In the wake of increased requirements when it comes to digital copy protection mechanisms in consumable media (be it in the streaming or disc-type), AMD is looking to allow users of its products to keep up with the increasing demands of content distributors. Besides hardware encode/decode capabilities, hardware DRM support such as HDCP 2.2 or Microsoft's PlayReady 3.0 has become a necessity for high-quality content viewing, and is required for Netflix 4K and HDR streaming on PCs.

AMD themselves have said that they plan on enabling these features for their products via a driver release, thus turning the most recent Ryzen + Vega APUs into even more desirable HTPC-environment solutions. In the Ryzen Desktop APU Reviewers' Guide, the company specifically said, "Please note that HDCP 1.4/2.2 are supported for the purposes of streaming 4K+HDR content. AMD intends to have a production PlayReady 3-capable graphics driver in early Q2". The company thus joins Intel and NVIDIA in developing solutions that allow users to take advantage of 4K and HDR content on their PC solution via, for example, Netflix. The steps are still very convoluted, though; just look at the Netflix requirements for your PC after the break. It's mind-boggling.

AMD today released an update to their Radeon Software Adrenalin Drivers and software suite. Under the Beta label, the new version brings many resolved issues to the table, whilst listing some unresolved - but recognized as existent - issues behind it still. Some problems with AMD XConnect for hot-swapping external GPUs should be fixed, some areas of Star Wars: Battlefront II that were displaying graphics corruption should no longer do so, and your Netflix playback should finally let you chill without any kind of AMD-caused stuttering, among other quality of life improvements.

Look for the full patch notes after the break, and keep in mind you can download the latest AMD drivers right here on TPU. Just follow the link below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 17.12.2 Beta

Intel today released its latest Graphics Driver for Windows (GDW). Version 15.60 WHQL (15.60.0.4849), which is applicable for integrated graphics embedded into 6th generation "Skylake," 7th generation "Kaby Lake," and 8th generation "Coffee Lake" processors. The drivers are WDDM 2.3 compliant (Windows 10 Fall Creators Update), and add support for Netflix HDR and YouTube HDR on Windows 10. The drivers also add support for 10-bpc (1.07 billion colors) displays over HDMI, and adds video decode hardware acceleration for several formats introduced after DirectX 12.

For those with beefier Iris Pro graphics, Intel GDW 15.60 adds optimization for "Middle-earth: Shadow of War," "Pro Evolution Soccer 2018," "Call of Duty: WWII," "Destiny 2," and "Divinity: Original Sin." As a WDDM 2.3 compliant driver, version 15.60 enables Windows Mixed Reality headsets plugged into the integrated graphics connectors. Download the driver from the link below.DOWNLOAD: Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 15.60

NVIDIA's GeForce 384 series drivers seem to have quite a few secrets, beginning with DirectX 12 API support on 5-plus year old GeForce "Fermi" GPUs, and now 4K Ultra HD support for Netflix UWP app without the need of new-generation CPUs (namely Intel "Kaby Lake," AMD "Summit Ridge," and AMD "Bristol Ridge."). The new-generation CPUs feature a host of hardware-level DRM features which the Netflix app needs to playback 4K Ultra HD content. The new GeForce 384 series drivers let you circumvent that requirement.

Reddit user aethervisor discovered that the Windows Store (UWP platform) app of Netflix could play back content at full 4K Ultra HD resolution on their machine with an older CPU and GeForce GTX 1080 graphics. New-generation CPUs had become a requirement for this to happen, besides the latest Windows 10 version, an HDCP 2.2-compliant 4K display (and no active secondary displays that don't satisfy HDCP 2.2), a powerful enough GPU, and either the UWP app or the Netflix website on Microsoft's Edge web-browser. NVIDIA struck down a big requirement that opens up Netflix 4K to a much wider user-base.

Up to now, only users with Intel's latest Kaby Lake architecture processors could enjoy 4K Netflix due to some strict DRM requirements. Now, NVIDIA is taking it upon itself to allow users with one of its GTX 10 series graphics cards (absent the 1050, at least for now) to enjoy some 4K Netflix and chillin'. Though you really do seem to have to go through some hoops to get there, none of these should pose a problem.

The requirements to enable Netflix UHD playback, as per NVIDIA, are so:

• NVIDIA Driver version exclusively provided via Microsoft Windows Insider Program (currently 381.74).
• No other GeForce driver will support this functionality at this time
• If you are not currently registered for WIP, follow this link for instructions to join: insider.windows.com/
• NVIDIA Pascal based GPU, GeForce GTX 1050 or greater with minimum 3GB memory
• HDCP 2.2 capable monitor(s). Please see the additional section below if you are using multiple monitors and/or multiple GPUs.
• Microsoft Edge browser or Netflix app from the Windows Store
• Approximately 25Mbps (or faster) internet connection.

