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Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • NVIDIA Expands 3D Vision Technology to Notebook Market

    NVIDIA, along with the PC manufacturers, notebook panel manufacturers, and content developers, announced the expansion of the NVIDIA 3D Vision ecosystem to include HD notebook platforms that integrate advanced 120Hz 3D Vision-capable displays directly into the chassis for on-the-go 3D.

    NVIDIA says they have worked closely with display manufacturers, including CPT, LG, CMO, and Samsung, to bring 120Hz 3D Vision-capable panels to notebook platforms.

    These new displays provide 2D capability with crystal clear images, but also deliver flicker-free 3D, with support for high definition playback of 3D games, movies, and photographs.

    With notebook displays available, PC manufacturers are now able to bring 3D Vision notebooks to market. Notebooks will include the 120Hz 3D Vision-capable panel and bundle 3D Vision active-shutter glasses.

    David Choi, Vice President of LG said LG Display is planning to fully support NVIDIA 3D Vision technology with their next generation of 120Hz notebook panels.

    SH Moon, Vice President of Samsung said, “Samsung LCD Division is fully behind NVIDIA’s 3D Vision ecosystem.”

    “NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology provides the best 3D experience that we have seen, and we look forward to bringing this technology to market on notebook panels,” he added.

    The first notebook utilizing NVIDIA 3D Vision is the G51J 3D, introduced last week by ASUS.

    Powered by an Intel Core i7 processor and 64-bit Windows 7, the G51J 3D comes with NVIDIA GeForceGTX 260M with 1GB DDR3 video memory, 15".6 HD LED backlight 1366 x 768 display, dual SATA HDD support, DVD Super-multi / Blu-ray Combo drive and, of course, a pair of 3D Vision active-shutter glasses coupled with a wide-range infra-red emitter.

    The GPU driver and a 120Hz 3D panel render each scene twice, delivering up to 60 images evenly to each eye, amounting to a total of up to 120 images at any given time.

    Clevo, a Taiwan-based notebook manufacturer, is supposed to introduce its first 3D Vision supported notebook in 2010. Stephen Chien, WW Sales and Marketing VP at Clevo said, “The era of 3D is upon us, and immersive 3D gaming and movie watching is indeed an exciting proposition.”

  • Kineto Announces Combined VoLGA / IMS Client for Voice Over LTE

    Kineto, an innovator and supplier of solutions that enable delivery of mobile services over broadband, announced what it claims to be the industry’s first software client that supports both VoLGA (voice over LTE via Generic Access) and IMS voice for LTE handsets.

    An important requirement for any LTE handset is concurrent support for both the interim VoLGA and longer-term IMS voice solutions. Operators around the world will adopt IMS voice on different timelines, so LTE handsets must support the interim approach along with IMS to provide an effective roaming solution.

    Kineto says its combined client is the industry’s first to provide this comprehensive solution.

    According to the company, the new client enables handset manufacturers to easily integrate a combined VoLGA/IMS voice client and accelerate LTE handsets to market.

    In addition, the client can be upgraded over the air through standard procedures to support new and evolving functionality, providing operators, as well as subscribers, a future-proof solution, as they assure.

    Stéphane Téral, principal analyst with Infonetics Research, claims this is an important step for bringing LTE networks to market faster. “The evolution to mobile IMS voice will take longer than many expect, and a combined voice client which can be field upgradeable removes some of the risk associated with LTE rollouts,” he said.

    Kineto’s combined VoLGA/IMS voice client is compliant with the VoLGA Forum’s release 1.0 specifications and is planned to support the recently announced “One Voice” IMS telephony profile.

    VoLGA is defined specifically to pave a smooth migration path to IMS voice. It utilizes many of the same connection protocols defined in IMS voice, including RFC 4867 and RoHC (robust header compression).

    VoLGA works with IMS data services, like the Rich Communications Suite (RCS) over LTE, enabling operators to begin their IMS deployments with new revenue-generating applications while laying the foundation for IMS voice.

