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Help with panel suggestions for SOE Fan Faire
Over at the EQ developer blog, your help is needed. EverQuest senior producer Clint Worley has made a post asking for suggestions on panels for SOE's Fan Faire, to be held in August. He mentions that things like spells and content are normally covered, but he is hoping that some of the people attending will have interesting ideas for other panels to throw in the hat.Even if you're not planning on attending, it's worth sharing any cool suggestions that you might have, as the news from these events is usually covered by your favorite sites anyway. Visit the dev blog to add your ideas to the growing list.
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Now featuring live Q&A panels with the developers
Yeah, it's called the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, but the more we learn about this Blizzard-hosted gathering, the more it starts looking a bit more like Blizzcon '08. Sure, there's all the tournaments you'd expect, but there's a lot more too. We've already talked about the goody bag, but there's one thing that jumps right off the events page for anyone who's starved for WoTLK news: live discussion panels with Blizzard developers! Says the site, "developers will be discussing such topics as gameplay, lore and art and giving the audience a chance to pose questions and give comments." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It also sounds very promising. We got a lot of pretty juicy WoTLK information from the last round of developer panels at Blizzcon, so we can probably expect more of the same at these panels, only moreso, since we'll be that much closer to the release of the expansion. It looks like June 28th and 29th are going to be very good days to be a Blizzard fan. Even if you can't make it to France, be sure keep an eye on WoW Insider. We're sure to have the all the great WoW Information that's sure to come from these panels.
LG.Philips hooking Syntax-Brillian up with LCD panels
Not even two months after Syntax-Brillian announced that it would be acquiring at least 700,000 LCD panels from Sharp during 2008, along comes word that the firm will also be on the receiving end of a similar deal with LG.Philips -- er, LG Display, we should say. Nomenclature aside, the agreement between the two asserts that LG.Philips (or whatever it becomes) will supply Syntax-Brillian "with a minimum of 750,000 LCD panels during 2008," though it's certainly not the first deal of its kind. More specifically, it'll provide 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch Full HD units, and the option to purchase additional inventory remains alive. So much teamwork in the LCD industry -- those other sectors could stand to learn a thing or two.
Your next Sony LCD TV may actually be a Sharp
If you'll recall, Samsung announced plans last November to expand an 8G LCD plant sans Sony -- now, Reuters is reporting that Sony is aiming to start procuring LCD TV panels from Sharp, possibly within the next business year. Apparently, the deal with Sharp would allow it to "secure enough panels to meet fast-growing LCD TV demand without heavy capital investments," and considering that Sharp is already planning to construct the world's largest LCD factory by 2010, we'd say this works out quite nicely for it, too. Needless to say, the global demand for all things LCD seems to be going nowhere but up, but here's to hoping those prices continue to head in the opposite direction for the consumers' sake.
Panasonic to protect plasmas from flying Wiimotes
We've heard many a tale about people flinging their Wiimotes into expensive HDTVs. Despite Nintendo's precautions, some folks still manage to let their controllers fly. Because of this, Panasonic has decided to release idiot-proof Wii-proof plasmas, with panels that protect the screen by resisting up to four joules of energy.We can't imagine there being a huge market of people wanting this model, with the exception of the truly paranoid. Even so, Crave writes that it won't take too much effort for Panasonic to beef-up certain plasma screens, since they're generally more durable than LCD panels.Sure, a stronger screen might be useful for other reasons (not all of us have kids, and for all we know, they like to throw stuff at TVs for fun). If you're considering this purchase for Wii purposes, though, might we suggest you simply use protection?[Via Destructoid]
Liveblog: World of Warcraft PvP Panel at BlizzCon
Hey folks, we're still here live at BlizzCon, and just minutes away from the start of the PvP panel, with dev Tom Chilton. We expect to hear about balance between classes, PvP troubles (including how they're going to fix AV, hopefully), and hopefully some new info about PvP in the next expansion.Drysc just said it's time for a "calm and rational discussion on PvP" (with laughter from the crowd), so let's do it.
BlizzCon schedule leaked
Blizzard has, inexplicably, been keeping the schedule for BlizzCon under wraps. We at WoW Insider have been frantically planning coverage here, and yet we haven't heard a peep from Blizzard about what to expect during the show. But now WorldofWar has posted what seems to be a leaked schedule for the event (no word on how they obtained it), and we'll finally have some idea of how the days are laid out. Here's what to expect if you're headed to BlizzCon: World of Warcraft and Starcraft II open gaming WoW, Warcraft III, and Starcraft tournaments An opening ceremony (where they'll announce a new game or expansion?) Panels on WoW classes, dungeons and raids, professions and items, and PvP A Starcraft II gameplay demo More panels on Warcraft Art, Blizzard Sound/Music, Careers in Gaming, Cinematics, Starcraft II Lore and Art, WoW UI mods, the TCG, and the Expanded Universe (likely the Warcraft novels) And the convention will wrap up with a big concert from L70ETC and Video Games Live hosted by Jay Mohr.Sounds like a full few days! Of course there will also be an exhibit hall open the whole time, but we haven't heard much of what will be in there (don't forget that Xfire will be there, as well as Upper Deck and all the TCG folks, and of course the WoW Insider party will be before the convention starts on Thursday night). Stay tuned for more details as we get them. Under a week left!
