Sharp's X-Series LCD HDTVs offered with WHDI wireless link

Remember those "world's thinnest" X-Series LCD HDTVs we spotted earlier this year? On their way over from Japan to the US, Sharp has whipped up a partnership with AMIMON in order to offer a wireless HDTV link based on the latter company's WHDI technology. Apparently the 37-, 42- and 46-inch displays will be sold in both nations with an optional wireless video transmitter (read: each set is "wireless ready"), giving users the ability to send uncompressed HD to their HDTV from up to 100-feet away. As for US pricing and availability, Sharp's not quite ready to dish out those points, and while we're not exactly sure if this is the launch that finally gets wireless HD headed in right direction, it certainly can't hurt matters. Full release posted after the jump.

Gallery: Sharp's X-Series LCD HDTVs offered with WHDI wireless link

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SHARP to Offer Ultra-thin LCD TV with Wireless HDTV Link by AMIMON

AMIMON's WHDI Technology Enables High Quality and Robust
Wireless Uncompressed HDTV Link to Sharp's New X-Series LCD TVs

Santa Clara, Calif. and Osaka, Japan – April 30, 2008 – AMIMON Inc., an emerging leader in semiconductor technology for wireless high-definition (HD) video, has partnered with leading LCD TV manufacturer Sharp Corporation to offer a wireless HDTV link for the Sharp X-Series ultra-thin LCD TVs. AMIMON's WHDI™ technology, capable of delivering uncompressed HD video streams wirelessly, will simplify the installation of Sharp's ultra-thin LCD TVs by eliminating the need for an audio/video cable between the TV panel and the separate tuner unit.

AMIMON's WHDI technology uses a unique video-modem approach to deliver wireless uncompressed HDTV. With a range of over 100 feet (30 meters), through multiple walls and with latency of less than one millisecond, WHDI technology offers universal wireless whole-home HD connectivity with quality equivalent to that achieved with HDMI™.

"WHDI is becoming the technology of choice for wireless HDTV," said Dr. Yoav Nissan-Cohen, chairman and CEO of AMIMON Inc. "With AMIMON's WHDI technology, consumers can enjoy wireless ultra-thin TV displays that are easy to install and easy on the eyes."

Sharp's new X-series models, which come in 37-, 42- and 46-inch screen sizes and are only 3.44 cm thick (at their thinnest part), go on sale in Japan in April. This series adopts a discrete component configuration that separates the display section from the tuner section, and these two sections can be connected with a cable or by using an optional wireless video transmitter unit that employs AMIMON's WHDI technology.

About Sharp Corporation
Sharp Corporation is a worldwide developer of innovative products and core technologies that play a key role in shaping the future of electronics. As a leader in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and digital technologies, Sharp offers one of the broadest and most advanced lines of consumer electronics, information products and electronic components, while also creating new network businesses.

Sharp Corporation employs about 58,900 people in the world (as of December 31, 2007) and recorded consolidated annual sales of 3,127,771 million yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. For more information, please visit Sharp's Web site at http://sharp-world.com/index.html.

About AMIMON

AMIMON is a fabless semiconductor company pioneering wireless uncompressed high-definition video for universal connectivity among CE video devices. AMIMON's uncompressed Wireless High-Definition Interface (WHDI™) enables HDTV manufacturers to offer consumers wireless flat panel displays that can interface wirelessly to all HD video sources throughout the home at a quality equivalent to that achieved with wired interfaces such as HDMI™.

The company is headquartered in Herzlia, Israel, with offices in Santa Clara, Calif., USA; Tokyo, Japan; and Seoul, Korea. More information is available at: www.AMIMON.com.

WHDI is a trademark of AMIMON, Ltd. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are those of their respective holders.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: AMIMON, AQUOS, sharp, WHDI, wireless, wireless hd, wireless hdmi, wireless hdtv, WirelessHd, WirelessHdmi, WirelessHdtv, x-series ]

Apple iMac 3.06GHz unboxing, hands-on, and benchmarking

Look what arrived on our doorstep today! That's right -- the shiny, expensive new iMac that's now equipped with that funky custom and / or overclocked 3.06GHz CPU. Take a look at us wildly unboxing and handling the behemoth in the gallery below, and get a load of its fairly impressive Xbench scores after the break.

