Intel's next-generation Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture is expected to introduce a significant update to the display engine over the current Xe "Alchemist." The display engine handles the various display I/O of the GPU. For most users with a single display that's running at or under 4K @ 60 Hz, this is irrelevant, however, as your resolution, refresh-rates, color bit-depth, and dynamic-range go up, some of the newer display connector formats become relevant. Intel beat both NVIDIA and AMD to be the first GPU maker to implement DisplayPort 2.1 albeit with a UHBR10 link layer (which is needed for DP 2.1). The DP 2.1 spec prescribes certain optional higher link layer bit-rates, such as UHBR13.5 and UHBR20. AMD was the first to implement UHBR13.5 and UHBR20 with the Radiance display engine in its RDNA 3 GPUs, and we're learning that Intel wants to catch up.

Driver patch notes unearthed by Phoronix find references to Arc "Battlemage" GPUs supporting UHBR13.5. These drivers are believed to have previously supported UHBR20, but support for the higher bit-rate was removed from the current version of drivers. It indicates that Intel is still evaluating the higher bit-rates on its unreleased GPUs, and production-ready versions could implement at least UHBR13.5. DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR13.5 (13.5 Gbps per lane), over a DP80-ready DisplayPort cable yields a maximum resolution of uncompressed 8K @ 60 Hz with HDR, or 4K @ 240 Hz with HDR. Intel is expected to debut "Battlemage" with its Core Ultra 200-series "Lunar Lake" mobile processors, later this year.

Sony is preparing to launch its next-generation PlayStation 5 Pro console in the Fall of 2024, right around the holidays. We previously covered a few graphics details about the console. However, today, we get more details about the CPU and the overall system, thanks to the exclusive information from Insider Gaming. Starting off, the sources indicate that PS5 Pro system memory will get a 28% bump in bandwidth, where the standard PS5 console had 448 GB/s, and the upgraded PS5 Pro will get 576 GB/s. Apparently, the memory system is more efficient, likely coming from an upgrade in memory from the GDDR6 SDRAM of the regular PS5. The next upgrade is the CPU, which has special modes for the main processor. The CPU uArch is likely the same, with clocks pushed to 3.85 GHz, resulting in a 10% frequency increase.

However, this is only achieved in the "High CPU Frequency Mode," which steals the SoC's power from the GPU and downclocks it slightly to allocate more power to the CPU in highly CPU-intense settings. The GPU we discussed here is an RDNA 3 IP with up to 45% faster graphics rendering. The ray tracing performance can be up to four times higher than the regular PS5, while the entire GPU delivers 33.5 TeraFLOPS of FP32 single-precision computing. This comes from 30 WGP running BVH8 shaders vs the 18 WGPs running BVH4 shaders on the regular PS5. There are PSSR upscalers present, and the GPU can output 8K resolution, which will come with future software updates. Last but not least, the AI front also has a custom AI accelerator capable of 300 8-bit INT8 TOPS and 67 16-bit FP16 TeraFLOPS. Audio codecs are getting some love, as well, with ACV running up to 35% faster.

Elgato, a brand of CORSAIR, today announced the launch of two new capture cards, 4K X and 4K Pro. Equipped with the latest chipsets and outstanding specifications, these capture cards enable creators to give their audiences the best viewing experiences on all platforms—without compromising their top-tier gaming experience on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, high-end gaming PCs, or handheld consoles like Nintendo Switch. 4K X, a USB card, features up to 4K144 passthrough and capture. 4K Pro, a PCIe card, boasts up to 8K60 HDR10 passthrough and 4K60 HDR10 capture. Setting yet another benchmark in streaming technology, Elgato is again putting gamers at the cutting edge of content creation.

"Over 10 years ago, we revolutionized the process of capturing and sharing high-quality gameplay content for creators worldwide," said Julian Fest, SVP and GM of Elgato. "Today, we're excited to continue removing barriers for creators with the launch of 4K X and 4K Pro. Combining HDMI 2.1 connectivity, vivid HDR10, and flexible VRR passthrough up to 8K60 for the first time in a game capture card, these products will take user-generated content to greater heights."

