If youre looking to take your movie nights, gaming sessions or even big sports games to a whole new level, a projector is a great investment. With projectors, youre not limited to a single screen size; you can expand the display to fit almost any wall or even set up a big screen outdoors for those summer movie nights under the stars. And if youre really looking to make the most of your space, a projector can even replace your TV, giving you that cinema-like experience right at home without a bulky screen taking up too much room.Whether youre setting it up in the living room, a dedicated home theater or taking it outside for an outdoor movie night, projectors add a ton of versatility and excitement. Plus, many projectors now come packed with features like high resolutions and vibrant colors, so youre not sacrificing quality for size. Table of contents Best UST projectors under $7,000 Best projectors under $6,000 Best UST projectors under $3,500 Best projector under $2,000 Best projectors under $1,000 Best budget portable projectors What to look for in a projector The technology: LCD and DLP projectors Projector FAQs Engadget's top picks As with previous updates, Im dividing projectors into ultra-short-throw and long-throw categories. As mentioned, ultra-short-throw models have rapidly established themselves in the market due to the extra performance and convenience, and all manufacturers sell at least a couple of models. Within the ultra-short-throw category, Well compare two price categories: under $7,000 and $3,500, with three projectors each. In the long-throw category, were again looking at projectors under $1,000, $2,000 and $6,000, with three products in each range. Finally, well take a look at the best portable projectors. Best UST projectors under $7,000 More ultra-short-throw projectors under $7,000 Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS500 If you need the brightest possible image, Epsons LCD-powered EpiqVision Ultra LS500 ($3,899) delivers. Its rated at up to 4,000 lumens, making it one of the brightest ultra-short-throw projectors in any price range. It also supports HDR modes in HDR10 and HLG and is sold with both 100-inch and 120-inch ALR screens, making the price effectively lower. The main drawback is that it only offers double the pixels of 1080p, rather than four times like competing DLP tech. It also offers a relatively weak 10-watt built-in speaker system. HiSense L9G This is HiSenses new $4,300 flagship UST that uses a tricolor laser to achieve high brightness (3,000 ANSI lumens) and an incredible 107 percent BT.2020 HDR coverage, topping even Samsungs formidable LSP9T. It has a powerful 40W Dolby Atmos sound system and built-in Android TV with Google Assistant and Alexa. Best of all, that price includes a 100-inch ALR Daylight screen, or for an extra $500, you can get it with a 120-inch ALR cinema screen. Best projectors under $6,000 More projectors under $6,000 Optoma UHZ65LV Optomas $6,000 UHZ65LV also uses a long-lasting laser light source to deliver a 5,000 lumen image, much brighter than any lamp-powered projector. It also delivers true 4K resolution up to 60p, thanks to the TI 0.66-inch DLP chip. The extra brightness and contrast make it ideal for HDR10 or HLG content. It also comes with desirable features for a long-throw laser projector, like a 1.6x zoom and vertical lens shift. LG CineBeam HU810PW 4K Speaking of long-throw laser projectors, LGs $3,000 CineBeam HU810PW is another excellent pick at a much lower price point. There are some compromises, as the laser light pushes out a lower 2,700 lumens (thats still a lot), and it has a smaller 0.47-inch DLP chip that delivers slightly lower perceived resolution. However, it has dual blue and green lasers which help it deliver accurate HDR colors with an excellent 97 percent DCI-P3 coverage. It also offers a 1.6x zoom with lens shift and an HDMI 2.1 port that allows for 4K at 60p with up to 12-bit color depth. It comes with LGs webOS, so it supports Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services without the need for a dongle. Sony VPL-VW295ES If youre looking for a true, native 4K projector, Sonys $4,500 VPL-VW295ES is the least costly option out there. Its by far the sharpest 4K projector in this roundup, thanks to Sonys proprietary 4K SXRD native DCI 4K (4,096 x 2,160) panels. It also delivers extremely accurate colors, with 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and HDR10/HLG support. You also get niceties like a 2.06 zoom lens with powered zoom, lens shift and focus. The main drawback is a relatively dim 1,500 lumen brightness, but its a top pick if picture quality is paramount above all. Best UST projectors under $3,500 More ultra-short-throw projectors under $3,500 Optoma CinemaX P2 Optomas CinemaX P2 made our list last year, but its one of the best projectors now because the price has dropped considerably. It delivers 3,000 lumen brightness, impressive contrast ratio and accurate colors with 80 percent DCI-P3 coverage. Its not