Displays - Page 38

CES 2017 - You guys should all know how much of a resolution enthusiast I am, so the news of the HDMI 2.1 specification has me beyond excited.

HDMI 2.1 will support a wide range of resolutions and refresh rates, including 4K 120Hz, 8K 120Hz, and even 10K. Yes, 10K. HDMI 2.1 also includes something called Game Mode VRR, which "features variable refresh rate, which enables a 3D graphics processor to display the image at the moment it is rendered for more fluid and better detailed gameplay, and for reducing or eliminating lag, stutter, and frame tearing".

The 'Game Mode VRR' is an interesting addition, which can be explained as a wide-reaching version of G-Sync and FreeSync. The HDMI Forum says that it'll work on both PCs and consoles, so we definitely need to try that out as soon as we can.

CES 2017 - Dell continues to push display boundaries, teasing their new 32-inch 8K display here at CES. We're talking about a huge 7680x4320 - with the equivalent pixels of 4 x 4K displays, or 16 x 1080p displays - at a cost of $4999.

The new Dell UP3218K is "refined and ready for production" according to The Verge, with next to no bezel and the ability of pivot, tilt, swivel, and height adjustment. Dell is aiming the UP3218K at graphics, design, photo and video professionals.

Pushing the 7680x4320 resolution will be hard, and thankfully - Dell has pushed 60Hz at 8K, not 30Hz that I would've expected. Dell had to work with NVIDIA right up until the last minute to get driver support at 8K, with Product Launch Manager for Displays at Dell, Michael Turner, explaining to PC World: "[8K] is not practical, not yet. When the next round of graphics cards refresh, they'll get to the point where 8K is mass consumable".

CES 2017 - One of the most exciting reveals at CES for me would have to be NVIDIA's tease of 4K gaming displays rocking the deliciously smooth 144Hz refresh rate - and G-Sync, of course.

There are two new models, the first from ASUS in the form of the ROG Swift PG27UQ, while the other is from Acer and their upcoming Predator XB272-HDR. Both of these new 4K 144Hz displays will be released in Q2 2017, with no pricing just yet - but we can be sure they're going to be expensive - and require some beefy GPUs to drive 4K at 144FPS.

Both displays rock the new Quantum Dot technology, with HDR10 support, DP1.4/HDMI 2.0 connectivity, and more. You can be sure that the second these bad boys launch, we'll have them in-house for some serious testing.

CES 2017 - NVIDIA has had quite the CES this year, announcing the world's first HDR gaming displays with G-Sync HDR technology, something it worked with AU Optronics on.

The new G-Sync HDR gaming displays were designed from the ground up for the ultimate in gaming displays, with NVIDIA teasing: "stunning image quality, tear-free and stutter-free G-SYNC smoothness, minimal motion blur, and near-zero input latency, compared to the 22-41ms of latency added by recommended HDR TVs".

Not just that, but the new G-Sync HDR monitors will use Quantum Dot technology, and a full array 384-zone backlight that uses "384 individually-controllable LED backlight zones, light will only be shown when and where it is required, enabling G-SYNC HDR displays to simultaneously produce bright bold colors and deep blacks, reminiscent of the very best plasma displays. Monitors with fewer backlight zones, edge-lit backlight zones, or with only a single global backlight are incapable of matching the contrast and image quality of the new 4K G-SYNC HDR monitors, and with 384 controllable zones we have unparalleled control over the picture, producing the best images you've ever seen on an LCD gaming display".

While Sony released the very first OLED TV back in 2008; an 11 inch display which sold for $2,500USD, the company abandoned the field to rivals such as LG who went on to solve some of the large scale manufacturing issues. But at CES this week, Sony have announced they're back - and in a big way.

