Archimedia Technology, a company with applications that bring precise multiformat viewing to the professional’s desktop, TV, UHDTV, and SDI infrastructure, will host a demo room at the 2015 HPA Tech Retreat, Feb. 9-15 in Palm Springs, Calif. Archimedia will demonstrate its Atlas professional media player, which now plays 4K 60p and high dynamic range (HDR) content on any display to the best of that display’s native ability.
Visitors to Archimedia’s demo room at the HPA Tech Retreat will see Atlas play clips from Elemental’s 4K 60p demo reels in several formats, as well as from the “El Fuente” movie documentary commissioned by Netflix in 4K 60p in IMF, HEVC, and ProRes formats. All will be shown on a UHDTV streaming from an Atlas 4K lent by 3rd i QC. Archimedia representatives will be on hand to explain the system’s key features and how Atlas fits into the postproduction and screening workflow.
Atlas is capable of playing 4K 60p and HDR encoded content at full screen in practically any format from all kinds of sources and manufacturers on all kinds of screens, from a laptop to a UHDTV to a projector aimed at the side of a building, all with frame-accurate precision at speeds commensurate with the hardware. That capability is a breakthrough for all professionals in the media and entertainment industry — from technorati to producers to executives to archivists to lawyers — who until now had no way to view 4K 60p and HDR content outside of the edit suite where it was created without first transcoding it to a smaller format to suit hardware limitations.
Atlas takes care of the transcoding step, thanks to a unique professional-grade scaler built into the player. The comprehensive range of formats supported includes the latest IMF, HEVC, and AS-11 DPP formats; more than 100 caption/subtitle formats required by law around the world; DPX, TIFF, and EXR frame sequences; encrypted DCP; and Dolby® audio codecs.
“Everyone needs a player that will let them watch 4K 60p on the screens they already have, and that’s exactly what the latest version of Atlas is designed to do,” said Archimedia CEO Mark Gray. “It’s an impressive feat that still dazzles us, and we think HPA retreat attendees will be just as dazzled. These innovations are what have made Atlas a staple for major studios, TV networks, and production and post houses around the world.”
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More