quite as sharp as the pricier projectors, as it uses TIs 0.47-inch rather than 0.66-inch DLP tech, though youll still get a near-4K image. The CinemaX P2 may also better match your living room decor, as it comes in white rather than dark grey like the P1. The 40-watt NuForce Dolby Digital 2.0 soundbar is one of the best on any ultra-short-throw projector, as well. On the downside, it does offer apps but theyre not as good as youll find on, say, Googles Chromecast. BenQ V7050i BenQs first UST laser projector is at the top end of the price scale at $3,500, but it offers some impressive capabilities. Light output is a bright 2,500 ANSI lumens and it delivers a full 98 percent DCI-P3 coverage for as good an HDR experience as you can get on a projector. You also get a Filmmaker Mode to see colors as the directors intended. Its powered by Android TV so you get all the streaming services and apps you want, along with apps, games and more. The downside is the lack of decent speakers, as it only offers dual 5-watt speakers with clear sound but limited bass. Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS300W If youre okay with 1080p projection, Epsons EpiqVision Ultra LS300W is a very interesting option because of the design, excellent sound, built-in Android TV and extreme 3,600 ANSI lumen brightness. That allows for a wide color gamut with no rainbow effect, excellent connectivity and very good sound without the need to buy a soundbar or surround sound system. Best of all, its priced at just $2,000, making it one of the cheaper short-throw projectors out there. Best projectors under $2,000 More projectors under $2,000 Optoma UHD38 For extra brightness and speed for gaming, the answer is Optomas all-new, $1,600 4K-capable UHD38. It cranks the lumens up to 4,000 and like the Viewsonic PX701-4K, offers 240Hz gaming at 1080p with one of the lowest latency figures weve seen yet in a projector at 4.2 milliseconds. Otherwise, you can do 4K 60 Hz gaming with 16.7 milliseconds of lag, which is very quick for 4K. Its optimized more for gaming than entertainment unlike BenQs HT3550i, but it can still handle HDR10 and HLG. It supports both zoom (albeit just 1.1x), but also vertical and horizontal lens shift. Epson Home Cinema 4010 4K Pro Epsons $2,000 Home Cinema 4010 4K Pro is the Cadillac of under-$2K home projectors thanks to features like 2,400 lumen brightness, dynamic iris, and motorized zoom (2.1x), focus and lens shift. This Epson projector delivers in picture quality too, covering 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space in cinema mode with both HDR10 and HLG. It also offers near-4K quality using 1,920 x 1,080 LCD image chips with pixel shifting. The drawbacks are lack of support for 60Hz 4K due to the HDMI 1.4 ports. If you need that, want to pay a bit less and dont care about the motorized focus, Epsons $1,700 Home Cinema 3080 4K Pro is the way to go. It offers similar features like HDR10 and HLG, but supports 4K 60p thanks to the HDMI 2.0b ports. Theres no motorization and the zoom drops to 1.6x, but it supports generous tilt, shift and zoom ranges. Best projectors under $1,000 More projectors under $1,000 BenQ HT2050A For around $700, the BenQ HT2050A is still one of the best budget 1080p projectors. It delivers where it counts with the best contrast (ANSI 1,574:1) and color accuracy in its class, and is reasonably bright as well, with 2,200 lumens in "vivid" mode. On top of that, it comes with a 1.3x zoom and vertical lens shift option for maximum installation flexibility. The drawbacks include slightly excessive fan noise, rainbow effect and red-tinted 3D. Optoma HD146X If youre looking to spend a little less on a budget projector, the Optoma HD146X is your best option. Using DLP tech, it delivers 1080p at up to 3,600 lumens with excellent brightness, color accuracy, contrast and black levels. You also get decent (16.4-millisecond) input lag for gaming. The drawbacks are a single HDMI port, 1.1x optical zoom and poor built-in audio. Best budget portable projectors More budget portable projectors BenQ GS2 This $470 model is designed specifically for outdoor entertainment, so its battery-powered and splash and shock resistant making it your best bet for backyard movie nights or for watching sports events, camping and more. Its also one of the brightest portable projectors out there and has a battery life of up to three hours. This outdoor projector only delivers 720p resolution, but it does come with a streaming app in the form of Aptoide TV. Anker Nebula Solar HD This full HD projector has a pretty rich feature set considering the $600 price including a battery. This portable projector delivers 400 lumens for reasonably bright outdoor use, has a reasonably powerful 2x3W speaker system with Dolby Digital Plus, comes with Android TV and has a built-in stand for easy adjustment. What to look for in a projector Ultra-short-throw Since the last time we updated our guide, ultra-short-throw projectors have become the hot new category, offering