CES 2018

[Paul2]

Western Digital reveals world's smallest 1TB USB-C flash drive at CES



At CES 2018, Western Digital has introduced what it calls the world's smallest 1TB flash drive, a tiny USB-C model sporting the SanDisk brand. This flash drive isn't yet available on the market; instead, it's acting as a demonstration of Western Digital's latest advances in storage innovation.

The SanDisk 1TB USB-C model has a "classic" long flash drive form factor—not the newer form factor that fits almost entirely within a USB port—but the company managed to squeeze a full terabyte of storage into this still-tiny size, though it hasn't provided additional details such as speed, cost, or anticipated launch date.



In addition to showcasing the 1TB USB-C drive, Western Digital has launched the SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive, a model it calls the smallest 256GB USB drive in the world. This drive features a low-profile form factor and a read speed up to 130MB/s.

The flash drive is currently listed on the SanDisk website for $150 USD, but is still shown as not-in-stock.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/8006525617/western-digital-reveals-world-s-smallest-1tb-usb-c-flash-drive-at-ces

its that time of the year again where new and cool electronics are being announced at CES.  1 TB jumpdrive sound quite futuristic and its almost coming out.  how far technology has come by.  yay!

[Paul2]

Samsung Announces 146-in micro-LED



Samung made a huge statement as the 2018 CES was preparing to open—and we mean "huge"—with the introduction of The Wall, a 146-inch diagonal micro LED display that is expected to reach the consumer market later this year...

The Wall—yeah, that's what they're calling it—uses a high-density micro LED array that delivers independent, self-emanating RGB pixels (three LEDs to a pixel) at much higher density than possible with conventional LEDs, allowing the display to acheive full 4K resolution and no alteration of image quality from extreme viewing angles. Like Sony's commercial-market CLEDIS crystal LED wall display shown at last year's 2017 CES, The Wall is modular, pieced together from relatively small tiles that contain the micro LEDs, and is therefore capable of being built to any screen size. Samsung officials said the 146-inch dimension was used because the average U.S home has a wall that's 8 to 9 feet wide, which accomodates a 16:9 inch screen of that size. But they weren't ready to confirm that as the product's final spec, which will be announced at the company's March product showcase along with proposed pricing...

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-launches-146-led-and-8k-lcd-tvs

sound cool.  i think this micro led are true led display unlike led-lcd which is actually lcd with led backlighting.  i didn't know these micro leds display can be piece together to make bigger screen size.  sounds flexible and cool.

[Paul2]

LG Woes CES Attendees With "OLED CANYON"

A unique installation that leverages flexible, eye-popping commercial display technology from LG Electronics, is wowing attendees at CES 2018 here this week.

The winding 90-foot-long LG OLED Canyon features 246 LG Open Frame OLED displays, in concave and convex configurations.

LG OLED technology uses self-lighting pixels for exact control of image brightness and image quality, and with no separate light source the displays are extremely lightweight, thin and flexible. Using this technology, LG Open Frame OLED displays for business-to-business applications are able to flex for a truly customizable approach that is both a work of art and functional digital signage.



Welcoming visitors to LG's sprawling CES booth adjacent to the main entrance of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the LG OLED Canyon features 90 concave and 156 convex Open Frame screens. Visitors can walk through a 28m long twisting canyon trail and experience alluring images produced by a total of two billion self-emissive OLED pixels. The video experience, featuring natural wonders such as forest, glacier, waterfall, blizzard and others, is further enhanced by Dolby Atmos audio, which also is included in 2018 LG OLED TVs for the consumer market.

http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=64003

looks very cool.

Here is another picture of it:



https://www.soundandvision.com/content/lg%E2%80%99s-spectacular-landscapes

[Paul2]

Sony Unveils New OLED TVs A8F Models



Available in 55- and 65-inch sizes, the A8F OLEDs (AF8 in EU) have more traditional stands and orientations, and—unlike the A1E, which started at $3,000—might actually be affordable. I went eyes-on with the A8F at Sony's booth during CES, and these are my impressions.
About the Sony A8F series

Sony's A8F OLED TVs are available in two screen sizes:

• 55-inch (Sony XBR-55A8F), price not confirmed
• 65-inch (Sony XBR-65A8F), price not confirmed

Both A8F TVs deliver most of the same great specs as the higher-end A1E: 4K resolution, HDR, the Android TV smart platform, and—yes—the "acoustic surface" screen. They'll also use the same X1 Ultimate processor, so the major differences are almost entirely cosmetic, related to the A1E's leaning stand...



