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XBLA in Brief: Zeit2 [update: controls can be un-inverted]
There is but one game on Xbox Live Arcade this week. That game is Zeit2, a shooter from Ubisoft with an interesting time control mechanic. Before you dive in though, know this: The controls are inverted and, as far as we could tell, they can't be un-inverted. Beyond this potential issue, the game's pretty nifty. Check out this latest XBLA in Brief to see if Zeit2 might tickle your fancy. Update: It seems that Zeit2 bases flight controls on your default Xbox profile preferences. If your profile default is set to inverted, the controls will be inverted. To change it, you'll have to open the guide and change your default preferences. Weird. [iTunes] Subscribe to XBLA in Brief directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the XBLA in Brief directly. [RSS] Add the XBLA in Brief feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
SIM2 Solar Series infinite contrast HDR LCD ships in Q2
After several years high dynamic range LCD technology is finally ready for market, now that SIM2 and Dolby are showing off this Solar Series 47-inch screen at the 2009 Integrated Systems Europe show. Just like last year's prototype, it's both brighter (4,000 cd/m2) and has a greater contrast ratio than any flat panel currently available. The 2,206 LEDs can provide up to an infinite contrast ratio and supposedly match real world visuals thanks to 16 bit color processing. The only bad news is that even with a name change to Dolby Vision, that ugly wide bezel from the BrightSide days still remains. We'll have to wait until closer to the Q2 shipping date to find out the price, but with SIM2's high end reputation it won't be cheap.Update: SIM2 pinged us to say that only the professional version will be available in Q2. The "consumer unit" won't be formally launched in the US until CEDIA this September. Gallery: SIM2 / Dolby Vision Solar Series HDR display
High dynamic range gets trumpeted once more
Much like SED, OLED and Laser TV technologies, high dynamic range has been lingering in the background for what seems like ages, but a new writeup over at Sound & Vision is bringing it back (at least partially) into the spotlight. Reportedly, Dolby -- which purchased BrightSide Technologies earlier this year -- will be making some sort of announcement about the tech at CES, but judging by current estimates, we won't see sets based on HDR for "two or three years." For those who've forgotten what the fuss is all about, high dynamic range is purportedly able to offer whites whiter than white and blacks darker than anything else out there, but such luxuries aren't apt to come cheap for early adopters. Dolby refused to cough up an estimated price range for the first retail models, but who knows, maybe we'll learn a touch more about all of this in just a few weeks.
Dolby to buy BrightSide HDR technology for $28 mill
BrightSide Technologies blew observers away with demos of its high dynamic range (HDR) HDTVs back in 2005 but we haven't heard much about them since then. Today the technology might have come a step closer to commercial release as the company has reach an agreement to be acquired by Dolby for $28 million. BrightSide's Extreme Dynamic Range displays are capable of contrast ratios far beyond todays LCDs, and a maximum brightness far better than even that 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio OLED we saw at CES. Still, just like OLED and SED this is another technology that promises to take HDTVs to a whole new level of realism but has more hurdles to jump before it hits the mass market. Here's hoping we see this on store shelves sooner, rather than later -- minus the enormous ugly bezel though, we have a reputation for style to keep up.
