GoPro announced today the availability of the LCD BacPac, a detachable LCD screen for its HD HERO video camera.  The screen attaches to the camera via a small expansion port located on the back of the camera. The screen can be attached to the waterproof housing of the camera, as well as the wrist housing.

Since the screen is detachable, it allows the camera to be small and light, and still have and LCD screen for easier shooting. According to Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s CEO: “At the core, we’ve kept the HD HERO camera as small and light as possible, cutting out everything that isn’t required for capturing incredible HD content. Our wide angle lens allows for the omission of an LCD screen for most uses, but of course there are times when an LCD screen comes in handy.”

The detachable screen sells for $79.99. See the video here.

[via GoPro]

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It’s been confirmed, Super Bowl XLV will not be the first one with a full HD 3D broadcast (no gimmicky 3D commercials this year either, you can put the paper glasses away) despite featuring a halftime show by James Cameron’s BFFs, the Black Eyed Peas. Still, considering what happened the last time they tried 3D at the House That Jerry Jones Built it’s probably for the best. Still, just because you don’t have one of Cowboys Stadium’s record breaking HD screens you should still enjoy the game in style. In 2011 that means going beyond just the screen, the sounds and the seats — we’ll tell you how after the break.

Continue reading Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLV

Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung has a new monitor that supports 3D content and a 2D screen that has debuted. The cool new screens include the 950 and the 750 series and both will come in normal screens and in versions for HDTV/monitor hybrids. The new screens include the S23A750D 23-inch, S27A750D 27-inch, the S23A950D 23-inch, and the S27A950D 27-inch.

All of the screens have a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a 2ms panel response time. The contrast ratio on the screen is 1000:1. The monitors have viewing angles of 170-degrees and 160-degrees, presumably those are horizontal and vertical angles.

Connectivity for the screens includes DisplayPort and HDMI. The 950 models will convert 2D to 3D content and all of the screens are WLED backlit. They also all cover 100% of the sRGB color gamut. Pricing is unannounced at this time, but they will all ship in 2011.

Via CNET

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You might remember an EVE multibox hack from mid-2010 which allowed one arguably-too-dedicated gamer play as up to fourteen characters simultaneously, while still skating on the allowed side of the MMOG’s rules. Now Zhek Kromtor is back with a new game and an even more crazy setup: fifteen suspended monitors playing browser-based MMO Nodiatis as fifteen different characters.

Video after the cut

The fifteen Samsung LCDs – which Kromtor says were bought with $10,000 a family member won on a lottery ticket – are suspended from the ceiling with monofilament wire and each run at 1920 x 1080 resolution. They’re hooked up to eight computers for a total of 34 3GHz+ cores with 48GB of RAM, all using SSDs.

No sign of the low-tech multiplayer controls Kromtor rigged up for his EVE play – which included multiple mice stuck together, with lengths of dowel to press multiple buttons simultaneously – but we assume they’re somewhere to be found too. More details in the videos below.

[Thanks Jared!]

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It’s been a while since we’ve marvelled at the display-keys from Russian keyboard specialists Optimus, but the company is keen to remind us that it’s only been delayed, not undone, by the recent economic unpleasantness. The Optimus Popularis – a more “affordable” version of the Maximus keyboard – has supposedly been pushed back until later in 2011, and before then the company will release a smaller version called the Optimus Mini Six.

As the name suggests, the Optimus Mini Six will have six keys and is presumably intended to sit next to the keyboard rather than replacing it. It’s basically a double version of the Mini Three, but will use the newer display technology Optimus intends for the Popularis.

Rather than the OLEDs of the first models, the Mini Six and Popularis rely on LCD panels, and technological advances mean they can fit higher resolution, 64 x 64 screens into physically smaller keys. That should make for easier typing and a more compact keyboard in general. No word on pricing or specific availability for the Optimus Mini Six, which is only expected sometime later this year.

Here’s an interesting little note from Apple’s record-breaking Q1 2011 financial sales call: according to CFO Peter Oppenheimer and acting CEO / COO Tim Cook, the company’s made a two-year, $3.9 billion deal with three suppliers to secure a “very strategic” component for its products. Cook wouldn’t identify what the component was, citing competitive reasons, but he did say the arrangement was much like Apple’s famous deals to source iPod flash memory that date back to 2005. According to Tim, “We think that was an absolutely fantastic use of Apple’s cash, and we constantly look for more of these, and so in the past several quarters we’ve identified another area… these payments consist of both prepayments and capital for processes and tooling, and similar to the flash agreement, they’re focused in an area that we think is very strategic.”

Importantly, Apple paid out $650m under its agreements for this mystery part this past quarter, and it’s planning to spend another $1.05b in payments next quarter, so this is already happening in a big way — and frankly, we’re dying to know what it is, since Apple has a long history of squeezing the market for components it wants. Our best guess? High-density displays for the iPhone and iPad — we’ve heard some rumors of deals with Toshiba and Sharp, but that’s just conjecture, and we don’t know who the third vendor is. We’re digging, but in the meantime listen to Peter and Tim in the clip after the break.

Continue reading Apple’s invested in a ‘very strategic’ $3.9b component supply agreement, but what is it?

Apple’s invested in a ‘very strategic’ $3.9b component supply agreement, but what is it? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BenQ has been offering up displays and projectors for a long time now and the firm has unveiled two of its latest offerings for geeks to peruse. The new screens include the new Vertical Alignment LED backlit EW2430 and EW2430V. The monitors feature 8-bit color panel with full HD resolution each.

