format

Samsung launches the Fold8 with passport format and the question is not only why this format, it is why now

by

As already marks the summer tradition in the tech universe, Samsung has just presented new foldables. The different thing this time is that there are no longer two, but three models presented and the novelty is that the Galaxy Fold8 launches a new passport type formatmore square and compact when folded and more panoramic when open. The question we ask ourselves is why this format? But above all, why now? Samsung was a pioneer in folding products and has been betting on two very specific formats for eight generations now, the Fold and the Flip. That they add a third format is striking because it is the first time that Samsung does not set the standard and follows that of others. Let us remember that this format was first explored by OPPO with the OPPO Find N2and later by Huawei with the Huawei Pure X. The difference, and it’s not just any difference, is that this is the first to be sold in Spain. Returning to the question of timing; with the serious crisis of components that we are going through, with prices through the roof and manufacturers dropping that Maybe we don’t need a new high-end every yearSamsung arrives and presents not two, but three folding ones. And also taking risks with a new format. We have come to London to learn first-hand about Samsung’s new launches and we have taken the opportunity to ask Javier Vitón, product manager at Samsung Spain, about these issues. Before continuing, we remind you that the members of Xataka Xtra can access discounts, benefits and exclusive opportunities in the Samsung online storein addition to exclusive raffles, a private Discord server and a growing catalog of discounts and advantages on digital services. You can join the community for only 30 euros per year. A foldable for each type of client Samsung’s foldable trio for 2026 Samsung launched the first Fold in 2019 and in 2020 the Galaxy Z Flip. Since then, they have remained faithful to these two formats, with a clear distinction to the type of user they were aimed at: the Fold for those looking for maximum productivity and cutting-edge specifications, and the Flip for a younger audience and with a more affordable price. The new Fold with passport format is placed halfway between both: It has the advantage of a much larger screen, but when folded it is more compact than the classic Fold. Javier Vitón tells us that “We do not like to see the folding family as a family of devices tiered in specs and prices, but rather as a device for each type of person.” The Fold8 Ultra is the model for those who “want to get the most out of that large screen and be able to multitask with the highest product specifications,” while the new Fold8 is “perfectly suited to consuming multimedia content” and the Flip is more aimed at “very expressive young people.” In 2013 Samsung already said what they wanted to offer a mobile for each type of user and today, thirteen years later, we see that The strategy hasn’t changed much. “What we are looking for is a device for every need,” says Vitón, adding that the strategy goes beyond folding “Also with the S, the Galaxy A family… there is surely a product that can fit for each customer.” However, it is still curious that, in the midst of a component crisiswith the prices of RAM and memory through the roof, Samsung has decided to launch a third folding mobile phone. David Alonso, vice president of Samsung, is aware of this problem, but as he stated in statements to Xataka, “our scale, technological capacity, strategic alliances and supply planning allow us to respond with greater flexibility while maintaining investment in innovation to minimize its impact. The highest priority for Samsung is to ensure availability and stability of supply, compliance with our commitments to the consumer and offering real value to the user.” “Even in a complex context, we believe it is important to continue expanding the category with differentiated proposals” In his own words, “the arrival of Galaxy Z Fold8 responds to this long-term commitment. We have identified a clear evolution in the way people watch content, read, browse and play from their mobile, and this new format offers a more natural and immersive screen, allowing us to offer the lightest Galaxy Z Fold to date.” For Alonso, “even in a complex context, we believe that it is important to continue expanding the category with differentiated proposals that respond to real needs.” The strong point of the Fold8 This is what a 4:3 video looks like on the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra The new Galaxy Fold8 was born after analyzing user behavior: “It has a 4:3 screen format that is ideal for consuming games, playing multimedia content such as videos or movies or watching sports.” In the image it is clearly seen: The videos adapt much better to the internal screen of the Fold8 than that of the Fold8 Ultra. In some videos that are more panoramic we still have the classic black bands at the top and bottom, but they are much thinner and the screen is better used. Regarding the external screen, Vitón tells us that “it has a 10:16 format that adapts perfectly to consuming social networks” and also highlights that it is very comfortable for writing. Unlike the Flip screen where we can only open some apps, here we have a perfectly functional mobile phone, only with a much more square format than we are used to. From what I have been able to try, I have found it quite comfortable, although I have to say that handling it with one hand seemed somewhat complicated at first. We’ll see in the review. The elephant in the room: the foldable iPhone Perhaps the answer to the question of why now is related to a fact that is difficult to ignore, and that is that everything indicates that Apple … Read more

