Microsoft today announced the Xbox Wireless Headset, which it described as “the future of gaming audio,” and started to accept pre-orders for the accessory. The headset was purportedly designed in tandem with the next-gen Xbox Series X and S consoles but will remain compatible with the Xbox One line and Windows 10 PCs.
The Xbox Wireless Headset seems like a response to the Pulse 3D headset Sony announced alongside the PlayStation 5. Both of the offerings support 3D audio, noise cancellation, and wireless connectivity; both are compatible with next-gen consoles as well as their predecessors; both charge via USB-C; and both cost $100.
But the Xbox Wireless Headset appears to take the lead in some categories. Microsoft’s headset offers 3D audio via Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone: X; Sony’s is limited to the PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech. The Xbox Wireless Headset is also said to offer up to three additional hours of battery life.
Sony and Microsoft also seem to have emphasized different aspects of the gaming experience with their headsets. The Pulse 3D headset features dual hidden microphones and a stark design evocative of the PS5 itself. The Xbox Wireless Headset, meanwhile, has a protruding mic that looks like every other headset’s.
Combine those decisions with some other features, such as the Xbox Wireless Headset’s ability to wirelessly pair with a smartphone and an Xbox console simultaneously, and it’s clear that Microsoft prioritized function over fashion. (As if the massive “Xbox” on the cans didn’t make that clear enough on its own.)
We’d have to use the Xbox Wireless Headset ourselves to determine whether or not it’s one of the best gaming headsets on the market. Microsoft is accepting pre-orders for the headset via the Microsoft Store for $99 now; the headset is expected to debut on March 16. Hopefully it stays in better stock than other next-gen offerings.
Microsoft has announced a new wireless gaming headset for the Xbox Series X and Series S. Called the Xbox Wireless Headset, it launches on 16th March and will cost £94.99 ($99.99, AU$129.99).
It connects wirelessly to your console without needing a separate dongle and supports spatial audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos, DTS Headphone:X and Windows Sonic.
The gaming headset has some clever controls, too. You can adjust the volume and the game/chat balance by twisting the rotating ear cup dials, while the microphone tucks out of the way when not needed. Those ear cushions promise to be comfortable enough for all-day sessions, and the 15-hour battery life should be more than enough for the average gaming session.
Speak, and voice isolation focuses the mic on your voice, reducing background noise, so you can be heard loud and clear. Stop talking, and auto-mute kicks in, helping keep the comms channels clear. There’s also a manual mute option to give you some privacy.
A light indicator tells you when the mic is on, so you always know when people can hear what you’re saying.
You can fine-tune the audio output using the Xbox Accessories app on your console, adjusting the equaliser, bass boost, auto-mute sensitivity and mic-monitoring levels. You can even adjust the brightness of the mic indicator light. And the headset can connect to your mobile device over Bluetooth to double as a pair of ordinary wireless headphones when you’re not gaming. You can also pair to your console and phone at the same time, so you can simultaneously be in a Zoom meeting while blasting aliens.
In a blog post announcing the headset, Xbox Wire’s Will Tuttle was keen to big up the spatial sound capabilities.
“You’ll have the advantage by being able to hear all the subtle, yet critical sounds (like enemy footsteps sneaking up on you) that elevate great gamers above the rest,” he wrote.
Erik Garcia, Project Architect and Lead, added:
“We spent a lot of time in the audio testing chambers trying to characterize and understand how the headset reproduces audio in different room environments. It goes in your living room, game room, and dorm room and we want it to sound the best for all types of audio.”
Given that Sony’s rival console, the PS5, launched with its own optional gaming headset (the Pulse 3D) at launch, it’s surprising Xbox has taken so long to follow suit. And we’ll tell you if it’s been worth the wait just as soon as we get our hands on a review sample.
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Sennheiser announced on Tuesday it’s looking for a new partner to buy its consumer audio business, which consists of headphones and soundbars. It’s going to shift its focus entirely to professional audio, including its Neumann microphone division and what Sennheiser calls business communications.
In a press release, Sennheiser says it wants to increase visibility in the competitive headphone and soundbar markets, and it thinks its products can be popular amid “strong competitive pressure.” But it needs an investor to make that happen. It also says that talks with potential partners will start soon.
“To be best able to exploit the potential in each of these markets, we are concentrating our own resources on the three business areas in the Professional division and are looking for a strong partner to invest in our Consumer business,” Daniel Sennheiser, co-CEO of Sennheiser, says in the press release.
German publication Handelsblatt recently posted an interview with Daniel and fellow co-CEO Andreas Sennheiser, in which the two brothers point to a number of potential reasons why Sennheiser is now exploring selling its consumer business. For one, the company was late to jump onboard with truly wireless headphones, which have become a very popular audio hardware segment. While Sennheiser apparently had record sales in 2019 (€393 million, representing 52 percent of its 2019 sales), it ended up slightly negative after taxes and interest.
More recently, headphone sales haven’t been as good as expected. Daniel Sennheiser said during the summer that “competitive pressure has increased significantly,” and its profit margins at the time were “under pressure.” It also cut 650 jobs worldwide, leaving the company with around 2,800 employees currently.
Sennheiser’s press release makes it seem like the company is interested in partners to fund its consumer audio business, but it isn’t opposed to selling it off completely. The Sennheiser brothers told Handelsblatt that “all options are open,” and that “it is important to us that all business areas emerge stronger from the realignment.”
Microsoft is launching a new $99 Xbox Wireless Headset next month. It’s the first wireless Xbox headset since the Xbox 360 days, and it’s designed to connect with Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S consoles, PCs, and mobile devices via Bluetooth.
The Xbox Wireless Headset design improves nearly every aspect of the basic Xbox One Stereo and Wired Chat headsets that are currently available. Microsoft has leaned on its work with the Surface Headphones to add similar rotating ear cup dials that let you adjust volume and game / audio chat balance.
Microsoft’s new Xbox Wireless Headset.Image: Microsoft
This new Xbox Wireless Headset is also designed to match the new Xbox Series X / S design, with a lightweight frame that has large leather ear cups and an adjustable cushioned headband. It will also support Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone:X spatial sound technologies.
Microsoft has also worked to improve microphone quality, with Xbox party chats in mind. This new headset has dual beamforming microphones and voice isolation to help isolate background noise. You can also pair the headset to your phone and Xbox at the same time, allowing you to listen to audio or calls from your phone while you game.
The customizations for the Xbox Wireless Headset.Image: Microsoft
The Xbox Wireless Headset will last for up to 15 hours on battery, and a 30-minute charge will let you play for around four hours. A full charge will take around three hours. Microsoft is also updating the Xbox Accessories app to include control over the equalizer, bass boost, auto-mute sensitivity, mic monitoring, and brightness of the mic’s mute light.
The new Xbox Wireless Headset will be available worldwide starting March 16th, priced at $99. You can preorder the headset today at the Microsoft Store and other retailers.
Unless you’re a backlight strobe purist, the Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 has no flaws. It delivers premium gaming performance with 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR and a high-contrast VA panel with 144p resolution. And its physical aesthetic is unmatched at any price.
