http://www.newtechnologytv.com/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.64 � Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.newtechnologytv.com//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://www.newtechnologytv.com/ http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=957
In sports arenas from Atlanta, Georgia to Miami, Florida to Japan, these new giant hi-def screens are sprouting like magical mushrooms with their remarkable Technicolor displays. The new screen in Austin has set a new record in sheer size, and is certainly an environmentalist’s nightmare since it has over forty air conditioners, each weighing five tons! That is an extraordinary cooling capacity, but given the central Texas summer heat, no one is too surprised by this. Students and fans of UT affectionately call it Godzillatron!

It measures almost 135 wide and around 55 feet high. Some of the Texas Football Players have remarked that it is so bright during the evening practices they hardly need the other stadium lights. The giant screen is part of a huge 150 million dollar renovation, so the eight million paid to the Daktronics Company of South Dakota who custom builds these things all across the world is only a small percentage of the total makeover. The incredible 2064 by 848 pixel resolution confirms it as the screen with the best resolution ever constructed by Daktronics. Some of the on-site workers and engineers admitted they didn’t really know how big this project would look to them as they were building it. It even boggled their imaginations and no word yet if any gamers at UT have succeeded in playing Doom or some other video game on this big screen. Finally, another reason to get out of the air conditioning and go see a live football game—they have a really Texas sized digital display once you get there!

What a way to feed one’s television addiction! There are no hard numbers on how much electricity this monster pulls, but there were some industrial sized upgrades to the electrical capacity surrounding the stadium. I guess if you are the National Champion in NCAA College Football, there are rewards for beating Southern Cal. The square footage of this video display is over 7300 square feet, giving it over twice the size of a floor plan of a modern, family style home!]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=957 Fri, 9 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=956
Take the new Monday Night Football productions for example. They are using at least 19 state of the art HD (high-definition) cameras positioned all around the stadium, but critics have noted that they aren’t letting these cameras get near one of the new color personalities, Tony Kornheiser, because his visage does not exactly play to the strengths of a high-definition examination. I would think that the toughs and football aficionados could handle many difficult situations, including looking upon a face less alluring than Melissa Starks (why did MNF get rid of her?), but they seemed to avoid at all costs putting Tony’s face near the cameras, while they were not afraid to take close-ups of Theismann and Mike Tirico.

Other less than generous critics had somewhat disparaging comments about sideline reporter Suzy Kolber, but she is in shape, and attractive enough and besides she is former athlete and actually knows more about sports than many of the casual viewers. On the win-win side of the ledger for ABC and the viewers, the spiral passes of Brett Farve, with the laces gleaming in the hi-def slow-motion shots, and the incredibly sharp action in the trenches and downfield is the real attraction of HD. Yes, Brett needs some work on the practice field, if Green Bay is going to have any chance this year, but he still looks very good in hi-def, and what an opportunity to see our living legends in the stunning clarity and color of HD!

Most certainly the ancient Greeks and Kings and Queens of England cared about their appearance. The introduction of mirrors and shiny, reflective pieces of metal must have had an impact as people became more aware of their reflections and their appearance in relation to the rest of the tribe. With the dissemination of new media, and new video technologies that ruthlessly reveal the nuance of every facial line and wrinkle, we are now presented with the balding, actual truth and perhaps this will accelerate the rush to more rejuvenating procedures and perhaps a simultaneous acceptance of some of the natural manifestations of the ravages of time on human biology. The High-Definition lifestyle will affect all of us.
]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=956 Mon, 5 Dec 2011 08:52:00 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=955
The ingenious FED design has no electron beam navigation circuitry (the proven, but bulky and soon to be outdated electron gun technology) and can be as thin as 10 millimeters, because each pixel has a dedicated electron generator. Ten mm is the equivalent to less than one-half-inch, so the display can be exceedingly slender.

