Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, the number one worldwide brand of LCD display products, today announced the launch of its latest premium LED monitor, the 23 inch Samsung Syncmaster PX2370. The PX2370 will be available in April from Samsung resellers at a price of $369, giving customers outstanding performance combined with sleek, attractive design and energy-efficient technology.

"With its slim 18mm depth and eco-sensitive design, the PX2370 leads the way with the smallest footprint possible, both on the desktop and the environment," said Young Bae, director Display Marketing, Samsung Information Technology Division. "Consumers no longer have to choose between a high-performance, feature-laden product and green technology."

LaCie today unveiled LaCinema Mini HD, the all-in-one WiFi High Definition media center. Its amazingly small and stylish design packs a big punch, bringing your HD movies, photos and music collections to your widescreen TV in full 1080p resolution.

LaCinema Mini HD bridges the gap between the computer and entertainment worlds in full HD quality. Featuring built-in high-speed 802.11n WiFi, LaCinema Mini HD brings a DLNA media player and server to your home without wires.

Transferring content to the LaCinema Mini HD is easy through the bus-powered USB connection for maximum transfer speeds, or by connecting the drive to a home network. Users can conveniently load files wirelessly from their computer or via the Ethernet connection.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P820, the first Pico-ITX form factor board to feature the high performance, 64-bit VIA Nano processor, bringing industry-leading digital multimedia performance and virtualization capabilities to the smallest of spaces with the VIA AMOS-3001 chassis system.

The choice of VIA Nano processor means that the VIA EPIA-P820 offers a range of advantages over competitor offerings, including full 64-bit software support, a high-performance superscalar architecture and full support of the latest virtualization technologies for next generation server and virtual machine applications. Paired with the VIA VX855 media system processor, the VIA EPIA-P820 is well equipped to handle smooth playback of the most demanding codecs at resolutions up to 1080p.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual display products, today expanded its growing line of green product offerings with two new Energy Star 5.0 compliant monitors - the VX1932wm-LED and VA705b - to enhance its range of eco-friendly solutions for businesses and consumers.

"We take the environment seriously and make great efforts to develop products that offer the latest in high-quality display technology and efficiency," said Jeff Volpe, vice president and general manager of ViewSonic Americas. "We are proud to announce that our new VX1932wm-LED and VA705b LCD monitors meet the stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements, helping to save our customers money on both monthly electricity bills and on product replacement costs."

LaCie today introduced the most complete HD multimedia hard drive player, combining Full HD 1080p playback, unsurpassed format compatibility and DLNA media server functionality - LaCinema Classic HD, design by Neil Poulton. Users can browse, play and share HD media collections from anywhere in the home, directly on HDTV.

The LaCinema Classic HD offers a timeless and sleek design making it a great addition to any TV setup. Providing the widest media format compatibility, LaCinema Classic HD will play all your files without concern - from the most popular DivX format to high-quality MKV H.264 video format via its HDMI 1.3 connection. Uncompromising support for Dolby Digital audio quality enhances the LaCinema Classic HD, as well as your entertainment viewing experience.

"ZOTAC is the leader when it comes to performing mini-ITX platforms. With the addition the new ZOTAC ION ITX Synergy Editions, we have the largest line up of high-performance mini-ITX motherboards with over a dozen different models," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "We see the demand for small form factors increasing and the future of computing will be mini-ITX platforms."

The new ZOTAC ION ITX Synergy Editions bring a full high-performance experience and features that has won the ZOTAC ION ITX platforms many awards, including the NVIDIA ION graphics processor with NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology for full HD 1080p Blu-ray video playback and high-performance video processing and editing capabilities with NVIDIA CUDA technology.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms,　today announced the VIA EPIA-P720 Pico-ITX board, which takes advantage of the latest VIA VX855 media system processor to deliver stunningly smooth playback of the latest HD video formats for next-generation digital interactive devices.

"VIA continually strives to offer customers compelling product designs that open up new worlds of possibility," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc.　"The VIA EPIA-P720 enables a new class of extremely compact embedded devices that can comfortably handle the most demanding video playback whilst remaining entirely fanless. No other compact platform currently offers these features in tandem."

ASUS today unveiled the brand new ultra-slim Designo MS Series LCD monitors MS246/ 236/ 227/ 226/ 202 to astound users with a perfect combination of exceptional style and picture quality. The design concept behind the Designo MS Series is inspired by the binary state, incorporating a series of contrasting elements like the numbers 1 and 0, straight lines and circles, and black and white into an ultra-slim monitor with a 16.5mm profile. The unique spherical ring stand features Ergo-Fit Technology that lets users adjust the monitor's tilt angle with just one finger. The Designo MS Series' ergonomic design puts the screen at eye level for a comfortable and productive dual screen computing experience when deployed as a notebook's supplementary monitor. It further astounds with its crisp visuals in Full HD 1080p, 50,000:1 contrast ratio, 2ms response time and ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology, along with an extra 40% in power savings. Amazing visuals in a head-turning package-it is simply as good as it gets.