For
240 Hz
Wide, accurate color gamut
High contrast
Excellent HDR
Build quality, styling
Against
Backlight strobe causes some smearing
Expensive
Features and Specifications
Most players are looking for a gaming monitor that provides maximum performance for the money. But many premium and mid-priced models include some kind of style element, usually a lighting feature, to set themselves apart. Occasionally, a company goes all out on aesthetics with a product that sits well above the rank and file. AOC has done this by partnering with a company that needs no introduction, Porsche Design.
The Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 is one of the most attractive monitors we’ve seen, more stylish than most of the best gaming monitors with a unique stand and completely customizable lighting with glowing colors and a pattern that projects on your desk. There’s also an all-metal wireless remote that looks like something from a modern art museum.
But don’t think the PD27 places style over substance. Under the hood, there’s a 1440p resolution VA panel with 3,000:1 contrast, HDR, extended color, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync and a backlight strobe for fighting motion blur. There’s even strong sound, via two 5W internal speakers and DTS tuning with multiple sound effect modes.
Expensive? Of course ($750 as of writing), but if you want style, there’s nothing else like it.
(Image credit: AOC)
Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 Specs
Panel Type / Backlight
VA / W-LED, edge array
Screen Size , Aspect Ratio & Curve
27 inches / 16:9
Curve radius: 1000mm
Max Resolution & Refresh
2560×1440 @ 240 Hz
AMD FreeSync Premium Pro: 48-240 Hz
Native Color Depth & Gamut
8-bit / DCI-P3
HDR10, DisplayHDR 400
Response Time (MPRT)
0.5 ms
Brightness (mfr)
550 nits
Contrast (mfr)
2,500:1
Speakers
2x 5w, DTS-tuned
Video Inputs
2x DisplayPort 1.4
2x HDMI 2.0
Audio
3.5mm headphone output
USB 3.2
1x up, 4x down
Power Consumption
34.6w, brightness @ 200 nits
Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base
23.9 x 17.1-23.1 x 12.7 inches (606 x 434-587 x 322mm)
Bezel Width
Top/sides: 0.3 inch (8mm)
Bottom: 1.1 inches (28mm)
Weight
19.6 pounds (8.9kg)
Warranty
4 years
This isn’t AOC’s first collaboration with Porsche Design. In 2018, we reviewed the PDS271, an enterprise monitor that brought a minimalist style and merely average performance to the table. The PD27 ups the ante considerably.
A 27-inch VA panel with a 1000R curve claims an honest 3000:1 contrast ratio. It’s Adaptive-Sync of choice is AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, which adds low framerate compensation (LFC) and HDR support compared to standard FreeSync. It’s not Nvidia-certified, but we also got G-Sync to run (see: How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor).
HDR10 signals are supported with either Adaptive-Sync or blur reduction up to 240 Hz over the two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs. Alternatively, you can use either of the two HDMI 2.0 ports for refresh rates as high as 144 Hz (see: DisplayPort vs HDMI: Which is Better?).
Assembly and Accessories of the AOC Agon PD27
The AOC Agon PD27 ships in rubbery foam, not the crumbly kind, and is packaged beautifully, worthy of an unboxing video. The stand and panel are permanently mated, so there’s no option for an aftermarket arm or bracket, not that you’d want one.
Accessories are in a nice presentation-style box and include HDMI, DisplayPort and USB cables along with a large external power supply.
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Style? Oh yeah, there’s lots o’ dat. Right from the start, the eye is drawn to the AOC Agon PD27’s unique metal stand, making the lack of VESA mounting understandable. The stand is made from chrome-plated tubing meant to evoke a racecar’s roll cage. While it doesn’t have visible weld marks like the real article, it does remind us of something automotive. It’s quite beautiful and substantial. Not only is it rock-solid, but the footprint is quite deep at nearly 13 inches. You’ll need to clear a little more space on your desk than you would for the average 27-inch monitor.
In front, the Porsche Design logo is proudly displayed in shiny metal letters against a brushed finish. The top and side bezels are thin and flush, just 8mm wide. If you reach around the right side, you’ll find the joystick, which integrates all monitor controls, including power. You can tell power status via a tiny LED: orange for standby and white for powered.
The chrome-plated stand is one of the most solid pieces out there, and it offers full ergonomics. You get nearly 6 inches of height adjustment, along with 150degree swivel either way and 23-degree tilt. Movements are as good as it gets with just the right resistance level and easily controlled positioning.
Gamers will enjoy not only the PD27’s advanced video processing and 240 Hz refresh rate, but also its extensive lighting features. The lighting effect comes in two flavors. An LED ring surrounds the stand/panel pivot point and casts a large glow off the back of the AOC Agon PD27. A projector is also included that casts the Porsche Design logo on your desktop. There are dozens of preset effects or you can customize the color with RGB values for both sets of lights in the OSD.
-Tying it all together is one of the coolest remotes we’ve ever seen. Not too many 27-inch monitors include remotes, but AOC has created a slick metal piece that works wirelessly. It has full OSD navigation ,plus three programmable keys for preset modes. Like the rest of the Agon PD27, it’s quite substantial and definitely worthy of a premium display like this.
The input panel is well-stocked and split across two sections. Video inputs include two each of HDMI 2.0 (144 Hz) and DisplayPort 1.4 (240 Hz). Both interfaces support Adaptive-Sync and HDR. A 3.5mm audio jack is right next to the DPs. On the other side are USB 3.2 ports, one upstream and four down.
OSD Features of the AOC PD27
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The PD27 unique styling carries all the way down to its OSD, well with a cascading card look to denote the eight sub-menus. Once you dig in, you’ll find it arranged like that of other AOC monitors and easily controllable. Osd2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Game Setting menu has three game-specific picture modes and three user memories apart from the image presets in the Luminance menu. To keep things simple, we left Game Mode off and did all testing in the Standard Eco mode. This menu also has Shadow Control, which makes dark detail brighter. Its five settings are very coarse and even one click will turn the lovely deep blacks into a murky gray. MBR is the PD27’s blur reduction feature. It operates at up to 240 Hz and cancels Adaptive-Sync. We found a few issues there, which we’ll tell you about in the Hands-on section.
Overdrive has three levels and works well at its Medium setting. If you want to monitor frame rates, turn on the FrameCounter.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Audio menu has much more than just volume and mute controls. There are five sound modes that use phase and frequency manipulation to create different sound stages. Or choose Off and set the equalization yourself over five bands from 200 Hz to 7 kHz.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
LightFX is where you’ll find the many options for the main LED ring around the stand’s pivot. There are preset modes, or you can change intensity, color and pattern manually. Color is controlled with RGB sliders, so, in theory, there are millions of possibilities. Oddly, the control for the logo projector is in another menu called Extra. It too has user selectable intensity and color options.
Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 Calibration Settings
You won’t need to calibrate the AOC Agon PD27 if you do one thing: change the color temp to User Define. That single adjustment provides superb accuracy in all metrics within the DCI-P3 color gamut. If you prefer to play your SDR games in sRGB color, there’s an option for that in the color temp menu, and it, too, is quite accurate. We tweaked the RGB sliders just a bit for ego’s sake. There are three gamma presets, but again, the default setting is best.
Below are our recommended calibration settings for the Porsche Design AOC Agon PD27 and SDR content.
