By Ashwini Jeyaseelan
At a time when streaming services are taking over our entertainment systems, with the latest must-see TV, motion picture hits (and misses) and even Oscar contenders going directly to Netflix, Stan and Amazon, there’s certainly a need to up the game with how we make the most of these services.
People deserve the excitement, intensity and inviting atmosphere of a cinema experience, but without the need to blow their budget on an extravagant and costly home cinema system. And this need is a fair request. For a monthly contract and subscription fees you want to be as enthralled in these movies as you were as a kid going to the movies every week.
The emergence of smaller and smaller chips, and laptops, tablets and phones which boast of increasingly higher definition and superior sound, these portable devices attempt to solve our cinematic needs.
At FilmInk we reviewed one of Dell Cinema’s products – the Dell XPS 13 laptop – to see whether they’re worth their lot.
Dell Cinema is Dell’s attempt to embody and relay a movie-going experience through its products. The point is to be immersed by the film from the comfort of your sofa or on the way to work. So, how does it play out in reality?
Dell sells its XPS 13 as being the smallest 13-inch (302mm wide x 199mm deep, 3.4mm thin; from 1.2kgs – take that airline on board luggage limits!) laptop in the world – having immense power for a such a light and portable device. This is true and very handy for those on-the-move, but some might argue that it could diminish those nights of binge-watching at home. Luckily, Dell XPS 13’s InfinityEdge 4K Ultra HD display, aside from being a mouthful, makes up for the laptop’s size. The display really does fill the screen to the edges and allows for the experience of cutting out the outside world and being immersed in the detail of each scene.
Dell’s CinemaColor effect, through its HDR display, emphasises brightness and detail, to show off modern special effects and increase the quality of ‘old’ classics. Together with clear and enhanced audio via CinemaSound, the compact machine delivers the excitement of cinema miles superior to your standard laptop.
Testing it on Netflix kicks in CinemaStream, which offers wireless channels maximum bandwidth so that you can sit back, relax and never worry about buffering or standard home viewing problems.
Added bonuses include face and fingerprint recognition, white woven glass fiber palm rest included with the Rose Gold version, and the longest battery life of a 13inch in the market (up to 20 hours on full HD and 11 hours on 4K.
Like sitting in VIP at the cinema, the small luxurious things add to the whole experience.
Less expensive (starts from $2,099.00), more powerful and, most importantly, more cinematic than your traditional MacBook – the Dell XPS delivers on what it promises, an unparalleled viewing experience on a laptop.
