on launch day but they should all be close after so that their audience doesn’t lose interest. The Wii u notably had one of the longest dry periods in history with several months between launch day and the next first party game.
3. Unify the virtual console platform
Nintendo has some of the most iconic games in history and most of them are available on virtual console. The problem with their approach is the mysterious segmentation of games and platforms depending on which Nintendo system your playing on. The virtual console stores on the Wii, Wii u and 3ds are very different from each other. For example years after the Wii u’s launch it still doesn’t natively have all the games and platforms the Wii virtual console has. To make matters more complicated the 3ds has its own set of virtual console games and platforms that aren’t on the home consoles including gameboy and gameboy color games. We shouldn’t have to figure out what games are on which systems and worse have to repurchase games depending on which system we choose to game on. To successful here the Switch should have all virtual console platforms and a good amount of games to start with. Let’s not wait several years for the snes and n64 catalogs to fill out again like we did for the Wii. We know their library of games let us decide what we want to play instead of giving us a drip feed of content.
4. Have an achievement system
This one is pretty simple, Nintendo can greatly benefit from adding achievements not only to their upcoming games but to their virtual console as well. Achievements motivate us to play games in ways we might not have done on our own, they give us bragging rights and add a layer of complexity to games. Adding the achievement meta game to virtual console would give fans a a major reason to replay some of the classics that they remember.
5. Online support
Nintendo has definitely gotten better this generation when it comes to online multiplayer but there’s plenty of room for improvement. With the Switch’s main selling point being a console you can take with you anywhere it should be able to download and support multiplayer games as good as the competition can. It would be a major blow to games like Mario Kart and Splatoon if the games were plagued with lag and long wait times between matches. Having a smooth online experience can make or break most games and Nintendo can definitely score points by having a reliable online system.
Those are the major points that Nintendo needs to consider with the Switch. There’s plenty of reasons why the Wii u didn’t sell and Nintendo would do well to learn from them if they want to be successful in games industry again. Whether you agree or disagree with these points let us know!
Today EA released their first big update for Battlefield 1. It’s finally nice to get some tweaks and balances in the game especially in Operations, after all there’s nothing like getting on a crap team and getting stomped over and over and over again.
Operation Changes:
Attackers are getting a boost. Maximum tickets for attackers are increased (64 players 150-250, 40 players 150-200), also tickets regained from killing retreating defenders after a capture is increased from 2 to three. Sector capture times are decreased slightly while the amount of tickets regained is also increased from 30-50 in 64 player map modes.
Conquest Changes:
Suez Conquest – Two flags added so there’s no lock and drop. Added 1 Armor car on both sides and flag capture volumes inside the villages.
Gameplay:
QUIT BUTTON!! Finally they added a permant quit button so you don’t have to wait until a new map reloads.
Weapons
-LMG accuracy increased, bullet suppression increased at medium range, and bipods added to low weight LMG’s
-Shotgun’s buckshot damage multiplier adjusted to be more consistent
-Mortars require time after being deployed to be accurate which is reflected on the minimap, airburst need to be closer to inflict full 65 damage
-Tripwire bombs, gas and incendiary increased to two to be more lucrative to take vs HE
To read the full update and bug fixes in the new patch feel free to visit the patch notes.
UPDATE: If you’ve missed our midnight release live stream of Call of Duty Infinite Warfare/Modern Warfare remastered well don’t worry we’ll be doing it again today! Get the lowdown of what the game has to offer here!
Check out our Twitch live stream as we’ll be streaming a midnight release of Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and the remastered version of Modern Warfare. You can check it out here or http://www.twitch.com/lvlone at midnight tonight 12am EST. for one of our very own staffers to run through it all and make sure to follow us as we’ll be doing a giveaway soon!
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