Eco Mode
Standard (Game Mode Off)
Brightness 200 nits
70
Brightness 120 nits
21
Brightness 100 nits
7 (min. 89 nits)
Contrast
50
Gamma
1
Color Temp User
Red 49, Green 50, Blue 49
When you apply an HDR signal, the AOC Agon PD27 switches over automatically and offers four additional picture modes. DisplayHDR is the default and best choice. There are no adjustments for HDR content, but none are needed, as you’ll see on page four.
Gaming and Hands-on with the AOC Agon PD27
The curve is pronounced with a tight 1000mm radius. That’s as tight as it gets these days. You’ll see some distortion of things like spreadsheets and documents on the PD27, but moving images look natural as they cross the screen. We’ve experienced this extreme curve before in the Samsung Odyssey G7 32-Inch It’s a real asset to gaming and movie watching though a 32-inch screen makes better use of the radius than the AOC Agon PD27.
The AOC Agon PD27 is a bit small for its extreme curvature for a balance of workday tasks and gaming. 1000R is as curvy as it gets, and we’ve tried this spec with the Samsung G7 but were spoiled by its 32-inch size and extra height compared to the PD27. But the AOC has excellent color with a bright and sharp picture, so it is certainly capable of pushing through spreadsheets and word processing.
Watching video is pleasure with a screen that wraps this much. We felt a greater sense of immersion when checking out movies and TV shows through various streaming services. And the audio quality was well beyond what we usually hear from internal monitor speakers. Audio is provided by two 5W speakers with DTS-tuning and multiple effects modes. Or you can tailor the sound yourself with a multi-band equalizer in the OSD, setting the equalization yourself over five bands from 200 Hz to 7 kHz. Sound quality is a cut above the norm for internal monitor speakers with rich full audio and a feeling of spaciousness.
The DTS tuning created a far larger space with sounds clearly coming from different parts of the screen. Some phased effects even seemed to come from behind, giving a decent approximation of surround sound. There isn’t a ton of bass, but dialogue sounded crystal-clear and never chesty.
Gaming is clearly the PD27’s forte. Both FreeSync and (unofficial) G-Sync worked perfectly with or without HDR. An RTX 3090 video card had no trouble maintaining 240 frames per second (fps) in both Tomb Raider and Call of Duty: WWII with detail set to maximum. Our Radeon RX 5700 XT managed about 200 fps with the same games. The AOC Agon PD27 can keep up with your best graphics cards and favorite games. HDR only cost us about 10 fps and definitely enhanced the Call of Duty experience with clearer shadow detail and bright highlights.
Color and contrast were excellent in both SDR and HDR modes. The large and accurate gamut was apparent, especially in bright and colorful material, which looked vibrant and three-dimensional. VA contrast is on full display here as the PD27 has a very broad native dynamic range. If AOC ever wished to add dynamic contrast to the monitor’s HDR mode, it would look even better. But we had no complaints; HDR looked better than it does on most of the IPS screens we’ve tested.
When monitors run at 240 Hz or faster, it’s feasible to choose the backlight strobe over Adaptive-Sync. We did this successfully in our recent review of the Alienware AW2521H, where ultra-low motion blur (ULMB) at 240 Hz provided smoother motion than G-Sync at 360 Hz. The PD27, however, is not in that category. Its blur reduction (AOC calls it MBR) doesn’t work all that well. It looked fine when running BlurBusters test patterns, but in games, there was a slight smearing effect that can’t be solved with the overdrive.
The best choice is to leave Adaptive-sSnc turned on and run the overdrive at its Medium setting. That keeps detail clear when the action gets intense. If you are a backlight strobe purist, the AOC Agon PD27 is not for you. But its implementation of adaptive sync and overdrive is flawless.
LG’s 2021 TV lineup is rolling out now, and you’ve got plenty to choose from if you’re in the market for a new 4K TV.
The range covers all manner of TV technologies, including OLED, LCD and, for the first time, Mini LED.
The new lines span all kinds of sizes too, ranging from 43 inches all the way up to 88. So, whether you’re looking for a statement set for the lounge, or just something for the bedroom, you should find something to suit your needs.
LG’s new OLED line-up comprises five series: Z1, G1, C1, B1, A1. Only those in the G1 series use LG’s top-of-the-range OLED evo panel. The C1 series – the firm’s most popular OLED range, and normally the sweet spot, has the most screen size options, starting with a 48in option. The B1 and A1 are more affordable OLED ranges, suited to those on a budget.
The QNED Mini LED TV line-up includes both 8K and 4K models. Both employ LG’s Quantum Dot NanoCell technology and Mini LED backlighting to create deeper blacks, more vibrant colours and better contrast levels than standard LCDs. They also promise excellent HDR.
LG’s NanoCell TVs also come in 8K and 4K flavours. Its NanoCell tech filters out colour impurities, giving more lifelike images.
All LG’s new TVs support Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos, HDR10 Pro and Filmmaker Mode. Game Optimiser automatically applies the best picture settings according to the type of game you’re playing, be it a first-person shooter, role-playing game or real-time strategy.
Every new TV also supports the advanced HDMI 2.1 feature, enhanced audio return channel (eARC). This makes it easier to connect the set to a sound system while also optimising the audio. Automatic low latency mode (ALLM) is also supported – this delivers seamless gaming and lag-free viewing. Perfect if you’ve been lucky enough to snag a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
Most of LG’s new sets also have a new processor. The Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI has better deep learning capabilities, better upscaling performance, and adjusts the picture quality depending on the amount of light in each scene, the genre of content what you’re watching and the ambient conditions in the viewing environment (i.e. your lounge).
AI Sound Pro up-mixes two-channel audio to virtual 5.1.2 surround sound too, so you can get the full cinema experience without splashing out on separates. Sort of.
Also new is webOS 6.0, the latest version of LG’s TV operating system. This gives faster access to apps, improved content discovery and personal recommendations. And the new remote control has dedicated buttons for certain streaming services.
The bad news? Not all models are available to buy immediately. Rather, LG says that “select TV series, models and sizes” are rolling out to retailers now. Look out for local announcements for more specific info.
MORE:
Ready for a deep dive? LG 2021 TV lineup: everything you need to know
Compare that with the full Samsung 2021 TV line-up.
And take a look at what there is to offer in the Sony 2021 TV line-up too
Famous Danish manufacturer Copland has released a top-of-the-range integrated amplifier in its latest CSA series. The new CSA 150 is a hybrid design, using a double triode gain stage (6922) with MOS-FET buffering.
The solid-state bipolar output stage is rated with an output power of 150-watts per channel into 8Ω and 230-watts per channel into 4Ω.
Best stereo amplifiers 2021
(Image credit: Copland)
According to Aleksandar Maksimovic of Audio Magic, which distributes Copland in Australia the new amplifier will deliver higher power when reproducing music. “Under dynamic conditions the CSA 150’s current feedback power plant will deliver several times its rated power, more than enough to drive almost any loudspeaker,” he said.
The Copland CSA 150 has a built-in DAC that uses an ES9018 Reference 32-bit DAC to provide multiple S/PDIF inputs (one coaxial, two optical) plus a USB input and has both PCM and DSD capabilities. An optional aptX HD Bluetooth module can be fitted if wireless capability is required.
(Image credit: Copland)
For analogue use, the Copland CSA 150 has three unbalanced line inputs, two balanced line inputs and a phono input (MM). It also has a dedicated headphone output stage and balanced and unbalanced line-level outputs.