FED works by shooting electrons from a fine tip cathode to the anode across the thin flat panel space that is actually a vacuum. This mini-lightning in a vacuum sends the electrons across the tiny gap. Once the electrons are accelerated through the strong electrical field they strike the phosphorescent material on the other side of the plate and then emit photons. It is surprising to note that the FED ideas go back to the 1950’s although it was just a theory on the drawing board until the late sixties when some experiments were undertaken by Spindt.

Much of the excitement that centers on FED is that it can be a few times brighter than current LCD televisions and uses only one-third, or even less, energy! FED technology also has an excellent contrast ratio between the lightest and darkest shades and particularly vibrant colors. Shooting electrons from the metal tips has encountered many challenges, and the creation of carbon nanotubes may pave the way for Samsung to make more progress with the FED idea. Samsung is working on a method of producing electrons without the need for a fine tip.

Among the many advantages of FED over other types of video displays is that it does not require a bright internal light that will have to be replaced over time. It also has a wide viewing angle that we have grown accustomed to from the CRT’s, and it has a rapid response time. FED runs cooler than most other display methods and doesn’t need to “warm-up” when the set is switched on. An electron gun uses heat to produce electrons and generates too much unneeded heat. Field Emission Displays are just one of the possible methods of creating the optimum way to produce stunning hi-images at a low cost.

The number of new ways is only limited by our imaginations and laboratories willing to explore new avenues for HDTV. As we gain more experience and can work with smaller and smaller components, the future holds almost unlimited possibilities for spectacular new ways to image and imagine our world.
]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=955 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 08:55:00 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=954
What is radically different now is that the gun responsible for shooting electrons at the screen is replaced by as many electron emitters as the screen has groups of pixels—also known as picture elements. While Plasma HDTV’s and LCD’s are successfully and firmly entrenched technologies and are selling millions of units, SED technology over the next few years has the potential for an enormous impact on the HDTV market.

Throwing away the electron gun allows this design to be much thinner. Instead of televisions that need a depth of three feet for the tube, the SED technology is more in the area of three inches thick. Also, the new sets run much cooler, because they don’t use heat to generate the electrons. And some recent tests in the longevity of SED screens indicate that a 60,000 hour lifespan will not be a problem. In its current configuration, SED works by giving a 10-volt charge to an electrode deposited on one side of a glass film. The electric charge accelerates the electrons across a very tiny gap, causing the florescent material to eject photons, creating the visual display on the flat panel. Since this design is strongly based on the existing CRT technology, SED is in some, non-trivial ways, an already proven technology.

The three letter acronym SED stands for the exotic sounding Surface conduction Electron emitter Display. Toshiba’s hopes for a stunning picture are founded in the extremely high contrast ratios, long life of the system, true colors and thinness of the display. While Toshiba and Canon are banking on the incredible vividness and groundbreaking contrast of light and shadows with this new venture, we will have to wait at least one more year for the commercial release of this new product. Undoubtedly, they will have the newest prototype at next year’s consumer electronics show, slated to be in Las Vegas.

Currently, it is forecast that a 55-inch SED TV would retail in the ten thousand dollar range. That may be one of the main reasons on the delay of this technology reaching the consumer market. Toshiba is partnering with everyone it seems. They have a new initiative with Panasonic (Matsushita Electric) to research, develop and produce huge numbers of Plasma televisions and now this venture with Canon to create the new line of SED’s. They are everywhere at once and poised to be very successful in a number of areas.
]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=954 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:55:00 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=953
They first created a five inch video display that constituted a high-definition 42-inch, 1280 x 720 screen with a sixteen to nine ratio. The original panel was only slightly larger than three millimeters (roughly one-eighth of an inch) thick and used off the shelf CRT phosphor technology. It used the same inexpensive electronics in today’s LCD hi-def televisions and has many of the advantages of the cathode ray tube technology. (A wide viewing angle, broad temperature working variety, fast reaction time, etc.)

The prefix nano stands for 10 to the minus 9th power, or one-billionth of a meter. The term nanotech has been misused by many to denote anything incredibly small, but new devices in the realm of microns are not technically nanotechnology. There is and will continue to be a lot of attention put towards nanotechnology, but mature nanotech is still a decade or even two away, even though we are beginning to receive some of its benefits already.

