BBC to broadcast Wimbledon final and semi-final matches in 3D

By Steve Dent posted Jul 4th 2013 1:56AM 0

Though ESPN 3D's imminent demise might be evidence to some that 3D TV isn't exactly killing it, BBC has confirmed that it will cover Wimbledon again this year with that extra dimension. In particular, it will broadcast selected matches, including the men's and women's finals and semi-finals, in free-to-air 3D for those with the Red Button service and supported sets. Wimbledon marked its first-ever 3D broadcast two years ago, and the BBC is also experimenting with 4K coverage this year with Sony, albeit exclusively at a live spectator "experience zone" on the finely manicured grounds. The network also said it would up its live streams from six to ten to go with its YouTube coverage -- meaning UKers who miss a single grunt will have only themselves to blame.

Virtuix Omni VR treadmill demoed with Minecraft in multiplayer mode (video)

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Remember that gaming treadmill that we sweated all over during E3 last month? Virtuix's Kickstarted Omni is still firmly in the prototype stage, but that's not stopping the company from putting the gigantic peripheral through its special-shoe-requiring paces. CEO Jan Goetgeluk headed to the machine shop where the first Omni was built to demo some multiplayer gaming. And what better title to try things out than with a little Minecraft? If the below video is any indication, things went relatively smoothly. Says the exec, "even though the Minecraft graphics seem unsuited for VR, the game is actually a blast with Rift and Omni." Who needs the gym?

14-inch Razer Blade gaming laptop review: smaller, faster, lighter

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More Info

• Razer Blade review (late 2012)

• Razer reveals the Blade Pro and 14-inch Blade gaming laptops

• Razer Blade Pro and 14-inch models hands-on

Most companies refresh their products on an annual basis, carefully timing development and release schedules to match consumer demand, product obsolescence and component upgrades. It's the norm, an expected pattern that most PC, smartphone and tablet manufacturers follow. Razer, however, completely ignores this cycle, as exemplified by its Blade line of gaming laptops -- already on its third generation in less than two years. This would be less impressive if the firm wasn't a relative newcomer to the game; before it announced the Blade, Razer was known primarily for creating keyboards, gaming mice and console controllers. A fully fledged gaming PC was a jarring departure for the humble peripheral maker.
Even so, here we are: reviewing the third-generation Razer Blade gaming laptop. This, too, is a departure from what we've grown to expect from the company -- a smaller, thinner device bereft of the previous model's signature Switchblade interface. For some PC manufacturers, a 14-inch machine might be just another SKU in the catalog. But for Razer, it's almost a mark of progress: not only is the Blade popular enough to necessitate successive generations, but also multiple form factors. It's also the company's lowest-priced laptop yet, not to mention its first to include Intel's new fourth-generation CPU -- but at $1,800 for the base model, it still isn't cheap. Read on to see if the new Blade has enough charm to be worth its lofty price tag.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on redux: benchmark and camera preview

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You may have already read our Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on last week, but since then we've also been able to spend a tiny bit more time with a pre-production unit (with firmware build 14.1.B.1.277). Instead of going over again how hilariously large this 6.4-inch, pen-friendly phone is, this time we'll focus on some early benchmark results, camera performance and Sony's very own UX features.
As you'll see after the break, many of the benchmark scores aren't too far off from what we saw on the MDP phone with the same Snapdragon 800 SoC, and the final units should be optimized with higher numbers. While we didn't manage to get CF-Bench and Quadrant running on the phone, the higher-than-before 3DMark score did cheer us up, meaning either Sony or Qualcomm's managed to fine tune the latter's new Adreno 330 GPU.