Copland rates the CSA 150 with a frequency response of 10Hz to 150kHz (–3dB) and a signal-to-noise ratio of ‘better than’ 90dB (IHF-A).
The Copland CSA 150 is available now, listed at AU$8400 in Australia. Pricing in other regions is yet to be confirmed, but this works out at roughly £4690 / $6530.
While Deep Silver’s and 4A Games Metro Exodus has been available for several years, that hasn’t stopped the developer from improving upon it. Today, it was announced that the game would see a new edition called Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition, which will bring DLSS 2.0 to the game and more ray tracing features than you can shake a stick at, but only if you have the latest graphics cards.
This upgraded version will take advantage of 4A’s new fully Ray Tracing Lighting Pipeline and adds support for Nvidia and AMD hardware. Those who picked up AMD’s latest graphics cards will have another game that will provide ray tracing support. Nvidia cards will benefit from DLSS 2.0, while there’s no word on if support for AMD’s DLSS competitor, DirectML Super Resolution, will be added.
“We have built an all-new Fully Ray Traced Lighting Pipeline that brings a number of optimizations, upgrades, and new features to the Ray Traced Global Illumination and Emissive Lighting that we pioneered with the original release of Metro Exodus, as well as an upgraded implementation of our powerful Temporal Reconstruction technology to further boost resolution, visual detail, and performance.” — Deep Silver / 4A Games Press Release
This upgraded version will take advantage of 4A’s new Fully Ray Tracing Lighting Pipeline and adds support for Nvidia and AMD hardware. Those who picked up AMD’s latest graphics cards will have another game that will provide ray tracing support. Nvidia cards will benefit from DLSS 2.0, while there’s no word on if AMD’s DLSS competitor, DirectML Super Resolution, will be added.
However, this is more than just a mere upgrade. As there are many added features under the hood, this wouldn’t be released as a patch. Instead, it will be released as a separate version of the game that will be free for all existing Metro Exodus owners on the Epic Games Store Steam and GOG. The Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition will be available in Spring 2021.
This upgraded version is strictly for ray traced enabled hardware, as the bare minimum for even playing the game will require either Nvidia’s or AMD’s capable hardware. If you try to run the game and don’t have a GPU that can provide ray tracing, the game won’t run. This also means you probably don’t want to try running Nvidia’s software-enabled ray tracing on the GTX series cards.
(Image credit: 4A)
In addition to The Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition version, 4A games have also announced that Metro Exodus is also making its way to both Mac and Linux. These versions were promised some time ago and are still in the works. The Mac version will be available in March 2021, while the Linux version looking like a much later 2021 release.
Ray tracing support is also heading to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S consoles. The beefer consoles, PS5 and Xbox Series X, will run at 4K / 60FPS with full ray traced lighting. The Xbox Series S will also see upgraded ray tracing features, but not 4K as the console wasn’t designed around 4K gaming. The PS5 version will benefit from added haptic feedback for the DualSense controller. While the Xbox Series X|S will see spatial audio and controller latency improvements.
Metro Exodus is the conclusion to the Metro gaming series, which has spanned three games and is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, while being backward compatible for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
In terms of equipment, several roads are available once you’ve decided to launch a career as a content creator. The general idea is to gear up with a solid pair of headphones and, more importantly, a great microphone, which will make you sound pleasant to your listeners or viewers. Poor microphone quality is a sure way to effectively destroy your chances of ever reaching a wider audience, making it one of the most important aspect of any proper live streaming, podcasting, or content-creating setup. This is exactly where Audio-Technica steps in with their Creator Pack: a pair of headphones, a microphone, and even boom arm meant to kick-start your streaming or recording career without completely emptying your wallet or causing you a ton of headaches in terms of connectivity.
The Audio-Technica Creator Pack consists of the excellent ATR2500x-USB cardioid condenser microphone, the well-known ATH-M20x wired monitor headphones, a desktop tripod stand, and a medium-reach microphone boom arm, which as far as I can tell isn’t sold as a standalone product. The whole package sells for $200/€200, so you’re getting a slight discount compared to buying the headphone ($50/€50), microphone ($120/€120), and boom arm (good ones go for around $100/€100) separately. As a complete solution, the Creator Pack is an interesting proposition not only to content creators, but also those who want a buy-and-forget solution for their work from home teleconferencing and videoconferencing affairs. In this review, we’ll examine the Creator Pack piece by piece to figure out whether it successfully pulls off what it set out to do.
Specifications
Audio-Technica Creator Pack
ATH-M20x Headphones
Type: closed-back, 40 mm dynamic speaker drivers Frequency Response: 15–20,000 Hz Sensitivity/Impedance: 96 dB/47 Ω Weight: 190 g Cable: 3 m (rubberized)
ATR2500x-USB Microphone
Capsule: condenser Polar Pattern: cardioid Frequency Response: 30–15,000 Hz ADC: IP up to 24-bit/192 kHz Interface: USB Cable: 3 m (rubberized)
Extras
Boom arm (~1 m maximum reach), desktop tripod stand
The developers of audio chat room app Clubhouse plan to add additional encryption to prevent it from transmitting pings to servers in China, after Stanford researchers said they found vulnerabilities in its infrastructure.
In a new report, the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) said it confirmed that Shanghai-based company Agora Inc., which makes real-time engagement software, “supplies back-end infrastructure to the Clubhouse App.” The SIO further discovered that users’ unique Clubhouse ID numbers —not usernames— and chatroom IDs are transmitted in plaintext, which would likely give Agora access to raw Clubhouse audio. So anyone observing internet traffic could match the IDs on shared chatrooms to see who’s talking to each other, the SIO tweeted, noting “For mainland Chinese users, this is troubling.”
The SIO researchers said they found metadata from a Clubhouse room “being relayed to servers we believe to be hosted in” the People’s Republic of China, and found that audio was being sent to “to servers managed by Chinese entities and distributed around the world.” Since Agora is a Chinese company, it would be legally required to assist the Chinese government locate and store audio messages if authorities there said the messages posed a national security threat, the researchers surmised.
Agora told the SIO it does not store user audio or metadata other than to monitor network quality and bill its clients, and as long as audio is stored on servers in the US, the Chinese government would not be able to access the data.
Agora did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday, but told Bloomberg in a statement that it “does not have access to share or store personally identifiable end-user data. Voice or video traffic from non-China based users — including US users — is never routed through China.” The company declined to comment on its relationship with Clubhouse.
Clubhouse told the researchers in a statement that when the app launched, developers decided not to make it available in China “given China’s track record on privacy.” However, some users in China found a workaround to download the app, the company said, “which meant that—until the app was blocked by China earlier this week— the conversations they were a part of could be transmitted via Chinese servers.”
The company told SIO that it was going to roll out changes “to add additional encryption and blocks to prevent Clubhouse clients from ever transmitting pings to Chinese servers” and said it would hire an external security firm to review and validate the updates. Clubhouse did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday.
Clubhouse is an invite-only, iOS-only live-audio app that has become popular among many in Silicon Valley, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose Clubhouse debut earlier this month drew thousands of concurrent listeners. The company was recently valued at a reported $1 billion.
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While many of us moved to home offices when companies sought to avoid COVID-19 infection, for some people, working at home is the norm. One of those people is Sam Byford, Asia editor for The Verge, who works out of a home office in Tokyo, Japan.
