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Shure’s MV7 microphone has been a solid option for podcasters and streamers since its introduction in 2020. With it, the company introduced the first mic with both USB and XLR connectivity. This hybrid setup offers the ability to connect easily to a computer or more robust recording setups as needed. It’s also $150 cheaper than Shure’s workhorse SM7B that you’ve likely seen in professional podcast videos. Now the company is back with a new version of the MV7, dubbed the MV7+, with a “sleeker design” and a host of software features aimed at improving audio before you fire up any editing workflows. 

The most noticeable change is the new multi-color LED touch panel. Shure says this component is fully customizable with over 16.8 million colors for a visual indicator of your sound levels. You can also opt for “an ambient pulse effect.” What’s more, a tap on the LED panel mutes the MV7+ when you need to cough, sneeze or clear your throat. 

In what Shure calls a “Real-time Denoiser,” the MV7+ employs digital signal processing (DSP) to eliminate background distractions. The company says this works alongside the mic’s voice isolation to produce excellent sound in noisy scenarios. The MV7+ also features a Digital Popper Stopper to combat the dreaded plosives, but this microphone does so virtually without an unsightly filter making an appearance on your livestream. 

Shure says it improved the Auto Level Mode on the MV7+, a feature that makes gain adjustments based on distance, volume and room characteristics to automatically balance the sound profile. There’s also onboard reverb, offering three settings (Plate, Hall and Studio) before you start tweaking things in your to-go DAW. And just like the MV7, the MV7+ still has hybrid XLR and USB outputs to connect to mobile devices and laptops in addition to a more capable audio mixer. Where the previous model had a micro-USB port for both USB-A and USB-C cables, this new model is all USB-C. 

With the MV7+, Shure is also announcing the MOTIV Mix app. In addition to tweaking the colors of that LED panel, the software provides a five-track mixer alongside the ability to adjust settings like sound signature, gain and more. There’s also a Soundcheck tool to assist with the optimal gain setting and a monitor mix slider provides individual adjustments for mic output and system audio playback. The company explains that this new Mix app will be available for older mics like the MV7 and MVX2U, but for now it’s only available in beta to use with the MV7+

The MV7+ is available now in black and there’s a white version on the way “in the upcoming weeks.” Both are $279, $30 more than the MV7 was at launch. Shure is also selling a “podcast kit” that bundles the MV7+ with a basic Gator desktop mic stand for $299. If you’d prefer the more versatile boom stand, that package is $339. A three-meter USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the box whether you purchase the standalone microphone or either of the kits. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/shures-mv7-usbxlr-mic-has-a-customizable-led-panel-and-built-in-audio-tools-142940237.html?src=rss 

Streaming can be an art form in its own right and made all the more enjoyable with the proper tools — though they don’t always come cheap. That’s why the 26 percent discount currently running on the Razer Stream Controller is so exciting. The sale brings the all-in-one keypad down from $270 to $200 — a return to its record-low price. 

Razor launched its Stream Controller back in 2022 as a competitor to Elgato’s Stream Deck — albeit at a much higher price point. To be fair, the device offers quite a lot for the cost, including 12 haptic switchblade keys, six tactile analog dials and eight programmable buttons. The haptic switchblade keys have customizable icons and, of course, have adjustable haptic feedback. The tactile analog dials control audio levels and the programmable buttons can make regular actions all the more accessible — and speedy.

The Razor Stream Controller works with Mac or PC and has integrated support for platforms like Discord, Twitch and Spotify. It’s also good for any artists looking for a new creative device, as it works with Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator and more. 

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-razer-stream-controller-is-down-to-its-all-time-low-price-143755384.html?src=rss 

This is your last day to snag a decent deal on a subscription to Max, the streaming service that has nothing to do with Cinemax and everything to do with HBO. Annual subscriptions are up to 42 percent off, depending on the tier. The discount is available to both new and returning subscribers, just in time for the second season of House of the Dragon.

The best deal knocks $100 off the Ultimate plan, which offers an ad-free 4K viewing experience. The grand total here will be $140 per year, instead of $240. The next step down is a mid-level plan that also drops the ads, but there’s no option for 4K streaming. This plan costs $150 per year, instead of $192. Finally, there’s the ad-supported plan, which costs $70 per year as part of this deal. Sure, it might seem weird to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm (RIP) with commercials, but it gets the job done.