...While they of course have the usual slew of OLED picture quality advantages, Sony's approach to color management and sparkling HDR highlights looks really, really good. It's hard to capture on camera, but if you're at CES this year I recommend going and checking these TVs out...



...A lot of this may have to do with Sony's new processor, the "X1 Ultimate," which is upgraded from last year for handling video situations that might involve banding, contouring, or other picture-marring processing methods that plague even very high-end TVs like these during certain kinds of content. It's hard to definitively say that the A8F looks "better" than competing OLEDs, but the content on the show floor was striking nonetheless...

http://televisions.reviewed.com/content/sony-a8f-oled-tv-review-first-impressions

cool, these oled screens look so good even if it's captured off a camera and view on a computer screen.  these sony 2018 oled tvs might be more affordable than last year models.  very possible by the end of this year, especially during the week of thanksgiving and black friday, these oled tvs will have the biggest price drop and cost the lowest which make it more affordable for consumers.

Here is another news about these sony oleds:

Sony unveiled a wide range of new products — including cameras, cell phones (that can shoot video at 960 frames per second for super slow motion), and TVs based on a new technology — some of which will be available soon, some a year or so away. Of the former, Sony launched the A8F line with 55- and 65-inch OLED models. The new line differs from the current A1E range (which is still in production and available) by omitting the A1E’s easel style base in favor of a more conventional stand. The A8Fs also retain Sony’s unique sound on screen “Acoustic Surface” technology, and the removal of the heavy back brace on the A1Es brace means that the A8Fs can sit closer to the wall in a wall-mount situation. Prices and delivery dates are TBD.

Sony’s new proprietary video processor, the X1 Extreme, is a key feature in the newest Sony UltraHD TVs. Still in the lab is the even more advanced X1 Ultimate video processor (one wonders where the terminology can go when we move beyond Ultimate!). The X1 Ultimate can handle 8K processing at up to 10,000 nits peak output. Sony is actually demonstrating a stunning prototype of an 8K LCD design capable of this, and in a semi-darkened room I wondered if I should have brought my sun glasses!

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-brings-it

nice news.  like last year sony's oled, sony also retains the sound on screen which they called Acoustic Surface technology for this year's model.  Nice.

[Paul2]

Samsung's Galaxy X Foldable Smartphone May Have Appeared at CES

Samsung's highly hyped flagship foldable smartphone was reportedly demonstrated to select clients at a private meeting during CES.

The news come from the Korea Herald. "Samsung Display said it has developed a 7.3-inch foldable panel with plans to start production later this year," an industry source said.

A second source added, "Samsung attracted more clients to the private meeting compared to last year. The phone development seems to be almost finished, raising expectations for the phone launch."

Reports earlier this week said the phone might launch in December, with Samsung going on record saying that it's too early to talk about a release date.

Samsung is also said to demoed both infolding and outfolding phones during the meeting. Infolding phones reportedly had a curvature of 1R, while to outfolding prototypes implemented a curvature 5R.

The highest possible curvature is 1R - the amount of curvedness of a circle with a radius of 1mm. When folded, a foldable Smartphone looks like a sheet of paper leaving almost zero space between. As value of curvature goes down, a smartphone becomes thinner.

Although it is more difficult to implement a curvature in an
in-folding device, an both versions pose manufacturing difficulties when it comes to their design, which should withstand possible impacts from accidental drops.

Samsung Display has been working on the development of in-folding panels with a goal to make it durable enough even if it is folded and unfolded repeatedly for more than 200,000 times.

Since Apple is also preparing to release a foldable iPhone, a possible scenario would have Samsung Display as Apple's foldable panel supplier.