    “Kineto’s innovative client architecture, with field upgradeable software, helps operators and handset vendors overcome the complexities of bringing new voice solutions to market,” said Mark Powell, vice president and general manager of Kineto’s client software business unit.

    Uwe Janßen, senior vice president of core networks at Deutsche Telekom said, “While the long-term approach for LTE voice remains IMS, many operators will require an interim voice solution, and we see VoLGA being the best approach, by far. As both are based on the same radio mechanisms, there is a natural evolution from VoLGA to IMS, which is nicely demonstrated by the integrated client.”

  • AMIMON Introduces Wireless HD Modules for the Notebook Market

    AMIMON, a fabless semiconductor company that specialize in HD solutions, announced the availability of its WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) modules which can be embedded into notebook and netbook enabling a wireless HD connection from PCs to HDTVs.

    Earlier introduced, the company’s WHDI allows flat-panel televisions and multimedia projectors to wirelessly interface to all HDTV video sources at a quality equivalent to that achieved with wired interfaces such as component video, DVI and HDMI.

    Newly released modules are available with a mini-PCI form-factor of 50mm*30mm and will also be offered with a standard Display-Mini card form-factor of 44.4mm*26mm based on the interface defined by the PCI SIG which uses Displayport.

    Additionally, these cards are designed for the WHDI standard and are capable of wirelessly delivering full uncompressed 1080p/60Hz HD content throughout the entire home, as the company claims.

    Notebook PCs embedded with the new WHDI modules are expected to be in the market in 2010 offering the ability to connect notebook wirelessly to any WHDI-enabled HDTV or, through an external WHDI-to-HDMI adaptor, also to any HDTV.

    AMIMON says the new modules will also enable external wireless PC-to-TV accessories (‘dongles’) which connect to the PC and TV via HDMI.

    The WHDI modules are based on the newly developed video modem technology operating in the 5GHz unlicensed band. WHDI co-exists in the same frequency spectrum with Wi-Fi and uses similar RF building blocks and antennas.

    It synergies with Wi-Fi enable a roadmap to integrated WHDI + Wi-Fi semiconductor components which is said to offer notebook OEMs the prospect of a low cost WHDI wireless HD link to the TV.

    According to the firm, the WHDI Modules key features include support for full high definition resolutions up to 1080p/60Hz, Hollywood approved HDCP 2.0 copy protection, 5GHz unlicensed band with support for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), compact form-factor, practically no latency (less than 1 millisecond) and low power consumption modes for portable devices.

    Noam Geri, vice president of marketing and business development for AMIMON believes WHDI is gaining momentum with TV OEMs. “Now also PC OEMs set to offer consumers multiple WHDI enabled products in 2010,” he said.

  • ParaScale Launches Open Private Cloud Storage Platform

    ParaScale introduced ParaScale Cloud Storage software R2.0 – version 2 of its PCS clustered NAS system. The new release targets enterprise storage administrators who must economically scale capacity and performance, and service providers who want to offer a variety of storage cloud services.

    ParaScale’s open solution leverages any commodity hardware running Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS or CentOS, and can integrate applications directly onto storage nodes. PCS R2.0 also provides integration capabilities into virtualized environments and web services.

    This latest release of ParaScale Cloud Storage software reflects the growing realization by global customers that existing approaches to managing their stored data assets prevent them from rapidly delivering a pool of storage that easily scales capacity and performance independently and economically.

    The company claims PCS R2.0 removes these obstacles as a software-only solution that can be downloaded from the web and applied to any standard Linux platform to enable hundreds of commodity servers to be clustered together as a file repository, as a storage cloud with massive capacity and parallel throughput, or as a disaster recovery option for virtualized environments.

    One of the key features of PCS R2.0 enables ParaScale to function as a back-up for virtual machines and their respective data. In the event of a failure, the virtual machines can be booted directly from ParaScale and be up and running in seconds without having to move around VM images.

