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Christie offers 4K upgrade kit for 2K projector that you couldn't afford to begin with
For the eight millionaires who've been watching the pre-release of Killer Elite on their in-home Christie CP2230, we've got exemplary news for you: your already-amazing image quality is about to get even better. The same projector that was chosen to reside in the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International in New York City -- and the same one that remains mysteriously devoid of an MSRP across the world wide web -- now has a similarly sticker-less upgrade kit to consider. The Christie 4K upgrade package includes an entire 4K light engine assembly (replete with a trio of 1.38-inch TI 4K DMDs), an integrator rod assembly and an upgrade label. Yeah, a label. It's like that. Hit the source links for the requisite phone numbers, or better yet, just forward the whole thing to your butler.
Sharp Elite LED LCD TV hands-on (video)
Earlier today, Sharp and Pioneer re-launched the Elite brand, with its Pro-60X5FD and Pro-70X5FD LED LCD TVs. Both models cater to the high-end home entertainment crowd, with pricing set at $6,000 and $8,500, for the 60-inch and 70-inch sets, respectively. We had a chance to take a look at the larger model at an event in New York City this morning, and were certainly impressed with its high contrast and excellent deep black levels. Set against a black wall, it was nearly impossible to distinguish a black image from the TV's brushed aluminum bezel or the wall behind it when viewed in a pitch-black room. Plasma TVs, such as Pioneer's discontinued Kuro, have been able to achieve deep black levels for years, but LCD TVs like the Elite we saw today historically suffer from light bleeding, which causes black images to appear gray. The Elite TV also includes built-in speakers, which sounded fine in a noisy room, but considering that you'll be spending north of $6,000 for the smaller set, we imagine you'll be pairing either model with some external speakers as well. Internet connectivity alone certainly isn't going to motivate anyone to spend this much to outfit their home theater with a high-end set, but streaming is important nonetheless, so we were happy to see that Sharp included a somewhat diverse offering of services. The TVs ship with apps for Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, YouTube, along with Facebook and Twitter -- there's also a dedicated Netflix button on the remote, letting you access the movie streaming service without clicking through several menu levels. Overall, we were impressed with the Elite during today's brief demonstration, but we'll need to wait for the full review before we can determine whether Sharp can justify those sky-high price tags.%Gallery-129950%
Sharp and Pioneer resurrect Elite with line of LED LCD TVs, pricing starts at $6,000
Remember Pioneer's Kuro brand of HDTVs? The high-end plasma line became the benchmark for the home theater market, leaving a rather large void in the hearts of the HD obsessive after it kicked the bucket two years ago. Now, Sharp and Pioneer are bringing back some of the technology used in that line, while leaving the Kuro name to rest in peace. The Elite branding will remain, however, with the new line of LED LCD TVs. Available in 60-inch and 70-inch flavors, the new Elites will only be available through high-end retailers, and will be priced at $6,000 and $8,500, respectively. The Pro-60X5FD will ship in the US next week, and the Pro-70X5FD will hit stores later this month. Among the sets' features, Sharp promises excellent contrast ratios, high color fidelity, and very low black levels, thanks to zone-based local dimming. The company claims a frame rate of "about 720hz," thanks to 240Hz quadrupling and scanning backlight technology. The TVs also include Sharp's quad-pixel technology, complementing the typical RGB pixel arrangement with a fourth, yellow sub-pixel. This sounds similar to the company's Quattron technology, though Sharp doesn't appear to be using that name with its new Elite line. There's also 3D functionality, and Internet connectivity, with pre-loaded Netflix, Vudu, and social media apps. The TVs also include Elite Advantage Live, for real-time remote technical support. We're at the Elite event in New York City, so stay tuned for more details and a full hands-on later this morning.
