hades,-one-of-2020’s-best-games,-is-coming-to-xbox-and-playstation-on-august-13th

Hades, one of 2020’s best games, is coming to Xbox and PlayStation on August 13th

Supergiant Games’ excellent roguelike Hades, which was one of the best games of 2020, is coming to Xbox and PlayStation consoles on August 13th. It will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, PS4, and PS5. And if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you’ll have access to the game on August 13th as well.

Supergiant is also offering physical editions of the game in partnership with Private Division. The Xbox physical edition will work on both Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, and there will be separate physical versions for PS4 and PS5. But if you pick up the physical or digital PS4 version of the game, you’ll be entitled to a free upgrade to the PS5 version.

The upcoming physical versions of Hades.
Image: Supergiant Games

The PS5 version of the game will also take advantage of some of the DualSense controller’s special features such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, Supergiant Games creative director Greg Kasavin said on the PlayStation blog.

As for performance, “the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Hades run at 1080p at a target 60 frames per second,” Supergiant Games said on its blog. “The Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 versions run at 4K at a target 60 frames per second.” The Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game won’t support the PC cross-save feature that the Nintendo Switch version has, however.

how-to-watch-the-xbox-and-bethesda-e3-conference

How to watch the Xbox and Bethesda E3 conference

Team Xbox will take to the stage alongside Bethesda to showcase a 90-minute presentation of games for E3 2021. It’ll last 90 minutes, and it’ll apparently show off games coming to Xbox this holiday season, games that’ll soon be coming to Xbox Game Pass, plus some other announcements. Microsoft is calling the event its “biggest moment of 2021 so far,” so Xbox fans shouldn’t miss this one.

Here’s how you can watch it:

When does the Xbox and Bethesda game showcase begin?

It’ll start at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on Sunday, June 13th.

How can I watch the Xbox event?

You can watch it at Xbox’s Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter pages. It’s available in other ways around the world, too. Microsoft says it’ll be available “simultaneously on channels across the globe, including Bilibili in China, Jeuxvideo in France, and VK in Russia, OTT platforms including Samsung TV+, Xumo, PlutoTV and Vizio, and regional Xbox pages on Facebook and elsewhere.”

The show will be broadcast in 1080p at 60 frames per second, but Microsoft says that videos in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second will be uploaded to the Xbox YouTube channel following the stream.

djokovic-vs-tsitsipas-live-stream:-how-to-watch-the-2021-french-open-men’s-final-for-free

Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream: how to watch the 2021 French Open Men’s Final for free

Novak Djokovic can win his second French Open title tomorrow – if he can beat talented Greek pro Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Men’s Singles Final at the Roland-Garros. Both players have aced their way to the finale, but who will win the legendary Grand Slam? UK fans can watch the 2021 French Open Men’s Final free on ITV Hub on Sunday! Make sure you know to watch a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream for free from anywhere.

Played at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris annually, the French Open attracts the world’s top tennis players. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal found themselves in the same half of the draw but Federer withdrew at the quarter-final stage to protect his recovering knee injury, leaving the path clear for a Nadal–Djokovic semi-final.

World number three Nadal – the most successful player ever to have competed at the French Open – took a marathon first set but Djokovic levelled the match with the second, took the third set 7-6 and then cruised to victory in the fourth set. Nadal’s dream of 21st major title are now on hold.

Djokovic’s opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, faced a tough challenge it the semis. The Greek pro took the first two sets before 24-year-old German Alexander Zverev took the next two to level the match. But, in the end, it was Tsitsipas’ experience that won out as some 5000 Parisian fans cheered a masterful display (not to mention a few baseline zingers).

Djokovic has looked at home throughout this year’s Roland-Garros but can he fully recover from Friday night’s epic semi-final win over Nadal? Or will Tsitsipas win his first ever Grand Slam title? New balls please!

Here’s how to watch a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream for free, and catch the clay court action from anywhere in the world.

Watch Djokovic vs Tsitsipas free in the UK and Ireland

(Image credit: Wikipedia: By Michael Frey (Michael Frey) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29456976)

ITV has the rights to air the 2021 French Open in its entirety on ITV4. Provided you have a TV licence, it’s completely free to watch Djokovic vs Tsitsipas and can be accessed by any viewer located in the UK.