Gallery: Apple iMac 3.06GHz unboxing, hands-on, and benchmarking

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• All machines tested with Xbench 1.3.
  
  
• All machines tested were using Leopard.
  
  
• You can check the bold Xbench scores to compare the cumulative results for each test.

	MBP (2.5GHz Penryn)	Air (1.6GHz Core 2 Duo)	MacBook (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo)	iMac (2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, previous gen.)	iMac (3.06GHz Core 2 Duo)
CPU	169.23	79.98	126.66	138.58	188.54
GCD Loop	15.33 Mops/s	9.67 Mops/s	13.43 Mops/s	14.91 Mops/s	18.90 Mops/s
Floating Point Basic	3.37 Gflop/s	2.03 Gflop/s	2.95 Gflop/s	3.23 Gflop/s	4.12 Gflop/s
vecLib FFT	3.93 Gflop/s	1.71 Gflop/s	3.36 Gflop/s	3.66 Gflop/s	4.65 Gflop/s
Floating Point Library	36.64 Mops/s	12.82 Mops/s	17.80 Mops/s	19.43 Mops/s	44.76 Mops/s
Thread Test	275.13	148.81	186.4	208.77	314.45
Computation	6.93 Mops/s	2.77 Mops/s	3.58 Mops/s	3.56 Mops/s	8.50 Mops/s
Lock Contention	9.90 Mlocks/s	7.04 Mlocks/s	8.48 Mlocks/s	11.06 Mlocks/s	10.81 Mlocks/s
	MBP (2.5GHz Penryn)	Air (1.6GHz Core 2 Duo)	MacBook (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo)	iMac (2.4GHz)	iMac (3.06GHz Core 2 Duo)
Memory Test	168.11	140.42	150.23	150.82	211.78
System	183.01	143.51	158.95	151.56	247.04
Allocate	922.99 Kalloc/s	718.86 Kalloc/s	856.78 Kalloc/s	657.80 Kalloc/s	374.06 Malloc/s
Fill	7424.09 MB/se	5770.30 MB/s	6480.99 MB/s	6606.88 MB/s	9667.21 MB/s
Copy	3522.10 MB/s	2802.78 MB/s	2914.92 MB/s	3014.12 MB/s	4651.03 MB/s
Stream	155.45	137.46	142.41	150.08	185.33
Copy	3059.86 MB/s	2621.64 MB/s	2799.64 MB/s	2926.68 MB/s	3653.38 MB/s
Scale	3008.89 MB/s	2602.03 MB/s	2797.66 MB/s	3022.24 MB/s	3652.08 MB/s
Add	3525.00 MB/s	3230.58 MB/s	3196.17 MB/s	3364.41 MB/s	4165.23 MB/s
Triad	3523.21 MB/s	3199.37 MB/s	3211.97 MB/s	3328.48 MB/s	4147.22 MB/s
	MBP (2.5GHz Penryn)	Air (1.6GHz Core 2 Duo)	MacBook (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo)	iMac (2.4GHz)	iMac (3.06GHz Core 2 Duo)
Quartz Graphics Test	198.29	96.89	154.32	193.4	228.36
Line	12.43 Klines/s	6.94 Klines/s	9.69 Klines/s	11.64 Klines/s	15.27 Klines/s
Rectangle	70.01 Krects/s	32.23 Krects/s	51.66 Krects/s	70.02 Krects/s	252.7 Krects/s
Circle	15.29 Kcircles/s	7.22 Kcircles/s	11.54 Kcircles/s	15.29 Kcircles/s	16.46 Kcircles/s
Bezier	4.92 Kbeziers/s	2.49 Kbeziers/s	3.79 Kbeziers/s	4.51 Kbeziers/s	5.64 Kbeziers/s
Text	12.17 Kchars/s	5.53 Kchars/s	10.39 Kchars/s	12.66 Kchars/s	15.06 Kchars/s
OpenGL Graphics Test	165.99	17.26	23.36	152.66	201.68
Spinning Squares	210.57 frames/s	21.89 frames/s	29.64 frames/s	193.65 frames/s	255.84 frames/s
User Interface Test	326.63	105.81	244.28	335.18	443.26
Elements	1.50 Krefresh/s	485.60 refresh/s	1.12 Krefresh/s	1.54 Krefresh/s	2.03 Krefresh/s
	MBP (2.5GHz Penryn)	Air (1.6GHz Core 2 Duo)	MacBook (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo)	iMac (2.4GHz)	iMac (3.06GHz Core 2 Duo)
Disk Test	33.08	24.05	39.64	80.72	78.47
Sequential	60.60	42.21	66.07	115.15	106.39
Uncached Write	52.17 MB/s [4K blocks]	30.96 MB/s [4K blocks]	53.34 MB/s [4K blocks]	72.17 MB/s [4K blocks]	84.32 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write	47.88 MB/s [256K blocks]	31.19 MB/s [256K blocks]	47.63 MB/s [256K blocks]	66.51 MB/s [256K blocks]	77.36 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read	9.89 MB/s [4K blocks]	7.27 MB/s [4K blocks]	10.83 MB/s [4K blocks]	27.81 MB/s [4K blocks]	17.43 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read	39.17 MB/s [256K blocks]	30.42 MB/s [256K blocks]	49.62 MB/s [256K blocks]	69.83 MB/s [256K blocks]	80.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random	22.75	16.81	28.31	62.13	62.16
Uncached Write	0.81 MB/s [4K blocks]	0.57 MB/s [4K blocks]	1.03 MB/s [4K blocks]	2.67 MB/s [4K blocks]	2.51 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write	18.56 MB/s [256K blocks]	18.35 MB/s [256K blocks]	22.73 MB/s [256K blocks]	48.45 MB/s [256K blocks]	62.96 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read	0.41 MB/s [4K blocks]	0.35 MB/s [4K blocks]	0.48 MB/s [4K blocks]	0.63 MB/s [4K blocks]	0.66 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read	18.44 MB/s [256K blocks]	13.28 MB/s [256K blocks]	19.31 MB/s [256K blocks]	27.08 MB/s [256K blocks]	28.77 MB/sec [256K blocks]