NVIDIA's dual-GPU GeForce GTX 590 emerges, can't slay the Radeon HD 6990 titan
1,024 total CUDA cores, 94 ROPs, and 3GB of GDDR5 RAM on board. Yup, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 is indeed a pair of GTX 580 chips spliced together, however power constraints have meant that each of those chips is running at a tamer pace that their single-card variant. The core clock speed is down to 607MHz, shaders are only doing 1.2GHz, and the memory clocks in at 3.4GHz. Still, there's a ton of grunt under that oversized shroud and reviewers have put it to the test against AMD's incumbent single-card performance leader, the Radeon HD 6990. Just like the GTX 590, it sports a pair of AMD's finest GPUs and costs a wallet-eviscerating $699. Alas, after much benchmarking, testing, and staring at extremely beautiful graphics, the conclusion was that AMD retains its title. But only just. And, as Tech Report points out, the GTX 590 has a remarkably quiet cooler for a heavy duty pixel pusher of its kind. Dive into the reviews below to learn more, or check the new card out on video after the break. Read - AnandTech Read - HardOCP Read - Tech Report Read - PC Perspective Read - Guru 3D Read - X-bit labs Read - Hot Hardware Read - techPowerUp! Read - TechSpot
AMD launches Radeon HD 6990 powerhouse for $699, maintains 'world's fastest' title
If you're scoring at home, NVIDIA currently holds the lead in single-GPU graphics cards with its GeForce GTX 580, but ATI's dual-chip Radeon HD 5970 has been holding down the absolute speed crown for a good long while. Now, bearing the name of AMD Radeon HD 6990, its successor sidles up to the throne and demands attention as the fastest single expansion board you can plug into your shiny new motherboard. The 6990 boasts a massive 4GB of GDDR5, 3,072 Stream Processors, 64 ROPs, and an 830MHz core clock speed. A dual-BIOS switch will let you crank that clock up to 880MHz with a corresponding increase in voltage, but don't expect to see much overclocking headroom above that. Reviewers note, alongside their fawning assessment of the world's best performance, that the HD 6990 is a massively power-hungry card (375W TDP) and one that makes quite a bit of noise while going through its herculean tasks. That's in spite of a new vapor chamber cooling system that allegedly supports up to 450W of thermal output. If all this strikes you as a somewhat flawed execution, maybe you'll join us in hoping NVIDIA's imminently upcoming response, dubbed the GTX 590, will be able to offer a neater, more efficient assault on the extreme peaks of graphical performance. Read - HardOCP Read - AnandTech Read - Tech Report Read - PC Perspective Read - techPowerUp! Read - Hot Hardware Read - Hexus
Intel Core i7-990X reviewed: best performance ever, but far from best value
As T-Pain once so wisely proclaimed, "it ain't hardcore unless it's hexacore." Intel should have no worries with its Core i7-990X, which has enough processing units to satisfy even the most demanding of hip hop moguls, but it pads out its extreme credentials anyway with an audacious 3.46GHz default speed. That can be Turbo Boosted to 3.73GHz (yes, we are talking about a CPU that can run at 3,730MHz right out of the box) and there's 12MB of L3 cache and three channels for DDR3 memory to justify the $999 price tag. Well, to partially justify it, anyhow. Tech Report and Tom's Hardware both ran this new chip through their benchmarking suites and both concluded it's the fastest consumer processor around, but neither was willing to recommend it as a terribly astute purchase decision. Then again, when has an Extreme Edition of anything ever been a good value proposition?
Motorola: all our high-end smartphones will have Webtop from June onwards
You know how Motorola's Atrix is unique in having all these docking stations and a Webtop app that collectively turn it into a far more versatile computer than your average superpowered smartphone? Well, Sanjay Jha has just told investors at a Morgan Stanley shindig that the Atrix won't be unique for long -- the Webtop app will be making an appearance on all of Moto's "high performance" smartphones in the second half of this year, and we're told that the only reason the Droid Bionic won't be shipping with it was the simple constraint of time. What that implies, but something Jha didn't say, is that the Bionic and Moto's other forthcoming devices are likely to have laptop docks of their own -- hopefully with a connector that makes the docking accessory interchangeable between models.
Pioneer Elite HDTVs to ride again in 2011... as rebranded Sharp LCDs
It was a dark day when Pioneer announced its mighty Kuro HDTVs would be no more, but the Pioneer Elite brand still has significant cachet and will return in 2011 on new high end TVs. The bad news? They will be LCDs, not plasmas, manufactured by its partner Sharp, a not entirely surprising move since this was actually the original plan for the Kuro brand back in 2008. Apparently both see potential as Sharp will gain access to higher-end AV salesrooms and integrators for its products, while Pioneer will have TVs to match its continuing Pioneer Elite Blu-ray player and receiver lines. Despite an impressive local dimming demo at CES we're still not sure Sharp can create enough new pixels to replace what we once had, but we should find out for sure when the new models arrive the end of the year, check the press release after the break for more details.
Hasselblad CFV-50 adds 50MP digital sensor to your V-System camera
We know you're a hardy crowd and aren't impressed by mere megapixels, but how about this: the 50MP sensor inside Hasselblad's new CFV-50 digital back is physically twice as large as a full-frame imager. Yeah, now we've got your attention. Intended as the attachment that finally makes film shooters break down and go digital, the CFV-50 comes with Hasselblad's DAC lens correction features that'll hunt down and ruthlessly obliterate any distortion, vignetting, lateral chromatic aberrations, or stray feelings of buyer's remorse. Yours for only €11,990 ($15,750) plus whatever taxes your local bureaucrat elects to slap on top. Full press release and a closeup of the CFV-50 await after the break. Update: We managed to stop by the outfit's booth here at Photokina and snag a quick hands-on. Man, does this thing feel retro.
