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Digital Trends
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Check out this great movie before it leaves Amazon Prime Video next week (May 2025)
Few directors went on a more impressive run through the late 1990s and early 2000s than Steven Soderbergh. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Director and helming Ocean's Eleven, Soderbergh made several smaller movies that have stood the test of time. The greatest example is 1998's Out of Sight, a charming thriller starring George Clooney as a bank robber who finds himself in a hugely flirtatious relationship with Jennifer Lopez's Karen Sisco, a federal marshal looking to arrest him. Here are three reasons Out of Sight still hits more than 25 years later. Recommended Videos Lopez and Clooney have remarkable chemistry Although Out of Sight has elements of a great action movie, it is first and foremost a love story that heavily relies on the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez. Thankfully, both actors are more than up to the task. Clooney is playing exactly the kind of character you'd expect — a charming, slightly sleazy guy who is smarter than he lets on. Meanwhile, Lopez plays Sisco tough, but she's charmed by Clooney's thief long before she's willing to admit that to herself. Every scene they share is electric, the kind of onscreen chemistry that almost leaves the viewer tingling as they watch it. The supporting cast is excellent Although Clooney and Lopez deserve a lot of credit for the work they do here, Soderbergh assembled an incredible supporting cast to surround them. We've got Ving Rhames in his prime, a frazzled Steve Zahn, as well as Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, and, maybe most importantly, Don Cheadle. On top of feeling like a cast filled with people who you might see on the street, the chemistry between every member of the cast is exceptional. Out of Sight was not the kind of movie that was destined to top the box office, but it's filled with recognizable faces anyway. Soderbergh knows exactly what he's doing In the past decade, Soderbergh has spent most of his time experimenting with different kinds of storytelling, and more power to him. In the 1990s and 2000s, though, there was no one more capable of combining action, comedy, and romance to deliver something utterly satisfying. That's exactly what he does with Out of Sight, a movie that is not about anything particularly complicated or emotional. Nevertheless, it's such an utterly satisfying movie and one that knows exactly how to achieve a perfect tonal balance. After watching, you feel like it's a masterpiece. You can watch Out of Sight on Amazon Prime Video.
Digital Trends
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
How to experience lossless audio
There's been a lot of talk lately about lossless audio, and that might have led you think that you need special equipment or an expensive streaming music service to get it. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, you probably already own everything you need to hear lossless audio. So let's take a quick look at what lossless audio is, and maybe more importantly, what it isn't, and how you can listen to it. Recommended Videos What is lossless audio? Simply put, lossless audio is any type of digital audio that hasn't been processed using a lossy, destructive form of compression. Lossless doesn't necessarily mean hi-res audio (though most hi-res is often lossless), and it doesn't even mean CD quality (though the term CD quality is used, it implies audio that is lossless). And lossless isn't a special format that belongs to any company or streaming service. Any streaming service that chooses to offer lossless audio can do so (we'll talk about why some services don't offer it, later). Why does lossless audio matter? When audio is recorded and turned into huge collections of zeroes and ones in a studio, engineers use uncompressed forms of digitization. This means that every detail of the audio is captured digitally, at the highest resolution possible. This creates a near-perfect digital recording. Unfortunately, uncompressed digital audio is massive in file size, so it's always compressed before it gets turned into a file that's ready for distribution. There are two kinds of compression. Lossy compression can make audio files truly tiny — up to a tenth of their original size. But to do that, it discards some of the original information. The best versions of lossy compression discard info in a way that most people wouldn't notice. You'd never listen to good lossy compression and say 'this sounds bad.' Lossless compression, on the other hand, makes a smaller audio file without discarding any of the information needed to recreate the recording on your listening equipment. I won't get into the math behind it, but it works. However, there's still no such thing as a free lunch: Lossless files are smaller than uncompressed audio, but still much bigger than lossy — often four times as large. For those who want to know they're getting the best possible listening experience, lossless is worth that tradeoff in file size. How can I tell the difference between lossless and lossy audio? The hope is that you'll be able to tell the difference simply by listening to both, but realistically that may not be possible — especially if you're listening in a noisy environment. The easiest way to tell is look at the audio file on your computer. If the filename ends in .mp3, .aac, or .ogg, it's a lossy file. If it ends in .alac, .aiff, .wav, .flac, or several other extensions, it's lossless. Since most folks listen to streaming music these days, you need to rely on some