The nanotube used in this video display is much like its name describes; carbon atoms are arrayed in a sheet that bends back on itself to form a cylindrically shaped tube. The nanotube is similar to the famous Buckyball, named after Buckminster Fuller, who invented the geodesic dome. The nanotube is an allotrope of carbon which just means an alternate crystalline form built of the same element. Other common examples are graphite which is pencil lead, and diamond, it’s all carbon, merely different forms.

One of the big advantages of NED-TV is the lack of “ghosting” images. Even the best LCD and Plasma televisions still have some fast motion artifacts. If the technologies still utilizing some form of the cathode ray tube technology persist and thrive, it will mean that the old CRT technology may never actually die, but live on in a new form. So far, prototypes of NED have been built using smaller sections to build up a 25-inch model and now a 42 inch HD display. The excellent brightness, deep color, very thin screen and lower power requirements indicate that NED is another promising hi-tech solution to better flat panel displays. Motorola announced last year that they could foresee a 40-inch NED display selling in the neighborhood of four-hundred dollars!]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=953 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:55:00 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=952
They could lead the way to Hi-Def displays that are large, almost paper thin, and portable. While everyone is fully cognizant of the more common terms, such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma; which fortunately is not an acronym, but a rather a descriptive term of the weird, futuristic, fourth state of matter science going on behind the flat panel, there continue to be new sets of letters, and the latest seem to end in “ed”. Since the attack of the “eds” is all good news for lovers of state-of-the-art technology, I will attempt to elucidate some of the important points in an easy to understand way beginning with OLED.

Surprisingly, OLED is already in use in some smaller video applications such as cell phones and digital camera displays. It could have an extremely bright future in FPD (flat panel display), but its debut into the world of widespread mass production and sales in television is still a year or two off. Samsung has released a prototype 40-inch HDTV using OLED that is extremely thin. In the future, we could see an OLED set that is twice as large and only a fraction of an inch thick! It will even be possible to roll up these extremely thin screens and carry them around!

OLED works by conducting electrons through layers of organic materials that emit light to create the standards of current high definition television. Photons (particles of light) are emitted as electrons are sent from a cathode layer across two or three layers of organic material (the “o” in oled) to the anode layer. The colors of the HDTV are determined by the type of organic material used in the emissive layer and the brightness of the picture seen by the viewer’s eye is controlled by the level of voltage used. The “O” in OLED stands for organic material, which in this case means a carbon based chain of molecules, also known as a polymer.

OLED promises to give us extremely wide screen, HD televisions that could be only a few millimeters thick and use very little electricity. The tiny amounts of electrical power needed to power this type of display can solve the problem of hot operating temperatures in today’s LCD and Plasma sets. Newer generations of HD (High Definition) technologies are constantly being invented. There are already at least six types of OLED technology now in existence. It will be fascinating to view the subsequent forms of flat panel displays using OLED, as they begin to populate our world.]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=952 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:15:27 -0500 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=949
To meet the demand in a media-based society, television manufacturers are partnering with mobile device producers, giving their customers these benefits on iPhones, SmartPhones and various other devices. These technologies are even making their way into games for dedicated gamers to enjoy.

Plasma, LCD and LED sets all have their benefits, but it seems that OLED sets are a viewer favorite. These sets offer the widest viewing angels, with superior color quality than other sets can offer. These sets are more environment-friendly, using organic materials, and take less energy to operate. These sets are in demand to the point that experts predict they will be the next industry standard. This is pushing television manufacturers to develop and include OLED technologies in all their products. Television manufacturers are even applying OLED technology to newer 3DTV sets.

It has been predicted that, over the next decade, consumers will see the integration of OLED screens and their applications continue to make their ways into the homes of the average family.