    According to Arun Taneja, principal, Taneja Group, the power and scale of cloud compute and storage begins to make sense in an open and interoperable environment where resources can be provisioned as needed, any commodity hardware can be added to grow the cloud including repurposed servers, and new applications can be leveraged to create a virtualized data center.

    “ParaScale provides a unique open alternative to other cloud storage platforms and is developing an ecosystem of partners to integrate applications like back-up and disaster recovery, content management, and data migration on its storage servers,” he said.

    “Storage teams in 2010 are going to face the issue of getting ready for growth with budgets and headcount frozen at 2009 levels. How are they going to pull off this magic? By going outside the box, by looking at technologies that the innovators are using and not old workhorse NAS technologies from 1990,” said Sajai Krishnan, CEO, ParaScale.

    “Release 2.0 represents a significant step to provide our customers with a simple solution to store and manipulate any type of Tier II file data on higher-performance, more scalable, more accessible, and cheaper storage,” he added.

  • Review: Lenovo IdeaPad U350

    The Lenovo IdeaPad U350 laptop offers computing and entertainment technology at its best.

    With the retail price starting from as little as R6 699 (~$900), the IdeaPad U350 is a must for technology lovers for its amazing range of utilities.

    The smallest IdeaPad U350 laptop is a mere 1.58kg and is less than 25mm in size, making it easy to carry around.

    The battery also has a long life span and if fully charged is unlikely to leave you frantically searching for a power source to recharge it when outdoors.

    Among the wide range of benefits of using the IdeaPad U350 is that it is fitted with a 16:9 aspect ratio high definition 13.3 inch LED panel and an HDMI connector which allows the user to watch movies or other multimedia in high definition.

    Computing technologies on the IdeaPad U350, which include Intel Core 2Solo and Pentium ultra low voltage processors, up to 8 GB high speed DDR3 memory and up to 500 GB of hard drive storage, speeds up video editing.

    The protective system of the IdeaPad U350 is also high quality as it can make the hard drive to stop if the machine is dropped and has the facility – OneKey Rescue System – to help the user recover information in the event that data is corrupted.

    Several extra features like the Ambient Light Sensor which automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness according to the lighting environment and therefore reduces eye strain, make the IdeaPad U350 all the more valuable and desirable.

    A camera also comes in handy for video messaging or making Skype calls through the laptop’s WiFi connectivity.

    IdeaPad U350 laptop is certainly a useful gadget for the working class, students and all the computer literate people out there.

    ***
    Disclaimer: this review has been possible thanks to Lenovo who has provided the unit we tested.

  • 1080p HD Is Coming to YouTube

    YouTube has announced that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full resolution “is on its way.”

    Starting next week, YouTube’s HD mode will add support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today.

    “As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience,” YouTube software engineer Billy Biggs said in a blog post.

    The company also announced they are in the process of re-encoding all the 1080p videos users have already uploaded.

    YouTube will highlight top HD video snippets on its homepage.

    Here is the 1080p sample video

  • Broadcom Offers Open Source HD Voice

    Broadcom announced that it is offering its BroadVoice family of voice codecs royalty-free and without any licensing fees.

    “As a direct response to customer demand for advanced, high-quality voice solutions and development tools”, Broadcom is releasing its wideband and narrowband BroadVoice codecs in both floating-point and fixed-point C code as open source software under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), version 2.1, as published by the Free Software Foundation.

    According to the company, by eliminating the royalties and licensing fees (required by competitive solutions), Broadcom is driving a cost effective transition to HD VoIP applications by enhancing the quality of voice transmissions enabling a higher quality audio experience.

    The availability of BroadVoice source code, under an open source software license, provides the industry with maximum flexibility in how it can be deployed and has the potential of addressing a wide range of next generation voice-related applications.

