Out friends at Plex have shuttled out a new Local Media Agent that'll enable you to make your TV shows look great. The updated software lets you add show and season posters, banners, background art, theme music and individual episode thumbnails to your recorded shows to make each one really, really good-looking. It'll happily handle PNG and FLAC files for those lossless enthusiasts and it'll even overlook a messy file structure to get everything looking great. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to catalog our Community episodes with thumbnails of Dean Pelton's outfits.

Plex shows you how to make your TV shows look great with its new Local Media Agent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fresh off from successfully shrinking its Super Hi-Vision camera, Japan's NHK is sticking another feather in its cap -- the first over-the-air broadcast of its super-duper high-resolution technology. The broadcaster says it recently managed to send a compressed Super Hi-Vision signal from the roof of its Science and Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo to a distance about 4.2 kilometers away with no issues. NHK used two UHF channels during the experiment. To optimize and boost transmission capacity, NHK leveraged technologies such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). Low-density parity check coding was also used for error correction. NHK has been constantly experimenting with its Super Hi-Vision high-resolution (7,680 x 4,320) video format, including a UK-to-Japan broadcast via a 24Gb/s internet connection in 2010. Folks who happen to be in Japan from May 24th to 27th can check the tech at the NHK labs' open house in Tokyo's Setagaya ward.

NHK makes first successful Super Hi-Vision OTA broadcast, man cave owners giggle with glee originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just in case the world forgot which phone was first with 2GB of RAM, LG has pushed out another press release for its Optimus LTE2 which ships this week in Korea, just as promised. The detailed specs reveal this version ships with a 4.7-inch True HD IPS LCD, and while many of its specs (8MP camera, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU) are identical to its predecessor, it weighs in at an extra 10g, likely owing to the larger 2,150mAh battery. As mentioned previously it also has support for wireless charging and, naturally, the Optimus UI 3.0 detailed earlier. There's still no word on when we'll see this one outside of Korea but for now a few specs and pictures will have to hold us over.

LG's Optimus LTE2 ships this week in Korea, nails down a few more specs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just in case the world forgot which phone was first with 2GB of RAM, LG has pushed out another press release for its Optimus LTE II which ships this week in Korea, just as promised. The detailed specs reveal this version ships with a 4.7-inch True HD IPS LCD, and while many of its specs (8MP camera, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU) are identical to its predecessor, it weighs in at an extra 10g, likely owing to the larger 2,150mAh battery. As mentioned previously it also has support for wireless charging and, naturally, the Optimus UI 3.0 detailed earlier. There's still no word on when we'll see this one outside of Korea but for now a few specs and pictures will have to hold us over.

Continue reading LG's Optimus LTE II ships this week in Korea, nails down a few more specs

LG's Optimus LTE II ships this week in Korea, nails down a few more specs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the exception of tweaks for new features like HD video and closed captioning Netflix's Silverlight-based web player has been largely unchanged for years, but today everything is being reworked. As detailed in a post on the company's blog, PC and Mac users (no word on ChromeOS) the size of the player controls now scale to the window they're in and replace words with icons. Other new features users will notice is the ability to preview additional episodes of TV series without stopping the stream, title information that pops up when the stream is paused and that full screen viewing now has the same options as the windows player. The finale tweak is that the back to browsing button that brings viewers back to their queue has shifted from the bottom right to the top left. Hit the blog for the full breakdown, or just expect a surprise tomorrow when you're watching Downton Abbey at work Drive in the comfort of your own home during leisure time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netflix web streaming interface gets a new look with bigger icons, embedded previews originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While there's already plenty of excitement around other quad-core Android phones, LG will join the party soon when its Optimus 4X HD launches in a few European countries next month. Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and Poland are all on deck in June, where this latest Optimus variant will bring a 4.7-inch 720p HD IPS LCD, Tegra 3 CPU (benchmarked and seen in white here) and 2,150mAh battery coupled with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. On the software front, LG is touting its ability to take and share notes with "Quick Memo" (as seen in the Optimus Vu, now updated with the ability to include hyperlinks) as well as new "Media Plex" video playback controls. We got our hands all over this one during MWC 2012 a few months ago so until it drops in your neck of the woods, check out our gallery and video for a closer look or the press release after the break.

Gallery: LG Optimus 4X hands-on

Continue reading LG lines up Optimus 4X HD for launch in Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and Poland

LG lines up Optimus 4X HD for launch in Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and Poland originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 23:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Monday, and we're on our regular day, but not our regular time. We're still going to let you listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3, but at 9:00PM. Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat as you listen in.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:00PM ET

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:00PM ET originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Full-frame HD video in a brand new compact body, with Leica lenses? It could happen, but if you have to ask why exorbitant Leicas don't already do video then you probably can't afford it. While still calling the feature "theoretical", Leica's chairman Dr. Andreas Kaufmann intimated that the company had solved issues with data rate, battery life and heat for a possible M9 replacement. He also said that HD would be shown soon on "existing and new models", and Leica would stick with Truesense imaging, the former Kodak shop which supplies the M9 CCD, to make the new full-frame sensor. Whether that means video could also be retrofitted to existing M-series rangefinders remains to be seen, but more will be revealed on September 18th. Until then, if you need to make an extravagant splurge, the Hermes M9-P, perhaps?

HD video possible in upcoming Leica compact, bon vivants check trust funds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

RED's dabbled in the workshop arena with its three-day REDucation classes, but the cinema company's new program ups the session time to a full 16 weeks. REDucation X, which kicks off on October 1st, will run you a cool $15,000 -- approaching the cost of an entire Scarlet-X package. While getting REDucated at RED Studios in Hollywood, you'll learn from high-end film pros alongside 20 other deep-pocketed students as you cover digital production from A to Z, including lighting, shooting and equipment brass tacks, followed by a one-week shoot, and finishing with editing, grading and big-screen delivery. So given the choice, should you buy a new Scarlet, or take the training? We'd love to own one, but it would be nice to know how to use it properly, too.

RED goes beyond cameras with $15,000 REDucation X showbiz immersion originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 22:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ivy Bridge might be the belle of the ball in laptop-land, but small and nimble will always be on the dance card, too. Despite its petite 11.6-inch 1366x768 screen and 2.6-pound frame, Acer's newly announced Aspire One 725 can still pirouette with a dual-core C-60 AMD processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Radeon HD 6290 graphics, and choice of two colors. Along with the 320 or 500GB hard drives and HD output, those specs should allow you to edit the odd video while still doing the emailing and surfing it was made for. Acer's confirmed the unit will land in Europe in July for 359 euros, but stateside dates and price are still unknown. It's not as flashy as those ingénues, but it should be a cheap, light date.

Trip the light fantastic with Acer's 11.6-inch Aspire One 725 Netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.