Now I know exactly who this new foldable format is for

by

The Galaxy Z Fold8 was one of those phones that, without having to make too much noise, made me want to continue holding it in my hand. I returned to him several times during the contact, attracted by proportions that change quite a bit the usual feeling of a folding book type. Closed it is compact and wide; Open, it displays a surface that invites you to try content and applications in a different way. After years watching this category evolveI did not take for granted that a different design could arouse so much curiosity. This one got it. It is convenient to organize the new range because Samsung has changed the logic of the names. The tall silhouette that until now we associated with the Galaxy Z Fold continues in the Fold8 Ultra, while the model without a surname is the newcomer with passport proportions. At its side remains the Flip8, the compact vertical folding alternative. Having the three in front of me, it was clear to me that the catalog is not understood as a ladder in which each phone is better than the previous one, but as three proposals designed for different uses and audiences. Before continuing, we remind you that the members of Xataka Xtra can access discounts, benefits and exclusive opportunities in the Samsung online storein addition to exclusive raffles, a private Discord server and a growing catalog of discounts and advantages on digital services. You can join the community for only 30 euros per year. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 technical sheet SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD8 Dimensions and weight Folded: 81.9 x 123.9 x 9.7 mm Unfolded: 161.4 x 123.9 x 4.5 mm 201 grams folding screen 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X QXGA+ resolution (2,448 x 1,848 pixels) 403 pixels per inch Refresh rate: 1-120Hz Vision Booster main screen 5.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X QXGA+ resolution (1,248 x 1,972 pixels) 428 pixels per inch Refresh rate: 1-120Hz Vision Booster Up to 3,000 nits Low reflectance screen processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy Ram memory and storage 12/256GB 12/512GB 16GB/1TB front camera Main screen: 10 MP, f/2.2, FOV 85º Folding screen: 10 MP, f/2.2, FOV 100º main camera 50 MP wide angle, dual pixel AF, OIS, f/1.8, FOV 85º 50 MP wide angle, dual pixel AF, f/1.9, FOV 120º battery Dual 4,800 mAh (typical) 45W fast charging 20W wireless charging PowerShare Reverse Wireless Charging connectivity 5G NSA/SA LTE Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth 6.0 NFC GPS operating system Android 17 One UI 9 others IP48 resistance Galaxy AI Knox Now Brief Now Nudge price From 1,999 euros Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, 256 GB, Mobile Phone, White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The folding that was missing in the Galaxy Z family Foldables did not always convey the maturity we see today. In its first generations, astonishment coexisted with reasonable doubts: how much the screen would last, how the hinge would age or if that design would make real sense beyond its novelty. Over the years I have seen how Samsung responded to many of these questions through changes in construction, weight, thickness and user experience. The Galaxy Z Fold8 arrives at a different time– You no longer need to prove that a phone can fold, but rather what value it can bring by doing so. The most obvious leap, at least in design, came with the previous generation. When I tested the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7I found devices that were much more refined in thickness, weight and feel in the hand, as if Samsung had finally managed to organize many of the parts that it had been adjusting for years. They were no longer phones that attracted attention simply because they folded, but rather solid and coherent products within the high range. Precisely for this reason, the question for this eighth generation was not simple: what to do after having taken one of the most important steps. The Galaxy Z Fold8 seen in profile reveals its reduced thickness and the solidity of the whole | Image: Xataka After that jump, Samsung could follow several paths. I could completely redesign the entire series, but the chosen one was different: keep what already worked, refine it and add a third proposal. After having the new models in hand, I understand the decision. We could say then that Galaxy Z Fold8 is the natural consequence of much of what Samsung has learned over the seven generations. The result is a broader range, not necessarily a break with what came before. The first impression when picking up the Galaxy Z Fold8 is precisely that: it does not seem like an experimental device, but rather a product that arrives with a very clear idea of ​​what it wants to offer. Its lower and wider body changes its presence compared to the book-type folding that we knew, but maintains a feeling of solid construction. In the hand it feels well balanced, elegant and cared for in details. Its 201 grams also help: according to Samsung, it is the lightest Galaxy Z Fold it has made so far. The Galaxy Z Fold8 in white, with its dual camera system seen up close One of the first differences I noticed even before opening it. When I picked up the Galaxy Z Fold8 closed, I felt that the relationship with the exterior screen was different than that associated with other book-style foldables. It is a 5.5-inch panel with 10:16 ratioand during those first minutes I found myself using it more than I expected, without feeling like I was waiting for the moment to display the main screen. Checking messages, browsing or responding quickly felt natural, although we will have to see how that sensation evolves with prolonged daily use. The most obvious change came when deploying the 7.6-inch interior screen. Its 4:3 ratio explains a good part of what Samsung is pursuing with this model: it is not just about having more surface area in front, but about how … Read more