Hasselblad H4D-31 cuts the entry price for medium format excellence to $13k
It might cost as much as a small car at €9,995 ($13,132) before tax, but believe it or not, the H4D-31 represents one of Hasselblad's most affordable offerings to date. Promising to bring all the goodness of the H4D-40, but at a more reasonable price point, this new shooter offers 31 megapixels of resolution and a choice of either an 80mm prime lens or a CF-lens adapter to let you attach V-System gear you've already got in your inventory. As such, it's attempting to perform the fine balancing act of appealing to both system stalwarts looking to go digital and DSLR enthusiasts tempted to step up to a larger sensor. We're still in love with Nikon's D3S, but you've got to admit, that H-embossed focusing ring sure looks sexy.
ATI FirePro V9800 runs out of ideas, shoots up with 4GB of GDDR5 and six mini DisplayPorts
If somehow you were able to choke up the FirePro V8800 and its 2GB of graphics buffer -- traveling across an autobahn-wide 147.2GBps interface -- here's the card for you. ATI has just announced the V9800, which doubles its predecessor's memory allowance to a mighty 4GB of GDDR5, but otherwise looks an almost identical beast. It maintains the 1,600 stream processor count of the V8800 and makes some small advances in performance and power efficiency, but on the whole it's the same card, just strapped up with more buffer muscle. We shouldn't neglect the new array of six mini DisplayPorts -- the retail package will include six DVI adapters, worry not -- which will let you have your full six-screen Eyefinity cake driven by just this one card. So, is this future collector's item worth your time? Well, at $3,499, the V9800 is a whole two thousand dollars pricier than the V8800, but then if you have the highly specialized needs it's looking to cater for, we're guessing that won't be too much of a hurdle for you. Update: Oh, about the price, AMD just got in touch to say it'll suggest a $3,499 tithe, not the $2.5K indicated on the slide below. Sorry is we misled you into selling up your entire 3D rendering farm with the lower price we had before.
Mac Pro refresh bumps up the high end: these go to 12 cores
Processor BTO options range from four cores up to the aforementioned 16; the full matrix includes "Westmere" Xeon X5670 chops running at up to 3.33GHz on the single-chip machine and 2.93GHz on the dual-processor model. Only the dual-processor model can achieve dodecacore status. Mac Pros now offer the ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB of memory, with a BTO option of the ATI Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of memory. Display output options include two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port. For storage, the 512GB SSD is now an option, and if you're feeling particularly flush you can load up with four of them. As noted above, the machines will ship in August; the Apple Store is currently still shipping the older models.
Bang & Olufsen announces 40-inch BeoVision 8 LCD
Come on, admit you: you know want a Bang & Olufsen LCD. Well, the BeoVision 8 which has just been announced, is a smaller, slightly less expensive one than the BeoVision 10 is -- so maybe you'll be able to afford it, after all. The 40-incher boasts 240Hz motion processing, resulting in a picture refresh rate that the guys at B&O say is nearly double conventional LCDs. Of course they've packed some banging B&O sound quality in there too -- and the BeoVision 8 will be available "this summer" for something in the neighborhood of $5,400. Full press release follows.
Bang & Olufsen announces BeoLab 11 subwoofer for mid-May
Not getting enough "sub" with your "woofer"? Tweeters tweeting all over the place, ruining your enjoyment of the low-end? Finding yourself unable to fully appreciate your King Tubby LPs? We hate that! And so does Bang & Olufsen, fine purveyor of home audio equipment we can't afford. The company's newest, the BeoLab 11 subwoofer, is vaguely pornographic looking, albeit in a surreal way (please try and control yourselves in the comments, people). This bad boy promises superlative bass quality in a "strong sculptural presence." At the very least, the designers here are trying -- which is more than we can say for almost every other subwoofer on the market (though we really did like the Rubik's Cube). Composed of two 6.5-inch drivers facing each other in an aluminum shell, this bad boy will handle the low frequencies (below 300Hz) and push 200W of bass in yo' face. Available in North America by mid-May 2010 in silver anodized aluminum or white; black, dark gray, red, blue, and golden anodized aluminum should be available shortly thereafter. Prices begin at $2,000. PR after the break.