Away from UK during the tennis? Simply use a VPN to access ITV Hub from anywhere, without being blocked. We recommend ExpressVPN as it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

Djokovic vs Tsitsipas will also be shown live on Eurosport which you can watch in both HD (channel 521 and 522) and in 4K HDR on Virgin Media (channel 205 and 999). 

Not a Eurosport subscriber? You can watch the 2021 French Open finals for £6.99 per month on Eurosport Player, or grab an annual pass for £39.99. Top tip: subscribe through Amazon Prime Video and get a free 7-day trial.

  • F1 live stream: how to watch the Formula 1 from anywhere

Watch Djokovic vs Tsitsipas free from anywhere in the world using a VPN

Even if you have subscribed to the relevant Djokovic vs Tsitsipas rights holders, you won’t be able to use them when outside your own country. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, such that the servers and services you’re accessing aren’t aware of what you’re doing. All the information passing back and forth is entirely encrypted.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN which offers a 100 per cent risk-free money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

French Open 2021 Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee with its VPN service. You can use it to watch on your mobile, tablet, laptop, TV, games console and more. There’s 24/7 customer support and three months free when you sign-up. Try it – it’s easier than you think.

Watch a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream in the USA

(Image credit: Wikipedia: By Vladsinger at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2262555)

NBC is broadcasting full live coverage of the 2021 French Open, including the Men’s Final between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. You’ll need a cable subscription to NBC Sports, which will also allow you to stream the tennis live, via the NBC Sports app. 

Don’t have cable? You can get a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream on Peacock TV, NBC’s streaming service. Peacock costs just $4.99 a month and includes thousands of movies, TV shows, kids content and other live sport.

Going to be away from the States during the tennis? Simply use a VPN to access Peacock TV from anywhere in the world, without being blocked. We recommend ExpressVPN as it comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

Another option for is to watch NBC via a cable-replacement service such as Fubo TV. New subscribers get a 1-week free trial, cancel anytime. After that it’s $65 a month. So, not cheap, but Fubo does get you a ton of premium channels, from ESPN to A&E.

Lastly, US fans also have the option to subscribe to Tennis Channel Plus for $110 per year. This gets you Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream plus comprehensive coverage of over 100 ATP & WTA events.

Watch a free Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream in Australia

Channel 9’s Wide World of Sport is the place to see the 2021 French Open Men’s Singles Final live and free-to-air. Aussies can also get a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream via the 9now website.

Watch a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream in Europe

Eurosport holds the rights to broadcast the 2021 French Open Men’s Final in continental Europe.

You can get a Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live stream by purchasing a monthly or annual subscription to Eurosport Player here.

In France, you can see Djokovic vs Tsitsipas live on free-to-air channel France TV Sport. The same goes for Servus TV and ORF in Austria.

French Open 2021 schedule

(Image credit: Stade Roland Garros)

May 30th – June 1st: Round 1 

June 2nd – 3rd: Round 2 

June 4th – 5th: Round 3

June 6th – 7th: Round 4

June 8th -9th: Quarter-Finals 

June 10th -11th: Semi-Finals

June 12th: Women’s Singles Final

June 13th: Men’s Singles Final: Djokovic vs Tsitsipas

See Roland-Garros website for latest order of play

arlo-essential-indoor-camera-review:-keeping-an-eye-on-indoors

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera review: Keeping an eye on indoors

(Pocket-lint) – Arlo has a wide range of cameras, but is mostly known for its battery-powered outdoor cameras.

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera, however, is a wired camera designed to sit indoors, sitting in the same sort of position as the ageing Arlo Q.

Design

  • Dimensions: 52 x 49 x 113.19mm
  • Privacy Shield shutter
  • Wired design

With no battery, the design of the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera is different to most of the rest of the Arlo range, because it’s not as deep, although the “face” of the camera is very much the same size as the rest of the family.

Rather than having a magnetic mount like other Arlo models, it sits on a stand with a ball mount, so you just have to take it out of the box, connect it to the power – and that’s just about it. If you want to wall-mount it, there’s a plate you can attach to the wall that the stand will clip into.

Pocket-lint

As a wired unit, there’s a power supply in the box with 2m cable, although this is a USB cable so you could potentially power this device without that plug if you have built-in USB ports in your sockets or elsewhere.

