TV, Movies & Home Theatre - Page 47

The New Zealand government has inked a deal with James Cameron and major studios for not one, but three Avatar sequels to be filmed in the country. New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, announced the news, stating that there would be a budget of at least $NZ500 million ($461 million or so) spent locally during its production.

Where Cameron and the movie studios benefit by shooting in NZ, is that if the three Avatar movies meet the requirements of the deal between the NZ government and the studios, they will qualify for a total tax rebate of 25%, which gets pumped into the Avatar movies. The requirements include:

The new movies will reach us on Christmas 2017, 2018, and 2019.

If you have ever ready any of my articles here at TweakTown that involve multimedia streaming, you know that I regard Plex as the best media streaming server and app combo out on the market today. You can imagine my excitement when Google announced this morning that Plex has finally made its way onto the Chromecast along with ten other third-party apps.

"I'm happy to tell you that over the last few months, we've been working closely with Google to bring Plex to the Chromecast," said founder Elan Feingold. "It's an honor for us to be among the first handful of apps on the device, and it's been great working with Google - we've never met a smarter or more energetic group of people to work with."

For those of us with substantial libraries being served up by Plex, this news is great, and the the addition of other apps such as Songza, Red Bull.TV, Revision 3, and Avia make Chromecast an even more affordable streaming device for anyone. With today's additions, Google has shown that it fully intends to support Chromecast well into the future, and now lets hope to see a Spotify, Vimeo, Amazon Instant, and Redbox Instant join the party soon. Read my full review of Google's Chrome cast here, and check out the full list of apps that were added today below.

If you didn't already know, you should expect a new Terminator trilogy, as the franchise is being completely rebooted. Now there's news popping up that Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures are developing a new TV series that will compliment the reboot.

The new Terminator TV series is being written in conjunction with the first film in the new trilogy, which should hit screens in June 2015. The new series will reportedly follow a critical moment from the original Terminator, but it will be pushed down a completely different narrative path. I don't know whether to be excited or not, but I did like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Sure, it was slow at times, and had its problems, but that last episode was absolutely awesome. I'm looking forward to the new movie, especially with Arnold Schwarzenegger signed on.

It's been a long time coming, but the World of Warcraft movie finally has a filming date: January 2014. Duncan Jones is going to be getting into the director's chair for this, with his previous movie, Moon, being one of my favorite of recent years.

Legendary showed off some decent test footage at Comic-Con, announcing the studio would start filming in early 2014. Warcraft will start shooting in Vancouver on January 13, 2014, with casting yet to be announced. Since January is only a few months away, we should begin to hear about casting very, very soon.

Rumors are pegging the movie to not be some PG-rated flick, but will be a full-blooded fantasy flick, in the same path as The Lord of the Rings and will reportedly follow the RTS games from the 90s, and not World of Warcraft. The World of Warcraft, er, world, will be used in a future movie, with the current movies taking it slower and concentrating on the mid-90s titles.

Samsung has just unveiled its 55-inch curved OLED TV, pricing it quite competitively against fellow South Korean rival, LG, and its own 55-inch curved OLED TV. Samsung is selling its KN55S9C display at just $8999.

LG, on the other hand, is selling their 55-inch curved OLED TV in the states for $14,999 exclusively through Best Buy. The Korea Times has reported that the price drop is lower than the $13,000 originally charged for the Korean version, where they add: "Samsung's price cut came as a result of improved manufacturing yield, and [Korean] customers that already purchased one will be refunded the difference."

$8999 is a lot to drop on a 55-inch curved OLED, so this new TV will mostly cater to those who enjoy luxury. But, at $6000 cheaper than the LG OLED TV, you wouldn't want to have one of those in your living room and reading this news right now.

A few years ago, we nearly saw a Halo feature film from director Neill Blomkamp. At the time, he wasn't a big director, and the Halo film collapsed under the weight of its two financiers, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, pulling out of the project at the last minute.

