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YouTube adds support for HDR video

YouTube adds support for HDR video

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YouTube today announced that its platform now supports high dynamic range, or HDR, video. HDR essentially allows screens with the right hardware specifications to display a more accurate and realistic range of whites and blacks, as well as a wider range of colors. Alongside 4K resolution, HDR technology is the other big selling point of new TVs and one of the key benefits touted by Microsoft and Sony for the latest versions of their respective gaming consoles. However, there’s a critical lack of HDR content out there to watch, and a hodgepodge of different hardware and software requirements that make it difficult to know where and how to access those videos.

YouTube has done the same for 4K and 360-degree video

So now YouTube is trying to urge both creators and viewers to start dabbling in HDR video in a central location, and its best way of doing that is by pushing the world’s largest video platform to adopt the format. YouTube has done the same in the past for 4K content, as well as for 360-degree video and live-streaming. The goal is to keep YouTube at the forefront of streaming and display technology so that it stays competitive against other video options like Netflix and Amazon. YouTube says it’s working with top channels and creators to fill out its HDR catalog in the coming months.

To view any of this content right now, you’ll need a piece of external hardware. That includes Google’s new Chromecast Ultra, as well as a HDR Blu-ray player or the Xbox One S. However, YouTube says Samsung’s 2016 4K TVs will support native HDR video playback from the device’s built-in app some time in the future, meaning you won’t need a separate box hooked up.

Today’s Storystream

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Twitter
Alex Cranz45 minutes ago
The Babylon 5 reboot is in jeopardy.

Remember Bablyon 5? Alongside Star Trek: Deep Space 9, it was one of the first television shows to embrace long-term serial storytelling...on a space station. A reboot was planned at The CW, but with Warner Bros. Discovery stepping back from The CW and Nexstar gaining majority control of CW, the reboot is now in trouble, and its creator is asking fans for help.


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Emma RothAn hour ago
Logitech might have just confirmed Apple’s next new iPads.

A product page for Logitech’s Crayon stylus, which is compatible with the iPad, lists two unreleased devices: a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and an 11-inch iPad Pro. It also notes that the devices are “coming soon.”

Apple’s rumored to release those two iPads at an event this October, in addition to an entry-level iPad that the website didn’t mention.


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Mary Beth GriggsTwo hours ago
The United Arab Emirates is shooting for the Moon with plans for a lunar rover.

The country just announced that its first lunar rover is ready to go and will launch sometime in November — the exact date is still TBD. The “Rashid” rover will ride to space on a SpaceX rocket and will be carried to the Moon’s surface by a lander from Japanese company ispace, which has been working toward a Moon mission for years.


Welcome to the new Verge

Revolutionizing the media with blog posts

Nilay PatelSep 13
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External Link
David PierceTwo hours ago
Even Slack thinks the green “online” status was a bad idea.

Ali Rayl, the SVP of product at Slack, thinks away messages and status indicators are a good idea. But the green circle that screams “I AM ONLINE!” isn’t the right way to do it:

I never wanted to add the green dot. I think the green dot is very harmful... If your green dot is on and you get a DM and don’t [respond] it’s like, what’s the matter?


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The Verge
Jacob Kastrenakes2:04 PM UTC
Apple Maps turns 10.

The app was released on this day 10 years ago... and immediately became a laughingstock, leading to multiple people getting canned and a public apology from Tim Cook.

Now that Maps is a good enough product to warrant advertising, my big question is: when does Apple release a version for Android or the web? Apple made an alternative to Google Maps — now it needs to make a real competitor.


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Barbara Krasnoff1:28 PM UTC
Fingerprint-protect your Incognito Android browsing sessions.

Got a handy tip via 9to5Google: if you want to keep an Incognito Chrome tab hidden on your Android phone, you’ll soon be able to fingerprint-protect it by going to Settings > Privacy and Security > Lock Incognito tabs when you leave Chrome. If you don’t see that setting yet, either wait or try chrome://flags/#incognito-reauthentication-for-android. I tried it myself (see below), and it works like a charm.


two screens showing chrome settings
You can fingerprint-protect Incognito tabs.
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Twitter
Russell Brandom12:38 PM UTC
Your bitcoin chart of the day.