One criticism is that the cable is rather stiff, so once you’ve placed your camera, you’ll need to make sure the cable doesn’t then move the camera out of position. It could so with a softer cable cover that’s more malleable. 

The big thing that stands the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera aside from some other cameras is the Privacy Shield. This is a physical plate that covers the lens, so when the camera is off, there’s a 100 per cent guarantee that it’s not watching you.

Just glancing at the front of the camera will show whether the white Privacy Shield is open or closed, adding extra peace of mind for those who feel uncomfortable having a lens pointing at them.

Pocket-lint

If you’re one of those people who will connect the camera to Alexa or Google Assistant, you’ll know as soon as someone asks to view the camera, because the Privacy Shield will have to open, which you can see and hear.

There’s also an LED on the front, with the colour showing the status of the camera: blue means everything is fine, amber shows that there’s a connection problem. You can turn the LED off in the app if you want.



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Connectivity and setup

  • Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) or SmartHub connection
  • Needs the Arlo app

The Essential name in this device lets you know that it will connect directly to your Wi-Fi. As per the Arlo Q previously, this is a device that works perfectly well as a standalone camera, so if you’ve never used an Arlo device before that doesn’t matter. You can also add this camera to an existing Arlo system, of course, and if you have an Arlo hub then you can connect directly to the hub too. The choice is yours, providing some flexibility.

Pocket-lint

You will need the Arlo app on your phone, however, but once you start the setup process you’ll be guided through everything to get it working. The app controls the whole experience: you’ll be able to control what the Indoor Camera captures and when, giving you a full range of controls.

Unlike other cameras this Arlo’s Privacy Shield will be closed when it’s not in use and for added protection, you’ll only be prompted to unlock with biometrics when you want to make the camera live from the app to provide a live view.

Outside of this, the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera can be added to existing Arlo modes. If you have an existing system, you can have the Indoor Camera go live when you turn the other cameras on – and that can be manually, on a schedule, based on geolocation from your phone, or from any other condition, with a wide range of options in the app.

Pocket-lint

The important thing to note about Arlo’s cameras is that they don’t capture all the time. They need to be “turned on” via a capture mode, after which they will then start recording once triggered either by motion or sound.

Video and audio capture and performance

  • 2MP sensor, 1080p (Full HD) video
  • Motion and audio detection
  • Infrared (IR) night vision
  • Two-way audio

The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera has a Full HD camera on the front with a 130 degree field of view from the lens. It offers digital zoom up to 12x and had infrared illumination to provide night vision. Unlike some of Arlo’s other models, there’s no LED illuminator on this model.

There’s two-way audio, meaning you can capture audio or hear live audio, while also being able to reply via a small speaker on the rear of the camera. There’s no siren on this model either.

Detection can be triggered by motion or sound depending on the placement of the camera. In some conditions, sound might cause too many false alerts, but you can change the sensitivity or remove sound if you feel it’s not helpful.

Captured video is of good quality, with accurate colours during daylight and enough detail in low-light conditions from the IR illuminator to see what’s going on. The lack of resolution shouldn’t be a concern: typically indoor cameras only need a shorter range, while higher resolution on outdoor cameras is mostly about providing great detail when zooming.

The wide-angle lens also captures plenty in its field of view, so you can place it in the corner of the room and know that you’ll get good full coverage. You can crop the capture area to exclude the edges of the frame, for example, so you’re not just recording areas of wall that are irrelevant. 

Arlo Smart and additional options

  • AI detection
  • Rich notifications
  • Alexa, Google Assistant integration

Arlo has started pushing its Arlo Smart subscription plan, providing additional features via that route. That means you buy the camera and then potentially face additional costs for additional features in the future.

Pocket-lint

Arlo Smart unlocks 30 days of cloud storage. That will mean that everything is in the cloud and accessible for a month, so you can look through video and download whatever you need. This has the advantage over local storage in that you can access it from anywhere – although if you connect it to an Arlo SmartHub during setup, you’ll also have the option of storing video to a local microSD card in that Hub.

Without an Arlo Smart plan you’ll get notifications of anything that’s detected and you’ll be able to live stream, but you won’t get any cloud storage, so that’s a good argument for Arlo Smart. There is a three month trial included with the camera, so you can test out the features before deciding if it’s for you.