knowledge about the formats each service uses plus the display in your streaming app's now playing screen. Apple Music, for instance, will show you an indicator when it streams in lossless, hi-res lossless, or Dolby Atmos. If you change the settings to reduce the amount of data it uses, these indicators won't show up, which means you're getting lossy compression. Each music service has its own version of these labels and the ability to control the maximum quality used when streaming. However, not all services offer lossless. Spotify, for example, has so far resisted the lossless trend. Even with a premium subscription, Spotify only streams music using lossy formats. How do get lossless audio? The first step to hearing lossless audio is making sure you have a source of lossless content: A streaming service that offers lossless audio A CD, SACD, or DVD-Audio disc and a working player Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray with audio recorded in Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio Digital music files saved to your computer, phone, or portable music player, in one of the lossless formats mentioned above The next step is to make sure you have a way to play that lossless content. Streaming service apps like Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and Qobuz all have built-in decoders that can transform lossless streams into something that can played on your phone or computer. For disc-based music, the CD or Blu-ray player performs the same task. For lossless music stored locally (perhaps ripped from a CD or purchased from a download site), you'll need software that can decode and play it. There are many free apps that do this, regardless if you're on a Mac, PC, iPhone, or Android. Finally, you'll need to make sure that you aren't inadvertently introducing lossy compression because of your choice of headphones, speakers, or earbuds. As convenient as wireless listening is, even the most expensive Bluetooth headphones, earbuds, or speakers use some form of lossy compression when they receive that wireless stream from your phone or computer. There are some rare exceptions, like Qualcomm's aptX Lossless codec, but even then, it can be hard to guarantee that the connection is truly lossless. To ensure your lossless audio stays lossless, you'll need: A wired connection between your disc player, amplifier, and speakers Wireless speakers that use Wi-Fi and receive a direct stream from a platform like Sonos or Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, or Alexa Cast, but not Apple AirPlay 2 A computer or smartphone with a built-in headphone jack or, An external digital-to-analog converter (DAC), plus: wired headphones or earbuds Headphones that support USB Audio via USB-C You probably already have what you need If you already own wired headphones or earbuds, plug them into your laptop or amplifier/receiver and you're good to go. Even if you don't have dedicated wired devices, most wireless headphone also come with a cable you can use for analog wired listening. Because most smartphones don't have headphone jacks anymore, you'll need to buy an external DAC if you want to use your wired headphones or earbuds. The good news is that as long as you aren't fussy about getting audiophile-level hi-res audio compatibility, even something as inexpensive as Apple's lightning- or USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter (typically $9-$11) will do the trick. Gotchas to avoid Here are a few things that can get in the way of lossless listening and should be avoided. Apple AirPlay2: As noted above, your wireless speaker or soundbar may use Wi-Fi, and it may offer the ease and convenience of Apple's AirPlay 2 for wireless streaming, but AirPlay 2 is not lossless audio compatible. It downconverts any audio to 256kbps AAC before sending it to the target speaker. As I said earlier, no one will hear 256kbps AAC and say 'this sounds bad,' but it's not the same as say, 1,411kbps FLAC. Transcoded files: It may be tempting to simply run a lossy MP3 file through a converter and turn it into a lossless format like FLAC or WAV, but unfortunately, that doesn't result in a lossless audio file. All you've done is created a much larger file that still contains no more information than it had when it was an MP3. There are ways to make lossy files sound better — Sony has an algorithm that called DSEE that can 'restore' some of the quality that lossy compression loses, but it can't magically put back the info that was discarded when the MP3 was created. Dolby Atmos Music: This one seems really unfair. We've been led to believe that Dolby Atmos Music represents an entirely new way to enjoy music — one that is more immersive and cinematic. And though that's true, here's another truth: if you're listening to Dolby Atmos Music via the three music services that currently support it (Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music), you're listening to lossy audio. The reason is similar to Spotify's reason for avoiding lossless stereo so far: lossless Dolby Atmos requires huge file sizes. Bigger files mean more bandwidth requirements and that adds up to higher streaming costs for the services. So instead of using the lossless Dolby TrueHD format to transport Dolby Atmos, these services use the lossy Dolby Digital Plus. Again, just like no one is going to complain that Apple's 256kbps AAC sounds bad, you're unlikely to mind how lossy Dolby Atmos Music sounds. But if you ever get a chance to hear lossless Dolby Atmos, I suspect you'll agree it sounds better. You can get lossless Dolby Atmos Music as a digital download, or by buying music on Blu-ray (make sure it specifically says it has Atmos in TrueHD).