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: 3.06GHz, apple, benchmark, features, hands on, hands-on, HandsOn, imac, unboxing, xbench ]

LG pushes Scarlet LCD HDTVs with completely unrelated commercial

Some of you keen readers pieced all this together already, but that commercial you've been seeing about an "all new television series" dubbed Scarlet isn't a new show at all; rather, it's a risky move by LG to push its Scarlet LCD HDTVs. The sets themselves have been out and about already, and while the specifications aren't anything to sneeze at, the displays aren't nearly as seductive as the 30 second spot. The idea was crafted and put into motion by LG global brand marketing VP Kwan-Sup Lee and a team of advertising / marketing agencies, and while it refused to disclose exactly how much it has spent on the endeavor, it did affirm that it was "millions more than a typical product launch in the US." Sure, we can appreciate the envelope pushing, but now that we're all psyched about the show, it's a bit of a letdown to know we'll never actually be able to tune in. Check out the ad in its entirety after the jump.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: ads, advertising, commercial, display, hdtv, lcd, lcd tv, LcdTv, lg, marketing, scarletlg, scarlett, xcanvas ]

DXG-569V HD camcorder available for $169

While DXG has few aspirations to taste or quality, they sure know how to price this stuff. The new DXG-569V HD cam can shoot 1280 x 720 video at 30 fps, captures 5 megapixel stills and sports a 3-inch foldout LCD, all for the bargain basement price of $169. Naturally, that video quality probably won't be putting RED ONE out of a job, and you'll need to supply your own SD card to make the magic happen, but if that doesn't dissuade you, you can swipe one from a Radio Shack shelf in silver or black as of today.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: camcorder, dxg, dxg-569v hd, Dxg-569vHd, hd ]