several benefits. You can mount them close to the wall like a TV, with no need to run wires through the walls and ceiling, but still get an immersive image as large as 120 inches something thats impossible with a TV unless youre very rich. They use brighter lasers that never need to be replaced and because laser light is collimated, focusing is eliminated. Theyre also physically less awkward to install than a ceiling-mounted projector, though that doesnt mean installation is super easy. To get the perfect screen fit and alignment, you must place them an exact height and distance from your wall or screen. This can be quite a pain, as Ive discovered. You also need a perfectly flat wall or projector screen, because ultra-short-throw projectors beam up at an acute angle, so any imperfections will show as shadows. For that reason, you cant use a roll-down screen because they have slight ripples. For the best results, particularly with a lot of ambient light, you should use an ambient light-rejecting (ALR) screen. Those have small ridges that reflect light from below back to your eyes, but absorb any light (ie ambient light) that comes from above. For one of those, youll need to budget at least $450 and way up. Some projectors, including models from Epson and HiSense, come with ALR screens. Brightness and contrast Home theater projectors generally range in brightness between 2,000 to 4,000 lumens, but you'll need to take those figures with a grain of salt. Some models might actually hit 3,000 lumens or more, but cranking the lamp to that level will hurt the image quality and lifespan of your bulb. Also, some manufacturers tend to exaggerate maximum brightness. As a point of reference, many 4K flat panel TVs nowadays can hit 1,000 nits of brightness, but the brightest consumer projectors only display between 100 and 150 nits from the screen. Thats not as big a deal as it might seem, because projector images are much larger and meant to be used in dark rooms, where your eyes will automatically adjust to the light and brighten the image. Contrast is also substantially different on home theater projectors. Unlike OLED TVs, projectors dont allow for zero black levels because of ambient light, reflections and other reasons. You also cant have local dimming zones found on LED TVs for true blacks. Some projectors do have a dynamic iris to improve the contrast scene-by-scene, but those can often produce a pumping effect, with the image dimming or brightening in mid-scene. Elite Starling Mounting and fan noise A big advantage of regular long throw projectors is that you can mount the projector and screen on the ceiling, using zero space in your room. If you plan to do that, dont forget to budget for a mounting bracket and any necessary long cables, including extra power for Google's finicky Chromecast (though you could opt for a smart projector with built-in streaming apps instead). Also, keep in mind that it's easier to mount a lightweight home theater projector, and DLP models are usually lighter than those with LCD tech. Some projectors are noisier than others, and usually the more you spend, the less noise you get. Many of the new 4K DLP projectors, when operating in 4K mode, are particularly noisy. There's one other (cool) thing: if you have a portable projector or even one that is relatively easy to take down and put up, you can take it outside for magical night screenings under the stars. HDR and resolution As related to projectors, these things could each take up an entire article. In fact, they have for a deeper dive, take a look at Projector Centrals excellent takes on HDR and resolution. On the resolution front, only expensive projectors have native 4K resolution; indeed, most movie theaters still use 2K projectors for various reasons. However, there are many relatively inexpensive DLP projectors that use pixel-shifting to attain 4K resolution. That system emits each pixel four times while moving it to the correct position for a 4K image, all in less than 1/60th of a second. As such, it puts as many pixels on the screen in the same amount of time as a 4K native projector and visually, it performs nearly as well. On the other hand, Epson's LCD 4K enhanced projectors also have 1080p resolution, but the image is just shifted twice, not four times. So, those projectors are not 4K natively or otherwise, but do produce double the pixel count of a 1080p projector. If you really want a 4K native projector, youll have to pay: two of the cheapest ones are Sony's VPL-VW295ES ($5,000) and JVC's DLA-NX5 ($5,000). HDR is a very different animal on projectors compared to TVs. As mentioned, projectors cant produce anywhere close to the amount of light required (1,000 nits) to qualify as true HDR. Rather, they use a technique called tone-mapping to fit the entire HDR gamut into a lower brightness range. For that reason, among others, almost all projectors only support HDR10. Only one uses Dolby Vision (the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2, only available