We talked to Sam to find out how he has equipped his own home office and to see whether it matters these days if your remote desk is five miles away or about 6,700 miles away from your organization’s main office.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at The Verge.
I’m from the UK, and I’ve been based in Japan since 2008 — first in Osaka, now in Tokyo, where I live with my wife and our dog and our bunny. I came on board The Verge just as the site launched in 2011.
I am now The Verge’s Asia editor, which means two things really. I handle much of our Asia-specific coverage, of course, but I’m also an editor who happens to be in Asia, which is helpful from a time zone perspective. If critical news breaks after the US signs off and before Europe wakes up, or if someone needs an edit on a piece that we’re timing for the morning in the US, that’s often me.
That’s a great space you have. Was that an existing setup, or did you put it together once you knew you’d be working at home?
I’ve been working from home for as long as I’ve been with The Verge, but this is still quite a new setup. My wife and I moved into a bigger place at the end of last year, and it turned out to be good timing since we now both have our own offices and are both at home all day. I didn’t bring any furniture in the move and essentially started from scratch.
The “gaming” desk is on the left; the “working” desk is on the right.
I didn’t expect to see two desks! It looks like one is for gaming and the other for working.
That is exactly what they’re for! In our last place, I had a giant integrated setup on a single L-shaped glass desk. But I found it impossible to keep things organized, and I never really felt like I was off work. With this room, I decided to abandon the idea of coherent, tasteful interior design and went for an unassuming wooden desk for my Mac with an ostentatious gaming setup on the left.
Tell me about the desks themselves. Where did you get them, and how did you decide which ones to get?
They’re both from Rakuten, which often has a bunch of third-party sellers offering near-identical products of unclear origin. The wooden one is simple, but it has convenient storage and a shelf to raise the monitors. The gaming desk came from a seller called PandaTech, and it has RGB lighting, a cup holder, cable management, a USB hub, a controller rack, a headphone hanger, and a fitted mouse mat. I’m not usually into the RGB-heavy gamer aesthetic, but I thought it’d be fun to lean into it as a way to create distinct spaces in the same room.
Did you choose your chair especially, or is that just something you had available?
It’s a Herman Miller Sayl, which is a common chair — Vox Media’s NYC office has hundreds of them. I bought one without arms, though, because it works a little better for my posture. I’m tall, and it’s hard to find chairs that don’t encourage me to slouch. Also, I like the red.
This is obviously going to take a while, but could you tell me about your tech setup?
*deep breath* Okay, so my main work machine is a 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro. I basically never use it as a laptop unless I’m going to trade shows, which, for obvious reasons, I haven’t done since CES 2020, so I like this Brydge vertical dock that turns it into a skinny desktop computer and saves a ton of space. I go through quite a lot of mechanical keyboards, but right now, I’m using a Keychron K2, which is working out great. It’s comfortable to type on, looks good, and works seamlessly with macOS.
The MacBook is hooked up to two LG UltraFine 4K monitors, the discontinued 21-inch model and the current 24 inch. Below them, there’s an Apple HomePod for music and Mac audio, and next to that is one of three original Google Wifi routers we have around the apartment. The camera is a Nikon Df, which I use for most of my personal photography, and I also keep my Nintendo Switch Lite charging on this desk. There are a bunch of dongles, power cables, and wireless chargers in easy reach, plus my two current personal phones: an iPhone SE and a Pixel 4A.
My gaming PC lives under the other desk, and it’s a custom build from 2016. The monitor is an Asus PG279Q, and the speakers are Harman Kardon Soundsticks, which are also hooked up to my Sony record player across the room over Bluetooth. (I’m not an analog purist.) There’s an Oculus Quest VR headset, a Thrustmaster Airbus flight stick, and a Neo Geo Arcade Pro fight stick. There is a dedicated button on my gaming desk to cycle through the colored lighting.
And the Google Nest Hub?
The Google Nest Hub is a recent addition that I got for two specific reasons: to control my Hue smart lights and to keep an eye on Pascal, our unhinged Shiba puppy who spends most of the day upstairs and occasionally tries to destroy our living room. I have a cheap TP-Link Kasa camera hooked up, which does the job.
That’s a great toy collection. Do you have any favorites?
I would say the cacti, which come from an amazing cactus-themed zoo (yes) near Mt. Fuji that my wife and I went to this summer. You can pick the cacti yourself and choose the pots to plant them in, and I like bears and dinosaurs, so.
Cacti, bears, and dinosaurs.
Okay, I need to know about those polar bear basketball players hanging around your computer.
The bear is, for reasons I’m not sure I understand, the mascot character of a Japanese cosmetics brand called Smelly. There’s a store in Harajuku with a gacha machine featuring it in various poses, and I liked the basketball one, so I gave it a shot. Thankfully, it came out quickly.
Do you do game playing on both desks? (I see controllers on the right-hand desk.)
Not unless it’s work-related. The Switch just lives there on its charging dock, and those little handheld consoles are Game Gear Micros that I was in the process of reviewing. There aren’t really any situations where I’d play a game on a Mac when there’s a PC right next to it.
How do you keep the world out while you’re working — or do you need to?
I get locked in pretty easily. The outside light is super bright in the mornings here, even on cloudy days, so I just close the curtains for a few hours and settle in. We live in a mostly quiet neighborhood, so the biggest distraction is our dog, really.
I see you like basketball. (That may be putting it mildly.) Is there anything special about that poster?
My Torontonian wife got me into the Toronto Raptors soon after we met, and now I’m a big fan. This is a print of Kawhi Leonard scoring his iconic Game 7 buzzer-beater over the Sixers to send the Raptors to last year’s Eastern Conference finals on their way to the NBA championship. It’s a great, inspiring image that has taken on new meaning after Kawhi bounced to LA only to see his Clippers collapse embarrassingly in the playoffs this year. I should maybe get it framed or something, but honestly, I kind of like just having sports posters on my wall.
The Toronto Raptors and an OK Computer CD cover.
How about the small print on your wall?
That’s an OK Computer CD cover signed by Thom Yorke from Radiohead. My dad used to be an obsessive autograph hunter, and back when I lived in the UK, we’d often go to gigs together, and he’d wait around for hours afterward to get things signed. Radiohead was one of my favorite bands as a kid, so it’s a neat thing to have that reminds me of home.
Is there anything you’d like to change about or add to the current setup?
I’m mostly good, but I don’t think my gaming PC is going to last very long once next-generation consoles with much better CPUs are on the market. So I’ll probably be looking to rebuild in a year or so. I would also love for Apple to make a version of its 6K pro monitor that doesn’t cost $6,000.
Also, I recently bought Belkin’s ridiculously named Boost↑Charge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe. Charging Apple devices has gotten more complicated recently, at least for me. Now that the Apple Watch tracks sleep, I’ve been charging it with a messy cable at my desk for an hour or so when I start the day instead of overnight. And the iPhone 12 mini turns out to be too small for most stands — the charging coil isn’t high enough on the back of the phone. Belkin’s new charger solves both of those problems.
Update February 11th, 2021, 5:15PM ET: This article was originally published on October 21st, 2020. Several links and prices have been updated, and the Belkin Wireless Charger has been added.