PlayStation caused a tsunami killing games in physical format. If you wait for a reverse, the final enemy is mathematics

by

It’s been just over a week since Sony, PlayStation, will announce the death of the physical format for its consoles. Starting in January 2028, no physical games will be released for PlayStation consoles. This is a hard blow for the video game as an art, for preservation and for the consumer, since there are few more anti-consumer measures that make us players depend on a physical format that does not belong to us. The reaction of these players has not been good and there are those who point to a possible retreat on the part of PlayStation. There is a problem: there is no nail to hold on to other than that of hope. It makes… sense. From the company’s point of view, the move to 100% digital format is perfect. If you have ever wondered these days what drives them to anger so many players and turn part of their own community against it, it is because, although it may not seem like it, commercially it makes a lot of sense. Yes, the digital market is enormous and bigger than the physical one, but when statistics are published and it is said that only 20% (approximately) of the market is physical, it is because the digital part includes digital games, games that do not have a physical version, DLC and microtransactions. The ‘FIFA’ envelopes, for example, come into play in those statistics. That is the argument, but when you seek to eliminate the physical, you seek to control all the gains. You don’t have to make records, you don’t have to transport records, you don’t have to pay stores to sell those records. That margin that you didn’t earn before, with the digital game you start to control. You also get rid of second-hand and lending games, something that companies have been pursuing for years. Math. And, facing a new generation of consoles that everything indicates will be more expensive than the current one (for example, the price increases for both PS5 as of Xbox Series Xbut also machines like Steam Deck and the more than 1,000 euros from Steam Machine), there Sony may fear that there are users who do not want, or cannot, pay 1,000 euros for a new console. If there are fewer players who buy hardware, there will also be fewer who buy software, but what they are looking for is to maximize profits per user. As? Controlling prices. An example: on PS5 I buy all the games published by Sony in physical form and for 80 euros. Of those 80 euros, remove 30 that go to those expenses associated with the physical format and the stores themselves. Sony sees 50 euros. With PS6I would buy the same games digitally for 80 euros and Sony would not have any of the expenses associated with either the physical format or payments to stores. Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier addresses this very well in this video and I was making up the numbers in the previous example, but he points out that, for a $70 first party game, Sony sees about $45. For a $70 first party digital game, Sony sees $70. If we talk about a third party game (Electronic Arts, Ubisoft or whoever publishes for Sony) that is physical, of the 70 dollars, whoever makes the game takes about 35, the store that sells it about 20-25 and Sony takes about 10-15. If that third party game is digital, whoever makes the game gets about 49 and Sony gets about 21. It’s a win-win for both. Maximize profits. Hideaki Nishino himself, CEO of PlayStation, has made it clear that the company must prioritize performance per client compared to the gross sales volume. They want more average income per user, in short, a model less dependent on selling hardware and more focused on extracting more value from each user. This is where the games themselves come into play, but also microtransactions and subscriptions. Leave the forum. After days without publishing anything on networks like Bluesky, although they have continued to make announcements on their official blog, Sony remembered the password and announced what no one was expecting: an arcade stick for fighting games. It makes sense because they have a fighting game right around the corner, the ‘Marvel Tokon‘, but the players took that announcement even more harshly. As a follower of all the fuss, it is almost better that they announced a command in their first communication. The reason? Had they taught the game they would have taught, the amount of negative comments that game would have received would be to study it and, for example, if the first thing is a video of the game of ‘wolverine‘, all the rage these days at PlayStation’s inaction would have been poured out on the game and on a developer studio that does not deserve that treatment. ¿Kicked back? There is, as I said at the beginning, the hope of some users that so much negativity will affect the company’s decision and they will back down. Obviously, no one outside of Sony can know what will happen, but I am not so sure that the company will back down from this decision. The main reason is that something like this is not taken lightly and reports are already appearing indicating that it is something very studied and they knew perfectly well how part of the community was going to do it. What’s more, there are already reports that indicate that the company’s main Blu-Ray factory, located in Austria, is already beginning the training of some employees who will go on to dedicate themselves to another type of production. bitter hope. If there is one thing to hold on to, it is that, at the same time that PlayStation announced the death of physical games for its consoles, it also set a date for the closure of the PS3 and PS Vita digital stores (wow timinghuh?), and it wasn’t the first time. In March 2021 we already broke … Read more