officially in China), and just a couple of models work with Samsungs HDR10+ and those are Samsungs own Premiere 4K models. However, most support a wider 10-bit color gamut that allows for superior color reproduction. Optics If you're mounting a short- or long-throw projector between five and 25 feet, you might need to consider the zoom range and whether the projector has a lens shift option. A decent zoom range will make it easier to mount the projector where you want with the screen size that you want. If the projector has an auto focus feature, it will adjust the lens to create a sharper image by calculating the distance between your projector and the wall or screen. Lens shift, meanwhile, is used if the projector is mounted higher or lower relative to the screen than recommended by the manufacturer (or any horizontal distance off center). That creates a trapezoidal shaped image, but by dialing in some lens shift, you can optically square it up. Otherwise, you might have to use a "keystone correction," which digitally stretches or shrinks part of the image, resulting in noticeable distortion or pixel artifacts. Digital correction might not work in gaming modes either, for some projector models. Gaming If youre interested in a gaming projector, youll want to look up the refresh rate and input lag figures. Some new projectors from Viewsonic, Optoma and others offer up to 240 Hz 1080p refresh rates and input lag settings down to 4 or 5 milliseconds. When paired with a compatible projection screen, you can expect an immersive experience from your game console on the big screen. However, some projectors designed more for home entertainment have very poor input lag and refresh rates at just 60 Hz. Portable projectors Finally, portable projectors have become popular enough to merit discussion this year. Theyre relatively cheap, compact and portable and can run on batteries making them ideal for entertainment outside or while camping. These outdoor projectors are not nearly as bright as others, of course, but are more designed for a fun night of entertainment under the stars. The technology: LCD and DLP projectors Here are the basics: Traditional projectors generally use two types of technology, LCD and DLP. Theyre fundamentally different systems, with their own advantages and drawbacks. The rise of ultra-short-throw projectors and brighter long-throw models, meanwhile, has been powered by falling prices in laser illumination technology. Lasers are a far better solution than lamps, because theyre brighter and last far longer up to 30,000 hours instead of 6,000. Thats essentially a lifetime of use (about 10 years). Most projector manufacturers now use DLPs, or digital light processing units, manufactured nearly exclusively by Texas Instruments (TI). The heart of the tech is an optical semiconductor called a digital micromirror device (DMD) that contains millions of aluminum mirrors. Those tilt either toward the light source (on) or away from it (off) at up to 5,000 times per second. Budget projectors like BenQs HT3550i use TIs 0.47-inch DMD, while higher end models, like the Samsung Premium LSP9T use the 0.66-inch chip. Both use mirrors that tilt by +12 and -12 degrees for white and black, but TI recently unveiled a new 0.47-inch 4K-capable DMD with +/-17 degrees of tilt, which should enhance both brightness and contrast. DLP projector makers include LG, Optoma, LG, BenQ and Panasonic. The benefits of the tech are portability (like Samsungs The Freestyle 180-degree projector), high contrast, less fringing and cheaper projectors, especially 4K and ultra-short-throw models. The biggest drawback is the rainbow effect, or bright red/blue/green artifacts that affect some viewers more than others. LCD tech, meanwhile, uses a prism to split a light source into red, green and blue beams. Those then pass through LCD displays containing the image and converge via another prism before passing through the projectors lens. Epson is the primary user of LCD tech, along with Sony, Sanyo and others. LCD projectors tend to be sharper, more efficient and more color accurate, but have lower contrast ratios and can experience image degradation over time. In general, theyre also more expensive. Projector FAQs Are 4K projectors better? Yes, because higher resolution is more noticeable on larger screens, so 4K is particularly useful with projectors since they beam images up to 200 inches in size. That being said, brightness and contrast are more important. Is a projector better than a TV? Projectors can provide a more immersive experience thanks to the large screen, but theyre not necessarily better. Since you usually have to dim the lights with a projector, TVs are superior for everyday use. Is 2000 lumens bright enough for a projector? Yes, 2000 lumens is easily bright enough, even with some ambient light in the room. However, the image will still be hard to see with the windows open on a bright day. Should I get a 4K or 1080p projector? That depends on your budget and needs. If