For now, you can surely expect new Samsung flagship phones from the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines to drop in 2018. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ should launch at some point in March followed by the Galaxy Note 9 six months later.

http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=64026

sounds cool.  Foldable screens for smartphones.  i suppose two 7.3" screens will equal 14.6" when they get unfolded.

[Paul2]

ATSC 3.0 Digital TV Standard Released

...Announced during CES, ATSC 3.0 is the first Internet Protocol-based broadcasting system. Like the existing ATSC 1.0, the standard governs digital television broadcast methods and protocols, but ATSC 3.0 takes a step further by incorporating broadband transmission as an IP-backchannel - in other words, ATSC 3.0 TVs and receiver devices can potentially have the capability to send and receive all types of content via the internet and over-the-air. The new standard also supports TV codec and standard enhancements including HEVC encoding for up to 4K at 120fps, wide color gamut, and support for Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H 3D immersive audio systems.

The key benefits of Next Gen TV, including richer, more lifelike colors and sharper detail, were demonstrated at CES, where 4K Ultra High-Definition TVs, displays and technology enhancements including high dynamic range, wide color gamut and higher frame rates were on full display...

...the ATSC 3.0 uses the existing wireless internet infrastructure and multi-device streaming approach, utilizing internet-style advanced cross-platform data collection to entice both consumers and advertisers.

ATSC 3.0 is also embracing the OFDM modulation method, which offers a more efficient LDPC forward error checking codes and has several modes from the 1Mb/s to the highest-capacity 57Mb/s.



Devices such as tablets and smartphones will be able to communicate with an ATSC 3.0 TV in order to present related, second-screen, or identical content as that on the primary device. A tablet could act as a mobile duplicated screen, launching suggested mobile applications, displaying different video angles of the main screen, or functioning as a remote control...

...The new standards suite also features tailored and location-based content and emergency alerts, designed to wake supported devices in "stand-by."

Have in mind that ATSC 3.0 is not backwards-compatible with contemporary ATSC 1.0 television sets and tuners, and simulcasting comparable ATSC 1.0 broadcasts may be discontinued by 2023. Given that products won't be out for a couple years, the minimum transition period from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0 could be rather short.

http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=64027

cool news.  so the latest digital over the air broadcast atsc 3 supports resolution and framerate of 4k120 max.  awesome.  ultra high detail of 4k and ultra smooth framerate of 120p.

Only thing that worry me about this new atsc 3 broadcast is that it might be dead on arrival.  by the time this atsc releases which might be as early as next year and the year after which is 2019 and 2020, we might start seeing the introduction of 8k tvs.  so this 4k120 atsc tuners might only get like a couple years or so of use before they announce 8k120 or maybe 10k120 digital broadcast tuners.

Say if they release 4ktv with atsc 3 tuners in 2020, in about 2 years later which is 2022, they might announce and introduce 8k120 or 10k120 atsc digital tuners.  but it probably won't get finalized until maybe 2025 and won't get release for another year or so which could be in 2026 or 2027.  That means, in just about 5 to 7 years of atsc 3 getting release, it might become obsolete as later atsc tuners get release with higher resolution and framerate.  That is fast.  This is much faster than the move from ntsc to atsc 1 broadcast which takes about 50 years.  Then the move from atsc 1 to atsc 3 which takes about 21 to 22 years, and now possibly atsc 3 to atsc 4 or 5 which might take as little as 5 to 7 years.  That's too fast.  Mine, how fast technology has evolved.  But again, this is all my speculation though.  i could be wrong.

[Paul2]

AV Gear With Certified HDMI 2.1 Not Likely This Year


The wait for TVs, AV receivers, sound bars and other CE products with High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) 2.1 connections will take a bit longer.

The final HDMI 2.1 standard was originally promised by the HDMI Forum to be available in the second quarter of 2017 but slipped to Nov. 28 because the Forum received more comments than expected from member companies during a comment period, said Forum president Robert Blanchard on Monday, the day before CES got underway.