After taking the plunge into games in physical format, Sony’s large disc factory is preparing for another future: optical microlenses

by

On July 1, PlayStation gave the death blow to physical games. Starting in January 2028, there will be no new games in this format for PlayStation consoles, marking the most aggressive initiative against this format that we have seen since Xbox’s moves in 2013 and Nintendo’s Game Key Card with Nintendo Switch 2. Let the physical format die It is an anti-consumer measure whose announcement comes just when Sony itself demonstrated, removing more than 500 films of your digital store, that users we do not own the digital products that we buy We only buy permission from companies to be able to use it for an indefinite period of time that ends when these companies decide that this is how it should be. These days in networks there was a big question: faced with such a drastic measure, Would Sony back down? Well, everything indicates that it is not because in Austria there is the only Sony disc factory, the one from which the majority of games come out in physical format for PlayStation and one in which its employees would already be receiving training to dedicate themselves to other things. And those things are optical microlenses. The great PlayStation game factory is recycled The proof that PlayStation’s decision does not only affect PlayStation’s own games is in the game box. If you look at almost any PS3, PS4, or PS5 game cover, will specify “made in Austria”. This is because in Austria, specifically in Thalgauis located (now the only one after the conversions and closures of American and Japanese plants) main Sony record factory. Sony’s own games come out of it, but also those of the rest of the companies that manufacture for PlayStation. It is estimated that Thalgau produces 600,000 discs every day, half of them for PlayStation, but as things are about to change, employees are already preparing. According to the Austrian media ORF Salzburgthe 300 employees of the plant found out about the decision on the same July 1 in which Sony announced the end of physical games for PlayStation, but contrary to what we might think, there will be no layoffs but a restructuring. They point out that Sony has invested 30 million euros in equipment to convert the factory into an optical microlens factory and employees are already receiving training for this. According to the report, the idea is that Sony will begin mass production of these microlenses next year. Your application? There are several, and in the age of AI, they can be used as equipment to connect racks, but from the department Sony Micro Optics they point out that an application of microoptics can be for the automotive sector. “Micro-optics is the miniaturization of optical systems and elements that serve to focus and direct light in the smallest possible space. For example, a car turn signal that is projected onto the asphalt.” And this is important because, as we say, since last Wednesday there have been voices that suggest that, with a year and a half left until 2028, Sony may rethink things and turn back. The problem with that thinking is that This is not a decision to be made lightly.and this immediate restructuring of their large record factory shows that the Japanese have been thinking about change for some time. No matter how many signature platforms are in place, it seems that the decision is irrevocable. And also a sample of what happens when you have no competition, since Xbox is neither here nor expected in this area of ​​living room consoles after the failure of their last two machines. And more now with the internal situation they have. Image | sony In Xataka | There are more and more physical video games that are paperweights. It is a tremendous problem for video games as art.

Sony has told you why it stops selling games in physical format. The real reason, of course, is the same as always: money

