Skip to Content

Joystiq has you covered with all things Metal Gear Solid 4!
AOL Tech

Posts with tag led

Samsung gets official with LED-backlit 9 Series LCD HDTVs

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 23rd 2008 at 9:38AM


Can't say we're surprised to see 'em, but Sammy has done its due diligence by pumping out the official verbiage for the 9 Series LCD HDTVs that were leaked late last week. These second-generation LED-backlit sets feature 1080p Ultra Clear panels, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology, 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios, the familiar Touch of Color design and a smattering of networking technologies like InfoLink (RSS access) and WiseLink Pro. Additionally, both the 46-inch LN46A950 (pictured) and 55-inch LN55A950 feature 4-millisecond response times, down-firing speakers with a built-in subbie, an integrated NTSC / ATSC / ClearQAM tuner, four HDMI-CEC ports, a PC input, Ethernet socket and a pair of component jacks. Look for each to land next month for $3,199.99 and $4,199.99, respectively.

Tri-Solar LED Flashlight: because three panels are better than one

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 22nd 2008 at 10:42PM


Nah, it's no Mag-Lite, but the Tri-Solar LED Flashlight should handle most minor lighting needs. The unit can operate with one LED on, three LEDs on or all three LEDs flashing (you know, in case you realize the car you just hopped in is now making a beeline for the Bates Motel). Because a single solar panel can only catch so much sunlight, this one has a trifecta of cells that fold out and generate juice for the bulbs. Not too bad for $32, particularly when you realize that it doubles as a weapon.

[Thanks, Joe]

Brando's USB LED Message Board keeps all eyes on you

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 19th 2008 at 8:08AM


Okay, so you understand the concept of a scrolling LED belt buckle, correct? Good. Brando has taken the novelty found in the aforementioned waist adornment and shoved it into yet another zany USB-powered gizmo. The USB LED Message Board can store up to eight phrases and supports five scrolling modes, sound effects and animated messages. Just make sure your boss' dirty little secret doesn't mysteriously end up on the new office ticker.

Toshiba lights up massive LED HDTV in Times Square

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 15th 2008 at 9:06PM


Next time you take a stroll through Times Square, look up, as Toshiba's posted a brand new high definition display at the top of One Times Square Building. The 51.2-foot by 52.5-foot consists of 1280x1248 LEDs controlled by Toshiba's Technovirtual pixel-sharing technology to create "virtual pixels". Whether or not we can figure out how that works, the LEDs display over one billion colors and help cut power consumption, so the display isn't just better looking than the one it replaces but also more energy efficient. We've seen LEDs in other video boards before, but Toshiba claims it's the first to offer modular HDTV screens to the outdoor rental market, and starting today they've got the best product placement possible.

3,000 LEDs used to build glitzy SMS-controlled UFO

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 13th 2008 at 9:08PM


Hey France, we've got one more for your sophisticated UFO archive. Dreamed up by artist Peter Coffin and crafted in conjunction with London-based Cinimod Studio, this 7-meter structure was built from aluminum and covered with 3,000 shockingly bright programmable LEDs. Furthermore, there's an on board 6kW generator to provide power, and the overall UFO can be remotely controlled via SMS. There are even assertions that this thing flew along the coast of Sopot, Poland on July 4th (and even a video to "prove it," posted after the jump), but we all know how dubious such proclamations can be.

[Via Hack N Mod]

Continue reading 3,000 LEDs used to build glitzy SMS-controlled UFO

LED Alarm Clock Blocks are too pretty to smash

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 8:53AM


If you're a habitual destroyer of snooze buttons, there's at least a smidgen of a possibility that picking one of these up could stop that habit. Seiji's stylish LED Alarm Clock Blocks (¥8,190; $76) rely on a trio of LED-filled boxes to convey the time (right down to the second), and best of all, the trifecta can be arranged however you'd like (horizontally, vertically, etc.) in order to please your fuzzy eyes in the AM. Unfortunately, you'll still have to use that spare travel clock while this thing gets imported from Japan, but you know what they say about the early bird...

[Via technabob]

LED Painter lights up your walls with excess

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 11:56AM


While a spinning LED globe or an LED-adorned Roomba is all well and good for a few kicks, if you really want to turn your living room into a light show you may want to consider something like Brilldea's LED Painter system, which can apparently be put to use in a whole host of different applications, including the LED windows pictured above. At the heart of the system is a 16 channel RGB LED controller, which lets you connect up to 48 independent LEDs, and gives you the ability to daisy chain multiple boards together if you really want to blow things out. As you can see in the video after the break, the effects possible are fairly impressive, even if they're a bit lacking in the subtlety department.

[Via MAKE:Blog]

Continue reading LED Painter lights up your walls with excess

TI showcases 3D projector and DLP Pico chipset at InfoComm

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 18th 2008 at 9:00AM


InfoComm is in full swing down in Vegas, and Texas Instruments isn't wasting any time showcasing its latest gear. First up is a prototype 1080p beamer hailed as the industry's first with a lamp-free design. Said unit also utilizes a PhlatLight LED light source and a BrilliantColor chipset, and if TI is to be believed, certain vendors will be shipping wares based on this stuff later this year. Moving on, we're being (re)treated to the planet's "first" 3D front projector (also known as the F10 AS3D), designed in cooperation with projectiondesign. Hidden beneath the big boys is the DLP Pico chipset for mobile applications, which will unsurprisingly pop up in pico projectors from companies like Optoma in late 2008 (Europe and Asia) / 2009 (the rest of us). Peek the full release after the break.


Continue reading TI showcases 3D projector and DLP Pico chipset at InfoComm

LED sphere project does still images and video at 1,800 rpm

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 11th 2008 at 1:16PM

If by chance you're looking for yet another LED-heavy DIY project to tackle, you may want to take a gander at this so-called persistence-of-vision LED sphere, which will let you pump out some super-low res still images or video on a spinning 3D screen. That's accomplished using a single ring of tri-color LEDs, which spins at a rate fast enough to display any combination of red, green or blue pixels along the surface of the resulting sphere, giving you an impressive 3-bit color depth (no video of it in action though, sadly). That, of course, is slightly easier said than done, and there unfortunately isn't a step-by-step how-to to guide you through the process, though we're guessing anyone actually pondering such a project will be able to make do well enough on their own.

[Via MAKE:Blog]

LED flashlight talks you through basic CPR

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 8th 2008 at 7:11AM

CPR talking flashlight
Here's a survival product combo we never thought of: an LED flashlight that talks you through the basic steps of CPR. It sort of makes sense, at least: high-efficiency LED in an ultra-compact AAA battery-based design that will talk you through an important emergency skill while the world crumbles around you. The whole flashlight measures 4-inches in length and sports push-button on/off and CPR read-off. Images of armageddon and self-taught nurses abound.

Sony gets official with XBR6 / XBR7 / XBR8 HDTV lineup

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 5:24PM


Aw yeah, those svelte Sony XBRs that were leaked back in mid-April have just been confirmed by Sony, and it's going to be a long, sweaty summer waiting for the whole load to land this fall. Kicking things off is the XBR8 series, headed by the 55-inch KDL-55XBR8 and 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 models, which incorporate the outfit's TRILUMINOS three-color LED backlight technology, 10-bit processing, BRAVIA Engine 2, Motionflow 120Hz and Advanced Contrast Enhancer PRO. The 70-inch KDL-70XBR7 and 40-inch KDL-40XBR7 headline the XBR7 lineup, while the XBR6 features sets range from 32- to 52-inches in size. All the gritty details are waiting below -- if you feel like waiting 'til tomorrow for Sony's glacially slow servers to load, that is.

Pac-Man Roomba created with 448 LEDs

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 6:31AM


We were beginning to wonder if the Roomba hacking community had been sucked dry of ideas, but leave it to longjie0723 to give us hope yet. This Roomba hacker (yeah, he also rigged his up for Wiimote control) managed to solder 448 yellow LEDs onto a board and program said devices to move in such a way that a Pac-Man-type image is seen. C'mon, who hasn't dreamed of having that ghost-inhaler work his magic on those forsaken floors? Check the video after the jump.

[Via Hack N Mod]

Continue reading Pac-Man Roomba created with 448 LEDs

Walgreens to erect largest sign in Times Square, use just 12 million LEDs

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 1:01AM


You know that impossible-to-miss NASDAQ sign on Broadway at 43rd Street in New York City? Yeah, the one that's 11,000-square feet in size. The Walgreen Company has set out to make that look like child's play, as it aims to erect a 250,000-pound sign at a three-level emporium in Times Square. Said display will reportedly be used to "raise [the drugstore's] visibility in New York," while doubling as a "focal point for it nationally." This beast will be covered in 12 million LEDs -- 17,000 square feet of them, to be exact -- and you can only imagine the hardware that will be required behind the scenes to keep this thing up and running. If you just can't wait until next fall to peep this in person, head southward to the read link and dig in.

[Thanks, Brock]

Honlai reveals palm-sized MP100 LED projector

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 7:43AM


Honlai may not be a household name just yet, but if it can up the resolution on its minuscule projectors just a hair, there stands a decent chance for it to become one. Details are pretty scarce right now, but we do know that the MP100 LED mini-projector utilizes LCoS micro-projection technology and can throw up a 640 x 480 image between 5- and 37-inches. We're also hearing that it packs a modest 200:1 contrast ratio and a lamp good for some 20,000 hours of use. Not a peep on pricing / availability, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more on either.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Dell Latitude XT displays compared: daylight viewable vs. LED

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 7:56AM


When Dell's long-awaited Latitude XT finally hit the scenes, many were captivated by the idea of a daylight viewable screen on such a portable rig. Up until now, however, there's been little analysis over which was actually superior. Granted, we aren't saying that you can't disagree firmly with GottaBeMobile's assessment, but after checking each out for an extended period of time, Rob Bushway actually concluded that the LED-based machine was preferable. Aside from coming in a few ounces lighter, the LED-equipped unit didn't seem to perform noticeably worse than the DLV counterpart, and even battery life was practically the same for each. Don't take our word for it, though -- check out the entire writeup (video included) in the read link below.
Play Pause



Weblogs, Inc. Network

AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Joystiq
Download Squad
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
BloggingStocks
Xbox 360 Fanboy
Autoblog
Big Download Blog
Fanhouse Backporch