Parag Sankhe

Apr 24, 2013Blog

RED and Sony launches 4K Video Players REDRAY & FMP-X1 4K

RED a company that makes Red cameras has launched REDRAY a true 4K media player with HFR 3D support.
Are we ready for it? Blu-ray has just recently gone mainstream and there are many people who don’t even own a HD TV. To play 4K content on REDRAY you need to buy a 4K display to go with it.

REDRAY features the ability to play 4K files as well as upscale HD files to Ultra High-Definition resolution (4096×2160). REDRAY connects to 4K displays using 1x 1.4 HDMI output or 4x HDMI 1.3 outputs, with an additional HDMI output for 7.1 channel audio (for HD displays, REDRAY uses 1x HDMI 1.3 output). REDRAY also supports 3D playback at high frame rates (48-60fps) — more than twice that of traditional HD plug-and-play 3D devices.
REDRAY has a built-in 1TB hard drive, SD cards a USB port, and an internal 1TB drive. And an Internet download option so lots of ways to get 4K content in there and store it.
This all sounds good but there are is a issues. The Redray Player will only playback 4K content if it is encoded in RED’s own RED format its can also read mp4 but only at 1080p or 720p.

Sony's FMP-X1 4K media player — Sony’s FMP-X1 4K media player

Sony has also launched its FMP-X1 4K Media Player and they are also launching a 4K video distribution service that will offers library of native 4K content not only from Sony Picture Entertainment, but also from other production houses.

REDRAY costs USD 1450 (roughly £945), more than twice as much as Sony’s FMP-X1 which has been given a price tag of USD 699 (around £455).

Whether the Red Ray player and sony’s FMP-X1 4K Media Player will have a same battle as Blu-ray and HDDVD? it remains to be seen.

REDRAY Specifications

DIMENSIONS	316 × 61mm x 260 mm ( 12.4 × 2.4 × 10.2″ )
WEIGHT	5.9 Lbs
MATERIAL	Aluminium
OPERATING TEMPS	Zero to 40 C
STORAGE TEMPS	Minus 5 to 60C
NOTABLE FEATURES	Network based 4K 3D Playback System.
ADDITIONAL NOTES	Unique to RED, this product is the only available 4K resolution signal source for Ultra HD flat panel dispays and 4K projectors, may also be used for digital signage applcations to drive up to four 1080p displays.
RESOLUTION	Up to 4096 × 2160 pixels, 2D or 3D
BIT-DEPTH (COLOR)	YCbCr 12-bit 4:2:2 or RGB 8-bit 4:4:4
COLORIMETRY	ITU-R BT.709
PROGRAM OUTPUT	4K DCI, UltraHD, 1080p, 720p
PREVIEW OUTPUT	1080p, 720p
MEDIA SECURITY	REDCrypt™ digital media encryption
DRM OPTIONS	ODEMAX™ digital rights management
REMOTE CONTROL	IR, 802.11n, Ethernet
GENLOCK	RS170A Tri-level Sync
PLAYBACK FRAME RATES	24, 25, 30, 48, 50, 60 fps
DIGITAL MEDIA	Internet download, SDCard or USB-2 flash media
VIDEO FILE FORMAT	.RED (4K), .MP4 (1080p, 720p)
AUDIO FILE FORMAT	.RED (up to 7.1 Ch) .MP4 (Stereo)
AUDIO OUTPUT	Up to 7.1 channel LPCM, 24-bit 48Khz
OUTPUT CONNECTORS	4 x HDMI 1.4 (Program), 2 x HDMI 1.3 (Preview and Audio)
STORAGE CAPACITY	1TB Internal SATA Drive
POWER	120 – 240V 50 – 60Hz A.C.

Feb 25, 2013Mar 4, 2013Blog

Oscars 2013: list of winners and nominees in full

Oscars host Seth MacFarlane opened the 85th Academy Awards, The 2013 Oscars ceremony was not as predictable, as i thought it was going to be. Life of Pi took four awards, including best director for Ang Lee, while Les Misérables and Argo won three, including best picture for Argo

The four big Oscar winners of the night, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, and Christoph Waltz.

winners in bold…

Best Picture

Beast of the Southern Wild
Zero Dark Thirty
Amour
Argo
Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Django Unchained

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor

Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Robert DeNiro – Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin – Argo
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Amy Adams – The Master

Best Director

Life of Pi – Ang Lee
Amour – Michael Haneke
Lincoln – Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook – David O Russell
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Behn Zeitlin