DS Fanboy travels Around the Interweb to whine about hard games
Siliconera has started doing these great roundtables called "From Around the Interweb" in which various game writers opine on a topic. The last one was about the DS Style series-- check it out for some interesting discussion on non-games!This week, Spencer was kind enough to invite me along for a discussion of hard games. This week's panel included Spencer, RawMeatCowboy from GoNintendo, CheapyD from CheapAssGamer, PSP Fanboy's Andrew Yoon (who has made mysterious appearances here!), and, for some reason, me! We were all able to reach a consensus on the divisive issue of whether or not hard games were, in fact, hard. I had a great time and I was honored to be in such illustrious company!
NEC's 20 series LCDs: perfect for digital signage
NEC's latest LCD displays have more business on a video-wall demonstration than in your living room, but who said having a tile matrix of displays in your game lounge was a bad idea? The 20 series commercial LCD lineup consists of a 40-inch MultiSync LCD4020 and 46-inch LCD4620, both of which feature NEC's newfangled CV12 pixel technology. Hailed as the first displays to pack chevron-shaped pixels into a large-format LCD, it also delivers twice the contrast of traditional PVA panels, increases brightness and viewing angles, and minimizes off-angle color shift. Each touts a 1,366 x 768 resolution, 1,200:1 contrast ratio, ten-millisecond response time, and uber-thin bezels that come in "five times thinner" than current competitors. Don't count on these niche LCDs to come cheap, though, as you'll be laying down around $4,400 for the little guy and upwards of $6,300 for the 46-incher.
Panel de Pon presents a pleasant puzzler
Plenty of pictures of Panel de Pon have been posted for perusal, at, um... Pgame Pwatch ... yeah, okay, we're done. We kind of like the look of the new Tetris Attack here-- the blocks are colorful and Meteos-esque, while the backgrounds are all rave-like and evoke Lumines. We could roll our eyes at the fact that Intelligent Systems is cribbing so heavily from Q? Entertainment in their visuals, but we honestly don't mind because it looks cool and because Panel de Pon couldn't not be awesome.Please peruse the pretty panel pictures past the post partition.
Panel de Pon coming to DS
We have great news for puzzle fans! Panel de Pon, aka Tetris Attack, aka Pokémon Puzzle League, aka Puzzle League is going to get a DS release in Japan in April, according to some rumor-hounds at NeoGAF. This marks the first time we can think of that the same game has appeared on both the Game Boy Advance and the DS.We can think of one thing in particular that could elevate this new version over its predecessors: delicious online multiplayer. We're dreaming of future Game Nights already.
Apple and HP readying LED-backlit laptops?
While nobody really knows what Mr. Jobs has planned for next week's Macworld keynote, DigiTimes has a report claiming that LED-backlit laptops are coming down the pike, and if true, will be hitting more than MacBook Pros. According to a rather sure-sounding account, Apple and HP are both aiming to launch lappies in the second quarter of this year with LED-based LCD panels. Purportedly aimed to showcase the sexy interfaces that await us in Windows Vista and OS X 10.5, the screens would be derived from suppliers such as "Nichia or Cree" and tout a "brightness level of over 1,680 nits." Additionally, no model names were handed out as potential candidates for the LED upgrade, but with refreshed laptop models from both firms essentially sure to hit within a matter of months, it wouldn't be too surprising to see such upgrades make the cut. Nevertheless, we've seen our fair share of certainties turn out bogus, so per usual, we'd recommend a healthy dose of table salt with this one as well.[Via Electronista]
HP's 30-inch LP3065 LCD monitor gets reviewed
Although the average consumer isn't likely to be in dire need of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels on their monitor, the competition is still very alive in the expansive LCD market, and while Dell, Quixun, Samsung, and Apple all have highly-regarded units of their own, it's about time HP's LP3065 hit the test bench itself. Touted as "late, but great," HP's rendition of the 30-inch monitor managed to top the 3007WFP in "brightness, contrast ratio, and color uniformity tests," though it was noted that results were still below expectations. ExtremeTech found the screen "easy on the eyes" and very tweakable using NVIDIA's control panel via their GeForce 8800 GTX; furthermore, Photoshop editing, DVD viewing, and handling basic, mundane office tasks all provided "results that were nothing short of spectacular." Overall, the LP3065 provided a "wider color gamut," a trio of HDCP-compliant dual-link DVI ports, and "gorgeous image quality," which may or may not be worth the extra $400 over Dell's basic 30-incher to you -- and while it received an "8 out of 10" rating as well as a coveted "Approved" label, you're still better off throwing down this type of coinage on twin 24-inchers if screen real estate is your number one priority.