Branded under the Bravia TV line, the A1E series will be available in 55, 65 and 77 inch sizes and will feature 4K resolution, Dolby Vision and base HDR-10 standard, multiple HDMI 2.1 ports and Android TV built in. While Sony aren't producing the panel themselves, the unit will benefit from Sony's experience in image processing and will be built on what they're calling the '4K HDR processor X1™ Extreme'.

Sony's OLED models are expected to roll out sometime mid-year.

CES 2017 - LG and Dolby today announced that LG's upcoming OLED lineup will be the first TVs to support both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for combined high-performance visual and sound experiences.

LG's entire fleet of 2017 OLED TVs will support the new Dolby Atmos 3D audio and Dolby Vision HDR specs, including the following models: 77/65W7, 77/65G7, 65/55E7, 65/55C7, and 65/55B7. If you own a current LG Super UHD 4KTV, don't worry: those models will continue supporting Dobly Vision throughout 2017, including the LG 2017 SJ9500, SJ8500, and JS800 Super UHD TVs.

Dolby further announced that major studios including Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures will roll out Dolby Vision enhanced content, and that consumers will soon be able to buy 4K UHD Blu-rays with built-in Dolby Vision HDR support.

CES 2017 - Something that caught my eye early on at CES this year was that Amazon has been working with Seiki Digital, Westinghouse, and Element Electronics - who are all by the way, owned by Chinese company Tongfang Global - with Alexa-powered 4K TVs.

This means Amazon's Fire TV Edition will be something worth paying attention to, as the TVs are 4K-capable, sport 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/Ethernet connectivity, and will arrive in sizes between 43 inches and 65 inches.

They all rock the latest and greatest Fire TV interface (which looks great in person) - as you can use voice commands to switch between 4K Blu-ray through one of the HDMI ports, or even rename one of the HDMI ports with voice commands. You can switch to traditional TV, different outputs, or tell the remote what show you want to watch next.

CES 2017 - LG continues to push the boundaries of its OLED TV technology, with their new W-series 4K TVs being teased as a "Picture on Wall" experience - and well, they're right.

Engadget reports LG's new W-series 4K OLED TVs are just 2.6mm thin across the entire frame, and can be wall mounted. We have 4 x HDMI ports, 3 x USB connections, and an optical audio port. LG includes Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar, which is a nice touch.

LG is making their new W-series TVs available in both 65-inch and 77-inch, but no details on pricing or availability just yet. The G-series sets started at $4999, so these models should be more expensive.

CES 2017 - Acer has expanded its Predator gaming monitor family with another UltraWide monitor, with the Acer Predator Z301CT arriving as a 30-inch 21:9 display with a massive 200Hz refresh rate.

The new Predator Z301CT features a native 2560x1080 resolution, but the 200Hz refresh rate is massive - and backed by NVIDIA's G-Sync technology. Acer has included a few different technologies with the display, including Tobii Eye Tracking, and Acer's own DarkBoost, BlueLightShield, and Flicker-Less technologies.

The 30-inch curved 21:9 display pulls off an 1800R curve.

LG has been leading TV technology for a while now, with its dominance in OLED - and now, we're looking at 3 new sets that feature 'Nano Cell LCD' - with the SJ8000, SJ8500, and SJ9500.

The new series of TVs feature uniformly-sized particles that will provide more details and consistent colors, even when you're not sitting dead-center in front of your TV. Nano Cell technology "absorbs excess light wavelengths, preventing unwanted color bleeding (such as from green to blue or yellow), fading and other effects that reduce the vibrancy of the picture", reports Engadget.

LG has even teamed with Technicolor to ensure color accuracy is top notch, using a special Technicolor Expert Mode, and support for Advanced HDR. LG also throws in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Hybrid Log Gamma support - so you won't be left out in the technological jargon arguments with your friends.

Dell will be getting the attention of showgoers at the Consumer Electronics Show this week with its new 27 Ultrathin, the most simply named monitor ever made.

Dell's new 27 Ultrathin is ridiculously thin, with the company shifting all of the hardware that normally resides behind the panel itself, into the base - which as Engadget reports "makes the monitor seem almost like an all-in-one machine at first".