The main complaint for the average household is the investment required for even a smaller OLED television. Due to the technology and development that goes into a screen that is the width of three credit cards, with a picture that out-shines anything else available on the current market, OLED screens can be extremely expensive.

However, due to new developments out of New Delhi, India, consumers may see a ceiling on these prices, shortly. New Delhi, India is the home of the National Physical Laboratory. The scientists there are happy to announce their newest development, graphene-based quantum dots.

Graphene-based quantum dots, or GQDs, are non-toxic, keeping the integrity of the organic aspect of the OLED set. OLED sets do not contain cadmium. Cadmium has been banned in most parts of the world, so with a cadmium-free quantum dot, this development is commercially viable for most any location in the world. This lends even more accessibility and affordability to manufacturers that can pass the savings to their customers.

Besides the added affordability and accessibility, manufacturers like the technical benefits of increased efficiency, and the decrease of electricity that GQDs offer. With this development, quantum dots can use less electricity than even current OLED sets require.

Basically, quantum dots are semi-conductors. This work currently has applications for OLED technology and for solar cells.

Work with graphene quantum dots is being watched with anticipation. When developers have perfected them, they can be used in broader applications, allowing for cheaper OLED panels, lowering the price for the average consumer. GQDs could make OLED screens less expensive, more mobile and adaptable. GQD has also been credited with making OLED screens more bendable and lighter. With the ability to mass-produce GQD OLED, consumers could be able to enjoy the benefits and reduced cost, shortly.

]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=949 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:36:10 -0400 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=944
The newest face joining interactive television options is the company icueTV. This company concentrates on providing interactive TV options through technology. icueTV provides the technology that is placed inside of a set-top cable TV box. This technology comes already included in the box, so consumers have less equipment to rent or buy. This makes the process easier and more affordable for the consumer and provider, and gives the convenience of having stored technology that can be updated for future advances.

The icueTV company has partnered with Groupon, a discounts provider, to offer interaction with Groupon advertising. This technology will allow viewers to incorporate a “click to text” option when viewing a Groupon advertisement.

When consumers are watching a Groupon commercial they like, with a deal they want, icueTV technology will make it possible to interact with the TV to get that deal. With this technology, a viewer can use his or her remote to click and choose from a menu on the screen.

Using the remote control, consumers can select options from a drop down menu, or input their mobile numbers to get to get a text message. Some of these texts will have a link to email for signing up with Groupon.

Other advertisers are looking at this technology, as well. It will offer the “click to text” feature, as well as the functions for interactive buying. Consumers will also be able to get menus, vote and select coupons or purchase merchandise, all from their couch.

Groupon representatives will help icueTV demonstrate this technology at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s Cable Show. The show is open now and is scheduled to continue with demonstrations through Thursday, June 16, 2011. The show is being held at the McCormick Place in Chicago. The McCormick Place holds conventions for as many as three million visitors every year.

Interactive television is slowly becoming a reality in more and more applications. With the icueTV technology, consumers have direct access to additional convenience services, allowing consumers to forego calling or finding something online.

With icueTV technology, consumers are even more able to view their content and take advantage of the special deals and offers that advertisers may provide. With such easy accessibility, viewers can take advantage of deals and bargains at that time. They run less of a risk of forgetting to check out that website, or call that number, when it is all conveniently provided for them on their television screen. These options provide consumers with instant accessibility and less effort.

As this and other technologies for interactive TV advance, viewers can enjoy more benefits and options. These options are sure to take programming and television viewing to the next level, while helping to redefine the role of television in the home. ]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=944 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:17:31 -0400 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=942
The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld gaming device that uses auto-stereoscopic technology to render images in 3D. Auto-stereoscopic is just a fancy way of saying that you don’t need any specialized glasses to see the 3D images. The screen itself is structured in such a way that parts of the image are directed to the viewer’s left eye and other parts of the image are directed to the right eye. This parallax barrier technology (another fancy word, eh?) allows the viewer to experience 3D gaming without bulky, battery-hogging active shutter glasses or the lighter, but equally unstylish, polarized glasses. When it works, parallax barrier 3D is an effective way to render 3D gaming images—when it works.

