What is 4K Video?

TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe

I came across this video called TimeScapes yesterday. It is basically a demo video showing off the capabilities of 4K technology. 4K is a term we might see popping up more frequently and simply put "4K" refers to a higher than high def video format; creating videos at 4096 x 2304 pixels. If you don't know... this is madness.

I remember hearing a couple of years ago that higher than hi-def video tended to make people nauseous, but I guess we are taking that leap. One of the biggest proponents of this new technology is Peter Jackson. He is currently filming two new Lord of the Rings movies, (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again) and not only are they shooting in 4K, but they are also shooting in 3D and at 48 frames per second (as opposed to the typical 24 fps). This should make for a very unique viewer experience. Here is one of the Hobbit video blogs that talks a little more about the technology and filming with the Red Epic camera to capture video in 4K.

Wacom Inkling

Wacom has produced a new, unique product that we are very excited to try out. It is called the "Inkling" and it has the ability to capture what you draw with a physical ink pen on any plain sheet of paper. You can then transfer your drawing into the computer as vector lines. This is an incredible idea that will be very useful for illustrators, designers, and anyone who likes to doodle. Here is Wacom's promotional video for it.

Here is a comparison of a scan of an original drawing (left) and the vector file (right) that Inkling generated.

You can see it isn't exact, but still pretty impressive. If you click the image above you can see the YouTube review of the Inkling that this still was taken from. The lab will hopefully be adding the Inkling to our checkout inventory soon. Wacom has been releasing it in small batches on Amazon, and we haven't been able to grab ours yet.

iPad 2.0

Thinking about buying an iPad? Do yourself a favor and wait a week. March 2nd looks to be the date that Apple will unveil their latest version of the iPad. That's when you'll get to choose whether the new updates are worth the money, or if you want to grab up one of the older models at a (most likely) discounted rate. Will it have a camera? Will it have new features we haven't even fathomed? Who's to say...

Magic Mouse has Landed!

Yes, we have the magic mouse! They just arrived in stores today, as best I can tell, and I picked up three of them for the lab. Ask a lab consultant if you'd like to try one out.

The entire top surface of the mouse is touch sensitive. It has a left and right mouse button, and then you can drag along the top to scroll up-down or left-right. If you use two fingers to scroll left-right, you can use it as a back-forward control for your web browser. It has a very different feel in your hand than the mighty mouse, which we've been using so far. It runs on AA batteries, and I'm not sure how long they'll last. Probably the best bet would be to use rechargeable NiMH batteries to save on money and be kind to the environment.

Feel free to leave comments on this post to let us know what you think.