This was reportedly due to concerns over the ever-increasing budget, and Microsoft's cut. Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson, had hired Neill Blomkamp to direct the Halo movie, which would've been Blomkamp's first full-length film. When the Halo film collapsed, Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, decided to go with producing Blomkamp's District 9, a sci-fi flick based on one of his short films.

District 9 was released in 2009 to a huge praise from critics and viewers, going as far as receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. When talking with Hero Complex, Blomkamp said: "The luck is the fact that Peter and Fran let me make [District 9] out of the ruins that were Halo. What happened out of that was learning to trust my ideas. If Halo had come out and succeeded or failed, I wouldn't have learned that."

Today, Roku announced that Verizon's RedBox Instant service is now available on the Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku HD, and Roku LT set-top boxes and the Roku Streaming Stick. The new service allows not only Verizon subscribers but everyone else to access the app and rent and purchase new releases on-demand.

RedBox Instant is also offering a one-month free trial of its subscription service that includes free unlimited streaming of a list of "hit movies" and four DVD credits to be used at RedBox kiosks. Users can download the app by visiting the Roku Channel Store and searching for the RedBox Instant by Verizon logo. Below is a list of features that Roku says is available via RedBox Instant:

I was one of those people that didn't really enjoy Avatar that much, but we all know it was one of the most successful movies of all times at the box office. James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have now confirmed that Avatar 2, 3 and 4 will be released one year apart starting from 2016.

Cameron has been spending some time in New Zealand working on the story for Avatar, with the famous director now coming out with 20th Century Fox and announcing the three sequels to Avatar. Cameron has called in some help for the script, with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver stepping on, as well as Black Dahlia screenwriter Josh Friedman and Savages writer Shane Salerno.

Cameron says: "Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I've come to realize that Avatar's world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I'm pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh - all writers I've long admired - to join me in completing the films' screenplays."

As I predicted, set-top box manufacturers are scared of Google's new Chromecast HDMI media streaming dongle, and rightfully so. The little device costs just one-third of what comparable devices cost from other major brands. With companies like Netflix, Vimeo, Spotify, HBO, and PLEX either supporting Chromecast or planning support, the $35 dongle looks more appealing than anything else.

Today, Apple has dropped the price on its refurbished Apple TV box from about $85 to just $75. Is this because of Google's success with the $35 Chromecast? That could be it, but Apple does have a history of reevaluating their refurbished prices and dropping them if the market is slow, so it really could be either of the reasons. A brand new Apple TV unit retails for about $99 new, so there is little value in choosing the refurb over the new, but my bet is to go with the $35 Chromecast.

Google's Chromecast is making huge waves in the home theater market, and with the device completely selling out everywhere in less than 1 week, other companies are taking notice in a big way. This morning, we are hearing world that three of the biggest names in video streaming are voicing their interest in the device.

On Monday, GigaOM reported that Vimeo, the HD video streaming giant, has tossed its hat into the ring with the company's VP of mobile, Nick Alt, confirming interest in Chromcast. "We're excited about the emerging opportunities bridging mobile to Connected TV and we look forward to offering Chromecast support in our products." he said. Additionally, Redbox Instant says that they would love to bring their service to Chromecast. My favorite media server / media client Plex has also voiced its intentions to develop an app for the device.

Google has said that Pandora, AOL, and The Washington Post are all working on dedicated apps for Chromecast and that HBO is also looking into bringing its HBO Go service onto the device. Currently, Google's Chromecast streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, and Webpages, but if today's news is any indication, things are about to explode for Chromecast!

A recent report by PC World is suggesting that Dell has recently started beta testing thumb drive sized Android mini PCs that could give Google's recent Chromecast a run for its money. Dubbed project Ophelia, the device is said to be similarly sized to the Chromecast but would feature much more functionality as it will run a full version of Android instead of a slimmed down version of Chrome OS like the Chromecast does.

Project Ophelia features the same style direct HDMI connectivity that Chromecast does and is said to feature a full version of the Google Play Store that would allow users to download the full complement of apps, games, movies, and books that other Android devices use. It will feature both Bluetooth 4.0 and and Wi-Fi, so wireless keyboards, mice, and the various Android-to-Android Wi-Fi-based remote apps that are growing so popular should work well.

