Tag Archives: cpu

Rife-App Creates Higher frame Rates 25x Faster!

A few months back we took a look at Dain app, and how it was able to use AI and machine learning to create in between frames from almost any source footage and create something that looked and felt like real footage taken with higher fps cameras.  The algorithm was so revolutionary that it took the world by storm, making older software that used re-timing from Adobe and others look antiquated and underpowered.  The Dain-App was great and it was a pay what you want App but had an Achilles heel. The software required a powerful Nvidia GPU with as much VRAM as you could muster to be able to convert footage and re-time it.  

The new Rife-App which is the direct successor of Dain App by the creator GRisk is up to 25x faster than the original, improves the algorithm, and by many examples betters it by creating more seamless transitions. The flow of frames is frankly jaw-droppingly beautiful, especially on low frame rate animation.   We estimate that Animation studios in 2D will eat this app up immediately, and even 3D animation studios could reduce their render times by calculating fewer frames and using Rife-App to increase them to 24p, 30p or 60p from a lower source like 20fps or 12fps.   → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Galaxy S21 Slow Motion Feature is Retained!

Galaxy S21 Slow Motion

This week we had the announcement by Samsung of the Galaxy S21 phone line which is the de-facto Android handset in most of the world.  The Galaxy S21 Slow Motion has essentially the same feature set as the Galaxy S20 of 2020 when it comes to high-speed video. The Galaxy brand went serious with Slow Motion since the Galaxy S9 with the 960fps mode at 720p which we can still see here with somewhat improved resolution and recording time.

The S21 line is by almost any standard a refinement of the line with very subtle but important updates on the previous S20 phones. We get the Snapdragon 888 which is the brightest and fastest SoC in non-Apple land. We get 120Hz adaptive screen refresh rate and 108MP telephoto camera on the Ultra version with 10x hybrid zoom, and half that at 64MP on the regular S21 and S21+ which only offer 3x hybrid zoom. We also get 8k video recording on all of the phones at 24p which we will have to test if it is really delivering on the promise.

Galaxy S21 Slow Motion Video Features:

Resolution

  • 8K video recording at 24 fps (7680×4320)
  • 4K UHD video recording at 60 fps (3840×2160)
  • 1080p FHD video recording at 60 fps (1920×1080)
  • 720p HD video recording at 30 fps (1280×720)

Shooting speed

  • Super Steady 1080p video support at 60 fps
  • Super Slow-mo 720p video support at 960 fps
  • Slow motion 1080p video support at 240 fps & 120fps
  • Hyperlapse 4K video support at 30 fps

Other

  • HDR10+ recording
  • VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilization)
  • Digital zoom up to 12x
  • High CRI LED Flash
  • Tracking AF
  • Take 33MP still photos while playing 8K video
  • Playback zoom
  • Video location tags
  • *HDR10+ recording is currently in beta and only available on the rear camera. Quality may vary based on sharing platform and playback environment; HDR10+ color is only available on supported devices or platforms.
  • *Super Steady is only available when shooting in FHD resolution.
  • *Super Smooth 60fps Video supports FHD resolution in Auto mode only.
  • *Super Slow-mo only supports HD resolution. On Galaxy S21 5G and S21+ 5G, users can record approximately 0.5 seconds of video captured at 960 fps with approximately 16 seconds of playback. On Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, users can record approximately 1 second of video captured at 480 fps and digitally enhance the video to 960 fps with approximately 32 seconds of playback. Playback time can be edited in Super Slow-mo player.

Samsung Galaxy S21 event in 12 minutes by The Verge:

Same feature, mildly upgraded results!

So we get 960fps recording in 720p only in the S21 and S21+ phones and not in the Ultra. The Ultra version is capped at 480fps 720p and then AI deep learning interpolates to 960fps slow motion for the final result on the highest spec phone.

It is the same as last year’s S20 which also featured that limitation on the Ultra version of the handset.  It is not a matter of processing power but it is based on the choice of sensors. The Ultra seems to be capped at 480fps while the non-Ultra can scan at 960fps in 720p.

When it comes to slow motion the cheaper phones are actually more capable which may be ideal if this feature is important to you.

On the S21 and S21+ you get 0.5 seconds of 1/2 a second recording time at 960fps which translates to 16 seconds playback at 30p.  On The Ultra you get 480fps for 1 second recording time and interpolated to 960p for a 32 second playback time at 30p.  This is exactly the same as last year’s S20 line.

We have to test the feature fully but we estimate slightly better color, dynamic range, and artifact control on the S21 but nothing that would make you upgrade your S20.