your budget is below $1,000, look for a 1080p projector with the best brightness and contrast. Between $1,000-$2,000, youll need to weigh whether brightness or 4K resolution is most important. Above that, choose the brightest 4K projector you can afford. What are the best projectors in daylight? The best projectors in daylight are ultra short throw (UST) models, as they have the brightest and sharpest image. However, they generally cost more than $2,000. Do you need a screen for a better projector experience? Technically, you dont need a screen to use a projector any light-colored, smooth wall can work in a pinch. But if you want to get the most out of your projector, a screen can make a difference. Projector screens are designed to reflect light evenly and enhance contrast, so colors look more vibrant and the picture appears sharper. With a screen, youll notice darker blacks and brighter colors, which can give a real boost to your movie nights or gaming sessions. So while you can absolutely enjoy a projector without one, a screen can make the experience feel a bit more like your own personal theater. Should I buy a portable or home projector? It depends on how and where you plan to use it. If you want a projector you can easily move around, bring to friends houses or set up indoors or outdoors easily, a portable projector is a great choice. Theyre usually smaller, lightweight and often have built-in speakers and batteries, making them convenient for on-the-go use. On the other hand, if youre looking for a more permanent setup for a home theater or living room, a home projector might be the way to go. Home projectors tend to be more powerful, with higher resolution and brightness, which gives you that crisp, cinema-quality experience. Theyre ideal if you have a dedicated space and dont mind leaving it set up in one spot.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/best-projectors-123004354.html?src=rss

European investigators believe a Chinese-owned commercial ship deliberately dragged its anchor to sabotage the two undersea telecommunications cables cut in the Baltic Sea earlier this month. However, Western law enforcement and intelligence officials told The Wall Street Journal that they dont believe the Chinese government was involved. Instead, the probe is focused on whether Russian intelligence persuaded the vessels captain to carry out the operation.For the past week, NATO warships from Denmark, Germany and Sweden have surrounded the 225-meter-long Yi Peng 3. The ships Chinese owner, Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, is reportedly cooperating with investigators. The shipper allowed the commercial vessel to be stopped in international waters.The WSJ says Swedish and German authorities are negotiating with the owner to access the ship and its crew. International maritime laws prevent NATO from forcing the vessel to sail into one of their ports.European investigators believe the Yi Peng 3 dragged its anchor for over 100 miles along the Baltic seabed from November 17 to 18. They reportedly viewed satellite and other data showing that the vessel moved significantly slower than usual while weighed down by the anchor.It severed two data cables: one connecting Lithuania and Sweden and another between Finland and Germany. After cutting the second cable, the ship reportedly zig-zagged, raised anchor, and continued.Officials said the ships transponder was shut down during the incident. Investigators told theWSJ that their review of the anchor and hull showed damage consistent with dragging and cutting the cable.Its extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way, a senior European investigator told the WSJ. An analytics company specializing in international shipping told the paper that the likelihood of accidental anchor dragging appears minimal.The Yi Peng 3 sailed solely in Chinese waters from December 2019 to early March 2024. At that point, it suddenly began carrying Russian coal and other goods and began stopping in Russian ports. When the Danish Navy stopped it, it was carrying Russian fertilizer.In September, the US issued a warning about a heightened risk of Russian interference with undersea data cables.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/investigators-say-a-chinese-ships-crew-deliberately-dragged-its-anchor-to-cut-undersea-data-cables-195052047.html?src=rss

Check out DNEG's VFX breakdown for Here, Robert Zemeckis's millennia-spanning drama, tracing a plot of land from prehistory to the present dayWatch the full video on the DNEG YouTube breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYr9s3xboSw

Discover how PFX recreated 1940s Bratislava in its VFX breakdown of its invisible effects for period drama The Hungarian DressmakerWatch the full video on CG Channel: https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/11/how-pfx-created-its-invisible-effects-for-the-hungarian-dressmaker/

The UK's critical infrastructure still widely uses removable media, so how does it secure it?

