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Computex 2013 Roundup

A bit late, but here is a quick roundup of the display-centric news out of the recent Computex 2013 show in Taipei.

  • ASUS displayed their 31.5" 4k UHD panel. The $3,799 panel will launch in Q3 and have DisplayPort and dual HDMI inputs, with P-in-P. Anyone got a mountain of cash to loan me? - Link
  • Sharp showed off "retina" panels which double the pixel count (in both H and V) of 1600x900 panels. These 14" and 15.6" iGZO panels mimic the Apple method of achieving "HiDPI" pixel density. - Link


CES Gaming News - Part 2

Now that CES has wrapped up, here are a few more articles and announcements that should be of interest to gamers.

More Oculus Rift - Engadget had an interview with the folks behind the upcoming VR headset. There was also additional news on playable demos and showcases, particularly the Epic Citadel.

More 4k Displays - Intel and the VESA DisplayPort group showed a new take on 4k displays - the "Collage". Shown off a Gigabyte motherboard, four 1080p displays were driven by two Thunderbolt ports, or a single DisplayPort 1.2 and MST hub. Panasonic showed off a prototype 4k tablet. The 20" device may never make it to production, but it does show that 4k resolutions can already be squeezed down to monitor sizes. TechGage also put out an article showcasing the different 4k resolutions and the need for a standard.

PC Hardware - InWin showed off some great new PC cases, the D-Frame and H-Frame. And famed art/tech house Art Lebedev Studio showed off their latest keyboard, the Optimus Popularis. The keyboard is fully customizable, with small screens for each key - think the Razer Blade for a full keyboard. The $1k price tag will keep it out of the mass market, but is hopefully a sign of what the "keyboard of tomorrow" will look like.

Monitors - BenQ announced a 1ms "professional gaming monitor". ASUS also announced a 144Hz monitor aimed at gamers.

CES Gaming News - Part 1

So, the first couple of days are behind us for CES 2013. A few things have been announced/showcased that are relevant to gaming.

Razer Edge: Razer has come out with the Razer Edge, which is the production model of Project Fiona shown last year at CES 2012. Engadget has also posted a comparison of the Edge versus of tablet options.

Valve Steambox: Valve's hardware move is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. However, a number of unique prototypes were shown at CES. While a number of them seem to be just PCs in HTPC form factors, the Piston from Xi3 is certainly unique. in addition to be very small and light, it offers modular and easily updates to hardware.

Oculus Rift: The folks at Engadget have an updated take on the hardware. PC World and TechHive say it's so good, "it's scary". I'm more excited to have one coming for the WSGF.

4k Displays: Big news is 4k displays. There are lots of them being announced, along with a few new (regular HD) monitors being released by HP.

CES 2012 - Jan 9th Gaming News

Last year was a pretty good year for gamers. We got a look at the Razer Switchblade Prototype, Vizio announced its 3D 21:9 Cinemawide HDTVs, AMD launched the APU with the well received HP dm1z, and there were more new panels and notebooks than you could shake a stick at. Two years ago at CES 2010, Dell launched their first 27" panel - the U2711.

Since then the Switchblade has morphed into the Razer Blade (and the same technology showed up in their SW:TOR keyboard), the Vizio Cinemawide missed its anticipated fall 2011 launch, APUs continue to turn up everwhere, and HP has released its own 27" - the ZR2740w (it's actually an LED backed IPS monitor, and undercuts Dell's price by almost $300).

So, what will CES 2012 bring gamers? I'm hoping for an 27" LED IPS panel from Dell to heat up the price wars at the top end, and I really want the 21:9 Cinemawide to launch. It would also be nice to see some of the magic from the Razer products filter down into more affordable gear. And, there's always more panels than you can shake a stick at. So, here I'm collecting the announcements that I think will appear to the folks here at the WSGF.

Digital Projection Debuts Ultra-Widescreen Projector

The dVision Scope 1080p is 2560 x 1080 out of the box, no anamorphic lens necessary. its custom firmware automatically detects and resizes when the letterbox black bars to fill the 1080p field by increasing the number of horizontal pixels.

A pair of these in Eyefinity would provide 5120x1080 total resolution (5.53MP), a 42:9 aspect ratio (4.667:1). This compares to "traditional" multi-monitor resolution of 5760x1080 (6.2MP), a 48:9 aspect ratio (5.333:1). This would provide for an aspect of almost a 3x1 setup, but with about 10% fewer pixels (faster performance) and no bezels.