Chinese consumer electronics giant Hisense showcased its latest audio-visual innovations at the 2024 CES show in Las Vegas this week. The company unveiled massive, ultra-high-end televisions as well as advances in its Laser TV lineup. Headlining Hisense's CES showcase was the 110UX, a 110-inch television with 40,000 backlighting zones and a searing 10,000 nits peak brightness. With unmatched contrast and brightness, Hisense calls it one of the most impressive 100+ inch TVs ever made. Also on display was the 98UX, a 98-inch set capable of 144 Hz refresh rates alongside over 10,000 local dimming zones. Beyond these flagship models, Hisense also introduced its thinnest Mini LED TV to date - the 75UX. At just 14 millimeters thin, Hisense claims it sets a new industry benchmark for slim design without compromising picture quality.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced that it has published the latest update to DisplayPort, version 2.1a. This update replaces the VESA certified DP40 ultra-high-bit-rate (UHBR) cable specification with a new VESA certified DP54 UHBR cable spec to enable up to four-lane UHBR13.5 link rate support (a maximum throughput of 54 Gbps) over a two-meter passive cable. As a result, the DisplayPort 2.1a update effectively doubles the passive cable length for UHBR13.5 GPU-to-display connections—which previously could only be supported through a DP80 UHBR cable—providing consumers with greater flexibility in their gaming or workstation setup.

VESA also announces it has published a new Automotive Extension Services protocol specification for both DisplayPort 2.1a and the latest version of VESA's Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) specification, version 1.5a. This new protocol extension provides support for automotive display functional safety as well as secure integrity and authentication for up to 16 display regions of interest. With the VESA Automotive Extension Services protocol, VESA has for the first time established a standard for vehicle displays that can enable display safety engineers to achieve ISO 26262 ASIL-D* - the holy grail of electronic safety integrity. Silicon manufacturers are already adopting VESA's Automotive Extension Services protocol today for chipsets that will be integrated in future vehicles.

Kensington, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals, today announced the launch of the SD5800T Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 Quad Video Docking Station. The powerful plug-and-play docking station supports up to four 4K monitors, delivers data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps, provides up to 100 W of power delivery, and features 16 connectivity ports enabling users to release the potential of their premium laptops.

Providing a true plug-and-play experience with no drivers or downloads required, the SD5800T is one of the first Thunderbolt 4 docks capable of supporting Quad 4K displays, and is compatible with Windows and macOS, as well as Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4, and USB-C devices. Ideal for graphic designers, video editors, and animators, the 16-in-1 design includes built-in UHS-II SD and Micro SD card readers for the efficient transfer of files at ultra-fast speeds.

Baseus Technology, the leading global consumer electronics brand, has prepared a stack of fast-charging USB-C chargers, the "Let's C" lineup. It includes fast chargers, power banks, charging cables, digital power strips, and car chargers for the iPhone 15.

Fast, Durable, and Sustainable Let's C Cables
Baseus Let's C Flash Series II, the USB-C to C Cable is a full-featured cord that supports up to 240 W fast charging and a data transfer speed of up to 40 Gbps, which is perfect for moving ProRes files shot with the new iPhone 15 Pro lineup. It was tested only to take 5s to transfer 10 GB files according to test results from Baseus, and it also supports a high-resolution output going up to 8K@60 Hz. This level would fascinate even videophiles.

Cable Matters, an industry-leading connectivity solutions supplier, today unveiled a unique USB-C Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM) switch dock for two computers. The Cable Matters USB-C KVM Switch Dock lets two devices share a single keyboard and mouse, charger, peripherals, and two ultra high-definition displays over a single USB-C connection. It combines the performance of a USB-C dock, which offers a one-cable connectivity solution, with the flexibility of a USB-C switch, which shares peripherals between multiple devices.

The KVM Switch Dock will revolutionize the work-from-home experience, which is plagued by two common connectivity challenges. Many business-class laptops lack essential display or peripheral ports. Remote workers sharing a workspace with their business and personal devices struggle for space or constantly hot-swap work and personal laptops between shared USB peripherals and monitors.

THX Ltd., a world-class high-fidelity audio and video tuning, certification, and technology company, today announced it is launching THX Interconnect, designed in partnership with Pixelgen. THX Interconnect are a family of Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cables capable of delivering 100% uncompressed 48 Gbps signaling to optimize the fidelity and reliability of nearly any sized or configured home theater system. THX is also relaunching its popular home theater installer THX Certified Training series. Both will be highlighted in early September in Denver, Colorado at the CEDIA Expo.

"The THX mission is to empower high-fidelity entertainment, regardless of where and how consumers want to enjoy movies, music and games," said Jason Fiber, chief executive officer, THX Ltd. "The THX Interconnect cables ensure all home theater components work in harmony at the highest resolutions, regardless of the length. We are pleased to bring home theater enthusiasts around the globe this cost-effective and incredibly reliable new solution. We also look forward to reintroducing the THX Certified Training program which has been dormant for a few years but is back due to overwhelming demand from the home theater installation industry."

World-renowned mobile accessory brand Spigen announced its newest series to their charging power accessory lineup: Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 and Spigen ArcDock Multi Hub 8-in-1.

Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 has 2 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, 1 HDMI and 1 ethernet port. Compatible with USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, each USB-C and USB-A port is faster than USB 3.0, with a 10 Gbps data transfer speed. Also, the HDMI port of the Spigen ArcDock Pro Multi Hub 6-in-1 supports up to 8K@60 Hz. Lastly, with pass-through charging, it provides USB PD 85 W charging power.

KVM switches are either one of those things you need or you don't have much use for, however Sabrent has launched a new Thunderbolt 4 based KVM switch that differs from your average KVM switch in a few ways. As any KVM switch, it allows two computers to share peripherals and displays, but it also supports up to 60 Watt USB PD charging of laptops. The latter is something Sabrent has offered on its USB-C KVM switches, but this time around the power adapter for the KVM switch handles both devices, unlike its USB-C KVM switches which required a USB-C PD charger per device, with the power being passed through the KVM switch.

The Thunderbolt 4 KVM switch lacks any traditional display outputs, relying entirely on Thunderbolt 4 for display connectivity, although DP Alt mode over USB-C is supported and each output supports up to 8K 60 Hz output with DSC 1.2 or 5K 60 Hz without DSC. The KVM switch supports three Thunderbolt 4 devices, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A devices and two inputs via Thunderbolt 4, with all USB ports supporting data speeds of up to 10 Gbps. It also comes with a switch button, which means you can hide the KVM switch out of sight and still have easy access to switch between devices. Sabrent is asking for US$299 for its Thunderbolt KVM switch, which is a steep premium over its USB-C KVM switch which is currently selling for US$119.99.

Apple today announced M2 Ultra, a new system on a chip (SoC) that delivers huge performance increases to the Mac and completes the M2 family. M2 Ultra is the largest and most capable chip Apple has ever created, and it makes the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro the most powerful Mac desktops ever made. M2 Ultra is built using a second-generation 5-nanometer process and uses Apple's groundbreaking UltraFusion technology to connect the die of two M2 Max chips, doubling the performance. M2 Ultra consists of 134 billion transistors—20 billion more than M1 Ultra. Its unified memory architecture supports up to a breakthrough 192 GB of memory capacity, which is 50 percent more than M1 Ultra, and features 800 GB/s of memory bandwidth—twice that of M2 Max. M2 Ultra features a more powerful CPU that's 20 percent faster than M1 Ultra, a larger GPU that's up to 30 percent faster, and a Neural Engine that's up to 40 percent faster. It also features a media engine with twice the capabilities of M2 Max for blazing ProRes acceleration. With all these advancements, M2 Ultra takes Mac performance to a whole new level yet again.

"M2 Ultra delivers astonishing performance and capabilities for our pro users' most demanding workflows, while maintaining Apple silicon's industry-leading power efficiency," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "With huge performance gains in the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, combined with massive memory bandwidth in a single SoC, M2 Ultra is the world's most powerful chip ever created for a personal computer."

ASRock, a global leader in motherboards, graphics cards, monitors, and small form factor PCs, is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming COMPUTEX Taipei 2023 after years of anticipation. ASRock will showcase a range of breathtaking innovative products and highly anticipated technology demonstrations. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore the ASRock latest products and solutions firsthand; also, get the immersive gaming experience at ASRock booth.

Unveiling the Next-Gen ASRock Monitors
ASRock is set to showcase an exciting lineup of monitors at COMPUTEX 2023, featuring six existing products along with new gaming and business models. The spotlight will be on the PG558KF and PG32UMF, two high-end monitors.

CL CSOT, a company focused on developing new technologies and innovations in the display industry, today unveiled over 30 of its latest products and advanced technologies, including more than ten firsts in the world, at Display Week 2023 organized by the Society for Information Display (SID), held from May 21 to 26 in Los Angeles, California.

Guided by the vision of "Display A Better Future For All", TCL CSOT showcases its expertise and capacity in providing complete display technology solutions across a range of sizes, categories, and forms - spanning IJP OLED, Mini LED, Micro LED, medical displays, vehicle-mounted displays, light field displays, as well as consumer electronics displays. Among them, six core exhibits include:

Imagination Technologies is bringing seamless visual experiences to cost-sensitive consumer devices with the new IMG CXM GPU range which includes the smallest GPU to support HDR user interfaces natively.

Consumers are looking for visuals on their smart home platforms that are as detailed, smooth, and responsive as the experience they are accustomed to on mobile devices. At the same time, ambitious content providers are aligning the look and feel of their applications' user interfaces with their cinematic content, by integrating advanced features such as 4K and HDR.