Remember ASRock's Beebox? The original Mini PC was originally reviewed here on TechPowerUp to a glowing score and wholehearted recommendation, and now, the company has announced an upgrade to its innards that is sure to give a new lease of life to the device's appeal. The upgraded systems are powered by either Intel's Core i5-7100U (2C/4T, 2.5 GHz base and 3.1 GHz Boost clocks) or i3-7200U (2C/4T, 2.4 GHz base clock) CPUs, featuring the Kaby Lake micro-architecture, but are, apart from that, identical to their predecessors. The system can also be equipped with up to 32 GB of DDR4-2133 memory (two SO-DIMM slots), an M.2-2280 NVMe SSD and a 2.5" SSD/HDD depending on your particular demands. Meanwhile, Intel's 802.11ac Wi-Fi + BT 4.0 wireless module is pre-installed.

So everyone wants to crash at your place to watch the latest shows on your 4K Ultra HD TV, you can even "chill" with that special someone, if you can take your eyes off 4K content; and it turns out you even spent $500 on buying a new 4K monitor for your PC, because you demand no less than 3840 x 2160 pixels in front of your face; and among the first things you do (besides heading over to Interfacelift for some great wallpapers), is Netflix. Only Netflix has other ideas.

Apparently, you need a 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processor (or possibly AMD's upcoming "ZEN" processor), Windows 10 operating system, and Microsoft Edge web-browser to get 4K to work right on your PC, according to a Tom's Hardware report. Two factors could be pushing these steep-requirements - HEVC CODEC hardware acceleration, and hardware-level DRM features being introduced with "Kaby Lake." HEVC could prove crucial for Netflix as streaming 4K in existing H.264 format could quadruple bandwidth consumption over Full HD. HEVC encoding lets Netflix minimize the bitrate greatly. For Netflix's DRM component to access the CPU's hardware DRM features, it needs Windows 10, older versions of Windows won't work. If these requirements aren't met, Netflix will simply play your content in Full HD. No soup for you.

HP rolled out the Pocket Playlist, a wireless portable storage device. Although its exact capacity is a little fuzzy, the company mentions it can hold up to 16 full-length movies, 7,600 songs, or over 10,000 photos. By our calculations, that should work out to 32 GB. The Pocket Playlist may not be the first wireless storage device, but what gives it a worthy selling-point is its PlayLater feature, which lets the device cling on to your Netflix and Hulu subscriptions, store full-length legal copies of movies from those services, which you can later stream down to your devices. Available from mid-February, it is expected to be priced at US $130.

WD, a Western Digital company, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today's connected life, today unveils the new My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge as the latest additions to the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers. These products combine next-generation 802.11ac wireless technology with WD's exclusive FasTrack technology for automatically prioritizing high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix, YouTube, online games and Skype, to provide maximum streaming performance inside the home.

A leading product testing and analysis organization, The Tolly Group, conducted performance testing of the My Net AC1300 router and My Net Bridge amongst comparable products on the market today. Results show that the My Net AC1300 router is faster than leading competitive products averaged across ranges of 30 to 75 feet, demonstrating the strongest performance in providing stable wireless speeds over long distances, and cutting out buffering and lag times to provide a smooth HD entertainment streaming experience throughout the home.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, reflecting a 3 cent or 15 percent increase over the previous quarter's dividend. The dividend is payable December 13, 2012 to shareholders of record on November 15, 2012. The ex-dividend date will be November 13, 2012.

The company also announced that Raymond V. Gilmartin, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Merck & Co., Inc., has decided that after 11 years of service, he will retire from and not seek re-election to Microsoft's board of directors at the company's 2012 annual meeting of shareholders.

Following in the footsteps of Valve's Steam and EA's Origin, GameFly is now venturing into the world of the online delivery platform. Only GameFlys client brings it with a twist. If you are a subscriber to the GameFly service you will be able to play certain games for as long as you want without actually having to purchase the game.

Gameflys co-founder Sean Spector said "We are thrilled to finally be able to open up the beta so anyone interested in video games can start using the client, and we are hard at work expanding our catalog of PC titles for our users to play for free in the Unlimited PC Play section"

GameFly currently works as the gaming worlds answer to Netflix. Digital content delivery is the next logical step in its evolution. Currently you can download the beta application and give it a try for yourself. At the end of the day Steam may finally have a true competitor on the PC platform. A client with unlimited gameplay for a annual small cost.

Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 crossed the $1 billion mark in sales since its launch on November 8, 2011, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information. Highlighting the trend of interactive entertainment gaining a greater hold of audiences worldwide, the game achieved this milestone in just 16 days, eclipsing the record set in 2009 by the feature film "Avatar," which reached the $1 billion milestone in 17 days.

While 2011 box office revenue is on the decline - down 4 percent this year at $9.4 billion, compared with $9.8 billion in 2010 -- the number of people purchasing and participating in gaming is on the rise, with no sign of slowing.(1) With more than 30 million gamers, the Call of Duty community now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid.