    "We are seeing an increase in the number of requests for HD voice support from service providers who want to differentiate their telephony services from their competition. By offering high performance and highly efficient BroadVoice voice codecs royalty-free, we are enabling manufacturers and service providers to transition to HD VoIP as a means to significantly improve their customers’ audio experience,"said Dan Marotta, Senior Vice President & General Manager at Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group.

    Broadcom developed the BroadVoice family of voice codecs with two variants including a 32 kb/s version called BroadVoice32 for wideband (HD) speech sampled at 16 kHz, and a 16 kb/s version called BroadVoice16 for narrowband telephone-bandwidth speech sampled at 8 kHz.

    The company claims BroadVoice advanced voice codecs reduce the latency, complexity and bandwidth usage on a wide range of wideband and narrowband voice applications including voice-over-cable, voice-over-DSL, Ethernet IP phones, Wi-Fi VoIP phones and software-based VoIP client solutions. Additionally, for VoIP applications, distortion and echo are also reduced.

    BroadVoice is available on Broadcom’s cable, DSL and VoIP system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions.

    When standardized by SCTE and ANSI, the BroadVoice16 and BroadVoice32 codecs are called BV16 and BV32, respectively. BV16 is a standard codec in PacketCable 1.5, PacketCable 2.0, ANSI/SCTE 24-21 2006, and ITU-T Recommendation J.161 specifications. BV32 is a standard codec in PacketCable 2.0, ANSI/SCTE 24-23 2007, and ITU-T Recommendation J.361 specifications.

    BroadVoice16 and BroadVoice32 have very similar codec structures. Both variants share most of the algorithm modules so when implemented together, substantial code sharing and memory reduction can be achieved.

    Now Broadcom is providing both the floating-point and fixed-point C source code of BroadVoice16 and BroadVoice 32 under an open source license (LGPL version 2.1) and on a royalty-free basis.

  • Empirix VoIP Monitoring Now Avaya Compliant

    Empirix, a provider of VoIP monitoring solutions, announced that its products are now compliant with key contact center solutions from Avaya.

    The Empirix Proactive Communications Assurance solution is now compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Avaya AuraTM Communication Manager on Avaya S8700 servers with MCC1 Media Gateways and Avaya Proactive Contact with PG230RM.

    The company says this solution gives organizations the ability to test their outbound contact center from end-to-end thus enabling companies to ensure performance, a high quality end-user experience and compliance with government regulations.

    Empirix is a Platinum member of the Avaya DevConnect program—an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network.

    As a Platinum member of the program, Empirix is eligible to submit products for compatibility testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab in Basking Ridge, N.J. There a team of Avaya engineers develops a comprehensive test plan for each application to verify whether it is Avaya compliant.

    Doing so ensures businesses can confidently add best-in-class capabilities to their network without having to replace their existing infrastructure—speeding deployment of new applications and reducing both network complexity and implementation costs, the company says.

    “Earning the Avaya compliance accreditation is important because it gives customers a cost effective, comprehensive approach to ensuring the performance of the Avaya solutions in their unique environments from end-to-end,” said Tim Moynihan, vice president, marketing for the enterprise business unit at Empirix.

    “Combined with innovative products, such as Avaya Proactive Contact and Avaya Aura, Empirix Proactive Communications Assurance gives organizations confidence that their business-critical outbound infrastructures will deliver the most business value in the least amount of startup time,” he added.

    According to Eric Rossman, vice president, developer relations and technical alliances, Avaya, the companies that are members Avaya’s DevConnectprogram are able to use Intelligent Communications to connect employees and customers to information from wherever they are, over whatever device they have available – “getting more out of their multivendor network and delivering new value to their bottom line.”

    Widely acclaimed Empirix Hammer Test Engine, with more than 30 patents, is the acknowledged global standard for validating the quality of IP networks, systems and applications.

  • ZiiLABS Introduces 1080p Blu-ray Quality Handheld Media Processor

    ZiiLABS announced the ZMS-08, its 3rd generation media-rich applications processor that brings 1080p Blu-ray quality H.264 decode to low-power devices.