The contrast ration on them both is 3000:1 and the dynamic contrast is 20M:1. Both of the monitors have 24-incn panels and lots of connectivity. The connectivity options include dual HDMI outputs, D-sub, and a single DVI port. The only difference in the two is that the V has a few more features to make the image better.

It has Smart Focus, super Resolution, PIP/PIB, 3D Deitnerlace, and 3D Noise Reduction. The two screens will ship in the next few months globally at undisclosed prices.

Via Akihabara News

There have been LCDs on the market for a while now that only need a single USB port co power and connectivity. We got our hands on one of the largest of this kind of monitor from iMo called the Monster 10-inch an liked the thing well enough. A new and significantly larger LCD has surfaced that needs only one USB cable for power and connectivity from a company called Green House in Japan.

The giant USB monitor has a screen that is 15.6-inches and needs only 5W of power to operate. That means the single USB cable powers the thing. The resolution for the screen is 1366 x 768 and it has a 400:1 contrast ratio and 220cd/m2 brightness rating. The screen physically measures in at 377.7 x 141.8 x 287.8mm and weighs 1.2kg.

If you want tons of screen space, you can connect as many as six of these screens to your computer at one time. The model number for the display is GH-USD16K and it is slated to hit the Japanese website of the maker this month for the equivalent of $215. There is no word on the LCD coming to the US or anywhere outside Japan at this time.

Via CrunchGear

HannStar Display president Ding Hui Joe has been indicted as part of anti-trust investigations into LCD price fixing. According to the charges, the exec took part in clandestine meetings and illegal sales info swapping for four years, up until January 2006, as part of an attempt by LCD industry players to maintain pricing and avoid supplier undercutting.

Apple, Dell and HP have all been impacted by the conspiracy, which kept artificially high the prices on laptop, desktop and mobile device displays. Ding Hui Joe faces fines of up to $1m and a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years if he is convicted; he is the 22nd executive charged. HannStar has separately agreed to pay $30m in fines for its part in the affair.

Sony has announced a 5-inch clip-out LCD preview display, the CLM-V55 LCD video monitor, intended to give DSLR videographers a change to see their footage in higher resolution than most camera screens provide. The 800 x 480 panel has a tilt/swivel mount that fits onto an auto-lock accessory shoe or ISO shoe, is powered either by an independent battery or AC adapter, and hooks up to the camera itself via HDMI.

It’s not just a dumb LCD screen, however; there’s a pixel magnification mode which ofers an enlarged view of a selected portion of the Full HD image, together with a colour peaking function that highlights the edges of accurately-focused areas of the video image. Meanwhile there’s adjustable aspect ratio (16:9/4:3), volume, brightness, contrast, colour tone (phase), colour temp and auto dimmer.

A mono speaker – and headphone jack – together with a sun hood round out the main specs. No word on pricing, but the Sony CLM-V55 LCD video monitor will go on sale in March 2011.

Press Release:

Clip-on LCD monitor from Sony for HD video shooting with Interchangeable Lens Digital cameras 13 January 2011

CLM-V55 gives big, high-resolution view of video footage

• Clip-on LCD monitor attaches to DSLR camera
• Large (5″) WVGA panel offers superb high-resolution view while shooting HD video
• Tilt/swivel for comfortable viewing at any angle
• Colour peaking and pixel magnification for precise focus confirmation

A new clip-on LCD monitor from Sony gives DSLR camera owners a bigger, better view of their footage while shooting HD video.

The CLM-V55 is a portable video monitor featuring a high-resolution WVGA (800 x 480) (5”) LCD panel. Attaching easily to most Interchangeable Lens Digital cameras and compatible HD camcorders via the supplied adaptor, it displays video footage during shooting/playback with excellent clarity and a wide viewing angle.

The clip-on screen tilts and swivels to any angle for comfortable framing in any position – even self-shooting when you’re in the picture.

The CLM-V55 is loaded with pro-style features to help photo enthusiasts and videographers shoot high-quality HD video footage with their Interchangeable Lens Digital camera.

Pixel magnification mode assists with accurate focus confirmation, giving an enlarged pixel-perfect view of a selected portion of the Full HD image. It’s complemented by a colour peaking function that highlights the edges of accurately-focused areas of the video image.

An intuitive control wheel allows quick, positive adjustment of a wide range of monitor settings without interrupting shooting. Adjustable parameters include aspect ratio (16:9/4:3), volume, brightness, contrast, colour tone (phase), colour temp and auto dimmer. On-screen markers aid precise framing by giving precise indication of a TV’s 16:9 or 4:3 actual display area. The LCD monitor’s on-board mono speaker is complemented by a headphone jack for accurate audio monitoring during shooting.

The CLM-V55 attaches easily to a wide range of Interchangeable Lens Digital cameras from Sony and other manufacturers that support HD video shooting. The supplied adaptor simplifies mounting on any camera or HD camcorder that features an auto-lock accessory shoe or ISO shoe. Signal connection from camera to monitor is via the supplied HDMI cable, while power can be supplied using a battery pack or AC adaptor (both optional). The CLM-V55 comes with a detachable LCD hood for more comfortable viewing when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight.

The CLM-V55 LCD video monitor by Sony is available from March 2011.