Western Digital, the world's leader in external storage solutions and maker of the popular WD TV media player family, today introduced the next generation of its WD TV Live streaming media player, an easy to use Wi-Fi enabled media player that is the first in its category to deliver the Spotify music service.

WD TV Live features WD's newest intuitive user interface that delivers the latest hit movies, TV shows, music and online services from companies like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Blockbuster directly to your TV. The new streaming media player connects to the Internet wirelessly or through an Ethernet connection, with the high performance 802.11n wireless connectivity supporting Full-HD 1080p video resolution.

Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, has apologized for mishandling a recent price increase that caused customers to fly away in droves. However, that was immediately drowned out by the decision to split the Netflix service into two, one with the odd name of Qwikster. The new streaming service will still be called Netflix and continue to have the same dedicated website as the old physical media one, netflix.com. However, the DVD rental service is now branded Qwikster, which will also have it's own site. Crucially, both sites will operate completely independently, which means separate logins and user profiles for each one, causing significant inconvenience to customers.

Creative Technology Ltd. today announced the new Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega wireless gaming headset, the first wireless, cross-platform gaming headset to work with the PS3, Xbox 360, Mac and PC which is fully integrated. With the unique integration of Creative's wireless technology into the headset itself, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega wireless gaming headset does not require any extra attachments to function with gaming consoles wirelessly. The headset has volume, mute and connection controls fully integrated into the headset itself, eliminating the need for any additional connectivity components. Creative's robust wireless technology is designed to eliminate static interference, which affects other headsets, and delivers game audio with ultra-low latency, a critical feature for competitive game play.

Introducing a more personal, intuitive and entertaining computing experience for consumers, HP today unveiled the sleekly appealing HP TouchSmart310 PC, which features the most advanced version of the company's exclusive TouchSmart software to date. The company also announced the HP TouchSmart Apps Center for one-touch access to free and subscription-based applications, as well as the HP Omni100, which offers the performance users demand from a tower and monitor in an all-in- one design.

HP also is helping businesses make touch an integral part of the customer experience through relationships with American Airlines, ESPN and the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers. "Each generation of TouchSmart is a reflection of what HP has learned from its customers, complemented by the latest technologies," said James Mouton, senior vice president, Desktop Organization, Personal Systems Group, HP. "The TouchSmart PC's unique interface lets users do more than just basic computing - it acts as the anchor of one's digital lifestyle, encouraging creativity, organization and a truly immersive experience."

Imagine if friends and families had the ability to instantly watch movies from Netflix, live out their musical fantasies through Rock Band 2 and Lips, star in their own Hollywood classics with You're in the Movies, or have the power to never miss the latest episode of Heroes-all from one device, starting at $199.

That device is Xbox 360, and today Microsoft announced lower retail prices for the gaming and entertainment console in the United States, which offers the leading Xbox LIVE service. Beginning September 5, Xbox 360 Arcade retails for the estimated price of $199.99, the Xbox 360 console for $299.99, and Xbox 360 Elite for $399.99.

This fall, Xbox 360 gaming console could be given capabilities to stream content from providers such as Netflix. Microsoft announced a tech partnership with the popular movie rental company Netflix at the E3 video game convention in Los Angeles, United States. That gives you access to the thousands of movies and TV shows Netfilx has in store for rental viewing. It's a good deal for Netflix as it adds to its market media, even more so for Microsoft since its squeezing in all the value-added-services it can for the Xbox 360 which already seems to be threatened by the Japanese Nintendo Wii on home-turf, and the Sony Playstation 3 which comes with capabilities to play Blu-Ray discs, the next big physical content medium.

Streaming videos to game consoles could be coming soon to Netflix customers. The company is surveying its customers and asking if they would likely use a streaming service to Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. The streaming wouldn't cost any more money, but would require a special install disc costing $3. The Netflix survey was posted at seanbajuice.com and reads, "Now you can watch movies from Netflix instantly by using your Internet-connected Playstation 3. Simply insert a special Netflix disc into your PS/3 to enable instant movie streaming. The disc is available from Netflix for a one-time fee of $3." The survey then asks if anyone in the household would be likely to use such a survey. There are five options from definitely not to definitely would. Netflix says streaming customers would be able to watch over 7000 movies and television series in as little as 30 seconds. Currently Netflix offers streaming video on all of its plans. The cheapest plan offers one DVD at a time and two hours of streaming video per month for $4.99/month. Unlimited streaming plans start at $8.99/month.

Netflix believes the winner in the HD format war has been determined and said that it has begun stocking Blu-ray discs exclusively. The company said that its move is prompted by the decision of four out of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format. The online movie rental company intends to phase out HD DVDs by the end of this year and, as of now, is purchasing HD titles in Blu-ray only. The firm's current HD DVD inventory will remain available to customers until the discs' "natural life cycle" takes them out of circulation in the coming months. "The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, in a prepared statement.