    ZMS-08 delivers the low-power, high performance processing required of next-generation connected devices such as web tablets, netbooks, connected TVs, video conferencing systems and home media hubs.

    ZiiLABS says the ZMS-08’s proven StemCell Computing array provides the media processing capabilities to deliver full HD 1080p high-profile H.264 video decode, simultaneous H.264 encode and decode at 720p, 1080p 24fps encode, accelerated OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics at up to 1 Gpixels/sec, 2D processing, compositing, image processing and advanced Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi Audio effects.

    With the low-power ARM Cortex processor running at up to 1GHz, the ZMS-08 is aimed at small form factor devices that enable content currently accessed via the PC to spread to mobile and low-energy devices.

    "Combining advanced ARM technology with their own media processing IP has enabled ZiiLABS to deliver the high performance and low-power consumption required to enable the next leap in the mobile internet revolution" said Ian Drew, EVP marketing at ARM.

    Full HD video playback at 1080p supporting H.264 High Profile at up to 40Mbps means users can experience Blu-ray quality video playback direct to their 1080p TV utilizing the integrated HDMI controller.

    Block Diagram

    Support for OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics and 1 Gpixels/sec fill rate enable a new class of user experiences including enhanced user interfaces, PC-like 3D gaming and Adobe Flash 10.

    The tightly coupled 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 provides a secure, high performance main CPU that features a 256K L2 cache, NEON, TrustZone security technology and 1 GByte addressable RAM.

    According to the company, dual USB 2.0 OTG controllers with PHY and ULPI interfaces provide direct connection to USB hosts, peripherals and high-speed modems. Four HD video processing units support camera and display input and output processing with the integrated HDMI and Analog video encoders supporting HD-TV 1080p output at 60fps.

    The secure Boot ROM, three SDIO/MMC ports, UARTs, SPI, GPIO and 64-bit and 32-bit memory controller supporting mDDR and DDR2 at up to 333MHz provide the interfaces and memory bandwidth required for today’s media rich connected devices.

    The ZMS-08 is sampling to certain customers now and is scheduled for volume shipment in the 1st quarter of 2010. The chip is housed in a 13x13mm, 424-pin FBGA package.

  • Epson Develops World's First 4K HTPS TFT Panel for 3LCD Projectors

    Projector applications continue to expand. In addition to being used for business presentations, projectors are gaining wider use in the classroom, in auditoriums and at big events.

    Meanwhile, demand for high-performance products is expected to grow as more and more households enjoy full HD content via digital broadcasts and high definition video players.

    Epson announced that it has developed the world’s first 4K-compatible high-temperature polysilicon (HTPS) TFT liquid crystal panel for 3LCD projectors.

    Measuring 1.64 inches diagonally, the new panel supports displays with resolutions up to 4096 × 2160 pixels.

    With a resolution of nearly 8.85 megapixels, 4K panels offer four times the resolution of full HD (1920 × 1080), making them ideal for the high resolutions required by special applications such as industrial design, architectural design and simulations, as well as for presentations and projecting four full HD images at the same time.

    Epson says they have employed the latest process and C2 Fine technologies in the new panels and developed a new, original driving method optimized for 4K resolution to achieve high-resolution projected images with “outstanding” brightness and contrast.

    C2Fine is an original Epson technology for achieving high-quality images with high contrast by combining an inorganic liquid crystal alignment layer with vertical alignment technology.

    In contrast to the organic alignment layer process, the inorganic alignment technology uses inorganic material to create the surface onto which the liquid crystal molecules align. The layer thickness is controlled at the molecular level, and the alignment structure is generated with a contact-less process, thus there is no problem of unevenness.

    Epson will show ultra-high resolution images including 3D when it exhibits a prototype ultra-high resolution projector using the panel at the International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition (Inter BEE 2009) to be held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan, from November 18 to 20.