O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: 4K

  • DisplayPort 2.0 spec published, will use Thunderbolt 3, support resolutions up to 16K

    It’s hard to envision what a 16K image would look like outside of mind blowing.

    VESA on Wednesday announced the DisplayPort 2.0 video standard, the move marking the first major update to the DisplayPort standard since March 2016, increasing data bandwidth performance up to three times more than the previous version of DisplayPort 1.4a. 

    The DisplayPort 2.0 is backwards compatible with previous versions of DisplayPort. The standard also includes all the key features of DisplayPort 1.4a, which includes bells and whistles such as visually lossless Display Stream Compression, HDR metadata transport, and Forward Error Correction.

    The standard also utilizes the Thunderbolt 3 physical interface layer, DisplayPort 2.0 boosting the data bandwidth and promoting convergence across industry IO standards.

    These new data rates will facilitate multi-stream transport of DisplayPort 2.0 devices for a single DisplayPort on the source device, driving multiple displays either via a docking station or displays that can be daisy-chained. It will also allow for simultaneous higher-speed USB data transfer without compromising display performance.

    As mentioned, DisplayPort 2.0 can support resolutions up to 16K, higher refresh rates, HDR support at higher resolutions, improved support for multiple displays, and improvements to augmented and virtual reality displays. 

    Supported resolutions for single-display units will jump to 15260×8460 at 60Hz with compression, or 10240 x 4320 at 60Hz with compression. Daisy-chaining displays allows for two 8K displays at 120Hz, or three 10K displays at 60Hz, all with Thunderbolt 3. Using only two lanes with a non-Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cable, DP Alternate Mode allows for three 4K displays at 144Hz, two 4K x 4K for virtual reality at 120Hz, or three 2450 x 1440 displays at 120Hz.

    The first products with DisplayPort 2.0 are projected to hit the market by late 2020.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and VESA

  • Apple announces updated, 28-core Mac Pro, Pro Display XDR, due this fall

    The basic information about the 2019 Mac Pro is starting to flow in, and it looks both amazing and like something you’ll have to start scrimping and saving for.

    The computer, which was unveiled at WWDC 2019, has been described by Apple as the most powerful Mac ever, complete with 28 cores and an Intel Zeon processor. The unit is designed to be a studio essential for composers, music producers, and filmmakers. Composers can run up to 1000 audio tracks in Logic Pro X. Meanwhile, filmmakers can run three streams of 8k footage or 12 4K streams.

    During the presentation, Apple also unveiled its new pro display for the Mac Pro, dubbed the “Pro Display XDR.”

    The new Mac Pro will start at a $5,999 price point, with the Pro Display XDR retailing for either $4,999, or $5,999 for the Nano Texture version.

    Both versions, along with the Mac Pro, will be available this fall.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer

  • Apple releases updated 13-inch, 15-inch MacBook Pro notebooks with 8th and 9th-gen Intel chips, updated butterfly keyboards

    Apple has announced its new group of MacBook Pro notebooks, complete with Intel’s newest 8th and 9th generation Core processors as well as a revamped ultra slim butterfly keyboard with new enhancements to substantially reduce issues users may experience with stuck or unresponsive keys. 

    The 15-inch MacBook Pro was updated no less than twice in 2018, with one update after the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference and another in November that added Vega graphics to the notebook. With the new announcement, Apple’s top tier MacBook Pro has gained Intel’s 9th-gen 45-watt Core i7 CPUs.

    The $2399 model is jumping 400MHz to a 6-core i7-9750 CPU with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, while the $2799 model now uses an 8-core i9-9980 CPU at 4.8GHz. 

    Users can also snag a custom configured 15-inch MacBook Pro with Intel’s 8-core i9 processor overclocked to run at 5GHz. The new processors are designed to deliver “desktop caliber performance on the go,” according to Intel’s marketing. 

    Apple’s latest 15-inch Retina Display MacBook Pros continue to feature 220ppi 2880 by 1800 screens with P3 Wide Color Gamut, 500-nits of brightness, and the company’s True Tone display technology. They are equipped with Radeon Pro 560X or Vega 20 graphics with up to 4GB of HBM2 memory; 16 or 32GB of DDR4 RAM; and 512GB or 1, 2, or 4TB SSD storage options. 