by

Sony has announced that in January 2028 will stop manufacturing physical discs for PlayStation. Among the brief reasons given for making this decision is adapting to the player’s preferences, and following the trends that rule the industry: digital games sell more than physical ones, therefore, this is the choice of the players, which must be adhered to. However, what you have to look at there to find Sony’s true motives is “best sellers.” And specifically, we have to ask ourselves what economic benefit Sony extracts from these sales. The clear accounts. You just have to take note of the profit percentages that Sony makes with each game sold to understand the operation. According to the analysis of consultant Serkan Toto, Kantan GamesSony receives around 54% more for each digital copy of its own game than for the same physical copy. At a price of 70 dollars, a digital game leaves you the full 70 dollars, because there is no external store that takes commission (of course, from there you have to extract development, marketing and corporate costs, if the game is from an external studio). The same title on disc, after deducting the distributor’s margin (about 30%) and the manufacturing cost (about 5%), is left with a profit of about $45.50. Although the calculation is approximate and countless external actors must be taken into account (especially third parties), the comparison makes clear the maxim that is guiding these decisions: the fewer intermediaries, the greater the profit margin per unit. Less physical. Added to this is that the physical aspect already weighs little in the company’s overall income statement. According to a corporate report of the company itselfphysical software represented only 3% of its revenue in 2024. All these decisions must also be contextualized: at a time when Your Playstation 6 can cost a thousand euros sales price and that the current component crisis promises not only to continue, but directly double next yearcutting that 3% can save millions. Kill the second hand. There is another figure that should be taken into account: resale. Every second-hand record that changes ownership is a sale from which Sony does not see a euro. An Alinea Analytics analyst said that “what this is all about is profitability and control for PlayStation”, two very juicy terms in this new situation because a digital code, apart from all the savings in intermediaries that we said above, is linked to a personal account that cannot be resold or lent. Every second-hand product that Sony was unable to sell now becomes a new purchase at full price, or is not produced at all. This second-hand market is not exactly marginal, and is now being seen to disappear. GameStop saw a 14% drop in its quarterly revenue last March, and explicitly attributed to the shift towards digital. The analysis firm Circana estimates that spending on new physical games in the United States has fallen to 1.6 billion dollars in the last year, compared to a maximum of 11.5 billion in 2009. In other words, we have had an almost uninterrupted decline for seventeen years. It’s the market, friend. Sony has taken the most aggressive step, but the direction had already been set from different parts of the sector for some time. A week before Sony’s announcement, Rockstar confirmed that The physical edition of ‘GTA VI’ will not have a disc version. Both Xbox and Playstation have sold versions of their latest consoles without a disc reader. It is an inescapable trend, which began on PC and in stores that have ended up becoming massive options, such as Steam, and which reveals that a corporation will always prefer, rather than a one-time sale, that we are subscribed (literally or figuratively) to a constant purchase, to a service that never ends. Therefore, saying that the player has chosen digital for convenience is, at the very least, a liquid truth. As he told newsletter ‘Friday in Kiribati’we must not get carried away by that discourse: we have not chosen the preeminence of the digital, it has been imposed on us: “it seems that during the last decade no one has designed consoles without a reader, exclusive discounts for digital versions, subscription catalogs, stores integrated (and hyperpresent) in the designs of the systems, games that, despite having the disc, need to connect to the internet (…) nor have they invested obscene amounts of money in convincing us that getting up from the couch to change a disc was a thing. of the past.” Image | Photo of Alexey Savchenko in Unsplash

Sony has just set a date for the end of video games in physical format. At the same time it announces the closure of digital stores

by

The main players in the video game industry have been looking for years to find out how to migrate from physical Blu-Ray to digital format and they already have the answer: Sony has just set the date for the death of the physical format in video games. In a brief releasethe Japanese company has announced that January 2028 will be the turning point and that all the games that come out later for its consoles will arrive only in digital format. Curiously, at the same time that they dropped that bomb, the Japanese they threw another: the closure of the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita. Definitely not the best news to start July if you are a video game lover (and you like to own what you pay for). We go in parts because it has chicha. The end of physical games on PlayStation consoles “As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift from physical to digital discs, production of physical game discs for all new games released on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued beginning in January 2028. After this date, new games will be available on the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.” Thus begins the statement from a company that continues to claim that this is a “natural direction” to adapt to consumer trends. They argue that “the overall preference for digital media significantly outweighs physical discs” and comment that they are doing gamers a favor because this decision will “allow us to align more closely with how the majority of our community prefers to access and play games today.” This news comes just a few days after we learned that a generational game like ‘GTA VI’ will not have a physical edition (at least at launch) and follows the trend of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo that, in recent years, have invested heavily in the move to digital. There are consoles without a reader, a PS5 Pro whose reader was sold separately or a Nintendo that has launched Game Key Cards. It is undeniable that the convenience of the digital format was winning the battle. Recent estimates have put this on the table in major markets such as the United States, but the physical format has something that the digital format cannot offer: belonging. Because digital games (except those from stores like GOG) do not belong to whoever pays for them. They are user licenses, which means that today we can pay 80 euros for one, but if tomorrow whoever decides that that license is no longer valid, they can delete it. Even if you had it installed on the machine (tell that to ‘The Crew’ users). Some physical games were also paperweights that required an additional download, but the only way to own a video game was to buy a physical version that came complete on disk. With this movement, Sony gives an important blow to the possession of the product for which you have paid, but it completely destroys the second hand that is so important to access that cultural product called a video game. Sony won the PS4 generation with, among other things, that argument: the loan of video games and the free circulation of discs. And not that long ago. Because Sony announcing that it will stop “printing” discs is just that, a brutal blow to video games in physical format. Sony, along with Panasonic, was the main manufacturer of Blu-Ray discs, the one with the production chain and to which the rest of the companies have to send their games to capture them on the disc. And in the statement the company does not say: “we are going to stop manufacturing discs of our games”, but rather the “production of physical discs that will end in January 2028 for new games released on PlayStation consoles”, in general. In development…

