Working in combination with DirecTV’s 4K Genie HD DVR, the new 4K Genie Mini is a set-top box that brings UHD video content for secondary televisions within a household. Of course, a household would need multiple UHD televisions in order to utilize the new boxes. In addition, the UHD televisions in other rooms will need to be HDCP 2.2 compliant and have HDMI 2.0 ports to watch DirecTV’s ultra high definition video content at 60 frames per second.
Interestingly, one core limitation of the 4K Genie Mini is that only one television at a time will be able to play UHD content in a home. If someone is watching a 4K movie in the living room on the main family TV, it’s impossible to watch another ultra high definition movie in another room, even if it’s recorded on the DVR. Beyond UHD video, the 4K Genie Mini also supports Dolby Digital Plus audio output.
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Another issue is that early 4K television models purchased prior to 2015 may not meet the HDCP and HDMI requirements. If an early model is being moved to a secondary room due to a living room replacement, it could be difficult to take advantage of the 4K Genie Mini. Speaking about the new hardware, DirecTV representative Henry Derovanessian said “Customers who want the best picture quality are creating more demand for 4K. The new 4K Genie Mini allows us to meet that demand by expanding 4K access to more of our customers nationwide.”
During May 2015, the company announced two new satellites launched successfully to join DirecTV’s existing fleet. The new hardware was specifically launched to increase the capacity to broadcast HD and 4K Ultra HD channels across the United States. Of course, the volume of 4K content is still somewhat limited to brand new film releases as well as a handful of popular back catalog titles. There are also a variety of 4K nature documentaries available on the service.
Go ahead and spend the extra $20 on the good Apple TV 4K
Apple has announced two new versions of the Apple TV 4K. Both are good for all kinds of reasons. Better internals. New features. And prices that are much more likely to be competitive, even if they're still a good bit north of what folks are spending on the likes of Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices.
But two new Apple TV 4K boxes -- and the death of the lower-resolution Apple TV HD -- means you've got a decision to make. Which Apple TV 4K is right for you?
New Apple TV 4K tweaks the internals and the price
Apple today announced a new version of Apple TV 4K. It's the third generation of what we consider to be the best streaming device you can buy, and Apple's not really messing with things too much. Same general design. Same general function. But the internals have been tweaked that allow this 2022 model (which follows the models released in September 2017 and May 2021) to work better with more TVs — and to allow for a little more flexibility in price.
Here are the big deals: There are now two versions of Apple TV 4K (or SKUs, for those of you who prefer inside-baseball terms). There's a model that's Wi-Fi only with 64GB of storage for $130, or a model with Wi-Fi and Ethernet with 128GB of storage for $150. For our money, we'd just go ahead and spend the extra $20.
Optoma’s CinemaX 4K laser projectors now have faster response times for gamers
Optoma is expanding its 4K UHD home theater projector line by introducing the CinemaX D2 Series. Optoma says this is an upgrade from the previous CinemaX P2 projector, and the improvements are based on user feedback. The series includes the CinemaX D2, a 4K UHD ultra short throw laser home projector, and the CinemaX D2 Smart, which adds smart TV features courtesy of an included Android TV dongle.
Ultra short throw projectors are ideal for people with limited space in their room as they can cast an image on the screen from small distances. Traditional short throw projectors need at least four feet to eight feet of distance from the screen to be able to produce high-quality images, but not all rooms have this much area to spare. That's where ultra short throw projectors can help. The CinemaX D2 Series, for example, can cast up to 100-inch images from less than a foot away from the screen. If you increase the distance a bit more, you get up to 120-inch images.
The CinemaX D2 Series features 3,000 lumens and a 1,800,000:1 contrast ratio, which, oddly, is a bit of a step down from their predecessor, the CinemaX P2 projector, which offers the same brightness, but with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
The biggest boost this series offers is an Enhanced Gaming Mode that claims "blur-free visuals and low lag" with the help of its 16ms response time in 4K at 60Hz and 4ms in 1080P at 240Hz. The 30,000-hour life span (same as its predecessor) seems to be slightly higher than other ultra short throw projectors in this price range as well. Both D2 models have three HDMI 2.0 inputs, instead of the P2's double-HDMI 2.0 and single HDMI 1.4 inputs.