Evesham intros Freeview-equipped 47-inch 1080p LCD in the UK
Evesham -- best known for its fleshed-out lineup of notebooks -- is delving into the TV realm by dropping a bit (47 inches, to be exact) of 1080p love to the blokes across the pond. Sporting an ultrathin 5.43-inch enclosure, the plainly-named 47INCHLCD sports a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 1600:1 contrast ratio, 550 cd/m2 brightness, 8-millisecond response time, and a built-in analog / Freeview (DVB-T) hybrid tuner. The panel also touts a pair of 10-watt stereo speakers along with a bevy of inputs, including VGA, HDMI, component, S-Video, and audio in / out. Those lucky enough to live in the good ole UK can pick up the 47INCHLCD right now for £1,899 ($3,592). [Via Pocket-Lint]
Blogphotopodcasting: Fanboy style
Major Nelson's latest podcast consists of a panel at the Penny Arcade Expo with an unwieldy title and one familiar participant. "Blogphotopodcasting: New Media in the Game Industry" features none other than Xbox360Fanboy's (and Joystiq's) Christopher Grant as a dulcet voice of reason.
Authentic Ltd's ASS-60AK NXT SoundVu projection screen
Remember when we saw one of NEC's laptops equipped with NXT's SoundVu, and we jokingly mentioned how we didn't think it could cut it in a home theater system? Well apparently Authentic Ltd. thinks otherwise, because they've just announced their, ahem, ASS-60AK front projection screen, that doubles as a display surface and a speaker. The screen, which vibrates at a rate undetectable to the human eye to create sound, is made of Teonex, a material specially designed to produce high frequencies other fabrics would absorb. The release suggests it can be used as a stand-alone speaker or as the center channel to your surround sound system, thus mimicking the acoustically transparent screens used in full-scale multiplexes. While it sounds great in theory (caugh), NXT technology has been hit or miss enough that you'd probably to hear what it actually sounds like before dropping more than $500 for your own.
LG's 1.48-mm TFT LCD
No doubt, thin is most definitely in at the mo'. Now, with some help from LG Electronics, we'll soon see a few more millimeters planed to the shop floor with the introduction of their new 1.48-millimeter sliver of an LCD. Besides being able to balance on a razor's edge for photo ops, this wee TFT panel will drop in both 2.0 and 2.2-inch formats able to handle QVGA (320 x 240) resolutions. No word on when these might appear, but we're pretty sure that Samsung's rigs won't be sporting 'em.
IO-DATA's LCD-TV241X: 24-inches of PC/TV LCD goodness
IO-Data just announced their new LCD-TV241X which, as the name suggests, doubles duty as your PC's display while throwing up some that sweet, sweet TV for some post-pivot tablin' downtime. This 24.1-inch LCD brings 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) Full HD resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178-degree viewing angle, and a rather sluggish 16ms response. Sure, it's not the first choice for gamers or the aesthetically elite. But with a built-in analog tuner and a slew of ports including Japanese D4, DVI-D, VGA, and S-Video this panel makes for a nice do-it-all display. Expected to drop in Japan starting at the end of June for ¥139,650 or about $1,240.[Via Impress Watch]
2007WFP experiencing severe banding on gradients?
It's difficult at this point to tell precisely how many people are experiencing the issue due to the intense echo chamber that are internet forums, but a number of Dell customers have begun complaining about severe color banding issues on their new 2007WFP. The banding, as mocked up above using a screen shot of the issue, apparently makes normal color gradients impossible, kind of like knocking your monitor back down to 256 colors after all these years. There a number of Anandtech (1, 2, 3) and Dell forums (linked below) threads on the topic; one user blamed the LG panel, as the issue has seemingly cropped up in some shipments of the L2000c, their 20-inch widescreen presumably based on the same panel, while others are claiming it's the DVI input. Anyone here seen this issue themselves, care to share your experiences?[Thanks, Ciber]
CCFL backlighting is still in
Cuz all the cool kids are doing it for at least the next year or so, much unlike the mullet. Despite all the hubbub about LEDs, CCFLs are likely to continue backlighting your LCD panel, even as manufacturers ramp up production to meet demand. When will light emitting diodes and flat fluorescent lamps become a part of the flat screen TV landscape? Who knows but Kumho Electric isn't looking to find out. I still wanted my HDTV t-shirt though.