The first problem with a handheld gaming device that uses parallax barrier technology has to do with how the technology works and what people expect from a handheld platform. To work properly, parallax barrier screens have to remain in a relatively fixed position relative to the viewer’s eyes. For the 3DS, this means that, to enjoy the 3D images, your line of sight needs to remain almost perfectly perpendicular to the screen with your eyes remaining about 12 inches from the screen. This would be difficult enough with a TV-based console with a fixed screen, imagine doing this with a handheld unit. Don’t imagine—hold your hands 12 inches in front of your face and keep them as still as possible. Keep holding your hands in that position, without moving your head either, for the estimated 3 hour batter life of the 3DS and you’ll get a sense of the difficulty involved.

For parallax to work, the right images need to reach the right eyes. A slight change in the position of your hands, head or eyes, and the 3D image will start to fall apart. This is one of the major stumbling blocks of parallax technology; slight changes in the field of view can cause major changes in the quality of the 3D image. So, even if you can hold your head and eyes perfectly still for hours on end, you would still have the problem of moving the 3DS. This seemingly minor problem becomes more serious when you consider that the 3DS uses and internal gyroscope and accelerometer to track the motion of the 3DS for use in augmented reality games.

That’s right, the 3DS is designed to work with 3D games that allow you to move the device around, interacting with the 3D images that you won’t be able to see while moving the 3DS. Confused? It seems impractical to have motion controlled games on a platform that loses its most notable feature when used with motion controlled games. The motion feature would seem more reasonable if it were only for 2D games, but there are 3D game titles for the 3DS that are designed to work with the motion sensors. In practice, it may work better than it sounds; however, it may take some time to get objective reviews about this feature from 3DS users.

Battery life is another major concern with the 3DS. With the WiFi feature turned on, expect about 3.5 hours of gaming and about 4 hours with WiFi turned off. For consumers who have owned previous incarnations of the Nintendo DS, this is a significant loss of playing time. The first generation Nintendo DS could be played for 6 to 10 hours on a single charge, and battery life with the DS line consistently improved with each iteration—until now. If you’re buying this to play around the house, it’s not a big deal; however, the main selling point of a handheld gaming platform is portability. We buy handhelds so we can play games on the go—if your “on the go” is going to take more than 3 hours, you’ll need to find an outlet to recharge. If you’re buying this to keep the kids quiet on long trips, a car charger is an extra expense you’ll probably need to look in to.
The 3DS is backward compatible with the older DS and DSi games but will not work with games that use a Gameboy Advance port. Of course, the 3D feature won’t work with DS or DSi games, as it only works with newer games specifically designed for 3D functionality. Older games may appear stretched due to the larger screen on the 3DS, but native resolution is available with a few key presses.

One of the more intriguing, but, as yet, unrealized features of the 3DS is its ability to play 3D video content. Nintendo has announced partnerships with several studios, including Disney and Dreamworks, to release 3D content for the 3DS. Since watching movies doesn’t require moving the 3DS around, this may be the best use of the 3D feature on the system. You could sit the 3DS on a fixed surface, start a 3D movie and veg out on a long trip.

The 3DS has some problems that early adopters should consider before making a purchase. Parallax barrier technology has some serious limitations that make it problematic in a handheld gaming unit. Short battery life limits the usefulness of the 3DS for people who spend a lot of time playing games away from a power outlet. And, with a $250 price tag, the 3DS is the most expensive in the DS line without really offering any substantive gains. So, the question is, do you give up battery life and shell out 250 bills for the novelty of 3D?

