Edge10

Eizo unveils 30-inch widescreen monitor with hardware calibration

Eizo Nanao Technologies recently unveiled the ColorEdge CG301W, a 30-inch monitor for its ColorEdge series, at PMA (Photo Marketing Association) 2008 in Las Vegas from January 31 - February 1. The monitor employs a gamut LCD panel that is 100% vs. NTSC and reproduces 97% of the Adobe RGB color space.

The device also has 12-bit hardware calibration, with Eizo calibrating each unit by measuring every tone from 0 - 255 to produce a gamma curve of 2.2. With hardware calibration, the monitor itself is calibrated rather than the computer's graphics board as is the case with software calibration. This ensures no color tones are lost in the calibration process.

Eizo's ColorNavigator calibration software is bundled with the CG301W and allows for setting the values for brightness, white point, and gamma. When calibration is complete the settings can be saved as an ICC profile. Supported calibration devices are Eye-One, DTP94, DTP94B, and MonacoOPTIX, all from X-Rite. ColorNavigator can also be used to emulate a color space or color characteristics of another monitor. This means the CG301W can accurately reproduce how color is displayed in the narrower sRGB color space which is often used for taking photographs or color matching with other devices whereas other wide gamut monitors usually cannot.

The native resolution is 2560×1600 (16:10 aspect ratio). Dual DVI-D inputs are included for connecting to two PCs. A picture-by-picture function divides the screen into two equal halves, offering two 1200×1600 monitors with no center bezel. Input from two different computers such as a Windows and a Macintosh can be displayed which makes it possible to work on two tasks simultaneously without having to toggle back and forth. One input supports dual link for displaying images up to the monitor's native resolution of 2560×1600, and the other input is single link for images up to 1920×1200. The single link input supports high bandwidth digital content protection for viewing of content from HDCP-equipped devices.

The monitor comes equipped with Eizo's ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The ASIC has a 12-bit look-up table with a total color palette of 68.1 billion colors from which the most appropriate 16.7 million are selected. It also features 16-bit internal processing for display of grayscale tones, which brings out details, especially in dark areas of an image. Furthermore, the ASIC includes a digital uniformity equalizer function that corrects the brightness and chroma uniformity errors that are characteristic of LCD panels and cause an object to appear brighter and more saturated in the center of the screen than along the edges.

CMO announces sale of LCD monitor production line to TPV Technology

The board of directors at Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) recently approved the sale of certain company assets, including tools and moldings from its LCD monitor system facility, to TPV Technology. The overall transaction will amount to US$38.5 million, according to a CMO filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on December 3.

Edgestore NAS400 versus Buffalo Terastation Pro II

The Edgestore NAS400 has been launched into the market and several clients have compared it directly against the Buffalo Terastation Pro II. However there are several differences which are pertinent and salient to any user.

The Terastation Pro II is pictured below.

BenQ - official English name for the new company will be Qisda.

While BenQ just decided that it will change its Chinese name from "Jia Da" to "Jias Da" (transliterated from Chinese) last week, the company recently stated the official English name for the new company will be Qisda, which stands for "quality innovation speed driving and achievements."

The new names (Chinese and English) will be effective on September 1, 2007, said the company. With a spin-off project, Qisda is expected to turn profitable in 2008, said KY (Kuen-Yao) Lee, chairman of BenQ.

Qisda will mainly focus on LCD monitors, projectors, MFPs (multi-function peripherals) and handset ODM/OEM businesses. The LCD monitor segment will be the sales driver initially and account for 30-40% of the company's revenues, Lee noted. Lee stressed that Qisda will not compete for notebook OEM/ODM orders.

BenQ will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Qisda and will keep BenQ as its brand name. The own-brand product lines will remain the same as now, covering wireless communication products, mobile phones, LCD monitors, LCD TVs, Joybook notebooks, optical storage products, MFPs and scanners, the company said.

LCD monitor is the major segment for BenQ's revenues, accounting for 35% of the company's current sales, sources said.

In addition to the spin-off project, BenQ also plans to reduce capital by 40% to NT$15.4 billion (about US$465.2 million) in the future, said Lee.

BenQ reported losses of NT$27.6 billion in 2006.

The Latest Trends in LCD Display Monitors

With the widescreen monitor becoming the mainstream product in the market, demand for multimedia applications in LCD monitors are surging.

Next-generation interface

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of digital rights management (DRM) developed by Intel to control digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections.

Although HDMI is an all-digital audio/video interface widely used for LCD TVs, the interface is still not popular in LCD monitors, as not all monitors have audio functions. In addition, only a few graphic cards now support the HDMI interface.

DisplayPort is a new digital display interface standard pushed by the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association). The digital interface is designed to replace LVDS (low-voltage differential signaling), DVI, and eventually VGA port, according to VESA.

There are several companies starting to support DisplayPort including ATI Technologies, Nvidia, Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Samsung Electronics and Genesis Microchip. Dell has also introduced a LCD monitor that supports DisplayPort.

DisplayPort 1.1 adds support for HDCP version 1.3. The interface is available throughout the industry as it is free and open to use.

Some LCD monitor vendors now are offering LCD monitors with comprehensive ports and connections to expand entertainment functions. Dell's 24-inch (2407WFP) and 27-inch (2707WFP) both support advanced features like PIP (Picture in Picture) and PBP (Picture By Picture). The monitors also have embedded USB ports and card reader.

Black frame insertion technology

A black frame insertion mode significantly reduces motion blur by combining a high frame rate and black frame inserted between image frames.

The black frame insertion technology has been adopted in LCD TVs for a long time. However, this is not the case with LCD monitors due to higher production costs. Nevertheless, as large-size LCD monitors now are focusing more on multimedia functions, LCD vendors are starting using black frame technology widely. BenQ's 24-inch LCD monitor (FP241WZ) is an example of the adoption of the technology (PerfectMotion).

Nevertheless, the pricing for LCD monitors with black frame insertion technology is still too high in the market.

Dell - Announce New Monitor Line Up. It is Big and Wide.

Just like the Graphics Series from Edge10. Dell are offering the complete same line up. With a focus on wider screens with higher resolutions and slim bezel edges. Dell now offer:

22" Wide: 1680 x 1050 at 5ms = E228WFP

27" Wide: 1920 x1200 at 6ms = 2707WFP

30" Wide: 2560 x1600 at 14ms = Ultrasharp 30"

Edge10 is currently working on a new 24", 27" and 30" known as the W240, W270 and the W300. All are planning a Q3 launch...