Even though the standard has finally been nailed down, however, it will take more time for the HDMI Licensing Administrator (LA), which licenses HDMI technology, to develop all of the compliance-testing specifications that products must undergo to be certified as HDMI 2.1-compliant. In terms of text, the size of the spec doubled over its predecessor, so “there is a lot to test,” said Forum chairman Chris Pasqualino.

HDMI LA hopes to publish initial test specifications in the second quarter of this year and roll out the rest in phases through the third or fourth quarters, Forum executives said. That means certified products aren’t likely to be on the market this year, and the executives were reluctant to speculate on when certified products would be available.

Still, some CE products could be available later this year with a smattering of 2.1 features, even though those features won’t have undergone certification testing, Blanchard said. In fact, some 2.1 features, such as eARC (enhanced audio return channel), could be added to some current products as firmware updates, he said. Marantz and Denon, for example, already plan to add eARC firmware updates to some of their current AVRs at an unspecified date.

So what are we waiting for?

HDMI 2.1 boosts data throughput to 48Gbps from 18Gbps to support 8K video for TVs, 5K and 10K video for ultrawide-format commercial displays and ultrawide consumer TVs, higher frame rates to 120fps at resolutions from 4K to 10K, and native support for potential future active-metadata HDR technologies other than Dolby Vision and HDR 10+.

HDMI 2.1’s eARC feature will widen the bandwidth of the audio return channel to 38Mbps from 1Mbps, leaving ample room for bandwidth-intensive audio formats to pass from a smart TV’s streaming services or TV-connected 4K Blu-ray player to HDMI-equipped AV receivers and sound bars. The eARC feature would therefore transfers audio in such bandwidth-intensive surround-sound formats as Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio and audio with up to eight channels of 192kHz/24-bit sound.

New 48Gbps Ultra High Speed HDMI cables will be needed to pass through 8K and 10K resolutions and 5K resolutions at 48fps and up. Some 4K video will also need the extra bandwidth, such as 4K video at 48fps with 12-bit color depth and 4:4:4 chroma.

Ultra High Speed HDMI cables supporting HDMI 2.1 will be backward-compatible with ports incorporating earlier versions of HDMI...

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/av-gear-certified-hdmi-21-not-likely-year

i know its been 12 days since CES 2018 ended, but i gotten tired and lazy that i didn't read some of the news regarding ces 2018 that i didn't update them here until now.

Anyway, according to the link above, it probably means that AV gears with hdmi 2.1 connectors such as tvs and av receivers won't come out this year but probably next year since more testing needed to be done.  so tvs with 4k120 and 12 bit 4:4:4 sampling will have to wait for another year which is not a bad thing since my middle brother just bought a pretty cheap 55" 4k led-lcd last year on the week of black friday to replace the broken one.  my oldest brother probably got drug up and broke the older 55" 2k tv in the living room last May and we have to wait till black friday which is 6 months later to buy a new tv since usually black fridays sell tvs the cheapest and soonest too.

i was planning on getting the lower end model of 55" OLED from LG which cost $1,500 last year on the week of black friday which is cheapest yet and my middle brother worried spending that much money might be wasted if my oldest brother breaks the tv again in the nearby future.  i agreed with my middle brother, so we decided to get the much cheaper $500 55" LED-LCD from LG instead.  Reading news that tv with hdmi 2.1 won't come out until next year mean we won't likely upgrade the tv this year on the week of black friday but probably on the week of black friday of 2019 which is nearly 2 years from now.

I am guessing the lower end model of 55" OLED from LG for this year model might cost as low as $1,000 on this year's black friday but it will only be in 4k60 max.  My guess is next year black friday, we might see 4k120 for 55" OLED lower end model from LG but cost $1,000 but accept and display native 120 fps sources and i might plan on upgrading to oled tv that year.