Sources say that project Ophelia should retail for around $100, but for now, only beta testers are getting there hands on Ophelia, and we don't expect a release until sometime during the next fiscal quarter which could be as late as October. While the $100 price tag is a bit on the high-end in my opinion, this little device could spell big trouble for companies like Pivos, producer of the Xios DS Android-based set-top box that is one of the leading sellers for Android HTPCs.

When Google first announced Chromecast, I instantly knew it was going to be big. The $35 media streaming dongle has become an instant hit among technophiles everywhere in the US. When originally launched, Google offered the device for $35 and included three months of Netflix for free, which essentially made the device cost a total of $11 if you are already a Netflix subscriber.

Today, we found out that device has sold out on every online outlet it was being offered at. In just 36 hours, so many units were sold on the Google Play Store that shipping times were eventually listed as 6 to 8 weeks. Amazon and Best Buy's online store have both sold out, but Best Buy says that they still have some units available in-store.

I placed my order for the Chromecast just an hour or so after it was announced and selected two-day shipping, but Google has still not sent any shipping info to me, so tonight I'm going to head to my local Best Buy and see if they have any units in stock so I can bring all of you readers a wonderful review the first of next week.

Chromecast may just be the kick in the pants that Google TV needs. According to one employee, Google will be providing Google TV support for Chromecast. With all the talk of a new Google TV set-top box being readied for launch, this could mean that you would be able to plug your Chromecast into this new box, or it could mean that Google is bringing a Google TV app to Chromecast.

Warren Rehman, an employee of Google said that "Google TV isn't dead" and went on to confirm that Google will be integrating Chromecast into Google TV in some form. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that earlier this year at CES, they got a closed doors, private demo of Google's upcoming set-top box. The new Google TV box is said to feature a built-in camera, motion sensor, and have support for Google Hangouts.

There has been a lot of discussion about the destruction of Metropolis in Zack Snyder's reboot of Superman, Man of Steel. Sure, there's insane amounts of destruction, but when two God-like (fictional) beings fight each other in an otherwise realistic portrayal of a city, what do you think would happen? Other than it causing an estimated $700 billion worth of damage, it would be an intense few nanoseconds.

The video above goes into the science of what would happen if Superman punched you, and has so many numbers and facts that it'll make you laugh out loud at how ridiculous it would be if Superman really did punch someone in real life. The punch itself would be so quick, you wouldn't even see it for one. Secondly, it would have so much force it would create a 1km deep crater in the ground.

It would take just a few nanoseconds for it to happen, before a blast radius of several kilometers engulfed into fury and flames. So, what we see in Man of Steel is more 'realistic', but it could've been so much worse. I loved the destruction in Man of Steel, and thought it was one of the more realistic superhero movies to depict God-like beings fighting in a city.

Ever since Google's Chromecast media streaming dongle was announced yesterday, I have been curious as to what hardware lies inside. I am after all, one of the type of people who enjoy taking things apart to see how it ticks. Thanks to the FCC and Anandtech I do not have to wait for my Chromecast to arrive. The FCC Chromecast documents have been released and they contain images of the naked Chromecast PCB.

Powering the device is a Marvell DE3005 chip while AzurWare silicon handles the Wi-Fi duties. For those interested, you can view the full FCC documentation along with the photos and even the devices user manual by visiting Source #3 below. I placed an order for a Chromecast unit shortly after the announcement yesterday. No shipping info has been provided yet, but we are hoping to have our unity by Monday or Tuesday and will have a full review up shortly thereafter.

This morning Google announced the release of a new media streaming dongle dubbed Chromecast. The small $35 HDMI dongle mirrors content that is being played on a nearby smartphone, computer or tablet. Coming in at just 2-inches long, the device plugs directly into your HDTVs spare HDMI port.