    The current models also feature four Thunderbolt 3 ports with support for USB-C connectivity of all types, as well as four 4K or two 5K external displays via DisplayPort 1.4.

    The $1799 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has also received a 300MHz boost in CPU speed and now utilizes Intel’s 8th Generation 15 Watt Core i5-8365 CPU with a Turbo Boost speed of 4.1 GHz. 

    The custom option for an Intel i7 is also getting upgraded by 300MHz to Intel’s Core i7-8665U.

    Apple’s latest 13-inch Retina Display MacBook Pros continue to feature 227ppi 2560 by 1600 screens with P3 Wide Color Gamut, 500-nits of brightness, and True Tone display technology. They also use Intel’s premium-tier Iris Plus integrated graphics with 128 MB eDRAM; offer 8 or 16GB of RAM; and either 256, 512GB, or 1 or 2TB SSD storage options.

    The 13-inch MacBook Pro also features four Thunderbolt 3 ports on the 13-inch model with support for two 4K displays or one 5K external display. The 13-inch MacBook Pro also includes the same T2 chip, Touch Bar, and Touch ID authentication. 

    As with the 15-inch models, Apple is addressing keyboard concerns with an enhanced design intended to improve its ultra slim butterfly mechanism so as to substantially reduce issues users may experience with unresponsive or double-typing keys. 

    Both new MacBook Pro lines are available to order through Apple now, and will be in stores later this week.

    The revamped MacBook Pro notebooks also include Apple’s custom T2 chip, which generally functions as a variant of the A10 processor used in iOS devices. The 64-bit ARMv8 chip runs its own “bridgeOS” operating system closely related to watchOS. 

    The T2 chip drives the graphical Touch Bar input system as well as Touch ID authentication, provides a secure enclave for encrypted keys, enables users to lock the system’s boot process, and includes an Image Signal Processor for the FaceTime camera and audio use as well as hardware-accelerated disk and media encryption and decryption, and supports “Hey Siri” functionality. 

    The updated MacBook Pro are now available for pre-order.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and store.apple.com

  • Samsung to support Apple TV app, AirPlay 2 on all 2019 model Smart TVs, select 2018 models

    The Apple TV app is en route to a variety of platforms.

    Samsung Electronics has announced that its entire line of 2019 Samsung Smart TVs, as well as select 2018 models, will be receiving a firmware update that will bring the Apple TV app to over 100 countries. The firmware updaTe will also add AirPlay 2 support, bringing this to 176 countries. With this software update, Samsung customers can now enjoy all of their Apple TV channels, as well as iTunes movies and television shows, right on their Samsung TV.

    Samsung announced the following:

    “For the last decade, Samsung has been at the forefront of offering the broadest selection of content available to consumers on our Smart TV platform.” said Won-Jin Lee, Executive Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “As the first TV manufacturer to integrate the Apple TV app on a Smart TV platform, Samsung continues to offer our customers incredible value and access to the Apple TV app experience on the largest screens available today.”

    Since the Apple TV app is completely integrated into the Samsung Smart TV platform, customers can just select the Apple TV icon to gain access to their entire collection of iTunes movies and television shows. The app also lets you freely browse the iTunes Store with over 100,000 titles of films and series to buy or rent, including 4K HDR quality.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via iMore

  • Apple releases tvOS 12.2.1 update, focuses on bug fixes, performance improvements

    Because bug fixes are never a bad thing.

    Apple on Wednesday released tvOS 12.2.1 for users of its fourth-get Apple TV and Apple TV 4K units. The update focuses on bug fixes and comes following the public release of tvOS 12.2 last month.

    Users can download and install the update through the Settings app on the Apple TV. The update mostly focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements, with new features arriving further down the line.

    Apple has begun beta testing tvOS 12.3, which features an all-new TV, as well as the Apple TV Channels feature. Through Apple TV Channels, users can now subscribe to Showtime, Starz, The Smithsonian Channel, and Tastemade directly in the TV app. Additional partners are coming, but these are the four supported in the initial beta.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac