To Movie Fans: Things you should know about new iPhone model

Apple has always enjoyed a great popularity among people around the world since the first generation released. Since that, every Apple’s Launch Event will attract a great number of Apple fans to attend the conference. And this launch even will last for a long-time discussion and appreciation.

It has been nearly for one week since Apple released its new iPhone models including iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Now many people must have received their new iPhone handsets. The new iPhone devices deliver even greater movie experience with much more advanced technologies adopted.  However, there appear many questions from those Apple fans.

“Is there anything different between iPhone XS/XS Max/XR and iPhone 7 in video and audio playback? I have a few video files saved in .webm format and would like to play on iPhone XS. What should I do?”

On the following, I'll answer the question in detail.

iPhone XS Supported Video Formats

Firstly, let’s get a deep dive to the iPhone XS supported video formats. It’s important to figure out what video formats does iPhone XS support. The below content summarizes the video and audio formats supported by iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/7/8/6. 

1. Supported video format for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7 – H.264 video:

Up to 1080p (1920 x1080 pixels), 60 frames per second, High Profile level 4.2/4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

2. Supported video format for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7 - MPEG-4 video:

Up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

3. Supported video format for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7 - Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) Video:

Up to 35 Mbps, 1280 x 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format.

4. Supported audio formats for iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7:

AAC, HE-AAC, MP3 (bitrate from 8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV.

Therefore, if you want to play videos in unsupported video formats on iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7, like the FLV, AVI, WMV, MKV, M2TS, AVCHD, etc. you have to convert videos to iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/7 supported video formats as MP4, MOV, M4V.

Then you may have other problems about how to watch the unsupported video on iPhone? 

Leawo Video Converter using tips:

As mentioned above, iPhone XS/XS Max/XR models support only a few video and audio formats. You need to convert videos in other formats to iPhone XS before you could play these videos on iPhone XS. Leawo Video Converter could be your best choice. It could convert video and audio files between hundreds of formats like AVI, MOV, FLV, MKV, RMVB, WEBM, M4V, MP4, MP3, AAC, etc. It could convert video to iPhone XS supported video formats so as to let you freely watch videos in various formats on iPhone XS/XS Max/XR.

Download and install Leawo Video Converter on your computer first. And then follow the below steps to learn how to convert videos to video formats supported by iPhone XS.   

Step 1: Open Video Converter

Launch Leawo Prof. Media. On the main interface of Leawo Prof. Media, click the “Video Converter” option to enter the Convert module.

Step 2: Add source video files

Click the “Add Video” button to browse and add video files or video folder from local drive. You could add multiple videos as you like.

Step 3: Choose output format

Next to the “Add Photo” button, click the button and then on the drop-down panel select “Change” option to enter the “Profile” panel.

Step 4: Set output directory

After editing, click “OK” button to return to the main interface. Then click the big green “Convert” button. Set output directory in the “Save to” box on the popup sidebar.

Step 5: Convert to video formats supported by iPhone XS

Finally, click the bottom “Convert” button on the sidebar to start to converting videos.

When the conversion finishes, you could then transfer the converted videos to iPhone XS for unlimited playback. 

Origination of all Battle royale games: what you knew could be wrong

PUBG, aka PlayerUnknown's Battleground, is the most hot video game in 2017 to 2018, hands down. The unique gameplay and intense atmosphere made this game gone so viral so quick. According to data from Steam Charts, PUBG’s peak player count reached its highest point ever in January 2018 at 3,236,027, and the game has sold more than 5,000,000 copies in total. The game itself has become a part of Internet culture inevitably.

With PUBG going viral, more and more game developers jumped in and try to stir the water, and the concept of "Battle Royale Game" draws more and more attention. A battle royale game is a game where a bunch of players (usually a couple of dozens to a hunduard) spawned on a limited map, collect gears and fight against each other to be the last one standing. From the famous Fortnite Battle Royale, H1Z1, to the less popular games Last Man Standing, Realm Royale, to the latest unique Ring of Elysium, it's hard to say that battle royale is going to be left over anytime soon.

However, these games are not what we are going to talk about today. What we really are going to talk about, is the very origin of all the battle royale games. You may have fought one of those fights or two, but do you know what inspired the battle royale game concept itself?

The Hunger Games? Not really. 

Speaking of the origin of battle royale games, most people may think of a 2012 movie The Hunger Games, and take that as the inspiration of battle royale games. Indeed, the movie The Hunger Games and the battle royale games we are playing today do have some identical features. The novel based movie tells a story about 12 boys and girls , aged between the ages of 12 and 18, being picked to compete in the Hunger Games: a nationally televised event in which 'tributes' fight each other within an arena, until one survivor remains. That seems to be extremely alike with the concept of battle royale games, and it indeed is a good movie franchise. However, the true origination of battle royale games can go back way earlier than this movie.

The whole story

To find the origination of  battle royale games, let's take a look at the whole story of its development, starting with the most popular game Fortnite Battle Royale.

As we all know, Fortnite Battle Royale was released following the sudden success of PUBG. Fortnite was originally a coop survival zombie game where you can build stuffs to defend yourself from zombie horde. Fortnite Battle Royale is a spin off of Fortnite which features Battle Royale gameplay.

PUBG itself, is a standalone game based on PLAYERUNKNOWN’S Battle Royale, a custom map created by PlayerUnknown (Brandon) himself. Brendan later on supervised the development of PUBG by Bluehole, a Korean game company.

Before the PLAYERUNKNOWN’S Battle Royale, from 2014 to 2016, there were ArmA 3's Battle Royale mod, H1Z1: King of the Kill. Now we are very close to the beginning.

The earliest battle royale game is some times considered Minecraft Hunger Games. This is a combination of Minecraft and The Hunger Games movie, but this is not the start yet.

Now we have the movie The Hunger Games, which was first released 2012. In the same year, DayZ mod appeared.  technically speaking, DayZ doesn't set players against one another. There aren't any built-in objectives other than "live as long as possible". But many folks end up shooting at each other anyway because people are like that. If you're careful you could keep playing the same character for weeks or months at a time.

The True Origin

Back to the story, before The Hunger Games and DayZ mod is the true origin of the concept of battle royale, which is, well, Battle Royale, a 2000 controversial Japanese novel-turned-film written by Koushun Takami.

The film tells a story in which a dystopian government strands a junior high school class on an island. The classmates are given a random assortment of weapons and forced (under threat of exploding collars) to kill each other until only one is left standing. It's all televised as a horrifying spectacle to keep the populace scared and divided. Sounds like The Hunger Games? Well, this movie is actually earlier, and is the true inspiration for Brandon, PlayerUnknown to create the PlayerUnknown's Battle Royale, which turned into PUBG and inspired all the battle royale games came after.

Battle royale games and movies

From the development of the concept "battle royale games", we can see that the birth of battle royale games have a deep bond with movies. From the Battle Royale (2000) in the very beginning, to the more popular one The Hunger Games (2012), they do share a lot of things in common and have a great intense atmosphere. Except for these movies, do you know that the congratulating phrase on PUBG when you win, "Winner winner, chicken dinner", was firstly gone famous in the true-story-based movie 21 (2008). The origin of the phrase itself however, is another LONG story to tell.

If you are interested in these movies, you can buy or rent the DVD or Blu-ray discs or find them in some Blu-ray download sites. There is this Leawo Blu-ray Player that is specially designed for high definition DVD/Blu-ray playback, and can provide you the best watching experience for free. 

DVD/Blu-ray newly released on August 2018, These top trending movies are available now!

Watching a movie only at movie theater for once is never enough for movie enthusiasts. For an excellent movie, not only are people willing to watch them again and again at the movie theater, they also want to have their own copy of the movie for later enjoyment or collection, DVD or Blu-ray. But the problem is, the release date of DVD and Blu-ray can sometimes be obscure. So, for your convenience, we have collected some most trending movies whose DVD or Blu-ray have just been released on August 2018. If your favorite movie is on the list, don't hesitate and go get yourself a copy, because it's available now! 

 Book Club (DVD & Blu-ray),  AUGUST 28

Staring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen, this movie is a fairly successful bit of summer counter-programming aimed at an audience old enough to remember books. The movie tells a story of lifelong friends whose lives change after reading 50 Shades of Grey. It's the directorial debut for writer/producer Bill Holderman.

First Reformed (DVD & Blu-ray), AUGUST 21

This is a must-see one for writer-director Paul Schrader fans. The movies stars Ethan Hawke as Reverend Ernst Toller, a tortured ex-military priest struggling with a dwindling congregation and guilt over the death of his son in the Iraq War. When a pregnant parishioner played by Amanda Seyfried requests that he counsel her husband, Reverend Toller must confront his past and humanity’s future. It's fairly a huge improvement over Schrader’s previous directorial efforts.

 Deadpool 2 (DVD & Blu-ray), AUGUST 21

As the inevitable sequel to Tim Miller's hit 2016 X-Men spinoff, this movie stars Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking "merc with a mouth" returns much of the cast but finds Atomic Blonde's David Leitch taking over as director. Joining the fun are Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, and Terry Crews. Deadpool 2 actually scored a point higher than the first film, though it performed slightly worse at the box office. So buying a DVD or Blu-ray copy should be a good choice for those who didn't go to the theater.

Avengers: Infinity War (DVD & Blu-ray), AUGUST 14

In the second of three Marvel movies in 2018, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes finally come face to face with Thanos (Josh Brolin under CGI). He wants to acquire all six infinity stones; they want to stop him. Following a pair of Avengers films directed by Joss Whedon, Infinity War marks the first of two that will be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with their follow-up due 2019, May.

The Rider (DVD), AUGUST 7

As this year's best-reviewed movie to date, This movie is Chinese-American filmmaker Chloé Zhao’s follow-up to Songs My Brothers Taught Me. The drama, which won the top award at the 2017 Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, follows a young cowboy on the Pine Ridge Reservation as he struggles to come to terms with not being able to ride after a horse crushes his skull. Based on events from Jandreau’s life and also starring his father and sister as versions of themselves, the film, like Zhao’s first feature, is an immersive look at life in this Sioux community.

Watch DVD or Blu-ray on Windows PC or Mac for free

After introducing these newly released DVD and Blu-ray, I want to show you an easiest way to enjoy them on your computer. As you may already know, normally you cannot play a DVD or Blu-ray on your PC without some extra program installed, and most of these programs are not free. However, there is this Blu-ray/DVD player program, Leawo Blu-ray Player, that can play any Blu-ray or DVD material, and in the mean time charges nothing. 

Leawo Blu-ray Player is region free Blu-ray software, which means this program can play any Blu-ray/DVD material regardless region code. Not only that, Leawo Blu-ray Player can also play all kinds of videos in digital formats like MKV, MP4, AVI, M4V, MOV, 3GP and so on. All the movie that it plays can have the best quality retained. If you are going to buy your favorite DVD or Blu-ray movie, don't forget to download Leawo Blu-ray Player and try it out!  

Giant guy iPhone XS Max announced, and we just discovered a new usage of it

In the Apple event happened a few hours ago, Apple just announced four new products, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and Apple Watch 4. Although Apple Watch 4 accidentally became the highlight of the whole event, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max has also gained enough attentions.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are iterations on last year’s iPhone X, so it's not surprising that there are few innovation for us on the products. But the XS Max at least stands out in one very notable way: it’s so much larger. The new iPhone XS Max has a 6.5-inch screen, making it a bigger phone than even the latest model in Samsung’s famously large Galaxy Note line. A giant phone like this is truly remarkable in Apple's product line.

As you can see in the photos, it is almost hard to distinguish iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max from the pictures. Like a lot of people, I'm not a fan for any "Plus" iPhone. But the Max feels much better than any “Plus” iPhone ever has. If you also don't like "Plus" iPhones, at least try to hold the new Max size, and you might change your decision.

The iPhone XS has the same 5.8-inch size, OLED tech, and 2436 x 1125 resolution as the iPhone X, though it’s also supposed to have 60 percent greater dynamic range for more vibrant images. The XS Max takes the OLED screen and dynamic range gains and brings them to a 6.5-inch size, with a 2688 x 1242 resolution. Both have the same 458 ppi pixel density, so you don’t lose out on sharpness by going larger.

What's the best advantage of an iPhone with an extra-sized screen? The first thing that comes to my mind is that we can enjoy high-quality Blu-ray movies on our iPhone. Yes, we can watch movies on other phones as well, but not in a very high quality because the limitation of cpu capability and screen size. with an iPhone like iPhone XS Max, we can finally enjoy Blu-ray movies on an iPhone without any trouble.

How to watch Blu-ray on iPhone XS Max? The first step is to rip your Blu-ray to digital video format. To do that, you need the help of Blu-ray ripping software. Leawo Blu-ray Ripper, for example, is one program that I'd recommend.

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper can convert and rip Blu-ray to mp4 and all the other digital video formats that are compatible with any device you want to put it in. As a powerful Blu-ray ripping tool, Leawo Blu-ray Ripper can provide high quality conversion in a remarkable high speed. Convert your Blu-ray disc or Blu-ray ISO file to a digital video file, then transfer it to your iPhone XS Max with iTunes or Leawo iTransfer, and then you can have the amazing experience of watching Blu-ray on the biggest-sized iPhone ever made.

Is DVD/Blu-ray ripping legal? The answer may surprise you

Although we have entered an era where movies can be acquired easily online, DVD and Blu-ray are still not out of date. Many people still buy DVDs or Blu-rays for either collecting purpose,  or for viewing purpose, or just as a gift. For those who deal with DVD or Blu-ray a lot in their daily lives, you must have heard of the term "DVD ripping", maybe you have done some "DVD ripping" works yourself. But sometimes, "DVD ripping" is considered illegal, so you might have broken the law by ripping a DVD. Is it real? Is DVD/Blu-ray ripping legal?

When a person creates his or her own DVDs that are not copies of copyrighted work, ripping is completely legal. Which rights are reserved are typically listed in the type of copyright. Very often, the original creator has to be cited. To sell these types of materials though, be sure to obtain the proper business licenses. Also, check to see if there are additional state or local laws.

However, it's stated in title 17 of the United States Code that it is illegal to reproduce a copyrighted work. If a DVD or Blu-ray  has a label on the box that indicates a copyright, then it is technically illegal to make any copies of it for any reason, thus it's illegal for anyone to rip the DVD or Blu-ray. However, does that mean anyone who rip the DVD or Blu-ray deserves to be caught?

There is a difference between ripping the work for personal use and ripping it for redistribution purpose. Technically whether for what purpose do you rip a copyright protected DVD or Blu-ray it is illegal, However, most government agencies do not focus on what people do offline at home for their own personal use. The government's main concern is people who redistribute copies of copyrighted works. That is to say, if you rip a copy protected DVD or Blu-ray, then sell it to others for profit, you should definitely expect law enforcement knocking on your door. But if you only rip the DVD or Blu-ray for personal use, chances are no one would even care about that.

So, now we seem to have a conclusion. Ripping your homemade DVD? Totally legal. Ripping copyright protected DVD for personal use? Illegal but you most likely will get away with it. Ripping DVD for redistribution purpose? Don't even think about it, you'll get busted.

Now that we know we can rip homemade DVD or rip copyright protected DVD only for personal use, the problem is, how? Copyright protected DVD are always encrypted so that normal software would not be able to crack and rip it. How do we rip copyright encrypted DVD or Blu-ray for personal use?

There is this software called Leawo Blu-ray Ripper, it can handle protected Blu-ray and rip Blu-ray to mp4, mkv, m4v, 3gp and so many other digital formats so that you can play it on all the other devices you have. It can rip DVD as well. And not only discs, if you have ISO movie file, it can also convert the file into all those digital video formats. 

As long as you do it only for personal use, you can relax and rip your DVD or Blu-ray. As far as the copyright protection is concerned, you can use Leawo Blu-ray Ripper to bypass the protection. Have fun with your movies!