This great chart from Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal shows tech stocks following the price of major cryptocurrencies. Basically, when Bitcoin has a bad week, it takes the whole industry down with it.


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Tom Warren9:06 AM UTC
Nvidia all but confirms GeForce 40-series launch.

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Nvidia’s 40-hour countdown stream
Nvidia drops multiple hints around Lovelace and 40.
Image: Nvidia (Twitch)
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T.C. Sottek7:08 AM UTC
Puerto Rico goes completely dark, again.

Nearly five years ago, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, killing thousands and causing the worst blackout in US history. Reuters reports that the island is without power once again after Hurricane Fiona struck early Sunday.

In 2017, US officials told The Verge that the island couldn’t repair its way out of disaster and would need to rebuild. But just days before Fiona hit, the GAO reported that only $1 billion has been spent on long-term rebuilding projects out of a $32 billion fund.


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Twitter
T.C. Sottek3:12 AM UTC
President Biden says “the pandemic is over” — but that’s not just his call.

Even though Biden also said that COVID-19 is still a problem, expect this 60 Minutes soundbite to become the center of a heated political argument about whether the pandemic is really over. As Verge health reporter Nicole Wetsman explained last year, the “end” of the pandemic won’t come from one person declaring it so — even if that person is a world leader.


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Andrew WebsterSep 18
Fortnite meets Splatoon.

Epic just released the latest season of Fortnite, which adds new locations, weapons, and a character played by Brie Larson. Perhaps the most notable thing, though, is a traversal mechanic where players can swim across the island as a glob of liquid metal. It feels a lot like Splatoon. Coincidentally, Nintendo released Splatoon 3 earlier this month. Now we just need the squid kids in Fortnite.


The new chrome in Fortnite’s latest season.
The new chrome in Fortnite’s latest season.
Image: Epic Games
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External Link
Emma RothSep 18
Collapsed crypto co-founder Do Kwon insists he’s “not on the run.”

South Korean authorities issued a warrant for Kwon’s arrest after the fall of his company’s Terra stablecoin wiped out $60 billion in funds. Kwon was initially thought to be somewhere in Singapore, but now local police can’t find him. On Twitter, Kwon maintains that he’s not running from the police and says he’s willing to cooperate.

I am not “on the run” or anything similar - for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide.

South Korean prosecutors aren’t buying it and said in response that Kwon is “obviously on the run.”


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External Link
Thomas RickerSep 18
Apple has a Will Smith problem.

The New York Times reporting on the lose-lose situation at Apple over the release of Emancipation, a $120 million Civil War drama starring Will Smith that finished filming about a month before Smith climbed on stage during the Oscars in March and slapped Chris Rock:

“If they shelve the movie, does that tarnish Apple’s reputation? If they release it, does it tarnish their reputation? ... Hollywood likes a win-win situation. This one is lose-lose.”

The film is said to have generated an “overwhelmingly positive reaction” in private audience screenings, according to NYT’s sources, with Smith’s performance described as “volcanic.” Some are now pushing for the film’s release before the end of the year to make it eligible for awards consideration.


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Twitter
Emma RothSep 17
Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory reached a new milestone.

After opening the Austin-based plant back in April, Tesla announced on Twitter that the location built its 10,000th Model Y electric SUV. We’re still waiting for the “future home of Cybertruck” to actually start building the thing, though, and that isn’t expected to happen until next year.


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External Link
Emma RothSep 17
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CryptoKitties, a blockchain-based game known for its NFT cats, took off when it first made its debut in 2017. Things have come crashing down since then, sending the value of most CryptoKitties plunging. Matthew Smith over at IEEE Spectrum has an excellent write-up on how the game’s breeding mechanism and Ethereum gas fees contributed to its demise.

CryptoKitty in the past three months is about 0.04 ether, or $40 to $50, which is often less than the gas required to complete the transaction. Even those who want to casually own and breed inexpensive CryptoKitties for fun can’t do it without spending hundreds of dollars.