Best Original Screenplay

John Gatins – Flight
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
Moonrise Kingdom – Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Amour – Written by Michael Haneke

Best Adapted Screenplay

Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Chris Terrio – Argo
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
David O’Russell – Silver Linings PLaybook
David Magee – Life of Pi

Best Original Score

Before My Time – Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
Pi’s Lullaby – Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
Suddenly – Les Miserable, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublils
Everybody Needs a Best Friend – Ted, Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
Skyfall – from Skyfall – Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Best Foreign Language Film

Amour
NO
War Witch
A Royal Affair
Kon Tiki

Best Documentary Feature

5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short Feature

Inocente – Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
Kings Point – Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine – Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
Open Heart – Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption – Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys – Sam French and Ariel Nasr
Curfew – Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) – Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
Henry – Yan England

Best Make-up and Hairstyling

Hitchcock – Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
Les Misérables – Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnells

Best Costume Design

Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables – Paco Delgado
Lincoln – Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror – Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman – Colleen Atwood

Best Visual Effects

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
Life of Pi: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
Marvel’s The Avengers – Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
Prometheus – Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman – Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

Best Cinematography

Django Unchained – Robert Richardson
Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey
Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Skyfall – Roger Deakins

Best Animated Feature Film

Frankenweenie
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck it Ralph
ParaNorman
Brave

Best Short Film (Animated)

Adam and Dog – Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole – PES
Head over Heels – Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare” David Silverman
Paperman – John Kahrs

Oscar Awards 2013 Show Highlights

Jan 10, 2013Jan 10, 2013Blog

Be Here Now

Once in a while you find a beautiful gem like this song, it fills my soul with peace and love.
this song will forever be with me.

Thanks Ray

Be Here Now – Ray LaMontagne

Don’t let your mind get weary and confused

Your will be still, don’t try
Don’t let your heart get heavy child
Inside you there’s a strength that liesDon’t let your soul get lonely child
It’s only time, it will go by
Don’t look for love in faces, places
It’s in you, that’s where you’ll find kindnessBe here now, here now
Be here now, here nowDon’t lose your faith in me
And I will try not to lose faith in you
Don’t put your trust in walls
‘Cause walls will only crush you when they fallBe here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Jan 4, 2013Jan 4, 2013Blog, Uncategorized

Welcome 2013: got robbed on last day of the year

Well, this is the first chance I’ve had to post about this, because my Laptop were stolen and so I haven’t been able to write about it.

I was in Glasgow, Scotland for New year, and was staying at Ross’s house. on 31st Dec we all went out for lunch in the afternoon and came back to find his neighbours and his apartment was broken into and almost everything was robbed. I lost my Macbook Pro (with all recent work done) my HTC sensation smart phone, my friend lost his brand new Canon 5D Mk3 DSLR camera that he just bought last week after saving for almost a year and many other electronic stuff including most his backup harddrive with all the work over the years.

Obviously, whoever did this had kept watch on the house because were out for only 2 hrs and they did this in the afternoon.

I’m trying to be upbeat about it, as we cant really do anything about it now but learn a good lesson about why insurance is very important.

I feel really bad for Ross, they also took Amands’s bag with her bank card and they also tried to ring the bank and impersonate bank as her so they could access the card.

I have decided now to not think too-much about and start the new year with a fresh and much secure approach as 2012 is past and 2013 is just ahead.

While 2012 was productive, I am looking forward to a much more productive 2013. Wishing all an incredibly positive 2013! . I hope the universe makes some of your dreams come true this year, and that you’re successful in overcoming some of your own challenges.

This new years evening has been shocking, but I can find some positives to these negative situation.

I wish everyone A Healthy, Happy, Safe, Peaceful, Productive, Creative, and Prosperous New Year 2013

Dec 3, 2012Dec 3, 2012Blog

End of Movember 2012 : Vintage Mustaches

Movember is finally finished and hope you have killed your moustaches by now.

I personally don’t really like moustache on me and will never have them, I don’t mind them but when your flat mate all of sudden has this massive bush on his lips for 24/7 it can get a bit annoying.

I think with a moustache you can look either of these two

1. English gentlemen

2. 70’s Porn star

Most of my friends who sprouted bush on their lips for Movember, looked like 70’s Porn star.

Although i dislike moustaches, I do think movember is a great cause. Since its beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1 Millions of men to sprout moustache to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.

Movember is an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of prostate cancer and other male cancer and associated charities.

I found The Library of Congress’ photostream on ‘Flicker’ that hold More than 17,000 historic photos, and some of them have these great moustaches.

So here are some of my personal favourites.