Apple, Spotify, and the impossible problem of moderating shows
When former White House adviser-turned-podcaster Steve Bannon called for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray, the tech platforms reacted. Twitter, YouTube, and Spotify all banned him and his podcast relatively quickly, cutting off access to their millions of users. Apple Podcasts, however, took a different stance. The most popular podcast app let his show stay live in its directory so that, months later, when Bannon encouraged his listeners to converge on the Capitol to protest election results, people still had an easy way to access his thoughts. His show, even this week, ranks among Apple Podcast’s top 20 news podcasts.
A story from ProPublica in January pointed out the dangers of not moderating someone like Bannon. It’s reasonable to want Apple to not benefit from clearly harmful voices, but the incident speaks to how unprepared the podcast industry is to moderate: companies face huge challenges in even finding infringing content, and there’s little to no transparency from the big players in how they monitor the listings in their apps. Plus, people in the space have real, philosophical concerns about the extent to which podcasting’s open ecosystem should be policed.
A disparate network of companies makes up the podcasting world, including apps, hosting services, sales teams, and networks. Moderation will need to happen across these companies to be effective, and in this current moment, that effort doesn’t work the way it does at tech monoliths like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, which can remove someone with a push of a button. Put simply, podcasting isn’t ready for full-scale, widespread moderation — if that’s even what the industry wants.
“There’s no podcasting company that has the scale, or the reach, or the resources, to be able to do anything like [that],” says Owen Grover, the former CEO of Pocket Casts, when asked whether he thinks the podcasting ecosystem could monitor shows like Facebook does the posts, images, and videos on its platform. “If the podcasting industry cares about this stuff … it’s going to require multiple organizations that exist across the industry value chain.”
Moderation isn’t a simple task, and even platforms like Facebook and Twitter routinely get it wrong. Audio presents an even tougher challenge. For one, new content rapidly streams into the space. A report published this month from podcast marketing company Chartable says 17,000 shows launch weekly, and to moderate them would mean scanning audio, whether that be with actual human ears, transcripts, or software, and then discerning whether they cross the line. This assumes the companies in the space even care to moderate.
“It’s quite hard to do it at scale,” says Mike Kadin, founder and CEO of the podcast hosting platform RedCircle. “We would have to transcribe everything, maybe, and apply some automated filters to look at everything. A: that’s expensive, and B: even if we could get everything in text, I don’t think a computer can understand the nuance of some of these issues, so it’s super challenging, and we do the best we can.”
Even in high-profile moments, the industry has been slow and inconsistent about moderation. It should have been easy to ban shows from the notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in 2018, for example, but it took weeks to build out even an incomplete blockade across the industry. Spotify started out by removing specific episodes, with Apple Podcasts removing his shows a week later. After that point, a constellation of smaller podcast apps made their own decisions on whether Jones deserved a ban.
These efforts didn’t even remove the podcasts entirely. The Alex Jones Show is still available today on Google Podcasts and smaller apps like Castbox, and the open nature of RSS means you can still listen to his shows inside of Apple Podcasts and other apps where it’s banned if you seek it out.
All of which is to say, one of the most high-profile podcast deplatforming incidents wasn’t even wholly effective, which doesn’t bode well for a future of podcast moderation in which people want apps to take a heavier hand. Now, QAnon podcasts are flourishing on at least one hosting platform, Podbean, which also hosts Bannon’s podcast, and outright fraud has occurred on Apple’s podcast charts. Copycat podcasts have also sprung up on Anchor, Spotify’s podcast creation software. The industry isn’t catching every show that passes through its systems, meaning the problematic programming lives on until someone points it out, forcing the companies to respond. In other cases, the apps and hosting providers either struggle to find these programs or don’t care enough to bother with them.
This speaks to the core of podcasting’s moderation issues, and the industry’s selling point for many: its open nature. Podcasts are distributed through RSS feeds, which are essentially a link to a list of episodes. Most apps (apart from Spotify, Audible, and Amazon Music) effectively serve as search engines for these feeds. As long as a show is hosted online somewhere, it can generally show up in these apps when someone searches for it. Apple, in particular, plays an integral role in the space because it gives smaller podcast apps the ability to incorporate its catalog, meaning Apple’s moderation decisions ripple throughout the industry.
But because the ecosystem is diffuse and multiple podcast indexes exist, most companies end up having to make moderation decisions themselves. The teams’ jobs become easier if a particular program gains the mainstream media’s attention — as Jones’ did — because the team then knows what they’re looking for. But doing their own, preemptive moderation work is tough, if not nearly impossible because day-to-day operations often involve small groups with limited resources.
One podcast app creator, Xavier Guillemane, who made the popular Android podcast player Podcast Addict, says he fills his catalog with shows both from Apple Podcasts and The Podcast Index, a podcast search engine. He relies on user reports for moderation, and if he receives a report, he first checks Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts to see if the show is listed there.
“If it is then it means that the content does not violate their content policies,” he says over email. “If not, then I make sure that this podcast isn’t visible in any popular / suggested lists. That’s all I can do for moderation as I’m developing this app alone. With more than 2 million podcasts available, and with podcasts available in every language, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Grover echoed this idea, saying user reports were mainly how Pocket Casts policed its catalog. Those reports weren’t always reliable, however. “Signals from listeners are not always a good way to go because I will tell you that the whole notion of libertarian, do not censor — these things are powerful currents inside of podcasting,” he says, adding that many users saw the Jones removal as censorship.
Apple and Spotify, the two largest podcast players, each have their own set of community guidelines. Both platforms don’t allow content that encourages violence, for example, or shows that infringe on copyright. Spotify even specifically prohibits programs that promote pyramid schemes, while Apple doesn’t allow Nazi propaganda “as restricted by local law.” Like most terms, though, it’s hard to grasp how moderation would work in practice, and both companies are cagey about how exactly they moderate.
Spotify, which also owns one of the biggest podcast hosting platforms, Megaphone, issued a statement for this story saying Spotify uses a “variety of algorithmic and human detection measures to ensure that content on our platform is in keeping with our long-standing policies.” Apple Podcasts spokesperson Zach Kahn declined to comment.
Beyond the listening apps, podcast hosting platforms, like Podbean, also play a key role in moderation. While they don’t necessarily care about distribution, they’re the ones keeping podcasts live and available. In the past, hosting services haven’t been at the center of the moderation debate, but when Amazon Web Services booted Parler, a chat app known for far-right material, off its servers, it emphasized the critical role these hosts play. Podcast hosting platforms have a particular incentive to moderate when they help shows make money, or sell ads for them, because brands generally don’t want to advertise on a controversial show. Otherwise, the hosting platforms don’t have much reason to rein in their own customers.
At RedCircle, the team needs to moderate because it monetizes its users’ shows, but because the company only employs 11 people, Kadin says they can’t listen to or check out every program that joins the hosting service. Instead, the team reviews the shows that are the most popular each week to make sure they’re within the company’s content guidelines, including copyright, and also to ensure they’re receiving proper account support from RedCircle. Meanwhile, Spreaker, a company that’s now owned by iHeartMedia, uses algorithms and a 10-person team to review shows, says Andrea De Marsi, the company’s COO. They mostly focus on the shows that Spreaker monetizes through its advertiser marketplace and try to avoid taking sides on political rhetoric, so long as a podcaster doesn’t say or do anything illegal.