]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=942 Thu, 26 May 2011 11:25:52 -0400 http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=940
As with any new technology, there are some problems and concerns with 3D television. Price is a major factor in any decision to purchase a 3D TV. Prices for 3D sets start at around double what a comparable 2D set would cost. If you add in additional costs such as extra 3D glasses, the price can really start to add up in a hurry! For 3D sets that use active glasses, extra pairs can run more than $150! The active glasses are also bulky, require batteries (another cost), work only with specific sets and must maintain constant communication with a transmitter on the TV or they will lose sync and stop rendering 3D properly! Most sets only come with one or two sets of glasses, so a family of four can expect to shell out an additional $300 or more just to let the entire family watch a 3D movie together! Another hidden cost of 3D is in the extra equipment necessary to view 3D movies. That blue-ray player you paid a mint for last year won’t cut it—you’ll need an upgraded model to watch 3D HD movies. Most digital tuners will require an upgrade to view 3D television content like that offered by ESPN 3D. And, since 3D is an immersive experience, it works better with a larger field of view. This means that, to get the best 3D experience, you need to buy the largest screen you can afford or fit into your living room! Bigger screens are, of course, more expensive but can have a huge impact on the quality of your 3D experience!

Entertainment variety is another consideration with 3D TV. Unless you just want to watch Avatar over and over again, there isn’t a whole lot to choose from right now. The list of titles is growing, and broadcasters like Discovery and ESPN are starting to offer 3D programming, but the pickings are still pretty slim! Some movies are being converted to the 3D format, but true, original 3D content is developing more slowly. As more home viewers adopt 3D technology, the variety of content is sure to increase—it’s simply a matter of how long you’re willing to wait to see an entertainment return on your investment! One of the bright spots on the variety horizon is with home video game consoles. Sony and Microsoft are both pushing 3D titles for their Playstation and Xbox consoles. If the gaming community drives up 3D sales, more manufacturers and producers will be willing to take the plunge into the 3D market.

Advances in glassless, or autostereoscopic, 3D technology may make you want to wait before adopting one of the current models of 3D televisions. Current models all use glasses to help your eyes interpret the 3D images. Whether those glasses are the wildly expensive active models or the less-pricey passive models, they all still require you to wear a set of 3D glasses for the entire length of the movie—even if the glasses are ill-fitting, heavy or uncomfortable! There is hope for the future, as some manufacturers, most notably Toshiba, have production model 3D TVs that are slated for release this year and don’t require the use of special glasses! However, 3D TVs that don’t require glasses have been promised to consumers for years; so far, none have entered mass production!

The autostereoscopic 3D sets solve the problem of bulky or expensive glasses, but they also create a new set of considerations. The sets use parallax barrier technology to create a 3D image without the need for glasses. This is done, in its simplest form, by having the screen, or a barrier in front of the screen, act as the 3D glasses, splitting the image and sending it to the correct eye to create a 3D effect. In essence, the screen acts as a giant pair of 3D glasses, allowing multiple viewers to see the 3D image from different angles while watching the TV. In practice, the technology still has some kinks that early adopters may want to think about. The image is dependent upon the correct part of the split image reaching the correct eye—viewing angle and motion can severely affect the quality of the 3D picture! The screen ends up creating viewing “zones”—each of these zones is an ideal place to view the 3D image from. If you’re not sitting in one of the zones, you may have a distorted or nonexistent 3D image! If you have more people than the TV has zones, someone may be out of luck! Even if you’re lucky enough to be in the “sweet spot” zone (directly in front of the TV), slight movements of your head can cause the 3D image to fall apart! So, to get the most out of your autostereoscopic 3D TV, all you need to do is make sure you never invite more people than you have viewing zones and only invite guests who can remain nearly motionless for the full 171 minutes of Avatar!

I kid! 3D TV may be the best thing to happen to TV since that whole color thing, but it is an early technology, and, as such, there will be growing pains! Without early adopters, no technology would make it off the ground floor; however, even if you always have to have the latest and greatest tech out there, it won’t hurt you to do some homework and make sure that the hidden costs, early bugs and as-yet-undiscovered quirks don’t end up costing you more than you’re willing to spend for the early adopter bragging rights!
]]> General http://www.newtechnologytv.com/index.php?itemid=940 Mon, 16 May 2011 15:33:33 -0400