The deals apply no matter how you sign up for the Max, including directly from the website, through the Apple App Store or Google Play. There’s one major caveat, as only new subscribers via Fire TV are eligible. All of this is tied to March Madness, as Max is streaming all 2024 Division I NCAA men’s basketball championship games, along with other live sports.

For those too busy to memorize the comings and goings of multinational streaming platforms, Max is a service that combines HBO’s programming with content from Discovery+. So you can watch all five seasons of the critically-acclaimed crime series The Wire and chase it down with 47 seasons of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, as nature intended. Max is a weird streamer to pin down, but there’s certainly a glut of content to choose from. There’s a reason we named it one of the best streaming services out there.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/its-the-last-day-to-get-up-to-42-percent-off-annual-max-subscriptions-130009276.html?src=rss 

In a year packed with rad fishing sims, Dredge was arguably the best. It came out in March 2023 and filled the wet, eldritch-horror-shaped hole in the year’s gaming catalogue — and now, it’s going to be a movie. Developer Black Salt Games and media company Story Kitchen are partnering to turn Dredge into a live-action feature film. The project’s logline is, “Think The Sixth Sense on the water. A grounded atmospheric cosmic horror blend of HP Lovecraft and Ernest Hemingway.” That’s not not a description of Dredge as a video game, so it looks like we’re off to a fine start.

As a film, Dredge will probably focus less on inventory management, boat upgrades and incessant seafloor dragging, and more on the game’s Lovecraftian water monsters and moody, foggy atmosphere. Story Kitchen is the production company behind a number of in-progress video game adaptations, including the Sifu live-action movie and Vampire Survivors animated TV series. There’s no word on a timeframe for the Dredge film, but it’ll likely appear when we least expect it, rising suddenly from the metaphorical depths.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/indie-lovecraftian-fishing-game-dredge-is-gonna-be-a-movie-130029799.html?src=rss 

For most of us, creating documents, spreadsheets and slide decks is an inescapable part of work life in 2024. What’s not is creating videos. That’s something Google would like to change. On Tuesday, the company announced Google Vids, a video creation app for work that the company says can make everyone a “great storyteller” using the power of AI.

Vids uses Gemini, Google’s latest AI model, to quickly create videos for the workplace. Type in a prompt, feed in some documents, pictures, and videos, and sit back and relax as Vids generates an entire storyboard, script, music and voiceover. “As a storytelling medium, video has become ubiquitous for its immediacy and ability to ‘cut through the noise,’ but it can be daunting to know where to start,” said Aparna Pappu, a Google vice president, in a blog post announcing the app. “Vids is your video, writing, production and editing assistant, all in one.”

In a promotional video, Google uses Vids to create a video recapping moments from its Cloud Next conference in Las Vegas, an annual event during which it showed off the app. Based on a simple prompt telling it to create a recap video and attaching a document full of information about the event, Vids generates a narrative outline that can be edited. It then lets the user select a template for the video — you can choose between research proposal, new employee intro, team milestone, quarterly business update, and many more — and then crunches for a few moments before spitting out a first draft of a video, complete with a storyboard, stock media, music, transitions, and animation. It even generates a script and a voiceover, although you can also record your own. And you can manually choose photos from Google Drive or Google Photos to drop them seamlessly into the video.

It all looks pretty slick, but it’s important to remember what Vids is not: a replacement for AI-powered video generation tools like OpenAI’s upcoming Sora or Runway’s Gen-2 that create videos from scratch from text prompts. Instead. Google Vids uses AI to understand your prompt, generate a script and a voiceover, and stitch together stock images, videos, music, transitions, and animations to create what is, effectively, a souped up slide deck. And because Vids is a part of Google Workspace, you can collaborate in real time just like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Who asked for this? My guess is HR departments and chiefs of staff, who frequently need to create onboarding videos for new employees, announce company milestones, or create training materials for teams. But if and when Google chooses to make Vids available beyond Workspace, which is typically used by businesses, I can also see people using this beyond work like easily creating videos for a birthday party or a vacation using their own photos and videos whenever it becomes available more broadly

Vids will be available in June and is first coming to Workspace Labs, which means you’ll need to opt in to test it. It’s not clear yet when it will be available more broadly.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-new-ai-video-generator-is-more-hr-than-hollywood-120034992.html?src=rss