NVIDIA unleashes GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 'tessellation monsters'
Let's get the hard data out of the way first: 480 CUDA cores, 700 MHz graphics and 1,401MHz processor clock speeds, plus 1.5GB of onboard GDDR5 memory running at 1,848MHz (for a 3.7GHz effective data rate). Those are the specs upon which Fermi is built, and those are the numbers that will seek to justify a $499 price tag and a spectacular 250W TDP. We attended a presentation by NVIDIA this afternoon, where the above GTX 480 and its lite version, the GTX 470, were detailed. The latter card will come with a humbler 1.2GB of memory plus 607MHz, 1,215MHz and 1,674MHz clocks, while dinging your wallet for $349 and straining your case's cooling with 215W of hotness. NVIDIA's first DirectX 11 parts are betting big on tessellation becoming the way games are rendered in the future, with the entire architecture being geared toward taking duties off the CPU and freeing up its cycles to deliver performance improvements elsewhere. This is perhaps no better evidenced than by the fact that both GTX models scored fewer 3DMarks than the Radeon HD 5870 and HD 5850 that they're competing against, but managed to deliver higher frame rates than their respective competitors in in-game benchmarks from NVIDIA. The final bit of major news here relates to SLI scaling, which is frankly remarkable. NVIDIA claims a consistent 90 percent performance improvement (over a single card) when running GTX 480s in tandem, which is as efficient as any multi-GPU setup we've yet seen. After the break you'll find a pair of tech demos and a roundup of the most cogent reviews.%Gallery-89115%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and 470 specs and pricing emerge
We're only a week away from their grand unveiling, but already we've got word of the specs for NVIDIA's high end GTX 480 and GTX 470 cards. Priced at $499, the 480 will offer 480 shader processors, a 384-bit interface to 1.5GB of onboard GDDR5 RAM, and clock speeds of 700MHz, 1,401MHz, and 1,848MHz for the core, shaders and memory, respectively. The 470 makes do with 446 SPs, slower clocks, and a 320-bit memory interface, but it's also priced at a more sensible $349. The TDPs of these cards are pretty spectacular too, with 225W for the junior model and 295W for the full-fat card. Sourced by VR Zone, these numbers are still unofficial, but they do look to mesh well with what we already know of the hardware, including a purported 5-10 percent benchmarking advantage for the GTX 480 over ATI's HD 5870. Whether the price and power premium is worth it will be up to you and the inevitable slew of reviews to decide. [Thanks, Sean]
Intel readies 8-core Nehalem-Ex processors for a March launch
Intel's current generation of Xeon processors already represents some of the fastest silicon you can buy, and yet the company's forthcoming Nehalem-Ex-based Xeons are being touted as the single greatest generational jump in its history. To achieve that, Intel has strapped eight cores into each CPU, with a pair of threads per core and 24MB of shared cache, along with integrated quad-channel memory controllers, Turbo Boost, and the pretty awesome ability to scale up to eight sockets -- meaning you could have 64 processing cores in the same rig. Don't even ask whether these chips can run Crysis 2, they'll probably be showing up in the machines that are making the game... and maybe yours, provided you have the cash to splash later this month.
Leica M9 taking pre-orders for its body only
Got nearly $7,000 in spare change and a lust for magnesium-bodied digital rangefinder cameras? Then we've got the solution to your itch, dear friend, as Leica has just let the M9 out to dance with credit cards in the courting ritual colloquially known as a pre-order. Claimed as the world's smallest full frame digital shooter, the latest Leica sports an 18 megapixel sensor, a new cover glass that eliminates the need for IR filters, dual image processors, and a 2.5-inch LCD. You'll have to be really sure this shooter is for you, though, because the quoted price is for the body only, and the lenses won't come cheap either. Still, this is the Leica stuff we care to see -- not some silly 24 carat-skinned Limited Edition homage to the unholy.
Artcoustic vomits bling allover its Crystal line of wall-mounted speakers
It's a bit hard to tell if Artcoustic's latest wall-mounted, ultrathin loudspeakers, the Crystal line, are incredibly horrid or insanely awesome. There's no denying that high-end loving audiophiles are enticed by the brand -- but the Crystal line? Well, let's just say that adding a bunch of Swarovskis to any product won't necessarily make it better. Regardless, these bad boys are customizable and if you're into ostentation, they probably belong in your apartment. There's also a matching iPod dock available, and it'll run you about $3700 to get one, speaker included.
Goldmund enters universal Blu-ray player space in typically gaudy fashion
You knew it was only a matter of time before Goldmund jumped in on the Blu-ray bandwagon, and the result as just as ridiculous as you'd expect. The new Eidos Reference Blue -- yes, it's spelled with an "e" -- is a universal Blu-ray playback system that puts heavy (literally) emphasis on damping down all vibrations. Didn't you know that much like the needle on the old Edison cylinders you're still clinging to, those digital bits just hate to be shaken around? Well, the 180-pound Eidos Reference Blue will put a stop to that nonsense. High end decks from mere mortal companies have nothing on this player that must have been woven by especially dexterous unicorn hooves -- it's so exclusive that the 50 produced units will only be offered to Goldmund subscribers; if you haven't heard of said club, you won't be getting one. We all know the first rule of Goldmund club, right?
