Avatar special edition takes another dip on iTunes Tuesday, brings exclusive extras
If you’ve made the switch to watching movies delivered via the internet instead of disc, one of the things that you’ll usually give up is interactive special features, but Fox is turning that trend around with its latest repackaging of Avatar . The iTunes Extras Special Edition of the movie goes on sale Tuesday and includes “Green Screen X-Ray” features letting viewers deconstruct the extensive special effects during 17 scenes as they watch, as well as an original screenplay from director James Cameron, his scriptment, and a gallery of 1,700 images. You can get an idea of how the X-ray feature works from the images here and a trailer (included after the break), but at $20 for an HD copy, we figure it will be just the most dedicated fans taking a trip back to Pandora before the 3D Blu-ray is freed from exclusivity next year
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Avatar special edition takes another dip on iTunes Tuesday, brings exclusive extras
Google’s Androidify holiday wardrobe update lets your bot ring in the New Year
Ready to celebrate the holidays this year? Google has gone and refreshed its free Androidify app with some season-appropriate gear for your avatar. The new virtual wardrobe selections should certainly please a variety of tastes, whether you’re itching to fit your robo with an ugly Christmas sweater or just a pair of New Years party specs
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Google’s Androidify holiday wardrobe update lets your bot ring in the New Year
Telesar V robot brings new meaning to escapism (video)
The esoteric art of telepresence is all about that sweetest of dreams: being somewhere you’d rather be. So far, though, it’s hardly teleported much beyond our head movements and kisses. What we really need is a fully-fledged avatar that can also feed sensory information back to us — and that’s exactly what the Telesar V claims to be. The user dons a pair of VR goggles that control the robot’s head and see through its eyes. A pair of gloves not only control the Telesar’s hands, but also transmit force and temperature data back from its sensors. Drag yourself away from that violent BF3 simulator and check out the smoochiness after the break. (And yes, the inventor’s surname is just about perfect.)
Continue reading Telesar V robot brings new meaning to escapism (video)
Telesar V robot brings new meaning to escapism (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony’s Face-to-Avatar blimp soars through SIGGRAPH, melts the heart of Big Brother (video)
Telepresence, say hello to your future. Humans, say hello to the next generation of Chancellor Sutler. All jesting aside, there’s no question that Big Brother came to mind when eying Sony Computer Science Laboratories’ Face-to-Avatar concept at SIGGRAPH. For all intents and purposes, it’s a motorized blimp with a front-facing camera, microphone, a built-in projector and a WiFi module. It’s capable of hovering above crowds in order to showcase an image of what’s below, or displaying an image of whatever’s being streamed to its wireless apparatus. The folks we spoke to seemed to think that it was still a few years out from being in a marketable state, but we can think of a few governments who’d probably be down to buy in right now. Kidding. Ominous video (and static male figurehead) await you after the break.
Sony’s Face-to-Avatar blimp soars through SIGGRAPH, melts the heart of Big Brother (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Visualized: Objet’s 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer
It ain’t easy being plastic, you know? Objet — the 3D printing house that aimed to replace your office’s all-in-one Epson back in July — brought a few of its snazziest pieces here to SIGGRAPH, and we popped by to have a gander. Targeting the animation-inspired crowd that showed up here in Vancouver, the company brought along some Hollywood examples of how its multi-material Objet260 Connex helped movie makers craft prototype creatures before they were inserted into the storyline. Thor’s Destroyer and Avatar’s Na’vi were both on hand, as well as the two critters shown above. The hothead on the right was crafted in around 18 hours (and subsequently painted), while the cool cat on the left was built in three fewer. Wildly enough, that fellow required no painting whatsoever; so long as you’re cool with shades of grey, you can program your object to be colored from the outset. Oh, and as for his cost? Around $80 for the materials — slightly more for the printer itself.
Visualized: Objet’s 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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NZXT stops being so sensitive with $40 Avatar S gaming mouse
Continue reading NZXT stops being so sensitive with $40 Avatar S gaming mouse
NZXT stops being so sensitive with $40 Avatar S gaming mouse originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony makes floating-head telepresence avatars a reality, Sean Connery digs out gun and red speedos
Sony makes floating-head telepresence avatars a reality, Sean Connery digs out gun and red speedos originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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James Cameron picks up 50 RED EPIC-Ms, high-fives Peter Jackson
Looks like another director’s been on a shopping spree lately, as RED’s Jim Jannard’s just announced that he sold another 50 EPIC-Ms to one generous customer. Who’s this, you ask? Why, it’s James Cameron of Avatar and Titanic fame, and he’s probably just blown $2.9 million on his latest stash of cinematographic toys — it’s $58,000 a pop for these hand-machined professional cameras. Details are scarce at the moment, but any educated guess would point at the upcoming Avatar 2 due end of 2014, meaning our favorite blue aliens will be returning in a healthy 5K resolution. Keep an eye out for Jannard’s official announcement later this week for the full lowdown.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
James Cameron picks up 50 RED EPIC-Ms, high-fives Peter Jackson originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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James Cameron ponders 48 or 60fps shooting of future Avatar films, because he’s trendy like that
Oh, Jameson. You trendy, trendy trendsetter. After coercing the entire world of cinema to bow down and worship the art of 3D, it looks as if James Cameron will soon be spearheading the effort to back away from the tried-and-true 24fps shooting method in favor of far faster options. The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that Cameron copped to the idea of shooting Avatar 2 and 3 at higher frame rates, likely 48fps or 60fps. The reason? It’ll provide an “added sense of reality,” and it’ll probably create a wave of new camcorders, software and plug-ins to handle the dirty work. Onward and upward, we suppose.
James Cameron ponders 48 or 60fps shooting of future Avatar films, because he’s trendy like that originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TEROOS robotic avatar gives your long-distance girlfriend a tiny, googly-eyed face (video)
Do you pine for animatronic eyes and robots that whisper sweet nothings in your ear? Well, geeks with distant girlfriends rejoice, because TEROOS, the shoulder-mounted, remotely-controlled telepresence avatar has arrived. Created by researchers from Keio University in Japan, the little bot has a camera and mic so far away friends can see and hear what you do, while a directional speaker keeps your conversations private. Communication’s courtesy of Skype, while some custom code lets users control the device’s six-axis articulating head. It’s not an independent system, however, as it relies upon a smartphone to relay commands from a PC to the avatar through Bluetooth. Users can also change the bot’s facial expressions thanks to a couple of googly eyes and mechanical eyelids, though it doesn’t have quite the emotional range of other androids from the land of the rising sun. Intrigued? Check the vid after the break.
TEROOS robotic avatar gives your long-distance girlfriend a tiny, googly-eyed face (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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