[Paul2]

Changhong OLED TVs



Changhong had a wide assortment of sets, including a surprising range of OLEDs. This one, in particular, had a familiar ring to it, with its slightly back-sloped, tilted stand and an audio system that used the screen as the main radiating surface—a design they call (ahem) Acoustic Surface. The title cards on all of Changhong’s OLEDs also stated that they use local dimming. Technically this is true if you consider that each pixel is self-illuminating and is controlled individually as its own “zone.” But the term local dimming is generally used only to describe the backlighting used on some LCD designs. Obviously there were no prices available as that’s determined by the specific market.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/changhong-oleds

i think this changhong brand oled tvs aren't available in america but in other countries like possibly in asia and europe so i thought might as well posted it here.  the cool thing is that this display is oled and possibly cheaper than lg and sony oled but the picture quality might not be as good as lg and sony though like peak brightness for hdr might not be as bright, color isn't as good, and overall video processing isn't as good as lg and sony.

i think this changhong copied sony idea of implementing the speakers behind the screen of the oled tv which means the sound comes out through the screen.  its cute and interesting though that they copied that.

[Paul2]

Sony's Previews Stunning X1 Ultimate Video Processing - 10,000 Nits of Brightness For HDR



Sony’s premier video processor for 2018 may be the X1 Extreme, but there’s something even better in Sony’s lab. Dubbed the X1 Ultimate, we’re unlikely to see it in this year’s Sony’s sets. The folks in the white coats are working to make certain it can live up to its promises.

But that didn’t keep Sony from using the X1 Ultimate in several convincing CES demos of possible future designs. The most incredible of these was this 8K LCD-LED model, claimed to be capable of a peak output of 10,000 nits. That’s not a typo. Why might we want such brightness when todays HDR sources don’t exceed 4000 nits at best (most peak out at 1000 nits). At a peak output capability of 10,000 nits, the set needn’t do any tone mapping. It won’t clip any known source and will reproduce HDR source material in full luminance, with the full color saturation demanded by the material.

Always remember, however, that screen shots such as this one can in no way come close to conveying the pictures seen on the screen of a video display.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-goes-ultimate

wow, its interesting that sony is working on a processor that can output 10,000 nits of brightness for hdr.  that is 10 times brighter than what most oled tvs and some current led-lcd tvs can do.

i doubt oleds can get that bright, but lcds can like led-lcds, but led-lcds have bad viewing angle problem and black level isn't as perfect as oleds but lcds like led-lcds can go much brighter than oleds can though.  or best, micro-led tvs which is true led displays and each pixel is self emitting (three leds RGB per pixel) which have the perfect black level and viewing angle of oleds but the brightness of leds tv which in the nearby future can go as bright as 10,000 nits for hdr.  awesome!

But the main drawbacks for micro-leds beside the price is that the leds aren't small enough yet to fit 4k resolution on say like a 65" display.  i just recently read that is why they display 146" 4k micro-leds but not 8k for the 146" because the micro leds couldn't be made like 4 times smaller to fit 8k resolution pixels on this 146" tv yet.  So that means they probably couldn't fit 4k resolution pixels on screen smaller than 146" yet like say 120" or 100" or much smaller 65" for that matter.  They probably could in the nearby future though.

So in the future we will have two best types of display, oleds and micro leds.  both have their pros and cons though like oleds couldn't go as bright as leds can but can be made in much smaller sizes and can be bend and fold probably better than leds can i think.  oleds probably have a bit lesser motion blur than leds but not by much and since oleds have been out for about 5 years already, it should cost much cheaper than micro leds.

While micro leds can go much brighter than oleds, as much as 10 times brighter such as 10,000 nits of brightness compare to 1,000 nits and leds have no screen burn-in problem that oleds might have though if not taking with care.

So its so cool to see 2 type of displays with perfect black level and perfect viewing angle which are oleds and micro leds.

oh btw, just to clarify, the picture display of the tv screen above is actually a picture of an led-lcd, not micro led though.  just to be clear.

[Paul2]

https://hometheaterhifi.com/features/show-reports-film-festivals-concerts/ces-2018-show-report-day-1/

This year CES will not be complete without any LG OLEDs being mentioned for the wrap up.  Here are some pictures of LG 2018 OLED TVs.  Not much is being announced about lg 2018 oled tv models except that is have smarter AI (artificial intelligent) such as A9 for the higher end models and A7 for the lower end models.  I hope by the end of this year, especially during the week of black friday, the lowest end model of 55" B8 OLED TV from LG gets a price drop down to $1,000 which should makes it even more affordable for consumers.