RedCircle says it’s caught some issues itself, like a neo-Nazi podcast that employed obvious imagery while Spreaker has removed dangerous propaganda creators, like ISIS, because of reports they received from law enforcement agencies.
Even Podiant, a podcast hosting platform that prominently advertises itself as a team of “compassionate liberals,” doesn’t have the bandwidth to screen new customers and mostly monitors shows based on user reports. “It’s a really tricky task, especially at the hosting level,” says Podiant founder Mark Steadman.
Acast, another major hosting provider, says it’ll soon be publishing community guidelines for its service.
“This topic is something Acast takes very seriously, and we know we have a responsibility to constantly learn and work on new ways to support podcasters, listeners and advertisers alike,” says Susie Warhurst, SVP of content at Acast in an email statement.
Ultimately, It’s the bigger companies that will have the most say in how moderation happens in podcasting. But because of the system’s open nature, there’s only so far the biggest company, Apple, can go in policing its platform. Asking it to remove a show from its directory is like asking it to make a specific webpage inaccessible in Safari — is that something people want? Podcasting has, so far, avoided crowning one platform as king, meaning anyone, both on the creator and business side, can enter the space and possibly find success in it. That’s what makes podcasting great, even if it requires unclear answers on moderation.
Bowers & Wilkins has launched a new Music App that lets you control music across the B&W Formation range of products. The B&W Music App works with Qobuz (including hi-res, 24-bit 96kHz files), Tidal, TuneIn, Dash Radio (in certain markets), NTS Radio and SoundCloud. More services will be added “in the coming months”, according to B&W.
Previously, the B&W Formation range recommended use Roon to control your music (or AirPlay 2 or Spotify Connect), with the B&W Home App only offering set-up functionality. Now, much like multi-room systems from Bluesound, Audio Pro and Sonos, there is a fully functioning control app.
The B&W Music App aggregates content from each streaming platform into one “easily browsed and elegant interface”. It brings you tracks, albums, playlists and radio stations, which B&W adds to with personalised recommendation features and a selection of curated Bowers & Wilkins playlists.
Music App is available now on iOS and Android. Initially, it will work alongside the existing Bowers & Wilkins Home App, which guides you on how to set up your Formation device. But soon the Music App will do the job of both, and the Home App will be retired.
Following a management shake-up at B&W, the company is keen to stress that “the Formation platform is wholly owned by Bowers & Wilkins”. B&W has also been on a hiring spree in an effort to expand its development resources and engineering team, which sounds like good news to us.
The Formation family is B&W’s take on a multi-room system. And it’s very good indeed. The Formation Wedge and Formation Duo both picked up a perfect five stars from our reviews, while the Flex earned a still very respectable four. They all offer AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth aptX HD for offline streaming from mobile devices, as well as integrated support for Spotify Connect and Roon. They can all be controlled with your voice using the Amazon Alexa personal assistant, too.
And now there’s an all-new Music App, which sounds like it could make Formation an even more enticing proposition.
MORE:
These are the best multi-room systems around
Get the lowdown: Multi-room audio – everything you need to know
The ZH8 does a lot of things seriously well, but it makes less sense as a purchase than rival models from Samsung
For
Bright and punchy picture
Superb colours and motion
Impressive sound
Against
Blooming around bright highlights
Plays even less 8K than rivals
Missing some HDMI features
With the dearth of real 8K content likely to continue for a good while yet, manufacturers have an uphill battle to convince consumers that an 8K TV is a sensible purchase in the here and now.
With the ZH8, here reviewed as the 75-inch KD-75ZH8 model, Sony gets a huge amount right. This is one of the punchiest TVs we’ve tested, and one of the best-sounding too. It’s also aggressively priced for an 8K model, significantly undercutting our current Award-winner in the category.
That said, the ZH8 also lags a little behind its main rival in a couple of key areas, not least of which is its lack of support for the tiny amount of 8K footage that is actually already available.
Pricing
The Sony KD-75ZH8 (XBR-75Z8H in the US) was priced at £5999 ($7000) at launch, but you can now pick it up for £4999 ($4998).
Should you have the space and appetite for an even bigger 8K set, the 85in KD-85ZH8 (XBR-85Z8H) is currently available for £8499 ($9000).
Features
(Image credit: Future)
A 75in TV is always going to be a physically daunting proposition, but the Sony KD-75ZH8 is even more imposing than similarly sized rivals thanks to its chunky, industrial design. If you expect a high-end TV to be little more than a super-slim screen, you might be disappointed by the ZH8’s relatively thick bezels and 8.4cm depth – the Samsung QE75Q950TS is just 1.5cm deep. That said, there’s an undeniable stylishness to the Sony, its solidity, straight edges and pointy corners amounting to a seriously premium statement.
Sony KD-75ZH8 tech specs
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Screen type LCD w/ direct LED backlight
Resolution 8K
Operating system Android TV 9.0
HDR formats HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
HDMI x4
USB x3
Optical 1
It’s hard to imagine a pedestal stand that wouldn’t buckle under the 48kg weight of the ZH8, so it’s little surprise that Sony has opted for sturdy, low-profile feet instead. These look best when positioned at the bottom corners of the set, but a narrower placement is also an option. With this arrangement, the huge TV will stand on any furniture that’s at least 62cm wide – assuming it’s strong enough to take the 50kg weight with feet attached.
In the box, there are a number of plastic panels that can be attached to the rear of the set, concealing connections and creating an appealing chequerboard pattern. Those connections include four HDMIs, one of which is HDMI 2.1 certified. You might assume that means it has the full suite of advanced HDMI features, but that’s not the case: while the ZH8 supports 8K@60Hz, 4K@120Hz (also known as HFR) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) are missing. The absence of those last two features will be disappointing to next-gen gamers: the Xbox Series X makes use of both and the PS5 is due a VRR update in the not too distant future.
As is the norm for all but the most budget-oriented of Sony’s TVs, the ZH8 uses Android TV as its operating system. Android TV gets better with each iteration, and version 9 is no different. As with all Android TVs, the Android portion is installed over a more functional, core operating system, and it makes for a slightly more disjointed user experience than you get from the likes of Samsung and LG. The smart platform feels more like using an external source than it does a core component, for example. That said, Android TV brings bonuses such as Chromecast and Google Assistant (the set is also ‘Works with Alexa’ certified).
Android TV is already pretty well appointed in terms of apps, but Sony has also worked hard to fill any gaps. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, Google Play Movies and Rakuten are all here, in at least HDR10 and most with Dolby Vision (the ZH8 doesn’t support HDR10+, as is the norm for Sony). For the UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, Now TV and BT Sport are all present, too. On the music front, Spotify, Tidal and Deezer are integrated, and while Apple Music and Amazon Music aren’t, you can use Chromecast to cast music to the TV from those apps on your phone.
In terms of core technology, the ZH8 is an LCD set with a direct LED backlight, and it uses the Picture Processor X1 Ultimate chip, which is Sony’s most powerful processor until the 2021 Cognitive Processor XR makes its debut with the company’s 2021 TVs in a few months’ time. The headline features here are Object Based Super Resolution, which is designed to intelligently analyse and enhance the definition of individual objects in an image, and an enhanced version of Object Based HDR Remaster, which applies a similar approach to contrast.