Galaxy S21 Slow Motion Early Samples:

We will be testing the Galaxy S21 in the coming weeks as we are receiving a test unit. In the meantime, we found some samples online that could be legitimate. They certainly look real in resolution and speed for the most part but it is so early that we cannot confirm their validity.  We will re-examine the slow motion samples in a later post at HSC including our own tests.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Camera Slow Motion Test by MKP Captain: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Galaxy S8 Active and Note 8 Rumors!

Galaxy S8 Active Note 8 Rumors

Two new handsets from Samsung should be released pretty soon. One is the overly leaked Galaxy S8 Active which will be an AT&T exclusive in the USA and the other is the long awaited Galaxy Note 8 which should be a clean slate for the company after the battery fire debacle last year which had the Note 7 removed from production.

The Galaxy S8 was kind of a let down in slow-motion specs with just the 720p 240fps as the really important metric. Absent was the 120fps 1080p mode of other competitive phones which is now becoming a must have for the video format.  The Note phones have always pushed the specs forward in Samsung phones and we were waiting for the Note 8 to increase frame rate specs.

Galaxy S8 Active – Rumored Specs:

  • 5.8-inch 2,960×1,440 18.5:9
  • Super AMOLED non-curved touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 5
  • Snapdragon 835 chipset
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 64GB of expandable storage
  • Large 4,000 mAh battery
  • Ruggedized MIL-STD-810G compliant body
  • Same Cameras as the  S8 and S8+: 12 MP rear unit and an 8 MP selfie shooter  f/1.7 aperture. The Active will be 9.9mm thick and weigh 208g.
  • Should support the same video & Frame rates of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.  720p 240fps 60fps at 1080p and 30fps 4k.
  • 9.9mm thick & weight of 208g.

Galaxy Note 8 – Rumored Specs:

  • 6.3-inch display  2,960×1,440 resolution aspect 18.5:9
  • 162.5 x 74.6 x 8.5 mm.
  • IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
  • Midnight Black and Maple Gold   Body Colors.
  • September 2017 Launch Date
  • Exynos 8895 SoC Global Version
  • Snapdragon 835 for the US6GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.
  • 6GB of RAM
  • 64GB of expandable storage.
  • Dual rear cameras with 12 MP sensors.
  • Cam 1 wide-angle  f/1.7 aperture and dual-pixel autofocus
  • Cam 2 f/2.4 telephoto with 2x fixed zoom.
  • Both cameras will have Optical Image Stabilization.
  • S Pen Included
  • Video Capture Formats: 2160p 30fps, 1080p 60fps, 720p 240fps, HDR, dual-video recording mode with Selfie and Back Camera.
Our Take:

There you have it, if the rumors which are quite detailed are to be believed we can expect the same specs camera wise as the Galaxy S8 and S8+ from both handsets when it comes to video recording. The Note will only have an edge by applying a dual camera setup like the iPhone 7 Plus which does Wide and Telephoto.

While 720p 240fps is not a bad spec on its own it is resolution limited and is not class leading.  There is still a chance that the rumors are wrong and the specs are not restricted in the slow-mo aspect but probabilities are low that this will happen.

We will continue to watch closely and report on the final specs of both phones as they are officially announced.

Disclaimer: All Rumors are not solid information and buying decisions should not be made based on these suppositions. We will update the specs on this devices after they have shipped officially. 

Some Samples from the Galaxy S8 at 240fps 720p below:

Samsung Galaxy S8 Slow Motion (Fun Testing) by PMC PRODUCTIONS:

Samsung Galaxy S8 Slow Motion Video Test With Colors by Tech Hub BD: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Samsung Exynos 9 8895 Series 4k 120fps Capable!

Samsung Exynos 9 8895

The new Samsung  Exynos 9 Series 8895 Chipset for smartphones has impressive new specs.  It claims the most advanced 3D and general processing performance for use in flagship smartphones. What interests us a lot is the direct claim that the chip can handle both recording and playback of 4k video at 120fps.

The UHD 4k resolution is 3,840 by 2,160 pixels or 8,294,400 pixels rounded up to 8.3MP per frame.  At 120fps this equates to 995 Megapixels /sec or near one Gigapixel.  This translates exactly to 480fps at 1080p full HD resolution or 1080fps at 720p.  This is quite astounding for bandwidth specs for a phone and opens the door wide open for real super slow motion on Samsung Tablets and Smartphones.

What does it all mean?

Sony is already touting 960fps in their latest Xperia XZ Celphone so it is not out of reality that 4k at 120fps and 1080p 480, 720p 1000fps could be in the cards for a Samsung product this year.  If they implement this chip in the Note 8 or Galaxy S 8 which would be their premium handsets there is a strong chance of impressive video specs on these phones.

The subsystem however will need extreme memory specs as well with several gigabytes dedicated to image sensor acquisition.  Furthermore the frame buffer should be deep enough for at least a couple of seconds of capture. We somehow think that the first implementation of the 4k frame rates will be in step fashion.  That means 4k at 60fps as a start with continuous recording.