The device is able to run certain apps and if you are an early adopter, you will get a free three month Netflix subscription. Google says that Chromecast runs a simplified version of Google's Chrome OS and unfortunately, it will require a separate USB power source. The device features 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and comes with an HDMI extender, a USB cable and a USB power source.

Chrome apps that work with Chromecast will feature a "cast" button that will push the video feed to your Chromecast connected television. "Once Chromecast is plugged in, you just go to YouTube on your smartphone," Google reps said. "You'll see the cast button in your UI and you press it -- Chromecast will pull the info you requested from the cloud and play it on your TV." Google demoed the device at this morning's breakfast event and showed how Chromecast could display a YouTube video from your tablet onto your TV, and still allow you to use other apps on your tablet at the same time.

I'm still adjusting to the awesomeness that was Man of Steel, but while I was over in Melbourne for PAX Australia 2013, I read that the director of Man of Steel, Zack Snyder, confirmed a Superman/Batman movie for 2015.

At the end of the DC panel at Comic-Con 2013, Zack Snyder tool the stage, gesturing that moderator Chris Hardwick should move out of the way where he said "I'm gonna take the lectern from you, because some sh*t's going to happen up here. It's official that we are going to make another Superman movie. And you say, Zack, what is the movie about? But you don't want me to tell you that. You want to go and see the movie. But I can say that maybe there's a single element that will be in the film that I could... help you out with. I was thinking about how to do that. I pored through the DC Universe to look for a way to tell this thing. We're writing the thing now, but I came across a thing I found that'll help you understand it."

While this is exciting news, it doesn't confirm a sequel to Man of Steel, which is weird. Harry Lennix, who starred in Man of Steel, read a line from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns: "I want you to remember, Clark, in all the years to come, in all your most private moments, I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you."

Intel is working very hard on a top-secret project that has the potential to greatly shake up the pay-TV market. Known as "Project Black Box," the set-top box and associated television service are poised to take advertisers by storm by paying as much as 75 percent more than traditional content providers.

Intel is able to do this because the box is said to utilize a built-in camera that will collect data on viewers' habits. Yes, you read that correctly, Intel's set-top box will record everything you do in front of your TV, and then feed that information back to its advertisers to help better target you with ads.

CNET reported today that more than 2,000 Intel employees in the Northern California, Arizona, and Oregon areas are currently testing the new pay-TV service. It is unknown when the set-top box and service will launch, but Intel does say that there will be substantial changes made to the final version such as how users navigate the system and how content is served.

We've had a handful of trailers to Zack Snyder's reboot of Superman, Man of Steel, but this new 'Fate of Your Planet' trailer is filled to the brim with action. Check it out below, and then we'll go through what we can see in the trailer.

The beginning starts of with Zod's message to Earth, then the fun really begins. We get a better look at Laurence Fishburne's Perry White, Amy Adams' Lois Lane, Michael Shannon's General Zod, and of course, UK born Henry Cavill's Superman. The trailer has General Zod threatening Earth for harboring Kal-El, where he states that "the fate of your planet rests in your hands" unless they give Kal-El up.

Zod says that Kal-El has 24 hours to surrender, "or watch this world suffer the consequences". Things ramp up a bit, and we have a death stare from Zod, a huge punch to Zod by Superman, Faora threatening someone (Superman, or the military), Superman receiving a huge smackdown by some robot or person in a suit, a fighter jet crashing into buildings in Metropolis, Superman being dragged into countless skulls, Lois going into some form of a suit, more of Superman flying, Zod hitting Superman with a steel girder (girly scream from me), Superman screaming, some utterly awesome heat vision being shot from Superman's eyes, and bam - the El symbol, end.

Rovio announced that they have partnered with Sony Pictures for their upcoming Angry Birds movie. We've previously covered details of the Angry Birds movie that was originally announced back in December 2012. At that time, I asked what the movie would consist of. That question still needs to be answered.

The Angry Birds movie will be a 3-D animated comedy coming out sometime in 2016. It will be produced by John Cohen, the producer for Despicable Me. The partnership between Rovio and Sony Pictures was announced via tweet earlier today. Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said the following in a press release: