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IDT's power-saving Panel Self Refresh tech coming to laptops, Ultrabooks and tablets (video)
We aren't talking Pixel Qi-style savings or anything, but then again, IDT's not asking you to ditch the conventional LCD your retinas refuse to step away from. The company's Panel Self Refresh technology just got a major shot in the arm here at IDF, with the introduction of the world's first Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) 1.3-compliant Timing Controller with integrated PSR technology. A lot of technobabble, sure, but here's the lowdown: with this stuff in the mix, most users will see upwards of 45 minutes of battery gain, as the panels don't require constant refreshing. Granted, power savings are only seen with static images on-screen, and you'll need a PSR-enabled graphics processor to take advantage. The good news, however, is that Intel seems to be into the idea of using this stuff to boost the overall battery life of Chipzilla-based machines, so it shouldn't be too long before it starts popping up in laptops and Ultrabooks. As to how the magic actually works? IDT's PSR technology "identifies a static image and stores it local to the TCON in an integrated frame buffer; then, it seamlessly displays the image from the local frame buffer allowing the eDP main link and a majority of the GPU functions to be powered-down, resulting in significant power savings." Have a look at the unveiling video just after the break. %Gallery-133738%
LG Display cuts spending targets for 2012, amid sagging LCD demand
LG Display has decided to drastically cut its expenditure target for 2012, in yet another sign that the LCD market is going through some tough times. Today, the manufacturer announced that it will spend only three trillion won (about $2.8 billion) on its production facilities next year -- a 33 percent decrease from its previously revised budget and LG Display's lowest expenditure target since 2009. The company also said that it has no plans to build a new LCD plants in 2012, suggesting that it may already be facing excess panel supply. Analysts are predicting that demand will remain subdued throughout the end of 2011, though LG Display CFO James Jeong had previously said he expects things to pick up by the beginning of next year.
BioWare announces PAX 2011 plans for The Old Republic
Are you going to Penny Arcade Expo? Is the Force strong with you? If you answered yes to these questions, then holster your blasters for just a hot second while we give you the skinny on BioWare's plans for Star Wars: The Old Republic at PAX 2011. For those of you interested in just getting your nerf-herding hands on The Old Republic for some one-on-one time, all you have to do is swing by booth 914, where demos will be running that allow players to experience content from each of the game's four origin worlds as well as letting players drop into the Alderaan Warzone for some Republic vs. Imperial action. If you want to go more behind the scenes, don't fret! At 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 28th, BioWare and LucasArts will be overtaking the Paramount Theatre for a Star Wars: The Old Republic panel. New reveals! Question and answer sessions! Live demonstration of the endgame Operation, the Eternity Vault! All of this and more can be yours if you manage to weasel your way in. And lastly, if you're more of a social butterfly, BioWare will be hosting a community meet-and-greet at the Grand Hyatt Seattle hotel. The soiree begins at 7 p.m., so dress your fanciest and don't be late!
Sony WhiteMagic LCD promises magic formula of better brightness, lower power
How do you make a brighter LCD without murdering battery life? Simple. Add a white pixel to each RGB trio, creating an RGBW panel that pumps out more nits without recourse to the backlight. We've already seen this technology in action on a tablet-sized screen from Samsung and Nouvoyance, and now Sony's come up with an OEM 3-inch panel that it hopes will prove popular in smartphones and cameras. The VGA screen is claimed to double brightness without increasing power consumption compared to conventional panels. Alternatively, it has an outdoor mode which sacrifices this power-saving in favor of doubling brightness -- although, when it comes to the sunlight problem, we're still hoping that PixelQi's approach will eventually come of age.
NCsoft shares its Gamescom schedule with the public
Gamescom is barreling right at us, and NCsoft is prepared to ride that train for all it's worth. The game publisher, along with ArenaNet and Carbine Studios, has announced its schedule of events for the European trade show later this month. Guild Wars 2 will, of course, feature heavily in the company's presentations. Along with several big-screen live demos, ArenaNet plans to host several Q&A panels covering design, art, PvP, and more. There's even a costume competition planned and several chances to score sweet loot from the dev team. The NCsoft booth will be located in Hall 9 at A11, and the company has provided several ways that travelers can keep track of the weekend's events via social media. Visitors will have the opportunity to check out these new games in addition to chatting up the many developers who will be on hand for the event.
Thrall's return to the Horde and more lore from San Diego Comic-Con
Blizzard's Chris Metzen was at the San Diego Comic-Con showing off new WoW, StarCraft, and Diablo merchandise with a panel of Blizzard writers and merchandise partners. After the discussion about merchandise, the future of Blizzard licensed products, and the new comics, the floor was opened up to questions and answers about anything, lore included. Fans took this time to ask Metzen all about the new direction Blizzard is taking Thrall, including whether the Horde will remain the same after Cataclysm. Metzen might have spilled the beans on what we can expect from BlizzCon this year, including some big revelations about the Horde and Thrall's place in it. Around the 51-minute mark of the panel, Metzen muses about how awesome it has been, growing the Warcraft story from its simple beginnings as an RTS and getting to flesh out the world. At one point, Metzen says, "One day, come on, your Warchief is coming back. Right? There's more with Thrall," and emphatically mentions BlizzCon, indicating Blizzard has much to announce on the subject.
Blizzard to talk licensing at San Diego Comic-Con
Blizzard tends to keep to its own convention for most of the year, rather than taking part in other major conventions like E3, but it's breaking form with product reveals and licensing discussion next week at San Diego Comic-Con. Blizzard's Chris Metzen, The Shattering author Christie Golden, Cryptozoic Entertainment President Cory Jones, and others will be present for a panel on Thursday, July 21 -- that is, if you're already lucky enough to be going to Comic-Con (say hi to Christie for me)! Here's the full panel description, which is also available on the Comic-Con website. 1:00-2:00 World of Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft Swag Show -- Blizzard Entertainment creative and licensed partners unveil and discuss World of Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft-inspired products. In attendance: Chris Metzen (Blizzard Entertainment SVP of creative development), Nick Carpenter (Blizzard Entertainment executive art director), Christie Golden (New York Times bestselling author), Hank Kanalz (SVP Digital, DC Comics and World of Warcraft comics editor), Sean Gailey(creative overlord, J!nx Clothing), and Cory Jones (Cryptozoic Entertainment president and chief creative officer). Moderated by Kat Hunter ( host of BlizzCon coverage on DIRECTV). Room 6BCF
Apple's supply demands could affect Amazon tablet production
According to Digitimes, Amazon is shopping around for manufacturers to supply touchscreen panels for its rumored upcoming tablet. The retail giant has supposedly approached TPK Holdings, Wintek, HannStarr Display and J Touch. Two of the four manufacturers, TPK Holdings and Wintek, currently supply touchscreens for Apple and are hesitant to make a commitment to Amazon. Amazon is looking to ship 4 million tablet units by the end of the year and neither manufacturer has the resources to supply Apple and Amazon at the same time. The online retailer may be forced to turn to smaller manufacturers for its touchscreen panel supply. This move could limit the supply of tablets Amazon has on hand for its launch, which is not a good starting position for a new entrant in the highly competitive tablet market. [Via BGR]
RiTdisplay begins producing inexpensive a-Si AMOLED displays for smartphone makers
Sure, you'd expect to find an amorphous silicon backplane behind your LCD, but RiTdisplay has now begun producing a-Si AMOLED displays that, according to the company, are a world's first. Developed in conjunction with Ignis Innovation, the 3.5-inch panel was first unveiled at last month's SID Display Week, where it beamed images in 320 x 480 resolution. RiT says its a-Si-based AMOLED screens are relatively inexpensive to produce, potentially posing an alternative to its LTPS-backplaned brethren. The company has already begun manufacturing the displays for undisclosed smartphone makers, though there's no word yet on when we can expect to see them pop up in commercial devices. But if the technology proves to be as cost-effective as RiT claims, it could go a long way toward patching up that AMOLED shortage -- as long as you're not too picky about resolution. Brief PR after the break.
Qualcomm CEO confirms death of 5.7-inch Mirasol e-reader display, looks forward to 'next version'
Remember that Mirasol e-reader display Qualcomm was hoping to release this year? Yeah, it's not happening. Speaking at a press briefing in San Diego yesterday, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that the 5.7-inch panel has been abandoned after failing to meet expectations. Instead, the company will devote its attention to the "next version" of the technology, which has Jacobs feeling optimistic: "We have a really interesting roadmap -- we're starting out on e-readers because we figured having E Ink as a competing technology was a good way to get started. But if you think about the power consumption of the screens that are out now [on tablets], they're very bright OLED screens that use up a lot of the power of the battery. We don't today have as vibrant color as an OLED display - but we have a roadmap that gets us to a much brighter color." Presumably, this roadmap would include that low-power "converged e-reader" we heard about a few weeks ago, slated for release by the end of the year. Jacobs also mentioned that Qualcomm is planning to invest a billion dollars in its Taiwan Mirasol plant, which might help produce the kind of volume that, say, Amazon would demand for its Kindle displays. It's all speculation, of course, but Qualcomm certainly seems to have some big plans in store for the rest of the year.
ViewSonic equips 24-inch V3D245wm-LED monitor with built-in 3D emitter
The "ultimate 3D monitor?" Likely a stretch, but who are we to argue with a stalwart like ViewSonic? All jesting aside, those looking to finally bite on the 3D value proposition can get ready to do so, as the 24-inch V3D245wm-LED monitor packs a built-in 3D emitter, an HDMI 1.4 input, 1080p resolution, 120Hz scanning rate, two millisecond response time and a brain-melting 20,000,000:1 "maximum contrast ratio." For those looking for something a bit more bantam, the PLED-W200 is also being (re)introduced here at Computex, claiming to be the planet's first WXGA pico projector. 'Course, we got an early peek of this very unit back at CES, but hopefully we're one step closer to actually seeing this one ship. Sadly, the outfit's not dishing out pricing or release dates, but hopefully both will be revealed shortly.
Sony unveils flexible color e-paper, new glasses-free 3D LCD displays at SID 2011
We saw some fancy panels and flashy lights on the show floor at SID this week, but Sony decided to keep its latest display offerings tucked away in an academic meeting. We're getting word today from Tech-On! that the outfit unveiled a 13.3-inch sheet of flexible color e-paper as well as two new glasses-free 3D panels in a separate session at the conference. New e-paper solutions loomed large at SID, but we were surprised by the lack of flexible screens. Sony's managed to deliver both on a display that weighs only 20 grams and measures a mere 150-microns thick, a feat made possible by the use of a plastic substrate. The sheet boasts a 13-percent color gamut, 10:1 contrast ratio, and 150dpi resolution. As for the 3D LCD displays, Sony joined a slew of other manufacturers in showing off its special brand of the panels. These new displays, ranging from 10-inches to 23-inches, apparently employ a new method for delivering 3D to the naked eye. This particular method uses a backlight positioned between an LCD panel and another backlight for 2D images, and can be easily be switched off for 2D viewing. Of course we would have liked to see these screens in the flesh, but alas, Sony decided to play coy. Hop on past the break for a shot of the new 3D panel.
Samsung entices with electrowetting displays at SID 2011: coming to consumers later this year?
Liquavista has teased us with the potential of its electrowetting displays for years, but we hadn't gotten to peep its panels post-acquisition until now, at SID 2011. In addition to the several screens we'd seen before, there was a new monochrome model that operates at low frequencies (down to sub-hertz levels) to cut down on current consumption. We also laid eyes on its chromatic displays, but in comparison to Mirasol's tech, electrowetting has a ways to go to match the image quality of IMOD. However, Sammy said that its reflective screens can be constructed with minimal mods to existing LCD manufacturing plants, while making Mirasol requires fresh fab facilities. Such a factory isn't exactly cheap, and Mirasol's large-scale production plant won't be around until 2012. So Samsung might snatch the market if it gets there first, and the rep we spoke with said the company hopes to have products shipping this year. While we wait for their hopes and dreams to come to fruition, view the vid after the break. %Gallery-123865%
Samsung, RealD announce licensing agreement for new LCD-based 3D panels
Remember that 3D display technology that Samsung and RealD were working on at CES? Today, the two companies announced that they've struck a licensing deal for the panels, which promise to deliver full resolution HD images to each eye by integrating active shutter technology directly within an LCD. This approach differs from the passive film patterned retarder (FPR) technologies that you'll find in Vizio and LG displays, which cut image resolution in half for each eye. The new panels will also be compatible with RealD's lightweight 3D glasses that are used in movie theaters. The technology should be available for 23 and 27-inch PC screens by early 2012, later making its way to 55-inch TV displays. No word on pricing or compatibility with other screen sizes, but expect more details to emerge at this week's SID Display Week in Los Angeles. Full PR after the break.
iPad 2 light leakage due to faulty LG panels? (update)
We don't have official word from Apple on the subject, but we're hearing rumors that might explain why some iPad 2 backlights tend to bleed -- according to Digitimes' anonymous sources, LG Display was "forced to reduce its shipments in the first quarter due to light leakage problem for panels," and that Samsung took up the slack. That suggests that some of today's vaunted 9.7-inch IPS displays may be from LG's faulty batch and some may be slightly superior Samsung screens, but we don't really recommend you crack yours open on the basis of an uncorroborated rumor (or at all, really) to find out the truth of the matter. Update: An astute reader reminds us that while LG, Panasonic and Chimei make IPS screens, Samsung traditionally does not. Perhaps Samsung has managed to get its plane-line switching (PLS) displays into iPads instead, as was rumored last month, or perhaps this rumor is simply inaccurate, in whole or in part. [Thanks, trucker boy]
BBC assembles experts to comment on Sony crisis
The fact that it's been one of the worst couple of weeks for Sony -- and its customers -- cannot be disputed. However, the future of this crisis, which started a couple of weeks ago when Sony's network was hacked and user information was stolen, is anybody's guess. As such, BBC News assembled a panel of four industry experts to comment on the situation and speculate where Sony might go from here. Richard Merrin, a PR director, said that Sony demonstrated both the worst and best ways to respond to a crisis: "In the first instance, Sony waited ten days before telling users what was happening, which is a classic error in terms of communications. It knocked consumer [confidence] and damaged Sony's reputation. But with the second incident, it has acted extremely quickly and seems to be following the four golden rules in crisis PR -- to be open, honest, transparent and fast." "In terms of PR, I think Sony can turn it around," said ComputerandVideoGames.com's Tim Ingham. "Consumers are often quickly outraged by this sort of wobble from a global corporation -- but we tend to have short memories if we're not personally damaged by a given incident." The security expert, Sophos' Graham Cluley, said this doesn't change how users should protect themselves: "People need to be more careful with their passwords and make sure that they have different passwords for different online accounts." You can read the rest of the comments at BBC News.
WonderCon MMORPG industry panel explores key topics of the day
At last month's WonderCon in San Francisco, three MMO industry experts sat down to do a panel on many of the pressing questions and issues that players have these days. The lively panel, moderated by PC Gamer's Josh Augustine, consisted of Dirk Metzger (Zentia), Scott Hartsman (RIFT) and Nick Huggett (Runes of Magic), each taking turns to address some of the questions that are commonly asked about these games and the industry at large. These topics included player retention, free-to-play vs. subscription business models, the endless comparisons to World of Warcraft, why MMOs tend to be fantasy-based, some of the biggest mistakes in the genre, how to appeal to both hardcore and casual players, the differences between the Asian and North American market, and the struggle to provide player-created content. The rise of social media also has a significant effect on MMO development, according to Hartsman. "What that kind of forces us to do, bluntly, is make better games right off the bat, because people will tell you if your game sucks." You can watch the video highlights of the panel after the jump.
Marvel Universe Online will be free-to-play, penned by Bendis
Move over, Batman: After a few false starts, Marvel's finally poised to become the next big MMO superhero thing. Thursday evening, I attended Gazillion Entertainment and Marvel's live San Francisco reveal of Marvel Universe Online's head writer, the jovial Brian Michael Bendis. Joining Brian for a lively Q&A panel were Gazillion President and COO David Brevik, VP and Studio Head for Secret Identity (fka Gargantuan) Jeff Lind, and VP of Games at Marvel TQ Jefferson. Brian's involvement in the game's story wasn't the only announcement the panelists had in store for attendees -- they almost casually confessed that players will slip into the spandex of iconic Marvel characters and that the game will be free-to-play, making it perhaps the first Western triple-A title to be designed for such a model from the ground up. Because I knew you'd be disappointed if I didn't, I dutifully asked an amused Jeff Lind about PvP, housing, crafting, voice acting, character customization, travel powers, advancement, and all those other goodies, but as you can probably guess, the devs aren't in a position to talk about sweeping systems just yet -- they want to "retain the ability to change [their] minds." So manage thy expectations accordingly! Fortunately, both Jeff and Brian were willing to chat about story, tie-ins, and MUO's niche in an increasingly crowded superhero MMO field, so hit the break for their thoughts and my round-up of the hot topics from the panel.
Official video available for the Guild Wars 2 PAX East panel
If you were attending PAX East a couple of weeks ago, the odds are you wanted a chance to get in on ArenaNet's panel. Unfortunately, Guild Wars 2 fans were lined up outside the panel long before it started, filling the room to capacity and dashing the dreams of several hopeful attendees. Luckily, the fine team behind the games took the time time to record the panel in its entirety and has just made the full video available on the official blog. Posted in two parts and comprising just under an hour of total footage, the panel covers a variety of topics related to the development of Guild Wars 2 and includes a lengthy question-and-answer session from the audience. While it's not quite a substitute for being at the convention itself, the full video should prove interesting whether you weren't able to make it to Boston or just couldn't get inside the jam-packed panel session.
GDC 2011: BioWare's Damion Schubert on designing for loners
Nothing stirs up a good MMO debate like the age-old question of whether or not the genre should cater to solo players. BioWare's Damion Schubert, lead systems designer on the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, recently added a bit of fuel to that particular fire during a presentation at last week's GDC in San Francisco. Schubert's talk focused on loners in the massively multiplayer space, and while it's no surprise to anyone that TOR is being built with the solo player in mind, it may come as a bit of a revelation that BioWare isn't aiming to "dumb down" the MMORPG as some fans have suggested. On the contrary, Schubert states that MMOs feature "hardcore stuff. This is hardcore gameplay, and we have to figure out how to get the solo player in a position where they want to take part in this, where they feel comfortable with the social circles, where they feel like they can be contributors."