PureDepth's Multi-Layer Display technology to ship soon

If you're vaguely remembering a mention of MLD, you're not crazy. Around this time last year, PureDepth announced that it was teaming up with Samsung to crank out a 46-inch Multi-Layer Display LCD. Fast forward to now, and we're hearing that the first MLD wares should be hitting the streets relatively soon. The technology itself consists of building displays that are in fact two or more layers of LCD panel that share a common back-light source, thus creating a depth effect when viewing material. As it stands, the outfit has signed agreements with Samsung (obviously) for development of displays in mobile handsets and Sanyo for mobiles, gaming solutions and automotive electronics (including in-car navigation). Interestingly enough, Q1 2008 saw quite the surge in support for the 3D sector, making the launch of MLD that much more applicable to the apparent desires of content viewers. Check out a few sample images and product prototypes in the gallery below.

Gallery: PureDepth's Multi-Layer Display technology to ship soon

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[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: display, lcd, MLD, Multi-layer Display, Multi-layerDisplay, prototype, PureDepth ]

HANNSpree reinforces claim on ugliest TV in existence

Just when you though HANNSpree's idiotic and pointless LCD stylings couldn't be topped, here comes HANNSpree to do it again. The company just launched a 15-inch "Starlight Blue" display in the UK, comprised of some of the worst sci-fi-inspired curves known to man, in conjunction with a bit of pretty princess glitter to complete the atrocious effect. Should you happen to accidentally bring this XGA display home for the ?99 ($197 US) asking price, we recommend a burning with fire.
[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: hannspree, lcd, starlight blue, StarlightBlue ]

Promiscuous Sony back in bed with Samsung for $1.8B S-LCD plant

The rumors were true: Samsung and Sony have agreed to extend their S-LCD partnership in a $1.8B 8th-gen facility. The second 8th-gen facility -- dubbed 8-2 -- will begin pumping out glass from the South Korean city of Tangjeong in Q2 2009 in sheets up to 220cm x 250cm. 51% of the panels manufactured belong to Sammy while the rest go to Sony. Of course, Sony is also shacking up with Sharp on a $3.5B LCD plant in Japan ready to swing into production sometime in 2010. Oh Sony, you naughty, naughty minx.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 8-2, lcd, s-lcd, samsung, sony ]

Man attempts LCD TV theft using water bottle UPC, fails

Oh, shoplifters of the world -- you're not going to unite and take over with these kinds of tactics. A Kirksville, MO. man was arrested on Thursday for trying to boost a $517 Viore (yeah) LCD television by swapping the UPC tag with one from a $3.16 bottle of water. Apparently, cashiers weren't fooled by the admittedly paper-thin maneuver, and after four swipe attempts, a replaced paper spool, and one PA announcement for a store manager to come to register 14, they had the super-genius switcher thrown in the big house. If convicted, the man faces up to seven years in prison plus a hefty fine... and the lifelong shame of having tried to pull this stunt off.



[Via: Fark ]
[Tag: stealing, theft, tv, upc, upc codes, UpcCodes ]

Sony's DMX-NV1 Bravia Internet Video Link now available

Remember that Sony Internet Video Link for Bravia TVs that we told you about way back in February of 2007? Well apparently the $299.99 units have hit stores, and are now available for your purchasing pleasure. If you'll recall, the pricey boxes allow you to stream internet video, music, and light content (like weather and traffic) into your television via the company's familiar Xross Media Bar interface. Of course, you'll be dropping a pretty big chunk of change on something with fairly limited use, but hey... it's your money.