Beyond that, there are some clever artificial intelligence (AI) features that Arlo Smart unlocks. You can get alerts for specific things, such as vehicle detection, animal detection, package detection, people detection. While most of these don’t apply to an indoor camera, it means you can turn off animal detection, for example, if you don’t want a notification every time your dog walks past the camera.

Perhaps more useful is rich notifications. This doesn’t just send you an image of what triggered the camera, but you’ll get a little motion image, so you can see the movement. This can make it much easier to see exactly what’s happening and decide whether you need to take action or not.

Pocket-lint

For example, we’ve had our indoor camera triggered by a spider spinning a web across the front of the lens. That’s not something we need to take action about and the rich notification shows exactly what’s happening, so there’s no need to open and unlock the app for a better look.

Arlo can be connected to Alexa or Google Assistant and that will mean you can talk to your device, for example an Echo Show, and view your camera via that device. Interestingly, this bypasses any of the security of the app, so in theory anyone in your house can ask to view your camera at any time.

As we said above, having the Privacy Shield is again a benefit here: if someone else in your house views the camera, you’ll see the Privacy Shield open, so you’ll know straight away.

Verdict

There’s plenty of appeal in the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera. It works as a standalone device for those who just want some degree of indoor coverage, although it costs quite a bit more than something like the Ring Indoor Cam – which might do much the same basic job.

But there are additional features that add appeal to the Arlo camera. The Privacy Shield is a great option for those who don’t like staring down the barrel of the lens all the time, or worry that they might be being watched.

Arlo Smart adds a range of advanced features, which while not as useful indoors as they are outdoors, does boost the experience for those who subscribe – and adding this camera into an existing Arlo system is likely to be a popular option.

Also consider

Ring Indoor Cam

Ring’s Indoor Cam offers similar specs and will do much the same job, but you’ll need a Ring Protect subscription to get the most out of this camera.

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Nest Cam IQ Indoor

This camera has comparable intelligence to the Arlo camera, but offers a 4K sensor so will capture high quality video.

  • Read the full review

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Writing by Chris Hall. Editing by Mike Lowe.

nbc-universal-to-show-the-olympics-in-4k-hdr-and-dolby-atmos

NBC Universal to show the Olympics in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos

(Image credit: The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games)

NBCUniversal will air live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics in 4K HDR, a first for a US broadcaster. The NBC Olympics coverage will also be accompanied by Dolby Atmos surround sound.

Events that will be featured in 4K HDR during the rearranged Tokyo ‘2020’ games include track and field, swimming, diving, tennis, beach volleyball, golf, gymnastics and more. 

NBCU has yet to announce the schedule, but with the Olympics said to be “100% happening” and the opening ceremony expected to get underway at 12pm BST on Friday 23rd July, the clock is very much ticking.

Accessing high-quality coverage of the world’s best sprinters and swimmers might not be as easy as it sounds, though. NBCUniversal notes that while it will distribute 4K HDR coverage to its partners (i.e. cable and satellite TV networks), it will be up to those partners to decide whether to broadcast the coverage in 4K HDR or step down to a lower quality.

Not a cable subscriber anyway? NBC has confirmed it will stream live coverage of “selected” Olympic events though its Peacock streaming platform, but hasn’t yet said whether any of those streams will be in the 4K HDR format. The Peacock app is available on a long list of devices that now includes most Samsung smart TVs. 

Still, with Japan’s borders closed to foreigners, and lingering uncertainty as to the level of athlete participation this year, NBCUniversal’s 4K HDR Atmos coverage could prove to be the best seat in house.

The BBC has the rights to broadcast the Olympics in the UK and has the capability to stream in 4K and HDR via the iPlayer app. Whether it will offer both for live events is yet to be confirmed, and the broadcaster has never offered Dolby Atmos before. There’s a first time for everything, though.

In need of a smarter set for Tokyo 2020? Here’s our guide to the best TVs and the best media streamers on the market. Live in Europe? BBC iPlayer and Eurosport 4K are expected to broadcast coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 4K HDR.

MORE:

Our pick of the best streaming services for TV and movies

Splash out on the best HDR TVs

Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video: which is better?