The IMAX format of Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is an ambitious experiment. So much so that in most cinemas the film will be seen mutilated

by

The official website of ‘The Odyssey’ by Christopher Nolan has a very unusual function: in the Explore Formats sectiona selector allows you to see the same trailer in six different formats, from the almost perfect square of IMAX 70mm to the wide panoramic view of conventional 35mm. It is a promotional decision that reinforces the idea that Nolan is extraordinarily concerned with image and the format of your film. But… what if what this gadget transmits is just the opposite? The formats. What changes between one format and another is the proportion of the image, the shape of the plane. In IMAX 70mm, the format in which the film was originally shot, a person is in the center of the screen, with “air”, or a part of the image without vital information, above and below; In the 35mm format that most audiences will see in conventional cinemas, that same shot appears cropped from above and below, eliminating that superfluous information. You just have to compare the trailer on the film’s website with the tools that are provided to us: the story is the same but the image is, literally, from two different films. Aspect Rancio Facts. It is worth clarifying a little what this is aspect ratio, the relationship between width and height of the image. Basically, it determines what the viewer sees and what the director leaves out of the frame. It is, basically, the minimum compositional decision in cinema. And the framing differences can be very noticeable: in the 2.39:1 widescreen version, a considerable part of the image is cropped compared to the IMAX 70mm in 1.43:1. Only a few theaters in the world can show the film in IMAX 70mm, so many IMAX theaters present the films in 1.90:1, which is the second largest format, much closer to the traditional scope. The third in size is the standard 70mm at 2.20:1, which is not very different in height from the traditional 2.39:1 35mm widescreen. In other words: the IMAX 70mm in 1.43:1 shows up to 40% more image than standard screens. Translated to the plane: what is cut out in the conventional distribution are not the sides (the width is preserved) but the top and bottom of the frame. The 70mm horizontal runs across the projector rather than vertically, creating that monstrous frame size. But it’s not just a question of seeing more or less, but of what is seen and what is not. Or to put it another way: if Nolan assumes that we are not going to see 40% in widescreen… has he included a 40% superfluous image in IMAX? And this affects planning, of course: in a very close-up of a face in IMAX, will we see only the actor’s face in conventional cinemas, without a stage around it? Cinephile elitism. On July 17, 2026, when ‘The Odyssey’ hits theaters, the viewer’s experience will depend, to a large extent, on where they live. Only 30 theaters in the world are equipped to offer the IMAX 70mm format, and none of them in Spain. There are rooms here that project in 70mm and there are also IMAX rooms, but none have both at the same time. The only cinema in the country that will offer the two options, although separately, are the Palafox Cinemas in Zaragoza: their room 4 will project in 70mm five-perforations, while on July 17, coinciding with the premiere, they will inaugurate a new IMAX room. Only theaters with IMAX 70mm can reproduce the film exactly as it was photographed. The other versions preserve much of the visual presentation, but crop or reduce parts of the original image, as we have seen. That has sparked a debate that has been going on for weeks. circulating on social networks: There is talk of elitism and that Nolan is turning his back on his audience, and the reason is that the planning, as we have seen, changes drastically from one format to another… and the frames have been planned for a very minority format. The framing is what you are looking for. Because there is a question that Nolan has not answered: did they compose each shot also thinking about the 2.39:1 crop? When Nolan was mixing formats in ‘Dunkirk’ or ‘Interstellar’ (using IMAX only for certain sequences and the rest in scope), the composition of each scene was planned for its specific format. The visual leap between square and panoramic formats was part of the film’s language: the horizon literally widened in moments of maximum tension. The decision to shoot 100% of ‘The Odyssey’ in IMAX, instead of the usual 60-70% in his previous films, means that the dialogue shots between two actors are also in 1.43:1. In 2.39:1, those same shots will lose vertical information from the original frame. The premiere on July 17 will reveal, with the support of the public, whether it has paid off for Nolan to shoot, literally, for thirty theaters around the world. In Xataka | There are people very angry about the inaccuracies in Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’. But not because of the uniforms: because of the diversity