[Via: Zatz Not Funny! ]
[Tag: bravia, dmx-nv1, internet video link, InternetVideoLink, sony ]

Samsung delays fourth gen BD-P1500 Blu-ray player, adds BD-Live

We can't really see the logic in releasing a Blu-ray player without BD-Live in 2008 -- and neither can Samsung, which just announced its fourth generation BD-P1500 will be BD-Live Ready. The bad news is the May release date announced earlier has slipped to June, and the formerly comfortable $399 MSRP is now a less promising TBA. We're not sure if that "ready" tag means it will be BD-Live enabled out of the gate, however DTS-HD "High resolution" is confirmed on the way in a future firmware update. A slight delay for a significant upgrade in features? We'll allow it.

Update: Samsung let us know the press release was in error, the MSRP will remain at $399.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: bd live, bd-live, bd-p1500, BdLive, blu-ray, delay, dts-hd ma, Dts-hdMa, samsung, upgrade ]

LG Display aiming to mass produce 32-inch OLED TVs in 2011

Oh yeah, we're mildly excited that LG Display should be able to start cranking out product from its 8G LCD plant earlier than expected, but the real kicker here is the outfit's outlook on OLED. Merely two days after hearing that Samsung was hoping to dish out affordable medium-to-large OLED displays in 2009 / 2010, we're now getting word that LG Display is looking to offer up a 32-incher the year after. And we're talking "volume production," no less. Makes holding off on that XEL-1 that much easier, doesn't it? Nah, we didn't really think so.



[Via: OLED-Info ]
[Tag: amoled, lg, LG Display, LgDisplay, oled, production ]

Canon VIXIA HF11 model name turns up, imaginations run wild

Believe it or not, HF11 actually wasn't one of the many units Canon introduced at CES, but curiously enough, that moniker is showing up on the outfit's own website. When taking a peek at the Drivers & Downloads section for the DC320 DVD camcorder, you'll find a link for a PDF brochure of the VIXIA family that supposedly includes the HF11. Upon opening said file, however, you'll discover nary a mention of the mysterious item. A new model waiting just around the bend? A simple typo? A devilish trick played by the suits at Canon? The world may never know.

[Thanks, Dan]

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: camcorder, canon, dual flash, dual-flash, DualFlash, hd camcorder, HdCamcorder, hf11, sd camcorder, SdCamcorder, vixia, vixia hf11, VixiaHf11 ]

Room for one more? Panasonic wiggles into OLED TV game

Alright, we get it. SED actually is not the wave of the future for televisions, but OLED most probably is. At present, we've got Sony, Toshiba, Samsung and LG Display (among others) all vying for your future dollars, and since competition in the HDTV space is so grand for consumers, we won't be kvetching too much about yet another entrant. DigiTimes has it that Matsushita (parent company of Panasonic) is looking to begin production of OLED displays "in the future." That's it. No juicy clues as to when, no inside information about panel sizes -- nothing. Just enough to tease you and leave you in a state of panic for the foreseeable future.



[Via: OLED Display ]
[Tag: Matsushita, oled, oled tv, OledTv, panasonic, production ]

DivX support finds its way into HP, LG HDTVs

There's no other way to say it, DivX is on a roll in 2008 (that small Stage6 stumble is already a fading memory). If support from Blu-ray players and videogame consoles wasn't enough, DivX Certification has snaked its long arm directly into HDTVs, with "over 80 models" from HP and LG slapping on a sticker indicating users can simply plug a USB drive in and play their entirely-legitimately-owned content. Expect that number to grow, since DivX is also working with AMD, Chips and Media, Broadcom and Trident to include support in other chipsets powering digital TVs near you. Now how about we see some of that content?

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: broadcom, digital tv, DigitalTv, divx, divx certified, DivxCertified, hdtv, hp, lg ]

Yowza: Toshiba's net profits plunge 95% thanks to HD DVD

A year ago today Toshiba was announcing ?26.17 billion in profits for the quarter. Today, just ?1.25 billion or about $12 million. In addition to the $580 million hit on account of its withdrawal from HD DVD, Toshiba also saw a swift decline in flash memory prices. While bad news for Toshiba on all accounts, we consumers are basking in a market dominated by a single high-def optical disc standard and cheap NAND and DRAM pricing. Sorry Tosh, but you won't find any tears around here.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: breaking news, BreakingNews, dram, financial, flash, hd dvd, HdDvd, nand, profit, toshiba ]