TPU doesn't normally cover TVs, but at Touch Taiwan had a new gaming focused TV panel that might very well end up in some very high-end gaming "monitors" as well. The panel is a 65-inch model that supports 7680 x 4320 resolution at up to 120 Hz. However, the high-end specs don't stop there, as the panel has a 4,608 zone full array local dimming backlight, which gives it a typical brightness of 400 cd/m², but it can go up to 1,800 cd/m² at 10 percent areas in HDR mode.

As with the 4K display panel we wrote about earlier, this TB panel also features AUO's A.R.T. "reflectionless" feature, which should prevent it from being overly reflective in brightly lit areas. The demo panel was powered by MediaTek's Pentonic 2000 SoC, which is currently one of the highest-end 8K TV processors and potentially the only one with support for H.266 video decoding. Sadly we don't have any indication on which TV manufacturers will use the new display, but regardless of the brand, we expect the retail products to be very expensive.

AMD today announced the AMD Alveo MA35D media accelerator featuring two 5 nm, ASIC-based video processing units (VPUs) supporting the AV1 compression standard and purpose-built to power a new era of live interactive streaming services at scale. With over 70% of the global video market being dominated by live content, a new class of low-latency, high-volume interactive streaming applications are emerging such as watch parties, live shopping, online auctions, and social streaming.

The Alveo MA35D media accelerator delivers the high channel density, with up to 32x 1080p60 streams per card, power efficiency and ultra-low-latency performance critical to reducing the skyrocketing infrastructure costs now required for scaling such compute intensive content delivery. Compared to the previous generation Alveo U30 media accelerator, the Alveo MA35D delivers up to 4x higher channel density, 4x max lower latency in 4K and 1.8x greater compression efficiency to achieve the same VMAF score—a common video quality metric.

To date, there's something of a shortage of actual USB4 devices on the market and to date it appears that VLI with its VL830 endpoint device controller is leading the market. Although we can't be certain that Anker's new 568 USB4 Type-C hub uses the VL830, the VLI chip has appeared in almost all similar devices on the market and the specs suggest it's built around the VL830. The Anker 568 supports a single USB4 input, fortunately it doesn't rely on a captive cable as it has a standard USB-C port as the input. Thanks to a 180 W power input via a 20 V 9 A power brick, it can charge laptops up to 100 W via the USB-C port.

Outputs consist of one HDMI port capable of 4K 60p output and a pair of DisplayPort outputs, both capable of 8K 30p individually or 4K 60p when both are used. There's also a Gigabit Ethernet port, four 5 Gbps USB-A ports and two USB 2.0 ports around the rear of the dock. The front houses a pair of 10 Gbps capable USB-C ports that can also deliver up to 30 W of power for charging various portable electronics. The MSRP for the Anker 568 is US$299.99.

Samsung Electronics today unveiled the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23, marking a new era of Samsung Galaxy's ultimate premium phone experience. Samsung Galaxy's epic camera gives users more freedom to explore their creativity, like capturing truly cinematic Nightography videos with transformative AI. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy unleashes premium experiences, including groundbreaking AI, future-ready mobile gaming feature and powerfully sustained game play with the world's fastest mobile graphics. On the Galaxy S23 Ultra, an embedded S Pen that many long-time Samsung Galaxy users know and love offers more possibilities for productivity, notetaking, hobbies and more. All the Galaxy S23 series' new standard-setting innovations are housed within a striking design that advances the company's sustainability commitment with more components made using recycled materials than any other Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

"The value of impactful technology is measured, not just by what it enables for people today, but also how it contributes to a better future," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "The entire Galaxy S23 series is the new standard-bearer of trustworthy premium smartphone experiences. We're on a mission to redefine peak performance by bringing together powerful, lasting innovations and sustainability."

Lexar at the 2023 International CES showed off the Fly series of microSDXC cards optimized for small camera drone applications. These cards come with a wider temperature-range, are optimized for low power, and meet SD V30 class (at least 30 MB/s of stable write speeds), making them capable of 4K UHD @ 30 Hz video recording. The Play series of microSDXC cards are optimized for high read performance, and targets handheld game consoles, offering up to 150 MB/s reads, and capacities of up to 1 TB. The cards come in sizes of 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. Elsewhere in the Lexar booth, we come across their fastest CFexpress cards for DLSRs and high-performance video cameras.

