Aug 09
Facebook employees: Looking to blow some cash now that your stock is actually worth something? Check this Smiirl out.
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Aug 02
Let’s be honest: almost no one expected one of the world’s first 4K monitors to be ho hum. After all, it has eleventy gazillion pixels. Er, a native 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, but close enough. The gurus over at HotHardware were able to take the 31.5-inch PQ321 for a spin, and predictably, they loved what they saw. Outside of being duly impressed with how the panel handled everything from Photoshop work to gaming, they were also taken aback by the monitor’s svelte frame. In fact, they found it a little tough to look back on a 1080p screen after a couple of weeks with this thing — it’s like the SD-to-HD revolution all over again. That said, they did confess that the product feels a bit ahead of its time, and the monstrous $3,500 price tag is certainly indicative of that. Feel free to hit the source link for the full spiel, but the long and short of it is this: if you’re in the one percent, buy it.
Source: HotHardware
Aug 02
LG’s OLED display production plant is taking shape, will fire up second half 2014
Posted in: Today's Chili
To us, installing some factory equipment doesn’t seem like much cause for celebration. To LG, however, it’s the first piece of tangible progress made towards getting its new OLED manufacturing line up and running. At a shindig held to welcome the equipment to LG’s plant, the company said it expects to begin mass production of panels for 50-inch plus HDTVs in the second half of next year — a little later than the original plan of first half 2014. Hopefully there won’t be any more delays, as we’d quite like to see the production line flowing and the mammoth prices of those gorgeous curved sets come down a little.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Via: OLED-Info
Source: The Korea Times
Jul 31
Glass hasn’t exactly been revered for its brilliant image quality, but that’s not stopping Google from making a push among budding filmmakers. The Glass Creative Collective, a partnership with film and design schools, is intended to familiarize students at a handful of institutions with the video-capture wearable. Several colleges, including the Rhode Island School of Design, UCLA and the University of Southern California are on board — students will reportedly begin exploring the device as a filmmaking tool beginning this fall. Glass could be a fit for documentary filmmaking, and for capturing point-of-view footage, of course, but performance limitations would likely prevent it from taking on a starring role in any production. We’re a bit skeptical that the Creative Collective will be a booming success, but Google’s promised to circle back with results once the program gets off the ground.
Filed under: Cameras, Displays, Wearables, Alt, Google
Via: CNET
Source: Google Glass (Google+)
Jul 25
LG Electronics Japan is going to release 2 new models of their ultra-wide LCD monitors: 29 inch model “29EA73-P” with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio will be out in early August, and “29EB73-P” that has the same spec as “29EA73-P” but with the height adjustable stand will be out in early September.
They have 7W+7W stereo speakers built-in, and they are compatible with MHL and “4-Screen Split” function that divides the display into four segments.
29EA73-P
Size: 699.7×387.0×197.2mm, 5.9kg (Including a stand)
Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1080 dot
Display colors: About 16.7 million colors
Input terminal: DVI-D(Dual-Link), HDMI×2(MHL×1), Display Port, USB hub(Up×1/DownUSB3.0×2､USB2.0×1), Audio input
29EB73-P
Size: 699.7×395.3×225.0mm, 6.9kg (Including a stand)
Maximum resolution: 2560 x 1080 dot
Display colors: About 16.7 million colors
Input terminal: DVI-D(Dual-Link), HDMI×2(MHL×1), Display Port, USB hub(Up×1/DownUSB3.0×2､USB2.0×1), Audio input
Jul 25
SIGGRAPH 2013 wrap-up
Posted in: Today's Chili
As we noted at the the end of the show last year, SIGGRAPH certainly delivers on the eye candy. From graphics demos to display tech and both 3D printing and motion capture, this is one trade show that offers a glimpse into the present and future of the industry when it comes to visual goods. Highlights include major component news from NVIDIA and Samsung while Dell’s 32-inch 4K display and the latest Disney Research project certainly nabbed our attention. The show ends today until we descend upon Vancouver next summer, but a gallery chock full of sights from the show floor and a roundup of the past few days should tide you over until then.
Gallery: SIGGRAPH 2013 Wrap-up
Filed under: Announcements, Displays, Misc
Jul 24
A quick stroll through the Emerging Technologies section of SIGGRAPH usually reveals a collection of university projects and the latest Disney Research endeavor. However, we don’t usually see the likes of NVIDIA amongst the fold there. This time around, though, the component maker is showing off an undertaking from its Research sector: near-eye light field displays. To show the project off, a pair of OLED mircodisplays were installed on a glasses-like frame with a box for the electronics stashed up top. Those Sony ECX332A panels measure 15.36 x 8.64mm wield a resolution of 1,280 x 720 through 24-hit color pixels (which equates to a smidge over 83 pixels per millimeter). The diminutive displays open up the door for thinner and lighter head-mounted units that can sort “accurate accommodation, convergence and binocular-disparity cues.”