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Dec. 24 will mark the last date of trading of Just Eat Takeaway's shares on the London Stock Exchange.

Workday called for a 25% adjusted operating margin in the current quarter, below Wall Street's estimate of 25.5%.

Exactly a year ago, KIRI Engine released 3D Gaussian Splatting across all supported platforms, two months later its built-in editing tools, and another two months later 3DGS to Mesh. This brand new 3D scanning method has received lots of utilization and love as optimizations and tools dedicated to it are continously introduced, making this seemingly too-good-to-be-true 3D visualization technique more accessible and practical.Today, a year later, KIRI Engine is excited to announce two revolutionary updates in its 3.12 release: 3D Gaussian Splatting to Mesh 2.0 and KIRI Engine 3DGS Blender Addon V2.0. Along with other quality of life changes and improvements to the overall versatility of the app, this is an update you dont want to miss.3DGS (3D Gaussian Splatting) to Mesh 2.0In January 2024, KIRI released 3DGS to Mesh 1.0. This was made possible in collaboration with CJ Ye and his team, and it was the first attempt to make 3DGS more applicable in widely-used applications as the native PLY point cloud file was hardly accepted and visualized correctly in any rendering engine. This method worked by running a separate algorithm on top of the existing splat, reconstructing surface meshes from the depth map analyzed from the generated gaussian splat result. While this method worked to an extent, the light and depth data was often inaccurate and resulted largely inconsistent results, with featureful objects being converted into mesh files with much higher fidelity than their featureless counterparts.Figure 1: 3DGS to Mesh 1.0 Generated SuitcaseBuilding on top of the solid foundation provided by the lastest gaussian splatting mechanics, the newly updated gaussian splat-to-mesh conversion introduces sophisticated normal prediction and reflection removal techniques. Developed once again by the KIRI Engine team and CJ Ye, the new algorithm draws inspiration from professional 3D scanners, specifically the super-dense point cloud generation methodology. With this change, the algorithm is now able to handle scenarios that used to be impossible for gaussian splat-to-mesh reconstruction, which were scanning reflective and transparent surfaces as they would disrupt the reconstruction process by providing inaccurate depth data.This update has been uploaded on GitHub, along with model viewers that display the differences between 1.0 and 2.0. The model viewers are rigged to be in synch in terms of the camera position, making the models differences stand out clearly.Figure 2: 3DGS-to-Mesh 2.0 versus 1.0 on GitHubFigure 3: 3DGS-to-Mesh 2.0 (detected as reflection) versus 1.0 on GitHubMoreover, 3DGS-to-Mesh 2.0 yields significantly higher quality results and processes the files at a much more consistent level.Figure 4 & 5: 3DGS to Mesh 1.0 vs. 2.0In actual practice, the 3DGS-to-Mesh data will be processed and stored under the Scans list, as they will be high-quality 3D models with tons of editability within the app just like KIRIs Photo Scans and Featureless Object Scans.Needless to say, 3DGS-to-Mesh 2.0 is a state-of-the-art technology and marks a significant leap in raterizational-radiance fields derived geometry research. Additional great news: this technology will be fully open-sourced towards the end of this year or the beginning of 2025.3DGS MaskingIn version 3.12 of KIRI Engine, many changes to gaussian splatting are added directly to aid artists workflows, where features and usability improvements are introduced to the update.3DGS now has masking features, which isolates the object from the rest of the background in the model generation process. For those unfamiliar with this technique, auto-masking has been a tried-and-true method for KIRI Engines Photo Scan, where areas besides the object in focus are automatically cropped out.Figure 6: 3DGS to Mesh 2.0 Generated Suitcase (Masked)3DGS Masking will be available for both conventional 3D gaussian splats as well as the new 3DGS-to-Mesh production, where in both cases the user can obtain a clean model without noise coming from the background. This will be a toggle feature on the upload menu for both methods, where you can get the full scene along with its background when turned off, and the isolated object by