Tag Archives: 2021

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, News

LG Launches 2021 Soundbars – Apple AirPlay 2, AI Sound Pro, The Lot

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We are still reeling from LG’s big announcement with their mobile business unit. Yesterday they told the world that they are backing out from the smartphone market. They are still active in other areas though. For example, they are still a strong player in the home audio market.

They have just introduced their new line-up of soundbars for 2021. Of course, they come with even more features and before to really complete your audio experience. They also still come with everything that made the older soundbars great too. For one, you still get Meridian technology.

LG’s new 2021 soundbars introduces Meridian’s Horizon technology though. The technology cleverly mixes regular dual channel to virtually create a multichannel experience for true immersion when it comes to music and even movies regardless of their position. Meridian’s technology and tuning also shines in the soundbar’s Music Mode.

The LG soundbars for 2021 now supports Dolby Atmos and DRS:X audio. That also means you get more dynamic audio and immersion from the soundbars. If you have a Dolby Vision certified 4K TV, the soundbars adjust themselves to optimise audio and picture experience. Your Netflix set-up at home just got even better.

What is a modern soundbar without its smart features? The 2021 soundbars is compatible with Google Asisstant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri. With support for Apple AirPlay 2, the soundbars can now control their favourite contents directly from their Apple iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

To make your audio experience even more immersive and even better is LG’s clever AI features on the soundbar. The new 2021 soundbars packs their own clever Room Calibration tool that utilises its AI to optimise your audio experience no matter the kind of room you work with. Using a combination of its multiple mics and speaker units, the AI measures it own space and adjusts itself according to the room. In combination with the AI Sound Pro feature, the soundbar cleverly adjusts its frequency range and field extensions depending on contents to optimise your audio experience even more.

The 2021 LG soundbars are Hi-Res Audio certified supporting 24-bit/96kHz audio playback. The soundbars get HDMI eARC compatibility as well for high bitrate, high-resolution content playback and of course, Dolby Atmos audio. There is also USB playback as well as Bluetooth connectivity for a wider flexibility in terms of audio sources.

The new 2021 LG soundbar line-up will be available in Europe and North American market this month onward. There is no official pricing announced just yet even for the key markets. There are also no local (Malaysia) availability information yet for the soundbars. We are looking at a third quarter availability in Malaysia though. The new product line-up includes SP11RA (7.1.4), SP9WA (5.1.2), SP8YA (3.1.2), SP7Y (5.1), and SPD7Y (3.1.2). For more information on LG’s 2021 line-up of soundbars, you can head over to their website.

Gaming, News

[Update] E3 2021 is Online and Completely Free

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UPDATE: Microsoft and Nintendo has confirmed their presence in E3 2021. The Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo participation joins big names like Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, and Koch Media. Sony, EA, Activision Blizzard, Bandai, Sega, and Square Enix has not confirmed their presence. Sony did not turn up in 2019 and was not going to be in E3 as of last year though.

When we say E3 2021 is online, we mean two things really. For one, it is happening. That means at E3 will go on in 2021 despite its 2020 cancellation for obvious reasons. The next thing we mean when we say that it is online is that it is happening completely virtually. For obvious reasons as well, E3 will happen and showcase completely online.

There is more good news here though, it is supposed to be an all-free event. That also means that you can register yourself and attend E3 without paying a single cent. According to their Twitter page as well, there should be no contents hidden behind annoying paywalls. Attendees are supposed to have access to all the major announcements and keynotes happening at E3 this year.

E3 is one of the world’s largest, if not the largest games convention and stage. E3 usually sees developers and platform owners run huge keynotes to announce new AAA titles to be released later in the year or even beyond. One of our favourite games; “Horizon: Zero Dawn” that was launched in 2017 was teased in E3 2015. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 took even longer from its first teaser to its final launch in 2020.

E3 is where we expect huge announcements from the likes of Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox camps. They made the first announcements of their next generation consoles in E3 as well. Of course, this year we have the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X/S. That also means that we can expect even more AAA titles to be announced from their camps. You can expect even more announcements made for PC games as well. Best part of this year’s E3 announcement is that you do not have to pay to get access to the keynotes.

E3 2021 is expected to happen June 15th, 2021 onward this year. Early on, there were rumours of keynotes and announcement behind paywalls only for E3 to come forward to dispel the idea. Of course, as per mentioned earlier, E3 2021 will be a completely virtual event for obvious reasons. For more information on E3 2021, you can visit E3’s official website.

Business, eSports, Gaming, News

Gamer’s Rejoice, Gamescom Asia Will Still Happen; in 2021 That is.

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Video games are a big part of our lives. The industry continues to grow and fascinate anyone who cares to look at its stats. In Asia, the industry grows at a pace that is quite unprecedented.

The only thing missing in the grander scheme of things in Malaysia is a big gaming convention that we can liken to E3 in the United States, or Comic Con, or PAX East, or even Gamescom. Well, that was about to change later in the year with Gamescom Asia happening in Singapore from the 16th to 18th of October 2020.

So far, they have been adamant about holding the event in 2020. The mounting pressure that surrounds COVID-19 situations globally though is not encouraging. That is why they have made the decision to postpone the event instead to 2021.

The new dates are 14th to 17th of October in 2021. Yes, it is happening in the final quarter of 2021, about a year after the 2020 dates. It may not be a bad thing though. We are seeing large improvements over the COVID-19 situation currently and would most likely see a large improvement in the coming year with vaccine’s produced and circulated.

While we are going to not see the world’s biggest convention coming to Asia this coming October, we remain excited for the upcoming Gamescom Asia happening next year October 2021. They have reported that the participations and requests for Gamescom Asia 2020 has been quite overwhelming. They also mentioned that there will be AAA title publishers present in the Asia leg of their convention. It will be a world class event, they say. We are hopeful that we would see it too.

Gamescom Asia 2021 will be held, as mentioned, from the 14th to 17th of October in Singapore still. The convention will be housed in Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre; that is right in the heart of Singapore. For more information on Gamescom Asia, you can head over to their website.