We somehow think 480fps at 1080p will not be included anytime soon even when Sony seems to be at the vanguard of frame rates. One thing is clear however and that is the undeniable fact that higher frame rates in ever increasing resolution and quantity will be incorporated more and more in mainstream hardware.   We will continue to cover this chipset as releases evolve.  More information at Samsung here!– HSC

BTW: If you want to see what 120fps at 4k looks like see this RED Epic video. However do not expect this kind of quality from a phone.

Football – Receiving Touchdowns – 4K 120FPS With RED EPIC by virginiaathletics:

Full Exynos 9 – 8895 Samsung Press Release Below:

Seoul, Korea, February 23, 2017 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced the launch of its latest premium application processor (AP), the Exynos 9 Series 8895. This is Samsung’s first processor chipset to take advantage of the most advanced and industry leading 10-nanometer (nm) FinFET process technology with improved 3D transistor structure, which allows up to 27% higher performance while consuming 40% less power when compared to 14nm technology.

The new Exynos 9 Series 8895 is the first processor of its kind to embed a gigabit LTE modem that supports five carrier aggregation, or 5CA. It delivers fast and stable data throughput at max.1Gbps (Cat.16) downlink with 5CA and 150Mbps (Cat.13) uplink with 2CA.

The Exynos 8895 is an octa-core processor, comprising of four of Samsung’s 2nd generation custom designed CPU cores for improved performance and power efficiency in addition to four Cortex®-A53 cores. With Samsung Coherent Interconnect (SCI) technology, the latest processor integrates a heterogeneous system architecture that allows faster computing for a wide range of applications such as artificial intelligence, and deep learning.

The Exynos 8895 also delivers unsurpassed multimedia experience with its powerful GPU and multi-format codec (MFC) as well as next level 3D graphic performance that minimizes latency for 4K UHD VR and gaming experience with ARM®’s latest Mali™-G71 GPU.

“In addition, with its advanced MFC, the processor supports video recording and playback at a maximum resolution of 4K UHD at 120fps.”

It also comes with video processing technology that enables a higher quality experience by enhancing the image quality; for example, for VR(Virtual Reality) applications, the Exynos 8895 delivers a realistic and immersive VR video experience at 4K resolution.

The Exynos 8895 has a separate processing unit for enhanced security solutions required for mobile payments that use iris or fingerprint recognition as well as an embedded Vision Processing Unit (VPU) that can recognize and analyze items or movements for improved video tracking, panoramic image processing, and machine vision technology.

“In addition to being built on the most advanced 10nm FinFET process technology, the new Exynos 9 Series 8895 incorporates Samsung’s cutting-edge technologies including a 2nd generation custom CPU, gigabit LTE modem, and more” said Ben Hur, Vice President of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “With industry leading technologies like VPU, the Exynos 8895 will drive the innovation of next generation smartphones, VR headsets, and automotive infotainment system.”

The Exynos 9 Series 8895 is currently in mass production.

For more information about Samsung’s Exynos products, please visit www.samsung.com/exynos

Ambarella H2 Promises 4k at 120fps!

Ambarella-H2

Regardless of what the GoPro and Ambarella marriage can provide in tandem hardware it is clear the company wants to branch out of the fledgling sales of GoPro which have tanked in recent quarters and the stock price from a high near a $100 USD is now trading at a mere $12 which is half the IPO price.   By branching out it seems they want their chips in many more imaging devices and be less affected by the GoPro product cycle.

The announced H2 and H12 chips are able to provide beefy 4k specs at high frame rates for mobile devices at a mere 2 Watts of power. As to 1080p frame rates it will remain to be seen how this powerful new chip can handle that in a camera design and how it is implemented to squeeze that performance.  120fps at 4k from the H2 in theory should be able to yield 480fps at 1080p just counting the Pixel processing.  This however can be limited by the rest of the components like imaging sensor.

H2 Main Specs:
  • 4K Ultra HD
  • 4k H.265/HEVC video at 60 frames per second 10bit
  • 4K AVC video at 120 frames per second.
  • 10-bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) video processing to handle high contrast scenes and supports DSLR quality photography.
  • 3D electronic image stabilization potentially eliminating gimbals
  • 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 CPU with floating point and NEON™
H12 Main Specs:
  • 4K Ultra HD HEVC video at 30 frames per second.
  • 3D electronic image stabilization potentially eliminating gimbal
  • 1GHz single-core ARM® Cortex®-A9 CPU with floating point and NEON™

With the advent of 120fps 4k video in mobile devices it will be interesting to see probably the first reasonably priced 4k slowmo capable camera on the market. We expect the GoPro Hero 5 Black to be a 4k 60p device and not 120fps, however we might be pleasantly surprised to see a lower quality mode for 120fps at 4k.  As for 1080p the new GoPro cameras should be able to deliver 240fps or more at full HD without breaking a sweat. Only the memory buffer will be the limiting factor here.