Today the culmination of one of the most famous series in the history of Spain arrives on Prime Video in an ironic closing format

by

When the series ‘Aída’ ended in June 2014 with four million viewers saying goodbye, no one seriously considered a sequel. A decade later, Paco León turns that reunion into metacinema with ‘There and back’which now premieres Prime Videoa film that functions as another chapter, but also as a question about what it means to revisit something that has not completely disappeared from collective memory. It is clear that the dizzying audience figures for ‘Aída’ belong to another era, when audience fragmentation was not as great as it is now. At one of its peaks, the series reached 33.2% share and 6,282,000 spectators. Throughout its nine years on screen, the series led the audience in its first two seasons; During the 2006-2007 season it was the most viewed Spanish fiction, and in the following season it not only maintained the leadership, but did so above foreign productions. ‘There and back’ arose as a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the end of the series and twenty years of the original premiere. The filming featured almost the entire original cast (Carmen Machi, Mariano Peña, Miren Ibarguren, Eduardo Casanova, Pepe Viyuela, Melani Olivares, Canco Rodríguez and León himself), with the notable exception of Ana Polvorosa (Lore), who felt that she was not at her best to reprise her role. The twist that no one expected was the one that led the film to merge elements of fiction with metanarrative to show the recording process of an episode, mixing the original characters with the actors themselves giving life to themselves. The narrative axis is Carmen Machi’s resistance to returning to the character, and all this with abundant reflections on the nature and limits of humor, which the original series exceeded on numerous occasions. Can’t you make humor out of anything anymore? ‘Back and forth he does it… and he also wonders why. In Xataka | This Prime Video series ends after 7 years and 40 chapters, making history with an audience more divided than ever

Tomorrow one of the platform’s main action heroes returns to Prime Video, although he does so in an unexpected format

by

When Amazon closed ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ in July 2023, the fourth and final season left one character with accounts settled. John Krasinski had spent five years playing a CIA analyst perpetually misplaced in a world that surpassed him. Few expected him to return to the character so soon and, above all, to do so in this way: ‘Jack Ryan: Covert Warthe first film derived from the series, arrives this Wednesday, May 20 to Prime Video. When Amazon premiered the series in 2018, the streaming It was still an incipient phenomenon. Amazon needed a high-budget action product, and opted for this well-known CIA analyst who had already had four previous performers: Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine. Krasinski stayed with the character throughout the television run, allowing the character to be developed in greater detail than his previous incarnations. The series was a success: 37% of Prime Video users watched the series during the first month. In 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced the production of a film that would continue the series. The last time we saw Ryan star in a feature film was in ‘Jack Ryan: Enter Shadow’ in 2014, with Chris Pine. Here, Krasinski is joined by Sienna Miller as an MI6 agent. The plot follows Ryan, removed from the action but dragged back when uncovers a corrupt black ops unit known as Project Starling. The film arrives at a peculiar time for Prime Video. “The platform has built a very solid action ecosystem in recent years, with series like ‘Fallout’, ‘The Boys’ and, above all, ‘Reacher’, the epitome of that subgenre of thrillers and action.”for parents” to which Jack Ryan also belongs. The third season of ‘Reacher’ accumulated 54.6 million global viewers in its first two weeks. It is not surprising that Amazon has already suggested that ‘Covert War’ is not an end, but a new chapter. In Xataka | Today on Prime Video, the conclusion of the best series from the creator of ‘The Sandman’ comes with a radical surprise in its duration