itself with the feature turned on.Figure 7: 3DGS Masking Off vs. On3DGS Blender Addon V2.0A couple months ago, KIRI released its very own 3DGS Blender Addon and fully open sourced it. Since then, They have been closely monitoring the addon, gathering community feedback, and in turn, improving the existing features as well as implementing new ones.New FeaturesNew Modifiers Edit mode:Several editing modifiers are created and added to the 3DGS object for importing. These modifiers speed up workflow and performance significantly. The modifiers include:Camera CullingCrop BoxesDecimationRemove ArtifactsFigure 8: Crop Tool Demonstration in KIRIs 3DGS Blender Addon V2.0New Point Edit mode:This mode is for editing point clouds before importing the 3DGS object, which can be used to create an isolated object from a full scene.New Modify Animate mode:This mode allows the user to add several animation presets in a few clicks:Noise displacementsTo points transformationTo curves transformationPixelate transformationOptimizations / Bugfixes:Imported objects are now editableHQ Splat/Render now supports multiple objects, objects can be renamed, and the original file location does not need to be keptBlender will not freeze when using the addon in orthograpic viewLike the initial release of KIRI Engine 3DGS Blender Addon V1.0, the new release will be fully free to download and open-sourced for developers, and it continues to be the most usable addon for 3DGS rendering/editing in Blender.Learn more about 3DGS Render on GitHub here.Get 3DGS Render Addon on Blender Market here.Quality of Life UpdatesFeatureless Object ScanMesh quality improvementUIChanged the Include Mesh from the 3DGS upload page to 3DGS to MeshAfter selecting 3DGS to Mesh, there will be two files being generated:A gaussian splat under the 3DGS listA mesh file based on the splat under the Scans listA Few Words from the DevsThis is one of our proudest updates to date, especially in the realm of 3D gaussian splatting. As we continuously push for innovations ever since the initial release of this technology, we released many different features and tools for the reality-stealing capturing method to be more accessible, and we could not be happier with how far weve comeThere are loads of possibilities heading into the future with 3D gaussian splats, and the release of 3DGS to Mesh 2.0 and the Blender Addon V2.0 is the first step of many. We are infinitely excited and optimistic to see what wonders lie ahead of the technologys path, and we are so proud of everything our dev team has achieved. Zion, KIRI Engines PR ManagerThe release of KIRI Engine 3.12 accompanies the programs biggest sales event of the year, offering its premium subscription at the lowest price in the entire year. This is a wonderful opportunity to capitalize on the unlimited access to the state-of-the-art features they newly released. The subscription will be available on all supported platforms.Happy scanning!Check out KIRI Engines official release video for version 3.12 here.Download the KIRI Engine Blender Addon on GitHub.Visit KIRI Engines Official WebsiteDownload KIRI Engine from the Google Play StoreDownload KIRI Engine from the App StoreDont miss KIRI Engines Black Friday sale 55% off! Brought to you by KIRI Engine:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post Restoring Reality: 3D Gaussian to Mesh 2.0 appeared first on befores & afters.

RE:Vision Effects is the creator of unique, Emmy and Academy Award winning software. Their deep, high-end, flexible solutions address retiming, deflickering, denoising, motion blur, texture mapping in post, warping, and morphing.And it doesnt stop there if you need color matching and automatic color enhancement, upres and video detail enhancement, and handling of lens distortion, projection and VR 180/360 including stabilizationwe have plug-ins for that.Used worldwide by professional video editors and compositors, RE:Vision Effects plug-ins are supported on After Effects, Autograph, Baselight, Catalyst, Diamant, FCP, Flame, Fusion, Hitfilm, Media Composer, Motion, Natron, Nucoda, Nuke, Premiere, Resolve, Scratch, Silhouette and Vegas.Take advantage of their Cyber Week sale 25% off all products!Use the discount coupon: B&ACyberBlack24Head to https://revisionfx.com to find your plug-in.Brought to you by RE:Vision Effects:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post Cyber Week Sale Now On at RE:Vision Effects! appeared first on befores & afters.