We expect to see many products using the new Ambarella SOCs in 2016 with the action cameras being the prime market as they have been in the past.  We’ll have more info as the chips are adopted and tested in commercial hardware.

Mashable tests the Ambarella H2 Prototype slowmo 4k  120fps:

 

Press Release from Ambarella H2 and H12 Below:

Ambarella Introduces Low Power 4K Ultra HD SoCs for Sports and Flying Cameras

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(UNDER EMBARGO – until Jan. 6, 2016 at 8:00 AM Eastern)–Ambarella, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA), a leading developer of low-power, HD and Ultra HD video processing semiconductors, today introduced the H2 and H12 camera System-on-Chips (SoCs) for a new generation of sports and flying cameras. H2 targets high-end camera models with 4K Ultra HD H.265/HEVC video at 60 frames per second and 4K AVC video at 120 frames per second. These high frame rates deliver smooth video during fast action shots and slow motion playback. H2 also includes 10-bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) video processing to handle high contrast scenes and supports DSLR quality photography. H12 targets mainstream cameras and offers 4K Ultra HD HEVC video at 30 frames per second. Both SoCs have extremely low power consumption allowing for the design of small form factor cameras, and feature advanced 3D electronic image stabilization, potentially eliminating the need for mechanical gimbals.

“With the introduction of H2 and H12 we now provide a complete portfolio of 4K Ultra HD HEVC solutions for sports and flying cameras,” said Fermi Wang, President and CEO of Ambarella. “H2, our first 14nm chip, delivers 4Kp60 Ultra HD HEVC video with 10-bit HDR processing, as supported by the latest generation of 4K HDR televisions. H12 delivers 4Kp30 Ultra HD HEVC video for outstanding video quality at mainstream camera price points.”

H2 features a new generation image processing pipeline which includes 10-bit HDR video processing and excellent imaging, even in challenging low-light conditions. The integration of a 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 CPU with floating point and NEONTM provides significant processing power for customer applications including flying camera flight control, video analytics and wireless networking. Its hardware de-warp engine supports wide-angle panoramic camera designs, while USB 3.0 connectivity provides fast upload of high resolution video. H2 supports live streaming of a second, low-delay, Full HD video stream for wireless monitoring and camera control.

H12 supports both 4Kp30 Ultra HD HEVC and AVC video encoding. It integrates a 1GHz single-core ARM® Cortex®-A9 CPU with floating point and NEONTM to provide the processing power required for customer applications including flying camera flight control and wireless networking. Its de-warp capability allows the use of wide-angle lenses with minimal image distortion. H12 also supports the live video streaming of a second, low-delay Full HD video stream.

Ambarella will demonstrate both H2 and H12 at a private event during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 6 – 9, 2016.

Pricing and Availability

For pricing and availability please contact Ambarella at www.ambarella.com/about/contact/inquiries → Continue Reading Full Post ←

ARM Cortex A72 Capable of 120fps at 4k!

arm-a72-590x330

The specs for the newest and greatest ARM phone chip the A72, show that it is close to 3.5 times more powerful than ARM’s previously released Cortex-A15. It is also powerful enough to record and process 4K video at a rate of 120 frames per second.  

While the specs of this 32 and 64bit capable chip look mighty impressive it is a predictor of things to come. These reference design chips are used for example by Apple in their A architecture because the company has  an architectural license agreement with ARM; that has proved to be an amazing performer because Apple tweaks the design to perform incredibly fast in their devices sometimes above 50% from the reference design in some specific applications.

Will the next iPhone 7 sport an ARM Cortex A72 derived Apple A10 chip capable of 4k slow motion? Hard to tell at this point but we do expect the next Apple devices to shoot  full 4k at up to 60fps.  The Current iPhone 6 is capable of 4k in hardware as evidenced by the Ultrakam app which unlocks 50MB/sec 4k recording on the stock device.

Apple is known for incremental upgrades that take their sweet time to get to market. But if 4k is in the cards we might at least expect 1080p video at 240fps instead of 720p.  Incremental can also be good.  We however expect competitors to offer 4k at 120fps faster than Apple in the next year.

Considering how fast Phone camera technology is advancing it may be possible to see phones capable of extremely high frame rates this decade that would only be an illusory dream today.

This is how 4k at 120fps looks like: Shot on a RED EPIC by virginiaathletics.

Power consumption is very good on the ARM Cortex A72 and that will be a reason for fast adoption in portable devices. The 16nm fabrication process cuts down heavily in power while increasing performance in a huge leap.

The A72 is scheduled to be in devices by early  2016.