The new 27 Ultrathin is a 27-inch 2560x1440 display with HDR support, but Dell adds its not the same HDR support that we're seeing hit the market on 4K TVs. Dell will support higher contrast ratios and color range than most consumer monitors on the market, with up to 99% of the sRGB gamut.

LG has just unveiled their new ProBeam compact last projector, sporting a 1080p resolution and 2000 lumens of brightness - perfect for a budget home theater, and better yet - it can be used during the day.

The new LG ProBeam should throw out a sharp picture from its light 4.6 pound design, with its table-friendly form factor making it easy to setup and tweak when needed. Not only that, but ProBeam is capable of throwing audio to any Bluetooth speaker through its Sound Sync Adjustment technology, meaning you don't need to worry about that massive tangle of wires from your projector to your speakers.

LG has also included wireless mirroring through Miracast, so you can throw movies, TV episodes and videos from your smartphone or tablet onto the LG ProBeam. This makes the ProBeam a great choice for those with a smaller house or apartment, or as LG teases, let's you "stream TV shows on a camping trip", Linus style.

If you're based in the US and ordered one of LG's new UltraFine 5K Displays, then your monitor will be shipped in the next few days - as Apple is now sending out pre-shipping notifications.

MacRumors reader Jesse, placed an order for one an LG UItraFine 5K Display when the order window was open in late November, and has recently received a notification that his 5K display will be delivered on December 28/29. Apple began taking orders for the LG UltraFine 5K Display on November 28 with 6-8 week shipping estimates, but the supplies were diminished quickly, with no more available to order.

The 5K monitor went on sale again today, with a shipping estimate of 3-5 business days, quickly slipping out to 2-4 weeks. Those who ordered quickly this morning should hopefully receive their new LG UltraFine 5K display later this month.

LG is prepping for a massive CES 2017, with one of the more interesting products to debut at the show being a new 4K monitor with HDR capabilities - oh, and it'll have USB-C connectivity.

LG's latest 32UD99 will be a 32-inch monitor with a native 4K resolution and supports the HDR 10 standard. HDR is something relatively new to PC monitors, and AMD has been pushing HDR technology for a while now at its various events and tech days. The new HDR-capable PC monitors are finally hitting the market, with LG being the first.

The new 32-inch 4K HDR display will rock an IPS panel that will display over 95% of the P3 color gamut, and with the USB-C connectivity you'll be able to plug it into your laptop and charge your smartphone (like the Google Pixel) over a single cable.

We all know that high-end gaming displays are expensive, but holy hell are they beautiful to game on - especially in games like Overwatch, CS:GO, Battlefield 1, and more - when you're hitting that 144Hz+ mark, it's amazing.

ASUS has been running the gaming monitor market for a while now, but things will be changing in a big way in 2017. Right now, ASUS is the largest vendor of gaming monitors with 35% of the market, while BenQ has around 22-24%, and Acer with 17-19%. Worldwide LCD shipments hit 120 million units in 2015, and are expected to reach the same point in 2016 - but in 2015, the 144Hz gaming monitor shipments reached 550,000 - 600,000 units.

144Hz gaming monitors are expected to shift from the 600K units shipped in 2015 to a huge 1.2 million in 2016 - and while this represents just 1% of the total 120 million LCD monitor shipments, the average selling price (ASP) of gaming displays is much higher, so there are lots of profits in this market. DigiTimes is reporting that according to vendors current orders, worldwide gaming monitor shipments are expected to reach 2.5 million units in 2017, and a massive 3.5 million in 2018.

NBA fans might want to tune into the first 4K broadcast on Saturday night, but you'll require DirecTV and the proper package - and of course, the right equipment: Genie HR54 DVR, as AT&T is working with NBA TV on the 4K broadcast, reports Engadget.

