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High Contrast's 'Spectrum Analyser' embraces our glitchy digital history (video)
Forget the rose-tinted view of the early digital era that we sometimes get from chiptunes. High Contrast's new "Spectrum Analyser" music video triggers our nostalgia by embracing the messiness and imperfections of computing in the '80s and '90s -- all while producing the kind of psychedelic journey we'd have expected from the '60s. We almost don't know where to start. The flood of Windows screens? The polar bear fighting game? The endless, purposeful video glitches? There's no one frame that can illustrate just how much 8- and 16-bit history is packed into one space. As long as you're a fan of drum-and-bass, it's best to catch the video after the break if you want a trip down memory lane... just expect a few odd detours.
Samsung unveils SyncMasters with the 'world's highest' contrast ratio
We've harped about manufacturers constantly pushing nearly useless dynamic contrast numbers on us for so long that we half-expected this announcement to be about some phantom billion to one number. Well done Samsung, then, for focusing on the static (or real) contrast ratio of 3,000:1 on its sparkling new F2370H and F2380MX 23-inchers. These are certainly not the first panels to reach that plateau (check the Prad link below showing the Eizo EV2333 achieving 5,000:1 in testing), but let's not argue over PR semantics. They do boast higher contrast than most and both come with 1920 x 1080 resolution and HDMI inputs, while the more professionally oriented 2380 model (see our hands-on here) also boasts height and swivel adjustments along with an extra DVI port. Priced at 397,000 KRW ($350) and 417,000 KRW ($370), the two new SyncMasters are coming to Korea soon and the rest of the world seems an inevitability as well.
Sharp to release high contrast LCD for mobile devices
As our mobile devices skew from email, voice, and web surfin' to include more multimedia -- think live television and video on demand -- nobody (big emphasis on "nobody") is going to get into live TV on fuzzy, blurry, low res screens. To save us from future misery, Sharp has announced a QVGA 2.2 inch LCD with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, a 176 degree viewing angle, and an 8ms response time. The company expects to ship samples for One-Seg mobile phones (portable Aquos?) this fall, followed by a rollout into its other mobile handsets and cameras shortly thereafter. Japanese shipments of One-Seg compatible devices is expected to reach 10 million this year alone, so this could become a seriously hot item -- though, as usual, don't get your hopes up that this will be hittin' our shores anytime soon.[Via Mobiledia]