Digital Trends
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
All confirmed tracks in Mario Kart World
The big attraction for Mario Kart World is the fact that all the courses exist in the same open world. For the first time ever, we will be able to roam around between tracks in one seamless world to practice driving, find secrets, or just hang out with our friends. This will easily be the biggest Switch 2 launch game, but exactly how big is the world in Mario Kart World? Or more specifically, how many tracks are there? Nintendo hasn't revealed all the courses we can look forward to racing on, but we combed through all the footage to pick out every new and returning track revealed so far. Every new track in Mario Kart World Based on the screenshots and trailers for Mario Kart World, we have spotted nine new courses among the new circuits. Since there are seven circuits, each one having four tracks, that would mean the total number of courses should be 28 (or 29 if Rainbow Road is in the game but not included in these track lists). We do still see a few courses that haven't been named yet, so we know this isn't the full list. Here's each one we know in alphabetical order: Acorn Heights Boo Cinema Cheep Cheep Falls Crown City Dandelion Depths DK Spaceport Faraway Oisis Great Block Ruins Mario Bros. Circuit Peach Stadium Salty Salty Speedway Starview Peak Whistlestop Summit Recommended Videos Every returning track in Mario Kart World It wouldn't be a true Mario Kart game without at least a few returning classic tracks. By our count, Mario Kart World has 14 returning courses from across the franchise's history. We are almost sure that number will actually be 15 since Rainbow Road isn't technically confirmed, but was heavily hinted at in the Direct. For now, these are all the returning courses: Airship Fortress Choco Mountain Desert Hills Dino Dino Jungle DK Pass Koopa Troopa Beach Mario Circuit Moo Moo Meadows Peach Beach Shy Guy Bazaar Sky-High Sundae Toad's Factory Wario Shipyard Wario Stadium
Digital Trends
4 hours ago
- Business
- Digital Trends
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is $400 off today — don't miss this deal!
If you want a large screen next tablet deals purchase, you may want to check out this offer from Best Buy: a $400 discount on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, which brings its price down to $800 from its original price of $1,200. We're not sure how much time is remaining before the device goes back to its original price, so if you want to take advantage of this bargain, you're going to have to complete your transaction for it right away. Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is the latest version of the tablet, and Samsung is already working on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 series. However, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is still a worthwhile purchase today. It all starts with its 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X touchscreen that provides lifelike colors, deep contrast levels, and intense brightness, making it the perfect display for watching streaming shows, playing video games, and browsing social media. The ultra-slim bezels make the screen look even larger, so it's a great canvas for drawing using the included S Pen stylus. In terms of performance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra doesn't disappoint with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. The tablet ships with Android 13, but the Android 15 update is already rolling out. This means you'll be able to use the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra with the latest Galaxy AI features, including Transcript Assist for transcribing meetings and conversations, Photo Assist for editing pictures, and Note Assist for summarizing the notes you take down. There's always high demand for Samsung tablet deals, which range from budget-friendly models to premium devices. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra leans towards the latter, and you can currently get it from Best Buy at $400 off. Instead of its sticker price of $1,200, you'll only have to pay $800, which is an excellent price for this tablet. You'll have to be quick with your purchase though — any hesitation may cause you to miss out on the savings, so act fast!
Digital Trends
5 hours ago
- Business
- Digital Trends
The WH-1000XM6 are here, so a lesser discussed pair of Sony headphones are $50 off
The first thing you need to know is that the Sony WH-1000XM6 are now out. If that's news to you, go read our WH-1000XM6 review right now. They're a contender to usurp their predecessor, the WH-1000XM5, at the top of the nearly everyone's list of the best headphones after we've had more time to sit with them and evaluate them. It should come as no surprise that the XM5 are on sale at the moment. However, it's also worth noting that their release has also prompted the less-discussed Sony ULT Wear headphones to go on sale. The Sony ULT Wear are great headphones in their own right, making it on our list of the best noise-cancelling headphones for their ANC and excellent bass. You can get your Sony ULT Wear now for just $148 at Amazon, down $52 from their usual $200. Alternatively, you can grab them for $150 at Sony or Walmart, if you prefer those vendors. In any event, tap the appropriate button to pick up these headphones now — the sale will probably go away when the XM6 release fanfare dies down — and keep reading to see why we like them so much. Why you should buy the Sony ULT Wear Again, the Sony ULT Wear don't necessarily get the press and attention you might expect given how good they are. In a world where Beats don't (necessarily) have the same reputation for heavy bass that they once did, the bass lovers have to go somewhere, after all. Our Sony ULT Wear review compares the bass output of these headphones not only as comparable to other bass-heavy headphones, but to literal earthquakes. There's even a Bass Boost mode that pushes the headphones to put out as much bass as they possibly can. Finally, they have a very classic Sony design, to the point where a quick amateur sketch of the ULT Wear would look nearly indistinguishable from that of the XM5 or XM6. In other words, these are comfortable, well-designed headphones that should prove quite comfortable to your head and ears. Get the Sony ULT Wear now and save at least $50 by tapping the appropriate button below. Remember, the Sony ULT Wear are usually $200, so this deal allows you to get them for around $150. Still not interested but definitely want headphones? Check out more headphones deals to get something more your style.