Last year, the NBA did some preliminary 4K broadcasts (of a Knicks game), and then experimented with the high-res broadcasts on UK and Canadian TV. More 4K broadcasts are planned, but this is one of the first after the testing - be sure to check it out if you're a DirecTV customer and have the right hardware to do the job.

AOC has just rolled out its new AGON series gaming monitor, led by the impressive AG251FZ which is a 24.5-inch 1080p monitor with AMD FreeSync technology and a huge 240Hz refresh rate.

The 240Hz refresh rate is a huge deal for professional gamers and enthusiast PC gamers, but you'd better be prepared to own the GPU horsepower to drive 240FPS in your games. Gamers that are playing games like Overwatch, League of Legends, CS:GO or DotA 2 won't have an issue - but don't think you'll be playing at 240FPS on Ultra detail on Battlefield 1 easily on the AOC AG251FZ.

AOC has also included their own Flicker Free Technology and AOC Low Blue Light mode that reduces eye strain and fatigue during those all-night gaming sessions. There's also AOC Shadow Control that will light up the corners of the screen, without making the entire screen brighter. But what good is this new 24.5-inch 1080p 240Hz gaming monitor, without a price?

Sony is in some serious hot water, with the /r/technology subreddit seeing countless posts in a thread titled "(PSA) Sony removes 90+ pages thread on their community forums with users reports on input lag issues with 2016 Bravia models, any new threads regarding it instantly locked--amid holiday season".

There was an original thread created on Sony's own community forums, but it was closed - the second thread was locked after 5-10 minutes, and the third thread was "instantly deleted". The post from 'GivingCreditWhereDue' adds that "Any new threads regarding the issue are getting locked".

The issue? Sony's new 2016 line of Bravia TVs aren't ready for 4K gaming... with the post saying "as their flagship models have really high levels of input latency. Sony advertises their x930D bravia model as best fit for the PS4 Pro, but users who actually have it face a sever disadvantage when it comes to competitive and even casual games like Battlefield".

Today has been a big day for Apple, with the announcement of their next-gen MacBook Pro laptops coming in 3 models: two 13-inch MBPs, and a higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pro which rocks AMD's new Radeon Pro 400 series graphics - but the fun doesn't end there.

LG has unveiled its new 4K and 5K displays, specifically designed for Apple's new MacBook Pro models. The new UltraFine Displays feature 3 x USB-C ports that will power additional devices, with LG's new monitors rocking built-in stereo speakers, a camera, and a microphone.

LG's new 5K UltraFine Display requires a Thunderbolt 3 connection, and we originally reported that LG's new 5K display was an Apple exclusive, but our friends at Fudzilla have informed us that it's not exclusive to the new MacBook Pro. This is a big hint at Apple's future, as it seems as though the company won't be making any more monitors - gone are the days of Apple's Cinema Displays, guys... sob.

Samsung first teased its new Quantum Dot-based monitor at Gamescom and IFA earlier this year, with the CFG70 being the world's first curved gaming monitor with Quantum Dot technology, and a super-quick 144Hz refresh rate, backed by AMD's FreeSync technology.

How does Quantum Dot technology work? It's used to increase brightness, improve color accuracy, and reach higher color saturations - all good things for monitors. It uses nanoparticles that filter light from LEDs into primary colors for LCDs, which provides a much larger range of colors to display. Samsung has been using Quantum Dot technology inside of TVs for a while, but now we have the 24-inch and 27-inch gaming monitors that are the first to use Quantum Dot tech.

Samsung has used a 1920x1080 native resolution on both displays, with 125% sRGB, 3000:1 contrast ratio, and a massive 144Hz refresh rate that's backed by AMD's FreeSync technology. We also have an 1800R curved VA panel with 178-degree viewing angles, and something Samsung calls Eye Saver mode and Flicker Free technology that removes the blue light that as PC Gamer says "throws your body clock out of line when you're on your PC at night".