Sony reveals healthy helping of new HDD / DVD recorders

We'll go ahead and nix some lingering excitement in the room: Sony's latest line of Hard Disk Drive DVD Recorders are aimed squarely at Europe. Now that we're clear on that, let us introduce to you the HX and HXD lines, which each posses four units that top out at 500GB. The RDR-HX680, HX780, HX980 and HX1080 all come ready to fetch analog broadcasts, while the RDR-HXD790, HXD890, HXD990 and HXD1090 also include a DVB-T digital tuner. The HDX crew can even be ordered with a CI slot, and the whole posse includes an HDMI port (1080p upscaling included), X-Pict Story, USB connectors, BRAVIA Sync and a dedicated SD HDD Handycam connection. Take a look in the read link for the full chart of specifications. [Warning: PDF read link]

Gallery: Sony reveals healthy helping of new HDD / DVD recorders

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[Via: T3 ]
[Tag: BRAVIA, dvb, DVB-T, dvd recorder, DvdRecorder, europe, hdd recorder, HddRecorder, HX, HXD, RDR-HX1080, RDR-HX680, RDR-HX780, RDR-HX980, RDR-HXD1090, RDR-HXD1095, sony, X-Pict ]

Samsung 750-series Touch of Color LCDs due in May

Following up on the DAPs and BD-Live announcements, Samsung's seen fit to attach prices to its 750 series of LCD HDTVs and their "Touch of Color" frames. At the top end, the 750 ranges from 39.9- to 52-inch sizes, all with 1080p, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, DLNA network access and 120Hz motion processing for $2,599 - $3,499 when they hit shelves in May. The 650s are already on shelves with 720p or 1080p variations from 19- 52-inch variations, sans-DLNA, but all models include Samsung's Infolink RSS service for news direct to your flat screen. Don't have Ethernet in your TV room? The Wireless LinkStick enables either series to pull down news without those pesky physical connections for $34.99. Probably not worth rioting over, but check the read link for complete specs and prices.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 1080p, 120hz, 750, dlna, lcd, samsung, touch of color, TouchOfColor, wireless linkstick, WirelessLinkstick ]

Pioneer, Panasonic reach basic agreement on Kuro production, first new displays due fall '09

Pioneer and Matsushita (Panasonic) have finally hammered out the basics of a deal that will allow the latter to supply panels for future Kuro plasma displays, and plasma HDTV fans to breathe easy again. Pending a final agreement in May, dollars and cents remain undisclosed, but we can expect a fusion of Panasonic's current "Neo PDP" technology from its Viera line when they begin production May 2009 in Amagasaki before hitting shelves in the fall. Kuro will still be maintained as a premium brand (with a premium price) with different image processing, while both companies plan to keep working together on reducing power consumption and the infinite black level plasma. Pioneer still plans future Kuro LCD HDTVs based on panels from Sharp,but it'll also apparently have access to IPS technology from Panasonic's tie-up with Canon and Hitachi. See? We told you it'd be okay.



[Via: AV Watch ]
[Tag: ips, kuro, lcd, matsushita, panasonic, pdp, pioneer, plasma, viera ]

Pioneer gets official with its 1080p Kuro KRF-9000FD projector

Aw yeah, that sexy-on-paper Kuro projector you've been dreaming about the past few weeks just got real today in Munich, as Pioneer made official (even more official?) the KRF-9000FD. Said beamer will be packed with LCoS technology, twin HDMI outputs to go along with the component / composite / S-Video sockets, full 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, 600 lumens and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio; you'll also find a RS-232c control port, a noise level of just 24-decibels in normal operation and a striking likeness to JVC's DLA HD100. Here's to hoping you weren't expecting this thing to be a bargain, however, as it's all set to land in the next week or so for a stiff €8,000 ($12,460).



[Via: Heise ]
[Tag: 1080p, D-ILA, KRF-9000FD, kuro, official, pioneer, pj, projector ]