the alternative to OLED for large format screens

by

One of the few TCL factories outside of China is located just 40 km from Warsaw, so it is not strange that the brand has chosen Poland to make the official presentation of its TV range for 2026. In that presentation, in addition to knowing first-hand all the Chinese brand catalogwe have been able to test some demos on the RM9L, the brand’s first television in which a system of MiniLED RGB backlight with TCL’s new WHVA 2.0 Ultra LCD panel. I can tell you that the sensations have been really good. TCL RM9L panel RGB MiniLED 4K, 144 Hz resolution 3,840 x 2,160 sizes available 115, 98 and 85 inches image processor TSR Processor (Pentonic 800) hdr Dolby Vision 2 Max, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG sound 240 watts (RMS) Dolby Atmos, DTS wireless connectivity Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 operating system Google TV 14 price From 5,999 euros The place where the RGB MiniLED and a new LCD panel converge By placing this model in the brand’s catalog for 2026, would replace the C9K of 2025. That is, it is located within the sphere of TCL’s top range. This leadership is shared with the undisputed star of 2026: the X11L, which we could already try in China. For its part, the RM7L, with which it matches RGB MiniLED technology, is one step below as a mid-range in terms of image quality and performance. The RM9L is available in 115″, 98″ and 85″. The unit we have been able to test is the 85″ (although we had the 98″ right next to it). This diagonal has 8,736 local dimming zonesso the light control is so precise that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish its image from that of an OLED panel with the naked eye. Having such a high count of dimming zones gives these displays better control of blacks and dark areas, and better segregation of high brightness areas. There is barely any trace of a minimal halo in subtitles on a completely black background, and the representation of bright points (like a scene in space, for example) allows those bright points to be better displayed, something that OLED panels achieve very easily, but at MiniLED cost a little more…until now. Although the TCL RM9L and the X11L They mount different backlighting technologiesis the closest to TCL’s flagship, with which it shares the latest generation WHVA 2.0 Ultra LCD panel. This panel manages to reduce the distance between the rear lighting LEDs and the LCD panel, which also makes the television somewhat thinner than usual for a MiniLED. This panel also improves viewing angles, since the glass that redirects light has been redesigned, ensuring that no changes are seen in the contrast or brightness of the image when the screen is viewed from the sides. On the other hand, the change in the backlighting system means that when viewed from the right side, the colors on the screen acquire a slight reddish tint, while if viewed from the opposite side, the tint it acquires is slightly greenish. This color nuance is especially noticeable when gray patterns are displayed, but it is difficult to appreciate when watching series or other types of regular content. I was surprised by how well adjusted the FilmMaker mode, with which the full brightness potential of the panel is respected, maintaining very natural skin tones and an excellent color volume with which, using a colorimeter, we have seen that it covers 100% of the BT.2020 color space used in cinema. The mode movies Apply a slightly higher brightness setting and manage to lift more shadow detail, but at the cost of washing out those areas a little more. This behavior makes this mode adjusted by TCL suitable in situations where the television is in a bright room. The 4,000 nits peak brightness they record this. In these first tests we have also been able to change the motion interpolation setting. The preliminary results have represented a notable improvement in this adjustment, a point in which the Chinese brand televisions. However, we are not going to sing the alirón until we can analyze it with more calm and variety of content. Although the display unit we tested was using the high-end 2025 remote control, those responsible for the brand assured us that the versions for sale of this model They will come with a new controller which we already saw in our test of the Google TV 14: fluidity and ease of use The units that we were able to test in Warsaw were fresh off the TCL assembly line, so a message appeared on some of them announcing that a new firmware version existed. Still, the RM9L unit I tested came with Google TV in its version with Android 14 and the December 2025 security patch. The Pentonic 800 processor found in TCL’s high-end 2026 models moves the Google system very fluidly, responding immediately when starting new Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video apps by pressing the shortcut button on the remote, as well as when navigating through the configuration menus. Since it is a display model, I was not able to test integration with Gemini which arrives in 2026, nor its response to voice commands. Therefore, we added it to our to-do list to see if it responds to the recognition of the content being watched like Alexa+ does on televisions with FireTV. Bang & Olufsen has tried, but you have to add a sound bar If we look at the specifications sheet, TCL indicates that the 85″ RM9L mounts a set of speakers that adds a power of 240 W. On paper everything indicated that sound was going to be a prominent aspect in this model. Reality does not always support the numbers. The Danish brand Bang & Olufsen, specialized in high-fidelity audio, is collaborating with TCL in tuning the sound system of its high-end televisions. While it is true that the audio system adjusted by the Danish company achieves a well-balanced … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.