The new Lexar Professional series CFexpress type-A cards come in capacities of up to 320 GB, with transfer rates of up to 900 MB/s and 400 MB/s guaranteed write-speeds. The larger CFexpress type-B cards can be as large as 2 TB in size, with transfer-speeds of up to 1900 MB/s and 400 MB/s guaranteed writes (the 400 MB/s figure is an arbitrary industry standard to ensure a particular format of video recording doesn't run into media-write errors). The more premium Lexar Professional Gold series are being targeted at 8K RAW video recording rigs (the latest crop of ARRI and Red cameras), supporting XQD, 1900 MB/s max reads, and 1500 MB/s max writes. Both the type-A and type-B formats come in capacities of up to 2 TB.

During the Snapdragon Summit 2022, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. introduced its latest premium mobile platform, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform will define a new standard for connected computing, intelligently engineered with groundbreaking AI across the board to enable extraordinary experiences. This new mobile platform will be adopted by global OEMs and brands including ASUS Republic of Gamers, HONOR, iQOO, Motorola, nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, REDMAGIC, Redmi, SHARP, Sony Corporation, vivo, Xiaomi, XINGJI/MEIZU, and ZTE, with the first commercial devices expected by the end of 2022.

"We are passionate about enabling people to do more, so we design Snapdragon with the user at the center. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, will revolutionize the landscape of flagship smartphones in 2023," said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile handsets, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 delivers groundbreaking AI, unparalleled connectivity, and champion-level gameplay, enabling consumers to enhance every experience on their most trusted device."

Aetina has launched new embedded MXM GPU modules powered by the NVIDIA RTX family, including RTX A1000, RTX A2000, and RTX A4500. These NVIDIA Ampere architecture-based MXM GPU modules, providing superb performance and power efficiency, are suitable for various types of computer vision applications across different industries such as commercial gaming, aerospace, healthcare, and manufacturing.

The model names of the new Aetina MXM GPU modules powered by NVIDIA RTX A1000, NVIDIA RTX A2000, and NVIDIA RTX A4500 are M3A1000-PP, M3A2000-VY, and M3A4500-WP, respectively. These models support CUDA Compute version 8.6, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.2, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Shader Model 7.0, as well as Windows 10/11 64-bit and Linux 64-bit operating systems. For display and output, M3A1000-PP, M3A2000-VY, and M3A4500-WP all support up to 4x DisplayPort (DP) and 8K (7680 × 4320) resolution.

VIVIFY, a leading brand of premium fiber optic cables unveils the XENOS W35, an ultra high-bandwidth, super slim (up to 3.5 mm thick) and flexible 8K HDMI active fiber optic cable. The XENOS W35 is designed with a premium aluminium casing in silver and black to match your devices. It weighs only a quarter of copper cables and does not require any additional power source.

VIVIFY's design enables speeds of 48 Gbps, for up to 15ft/5M in length without the need for an additional USB power dongle. The W35 is also certified to withstand a crushing force of 450kgf, and is resistant to high temperatures up to 85˚C and 90% humidity levels. All this on top of the advantages of active fiber optic cables of being lighter, flexible, and more durable, fiber optic offers a more stable lossless signal, unaffected by electromagnetic interferences (EMI).

AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 7000 series of graphics cards based on the RDNA 3 architecture are supposed to feature next-generation protocols all over the board. Today, according to a patch committed to the Linux kernel, we have information about display output choices AMD will present to consumers in the upcoming products. According to a Twitter user @Kepler_L2, who discovered this patch, we know that AMD will bundle DisplayPort 2.0 technology with UHBR 20 transmission mode. The UHBR 20 standard can provide a maximum of 80 Gbps bi-directional bandwidth, representing the highest bandwidth in a display output connector currently available. With this technology, a sample RDNA 3 GPU could display 16K resolution with Display Stream Compression, 10K without compression, or two 8K HDR screens running at 120 Hz refresh rate. All of this will be handled by Display Controller Next (DCN) engine for media.

The availability of DisplayPort 2.0 capable monitors is a story of its own. VESA noted that they should come at the end of 2021; however, they got delayed due to the lack of devices supporting this output. Having AMD's RDNA 3 cards as the newest product to support these monitors, we would likely see the market adapt to demand and few available products as the transition to the latest standard is in the process.

Club 3D is proud to present to you the next important step in USB-C technology. Less than a year after the official launch of the new USB Type-C Cable and Connector Specification Revision 2.1 and USB Power Delivery Specification 3.1, we can introduce the first 3 cables following the new standards.

The above just means: With our new cables it is possible to charge with up to 240 W, made possible by the Extended Power Range (EPR), which offers now up to 48 V voltage supply at a remaining 5 A. This is a huge step forward and will help f.e. to charge power hungry gaming notebooks and other devices who were suffering from the limitation of 100 W on previous standard.