The light field that’s constructed directly over the pupil allows the viewer to focus at multiple depths and create a field of view of about 70 degrees. Both of those aspects were quite apparent to our peepers upon getting locked in for a quick demo. Despite being situated so close to the eye, the unit still provides some sharp images that we witnessed first hand. Of course, the close proximity causes some pixel loss at the hands of a decreased spacial resolution. One pretty neat aspect to this whole system is that software tweaks can be made to account for someone’s glasses or contacts prescription — software that’s powered by NVIDIA GPUs and OpenGL, of course. Without having to modify the hardware, changes to the microdisplays are sorted sans the need to switch to another set or make physical adjustments. For a bit more explanation of the unit, check out the video that resides just past the break and full findings that were presented here in Anaheim at the coverage link that follows.
Jul 24
Canon previews a handheld version of its MREAL Mixed Reality tech at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
As a complement to its MREAL Mixed Reality headset, Canon is showing off a handheld version of the technology this week at SIGGRAPH. The new version functions much like the head-mounted one, enabling the use of markers or (as was the case here) sensors to render images in real space. Something you’ll want to keep in mind: this is still an enterprised-focused device. That said, it doesn’t make the tech demo and usage scenarios any less cool to gawk at. The demonstration we saw here in Anaheim involved a Kabuki dancer out in the center of the demo area. Details like shadows and wrinkles in the performer’s clothes were rendered in real time — just as if a real person were performing. A collection of sensors mounted around the top of the demo stage allowed us to look around the space while the projected image reacted to our position. Not once did we lose sight of the action.
Two other demos for the head-mounted display (that can easily translate to the handheld unit as well) caught our attention, too. First, a boat motor was projected in real space using augmented reality markers, allowing the user to inspect a scale model of the engine for training or other purposes. The ability to deconstruct the engine and see how different portions of it worked was all available to the user. Next, we saw a set of markers wrapping a rectangle projected a model of a Canon DSLR housing. Both of these scenarios offer a more in-depth look at 3D models before the prototyping phase or any steps are taken towards production. A quick look at the Kabuki demo and our best in-dance commentary awaits on the other side of the break.
Filed under: Displays, Peripherals, Canon
Jul 23
LG Q2 earnings show lower profit than last year, record 12.1 million smartphone sales
Posted in: Today's Chili
LG Electronics has released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2013, and while its net profit of 156 billion won ($139 million) slipped from the same period last year, it’s proudly trumpeting a record 12.1 million smartphones shipped. Operating profit for it mobile unit slipped from last quarter, but grew year over year to 54.37 million, and LG is apparently banking on phones like the Optimus L II, Optimus F and of course the upcoming G2 to keep things moving in the right direction. The mixed results continued when it came to TVs, as revenue and profit increased from the previous quarter, but dropped compared to last year, which the company blamed on lower demand and increased competition. As we’ve seen, it’s focusing on the high end with new tech like Ultra HD and OLED for developed markets, although at the current prices it may take a while for those to have an effect.
Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, LG
Source: LG, Q2 2013 Performance (PDF)
Jul 23
Dell shows off the UltraSharp 32: a 32-inch Ultra HD display set to arrive in Q4 (eyes-on)
Posted in: Today's Chili
If you’re looking to boost the resolution of your workflow, Dell took the opportunity to unleash one such display during the proceedings at SIGGRAPH this week. The UltraSharp 32 is a 32-inch Ultra HD unit that wields a 3,840 x 2,160 IGZO panel sorting 1.07 billion colors. An aluminum stand has replaced the plastic-draped one from previous models, but the same height adjustments reside around back. The UltraSharp 32 also houses both full and mini display ports (with the requisite cable included), HDMI jack, a built-in USB hub and an SD card reader along the left side. We had a chance to take a quick peek at the device and we can confirm the image quality — especially when it comes to handling rich blacks. We also enjoyed gazing upon a matte finish rather than a glossy surface and we’re told Dell has actually made some tweaks there to reduce any grainy results that may creep in. There’s no word on pricing just yet, but the display is set to arrive during the fourth quarter of this year. A smattering of images from our brief eyes-on session await in the gallery.
Gallery: Dell UltraSharp 32 eyes-on
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