This has been a fairly slow week for writing on my end. Part of it has been a lack of mega exciting news but the other part has frankly been due to the grueling election that wrapped up here on Tuesday night. No matter what side you were on, it can’t be argued that it wasn’t soul crushing by the end and has left me fairly exhausted. For those unfamiliar with this segment, each weekend, I send out an email blast which you can subscribe to by clicking here that gives you the top news stories of the week, some photos, and quick thoughts on Sony and the general industry.

I post that week’s quick thoughts, which I find creatively freeing, the following week, so if you care about what I have to say (which I think you do since you’re reading this!), be sure to subscribe and get my thoughts first. As for this week’s newsletter, it should be making it to inboxes in just a few short hours.

Doctor Strange

Living in Los Angeles definitely has its perks, especially if you’re a movie buff, as there is no shortage of good theaters to choose from. Being a gigantic Marvel geek, I trekked down to Hollywood with the wife and some friends for the opening showing of Doctor Strange at the famous TCL Chinese Theater. While known for its history and beautiful architecture, perhaps what’s lesser known about the theater is how cutting edge it is.

Very few theaters in the world provide 3D laser IMAX projection, and Chinese is one. I’ll leave all the technical mumbo jumbo out of it and simply say that Doctor Strange on its own is a top tier movie and easily one of the best Marvel flicks. But with the added dynamic of 3D on an IMAX screen, it’s purely something else. No matter what you do, go see it, but if you can, definitely do it in IMAX 3D, IMAX, or plain-ol’ IMAX, because you’re in for a visual treat.

PS4 Pro

I feel like today’s theme is being in for a treat but that’s just what the PS4 Pro can deliver. I’m not sure Sony has properly hyped up and talked about what their new console can offer but you are in for an absolute treat. Yes, there are a lot of goodies for 4K TV owners, but even those without a 4K TV will get a lot of extra benefits out of the powerful new console, including VR owners. The $100 difference between the PS4 and PS4 Pro makes it a no brainer.

One random added benefit is for those of you who take advantage of Remote Play on your Mac or PC. As it stands, the current PS4 can only stream 720p to your computer and depending on your screen resolution that might be fine. I know, cry me a river, but seeing how I have a 27-inch 5K iMac, 720p just doesn’t cut it. With PS4 Pro, that resolution gets bumped up to 1080p for streaming, a big plus in my book because I find myself having less and less time for going to the home theater area of the house and powering everything on where I can just launch an app on my iMac and within minutes, be playing a game.

NFC

A few years ago, one of the key advantages that was touted in the Android ecosystem was NFC – the ability to connect with other Bluetooth enabled devices with just a tap. You couldn’t escape CES without anyone and everyone showing their NFC-enabled headphones, stereo system, phone, and whatever other device they could shove it in. Sony went as far as integrating the feature in all of their home theater line and to this day, there isn’t a device that isn’t utilizing the technology, but it’s not something we ever hear about.

I haven’t in well over a year heard of a single company talking about NFC capabilities and sure as hell don’t hear consumers talking about it or utilizing it. What happened? As someone who despises Bluetooth due to its unreliability and overly complicated set, NFC should have been a big win but it never felt right. It still felt like too much hassle, but what Apple is introducing with the AirPods and their entire lineup of Beats headphones which utilize their new W1 chip is truly magical. If you haven’t seen it in action, I highly recommend taking a look at the following video, especially the latter half which shows the possibilities of the technology.

This is what connecting devices to each other should be like. Hopefully we’ll see a greater adoption of a similar idea in the future and ideally from Sony, seeing how they have a vast product portfolio that’s just begging for easier integration with one another.