Picture
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Naturally, you’ll want to watch 8K content on your new 8K TV, but that’s even harder to do on the ZH8 than it is with Samsung’s 8K TVs. The only commercially available 8K content out there is streamed by YouTube in the AV1 format, which the ZH8 doesn’t support. You may only be missing out on aerial footage of lovely landscapes, but the fact that the tiny amount of 8K content out there is unplayable on your expensive 8K TV is hugely irritating. What’s more, it raises questions about the extent to which the ZH8 is future-proofed: it looks increasingly likely that the AV1 format is the one that will be utilised for 8K by other streaming services, including Netflix.
We are able to watch 8K content on the ZH8 for this review by using a Sony-supplied media player containing a handful of demo clips. With these clips, the ZH8 puts in a stunning performance that’s so crisp, dynamic and lifelike that you feel you could step right into each scene. However, that’s not an experience you’re going to be able to recreate at home.
Instead, what really matters is how the ZH8 performs with the content you do have access to right now, with the priority being 4K HDR. We insert Blade Runner 2049, one of our most demanding 4K Blu-rays, into our player, and are immediately impressed with the results. What strikes you first about the ZH8’s performance is how punchy and bright it is, particularly in very high-contrast scenarios. Most TVs shy away from fully illuminating the white text that appears from the black background at the beginning of the film, for example, but the ZH8 has no such reservations – this could well be the brightest rendition of this scene-setting copy we’ve seen.
This extreme contrast capability translates well to the film as a whole. As K travels around LA on foot and by flying car, the neon signs and holographic adverts jump out of the depressing dinginess of the rest of the city.
The effectiveness of that punch is further enhanced by the depth of the blacks. It’s not quite OLED levels of perfect blackness, but the ZH8 gets much closer than most LCD TVs, while also proving a dab hand at digging up dark details: on top of that striking contrast, you get superbly subtle shadows, with next to nothing being lost to the gloom.
However, there’s a problem here, and that’s backlight blooming. There are quite obvious halos of light around very bright objects on very dark backgrounds, and light frequently creeps into the black bars at the top and bottom when you’re watching an ultra-widescreen film. It is enough to be distracting at times, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to sink right into a movie.
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
The ZH8 is also a little soft and flat in its performance compared with the Samsung QE75Q950TS, which upscales 4K content in such a way that you could almost be fooled into thinking you were watching 8K. The Sony isn’t capable of pulling off the same trick, and the image doesn’t leap from the screen in quite the same way.
That said, there’s a naturalism to the ZH8’s performance that few can match. Its edges aren’t as sharp as those of the Samsung Q950TS, but there’s a smoothness and subtlety to the presentation that’s utterly convincing. It’s significantly better with motion, too, smoothing and sharpening everything without any shimmer or unpleasant artificiality. Its rivals are closing the gap in this regard, but Sony remains out in front.
Arguably the greatest contributor to the ZH8’s naturalism is its colour reproduction. It is capable of stunning vibrancy, but it’s also superbly subtle and nuanced, delivering every character’s unique skin tone, every building’s interior lighting, and every neon sign with unquestionable authenticity. Others might entice the eye a little more effectively, but this Sony (like many of its siblings) delivers on the creator’s intent in a way that few can match.
Dropping down to Looper in 1080p, that overall authenticity remains a strength, and it’s actually sharper and more detailed than the Samsung Q950TS. That said, it’s a fair bit noisier, too, exaggerating the intentional film grain to a degree that some will find distracting. It can be toned down by reducing sharpness and/or increasing noise reduction, but doing so softens the picture too much for our tastes. The perfect balance feels just out of reach, but this is an issue that you’ll encounter only occasionally as few films these days have this level of grain.
Those qualities with Full HD content roughly translate when you switch to standard-definition material. We play our trusty Dirty Harry DVD and the performance is sharp and detailed, which is impressive when you consider the amount of picture information that the TV is creating itself. Again, it’s effortlessly natural and convincing, particularly in terms of colours, although there’s still more picture noise than you’ll get from rival models.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Sony has been much more creative than its rivals in recent years in terms of TV sound, most notably by turning the entire panel of its OLED models into a speaker. That feature, called Acoustic Surface Technology, isn’t possible with an LCD model such as the ZH8, but Sony has sought to recreate the effect (which it calls ‘Sound from Picture’) by using a couple of tweeters to vibrate the frame of the TV. These work in conjunction with two forward-facing drivers mounted at the bottom to make it seem as if the sound is coming directly from the screen, while two rear-mounted woofers fill out the presentation.
All that effort has paid off handsomely. The ZH8 is clear and direct in its presentation, with the sound and picture linked in a way that’s supremely engaging. This is no one-trick performance, though – the sound is also detailed and dynamic by the standards of a TV sound system, making for an overall delivery that’s both engaging and exciting.
Dolby Atmos is supported and, in conjunction with the Acoustic Auto Calibration feature, which tailors the audio performance to your room, gives appropriate soundtracks plenty of scope and scale without sacrificing that directness. Few if any TV-integrated sound systems can fill a room quite as effectively, while also clearly projecting dialogue.
You can even use the ZH8 as the centre speaker of a surround sound package, should you wish, using the standard speaker terminals on the rear of the set. We wouldn’t recommend that, though – while the ZH8 sounds mighty impressive for a TV, even the best AV amplifier will struggle to tonally integrate it with a set of traditional speakers.
Verdict
There’s so much that the ZH8 gets right, most notably its supremely authentic picture performance and very impressive sound, but we can’t give it our wholehearted recommendation.
8K TVs are already a hard sell, and the fact that the ZH8 won’t play the tiny amount of 8K content that’s already available is a real issue, not least because it raises doubts about its ability to play other 8K content that might appear in the future. What’s more, it doesn’t make use its extra pixels with 4K content the way that the rival Samsung Q950TS does.
As such, the ZH8 may as well be a 4K TV. Even viewed on those terms it’s almost worth the full five stars, but the high price and backlight blooming hold it back to a four.
Sure, you can drink at home with some music on, but that doesn’t replicate the feeling of being out at a bar among friends and total strangers. As it turns out, nothing can, other than… well, being at a bar.
But a project called I Miss My Bar, via belong.io, comes the closest to making me feel like I’m at my local watering hole — loud voices, street sounds, and all. The only element missing is the trademark bar scent of booze mixed with cleaning products. You know the smell.
Anyway, head to I Miss My Bar, where, unlike real life, you can choose just how loud everyone is talking. You can also tweak the volume of a number of different sound effects that might make you even more nostalgic for better times, like the clinks of a bartender working, corks being popped, liquid being poured into a glass, the rain pattering on a window, horns honking outside, you get the idea — the normal commotion of pre-pandemic gatherings.
This project was kicked off by Maverick, a bar out of San Pedro Garza García, Mexíco. It was developed and designed by two companies, Lagom and Tandem, that operate out of the same city, so it’s less of a fan project and more of an ad campaign of sorts. Nevertheless, folks who work at that bar are updating the playlist on the site each week, and I already like what I’m seeing here. This particular week is hosting nothing but David Bowie, and if you want to subscribe to its playlist on Spotify, you can do that right here.
Once you’re all settled, hop on Zoom or your preferred video chat app, and try to relive some of the good times with friends and family. Cheers.
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