Planar Expands StereoMirror Display Line

Toshiba Unveils MCP With Gigabyte-Class NAND Flash Memory And SD Controller

A Better HDMI Standard On The Way

AMD Dissolves Alchemy Product Line

Planar Expands StereoMirror Display Line

Planar Systems announced the availability of its StereoMirror 20- and 23-inch wide monitors. Planar's SD2020 and SD2320W deliver enhanced stereo image quality by offering greater resolution and enlarged screen-space, beneficial for photogrammetry, image exploitation, complex visualization, 3D simulation and radiographic investigation.

Much like the SD1710, both the SD2020 and SD2320W allow users to view stereo images independent of position, using comfortable, lightweight polarized glasses that are similar to sunglasses. Because both eyes see a continuous, full resolution and flicker-free image, the monitor can be used for an entire workshift without discomfort in normal office lighting. Alternatively, CRT stereoscopic displays can cause eye strain, headaches, or even nausea from alternately blinking right and left images. Autostereo displays, which do not require a user to wear glasses, restrict users, forcing them to position their head in a specific "sweet spot" with no room for movement over extended periods of time while delivering full resolution to each eye.

The SD series uses StereoMirror technology and is composed of two 20- or 23-inch LCD monitors in an up/down configuration separated at a 110-degree angle. A semitransparent mirror is positioned at a bisecting angle between the two monitors that, when combined with polarizing glasses, generates the stereo separation. This beam-splitter approach creates a stereoscopic 3D monitor that retains the full resolution, response time and color saturation of the individual monitors, while also offering a dual use as a standard 2D monitor with the flip of a switch or by simply lifting the mirror. The SD series supports a broad platform of OpenGL, DirectX and Windows based applications utilizing dual-DVI output graphics cards right off the shelf.

The SD series includes monitor sizes ranging from 17- to 23-inch, which are available for immediate delivery.

Source: Planar Systems

Toshiba Unveils MCP With Gigabyte-Class NAND Flash Memory And SD Controller

Toshiba announced the introduction of multi-chip package (MCP) memory that integrates a gigabyte-class NAND flash memory and an SD card interface controller with standard MCP memory devices. The new MCP will go into mass production in August 2006.

The new MCP incorporates two innovative devices that add to the functionality and performance of mobile phones: a new NAND flash memory with a capacity range of up to 2GB (8-gigabit, multi-level cell NAND flash memory), and an SD card interface controller on a chip. The new NAND flash memory is dedicated to storage of the user's data, and has the large capacity necessary for music files and digital photos, while the SD controller provides an interface between the memory chip and the digital camera, music player and other devices integrated into mobile phones. The new chips can be integrated into an MCP that stacks standard MCP memory for mobile phones, including LP SDRAM + NAND flash memory and PSRAM + NOR flash memory.

The first MCP with the new gigabyte-class NAND flash memory and SD controller also integrates an LP SDRAM as working memory and standard NAND flash memory for storing program data. Future MCP will combine gigabyte-class NAND flash memory with PSRAM and NOR flash memory.

Source: Toshiba

A Better HDMI Standard On The Way

In an announcement, the HDMI group which is composed of a large number of companies said that the HDMI specification will be upgraded to a new version. Called HDMI 1.3, the new specification will support a feature called "deep color," allowing devices to process and display a great number of colors. Increased bandwidth is also part of the new specification. HDMI 1.3 will be upgraded to 225MHz, from 165MHz on the current HDMI specification. In fact, the group indicated that HDMI can go up to 450MHz if need be. The increased bandwidth will allow displays to handle 1080i at 60Hz with 36-bit RGB color or 1080p with 90Hz refresh rate with 36-bit color.

Resolutions and refresh rates aside however, the specification has support for 30-bit, 36-bit or even 48-bit RGB. According to a report on ExtremeTech, the ITU 601 standard governs today's displays, whether they are computer LCDs or plasma TVs and are limiting the number of colors that can be displayed.

HDMI LLC president Leslie Chard said that ATI and NVIDIA can incorporate the new HDMI standard into GPUs and cards easily, and that Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 already has support for "deep color". In fact, both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD specifications call for support of "deep color" but neither side has announced any support for it or that of any feature part of HDMI 1.3.

Unfortunately for early adopters, the new features of HDMI 1.3 are not currently available and cannot be simply enabled by a firmware upgrade or a driver update. The new HDMI 1.3 will also support Dolby HD and DTS-HD audio standards, which are an upgrade over the current Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS standards.

Source: DailyTech

AMD Dissolves Alchemy Product Line

Advanced Micro Devices unloaded its Alchemy line of microprocessors on Tuesday, selling the product to Raza Microelectronics.

Rumors about the impending move were in circulation a few weeks ago, prior to AMD's analyst meeting. The Alchemy processors are designed for low-power devices such as handhelds or portable media players. The products never made a huge splash and complicated the company's product lineup with their use of the MIPS instruction set.

Software written for x86 can't run on chips that use the MIPS instruction set, and vice versa. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz has spoken many times of the company's need for an "x86-everywhere" strategy, referring to the instruction set that provides the marching orders for its chips, as well as Intel's.

The companies also announced plans to work together on projects such as AMD's Torrenza initiative announced two weeks ago at its analyst meeting. Torrenza is a bid to open up AMD's Opteron processors to accommodate third-party coprocessors for specialized workloads.

Source: CNET News

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