More details about Alienware's awesome curved DLP display

We must have impressed Alienware's reps with our super-elite Crysis skills this evening, because it only took a little prodding for them to give up some more details on that awesome curved DLP display:

• It's definitely coming out in the second half of the year, but the model we've been seeing is just a late engineering prototype -- everything from the internals to the casing is probably going to change.
• There are four LED-backlit DLP projectors inside, which explains the lines in the image above, but the final version will show a seamless image.
• It's going to be an Alienware product, but it was developed by an ODM called Ostendotech.
• There's definitely some heavy-duty image-processing going on to make the images appear correctly -- the Ostendotech guy called it "the secret sauce" -- but most games will support it with very little effort, apparently.
• The ideal viewing position is directly in the middle at about two feet away. That's when the image seamlessly appears to wrap all the way around you, and it's just as sweet as you'd expect.
• Pricing information is still infuriatingly non-specific: the best we got was "more than a 17-inch flat panel and less than a Kia." Thanks, guys.

Gallery: Alienware's curved DLP display

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[Justin E @ Jan 8th 2008 9:20PM]

I don't think 3 grand is out of reach of the price of that bad boy... But it's definitely sweet!

[[e-mail] @ Jan 9th 2008 3:07AM]

no no, he said LESS than a kia.

so most were looking at here is what.. 300? 400 bucks?

[Peter @ Jan 8th 2008 9:20PM]

I want that so bad. It is probably the only thin Alienware makes that might be worth its ridiculous price.

[Peter @ Jan 8th 2008 9:21PM]

thing*

[Loneguitarist @ Jan 8th 2008 9:22PM]

Suh-weet - as long as I can plug it into the DVI-D of my Macbook Pro then I'll be happy. Who says big screens are for gamers? Massive logic screensets, ho!

[Joe_Templeman @ Jan 8th 2008 9:23PM]

What I like best about this post, is the selotaped "DO NOT TOUCH" sign on the side....real quality! =P

[Steele @ Jan 8th 2008 9:33PM]

ha! I didn't even see that at first that's hilarious

[h8rain @ Jan 9th 2008 9:35AM]

I thought I was going to be the first to rag on them for high quality signage.... :)

[andyo @ Jan 8th 2008 9:25PM]

I don't see a reason for "the secret sauce" not being just plain old image distortion. Like a bit of fish-eye distortion. I don't see how that could affect games. Maybe lag, but it's not that complicated to just distort the rectilinear image anyway.

I am pretty sure those 180° movies are filmed with fisheye lenses, which don't flatten the image.

[wickedpheonix @ Jan 8th 2008 9:30PM]

Hmmm.... if we could put 1 on top the other...

[Richard @ Jan 8th 2008 9:35PM]

Get enough to wrap around you for a seamless 360 degree view. I'd be happy with that.

[Blake Bowen @ Jan 8th 2008 9:37PM]

Man, reading your HUD while using this thing would be friggin impossible.

[BananaBoat @ Jan 8th 2008 9:55PM]

The more I thought about this display, the more I didn't like it. At first I thought it would have functions for productivity suites (looking at a TON more cells in Excel for example) or 3D Modeling software, but after giving it some thought... I just can't see that working out (since so much of the design work in computers is rigid and straight. Like how excel spreadsheets have straight columns and cells, etc).

I think this is a step in the right direction. With the invention of "Widescreen" display manufacturers have shown that they understand how human sight works (In the simplest terms; Side to Side, and not so much up and down) and this new display seems like the next evolution of that.

Having said all of that (Yes, I know, this post is getting long) I don't think I'd spend anything over a grand for this monitor. I currently have a 24" 1920x1200 monitor, and I could easily step up to one of those 30" monsters for about a grand (so why would I go for the wrap around?). I see this product being HUGE with the flight sim and race sim gamers, but for first person shooter gamers/RPG gamers? Mehh.. it all depends on the price point.

[V3LOCIP3D3 @ Jan 9th 2008 1:27AM]

I totally agree. One thing that really turns me away from this monitor though is that it's a DLP. And I know it's the best they can do, and it would be much harder to turn out an LCD with these specs. But the contrast will be horrible and LCDs just have this certain glow to them that DLPs lack. I'm already more than satisfied with a 30" Dell, so in my case I think I'll just stick with that.

[Dan @ Jan 9th 2008 4:54AM]

Why would this have problems displaying straight lines from a spreadsheet? Print out a spreadsheet in landscape. Curve the ends in slightly. There you've just made yourself a demo model of how it would look.

[Jagster @ Jan 8th 2008 9:55PM]

4 LED DLP projectors? That won't be cheap. Does that mean 4 color wheels or are they going to go with 3 LED per DLP? I guess they could also create a unique light gun that uses the same 3 LED or single bulb for all 4 DLP chips. 1 bulb + 4 color wheels + 4 DLP chips or 3 LED's + 4 DLP chips? I would think that in the formfactor they are tageting, they would have to go with the later but that doesn't sound cheap, at all.

[flex727 @ Jan 9th 2008 8:59AM]

Nope, no color wheels necessary for LED DLPs. They use red, green, & blue ones. The color wheel is only needed for white light.

They are definitely using 4 DLP chips. Whether they are using a set of LEDs for each DLP chip is not clear, but it's not that important.

[Brent @ Jan 8th 2008 9:58PM]

At least they said Kia and not Mercedes...

[Joseph @ Jan 9th 2008 8:32AM]

Does that mean it will be buy one get one free?

[h8rain @ Jan 9th 2008 9:38AM]

To Joseph:

I almost spit out my coffee. There is a dealer in the Charlotte area that does that quite often. "Buy one Kia from the New vehicle display area and get a 2007 Spectre for FREE!!!!!!" LOL.

[Shan @ Jan 8th 2008 10:03PM]

I can just see some flight simulator guys drooling! It seems good but I dont know for everyday use if it would be much use. Also for things like Photoshop - it would distort the image which wouldn't help. If I had this I could see myself attaching and detaching everytime I played something and for that reason I couldn't see myself going for this .. i can hear my flight simulator program crying right now! lol

[Dan @ Jan 9th 2008 4:54AM]

I'm still not getting why there would be distortion. Aren't there graphics cards that could put out to this in native resolution just like any other four monitor set up?

[Reader @ Jan 8th 2008 10:12PM]

So tight. Now I want to see it in a laptop :P

[BigD145 @ Jan 8th 2008 10:17PM]

I have a line like that on my laptop. All I had to do was wait 6 years for it to happen. Why would I pay for this? Convenience?

There's also that "sweet spot is two feet away" issue. Eye burn/fatigue, anyone? The ideal distance to keep your from frying your retinas happens to be 3+ feet away. I see a math problem here.

[Arun @ Jan 8th 2008 10:19PM]

This would be perfect with those head tracking software!!

[Shan @ Jan 8th 2008 10:24PM]

You could probably buy 2 of Dell's new 30 inch screens (3008) for the same price as what this will probably go for. Given that this new Dell screen supports DisplayPort and you can run 2 screens off a single DisplayPort connection, all we need to do is wait for Nvidia to come out with a 9xxx series card with a DisplayPort connector.

[Constable Odo @ Jan 8th 2008 11:18PM]

And exactly how is this useful for gameplay?

[SteveMB @ Jan 8th 2008 11:31PM]

You're kidding me, right?

[Mike @ Jan 9th 2008 8:57AM]

nobody asked you, dingus.
Go back to the promenade.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 8th 2008 11:28PM]

this is awesome

ill proabbly never know anyone that has one tho

[Tony @ Jan 8th 2008 11:29PM]

2 feet? I'm going blind just reading about it.

[Rotunda @ Jan 8th 2008 11:35PM]

I'm sure Al Gore would love one of these!
http://www.palmit.com/assets/images/algoreoffice.jpg

[geekoid @ Jan 9th 2008 2:41AM]

Al Gore's telling everyone about global warming and he has THAT setup? Including a TV he isn't even watching!!! Hypocrite!

[xplode @ Jan 9th 2008 12:56PM]

what you don't see is that it's all powered by a treadmill under his desk.

[MoonRocket @ Jan 9th 2008 12:57PM]

Yeah and what have you done for the planet lately you overweight basement dweller?

[Brandon H @ Jan 8th 2008 11:44PM]

Now this isn't going to stretch the image to fit is it? Are video cards and OS's going to have a problem with it's odd resolution?

I'd buy me one if it were sub-1000 though. Pretty damn awesome.

[Vash @ Jan 8th 2008 11:56PM]

ok wtf w/ the 3 lines dividing the monitor into 4 sections is that them just packing 4 tv's into it?

and how deep is that thing cuz from the pics we got it looks huge.. the stand looks like it isnt enough.. was their a back stand to help out??

[Fuzz @ Jan 9th 2008 12:13AM]

Hate to be a downer, but this thing is going to suck. . . Rear projection LCD for gaming? Come on, not a chance. And have you ever tried to calibrate 2 displays seamlessly? And they are going to do this with 4? My bullshiat meter is off the charts, I don't care how much "special sauce" you have.

[Dan @ Jan 9th 2008 4:57AM]

Well if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

[Fuzz @ Jan 9th 2008 8:46AM]

Or perhaps this is the reason no one else is doing it.

[slum @ Jan 9th 2008 2:23AM]

not to mention the rainbow effect of dlps. look from left to right on a big wraparound like that and it'll be like dropping acid in WoW

[CB @ Jan 9th 2008 4:34AM]

Ha everythibg about Al Bore is a joke, if you look up 'Hypocrite' in the book of Hypocrites you'll see a picture of Al Bore with a reference to the back page where you find he's the author.

I don't mean that in a satirical way , I mean it in a 'He really is full of sh1t' way.

He is performing the most point-perfect 'Jumping on the bandwagon to get elected as the president' in history and the Greens are too excited to notice.

[Richie @ Jan 9th 2008 7:59AM]

No thanks. Something about it really bugs me. maybe it's WAY too long. I'm fine with my 15" LCD still though so I have no voice in the matter :D I rather run crysis on very high at 1024x768 @ 35+ fps then on medium on a huge screen @ 25+ fps.

[Dave @ Jan 9th 2008 8:14AM]

Hah, it is funny how they changed the setup. Last couple days it was shoved to some nondescript corner it looked like, sitting on a crappy table. Now it is front and center right next to their main Alienware logo.

Power of blogs people.

[Nilay Patel @ Jan 9th 2008 11:54AM]

It's actually been out in the front of the booth like this since CES started -- those pictures from before have been from press preview events.

[Jonny @ Jan 9th 2008 5:26PM]

Alienware has all this money, but cant pony up 50 bucks for a copy of Crysis?

For shame, Alienware, for shame. :D