ASUS today unveiled the TV Monitor T1 Series that combines the best in desktop monitor and LCD TV technology to deliver HD TV broadcasting and Full HD Blu-ray Disc playback for the ultimate entertainment and work experience. Featuring inbuilt TV tuners, these large screen monitors-available in 22", 24" and 27" sizes-allow users to watch digital (DVB-T) and analog (PAL/SECAM) channels and enjoy all common TV functions in Europe. The T1 Series also boasts surround sound with a pair of 7-Watt speakers, a rich complement of I/O ports catering to various connectivity needs and ASUS' exclusive Splendid Video Intelligence Technology for spectacular color reproduction.

LaCie announced an economic way to add media player functionality to existing storage devices. LaCinema Classic Bridge enables users to leverage the investments already made on internal and external storage solutions, and turn them into dynamic multimedia devices. Simply connect the Classic Bridge to a desired TV, add a storage device, and play libraries of movies, music, and photos in flawless 1080p HD resolution.

The attractive and compact LaCinema Classic Bridge fits seamlessly into entertainment centers, and enables two options for adding storage. Option one allows users to connect an external USB drive to the front of the device for easy access to their multimedia content. Option two allows users to easily insert an internal hard disk directly into the device for a clean, fully integrated set-up, just like the LaCinema Classic. Users may also choose to implement both options for expanded capacity.

HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification, today announced the features that will be incorporated in the upcoming HDMI 1.4 specification. This latest version of the HDMI specification will, among other advancements, offer networking capabilities with Ethernet connectivity and will add an Audio Return Channel to enable upstream audio connections via the HDMI cable. The HDMI specification 1.4 will be available for download on the HDMI LLC website no later than June 30, 2009.

HP added two more netbooks to its growing lineup, the Mini 1101 and Mini 110. The latter has two variants: Mini 110 XP and Mini 110 Mi. Both these models feature 10.1 inch LED screens. Users can choose between Atom N270 and N280, with as much as 1 GB of memory, 160 GB HDD, and Intel GMA 950 graphics.

The Mini 110 XP offers a few exclusive features. Users can opt for a 32 GB SSD and WLAN. It comes with Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator, that provides smooth playback of HD video at resolutions of 1080p. It comes with Windows XP Home SP3 pre-installed. The Mini 110 Mi is physically identical, except for that it comes with a popular Linux distribution pre-installed, and allows users to opt for a 250 GB HDD or 2 GB of system memory. The Mini 1101 will retail in June with a base price of US $329. The Mini 110 Mi, with Linux, will be priced significantly lower, at $279.

Acer's Aspire One is the world's leading brand of netbooks, and the company is building on the lineup with more, premium variants. The chassis of the Aspire One 571 resembles that of the D150 series. Under the hood are some interesting components: Intel Atom N280 clocked at 1.66 GHz, aided by Intel's homegrown chipset. The 10.5-inch screen provides a resolution of 1280x720 pixels (HD 720p), and the netbook boasts of HD video hardware acceleration thanks to the Quartics QV1721 multimedia coprocessor, that accelerates full-HD (1080p) video encoding/decoding. Removable storage is care of a V-Media disc-drive left of the touchpad. A V-Media disk is a Blu-Ray disc with a diameter of 32 mm enclosed in a plastic sheath (floppy-style). It provides 1 GB of storage, with a 2 GB version in the works. Its launch-date isn't known although with Computex around the corner, this netbook may have found its launch-vehicle.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design - an ultra-compact mainboard incorporating the VIA C7-M ULV processor, the brand new VIA VX855 unified IGP chipset, and advanced VIA multimedia and connectivity silicon, that has been specifically designed for easy integration into devices targeted at the rapidly growing mini-notebook market.

Unveiled today at the VIA Global Mobility Bazaar (GMB) Tech Forum Spring in Shenzhen, China - an event bringing together a host of PC manufacturing and infrastructure partners focused on delivering affordable, power efficient mini-notebooks to global markets - the VIA Surfboard C855 Reference Design will not only reduce development time and costs for system manufacturers, but offers the latest advancements in ultra-mobile technology including smooth playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video and outstanding 8-channel HD audio.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA VX855 Media System Processor (MSP) - an ultra power efficient, all-in-one chipset that addresses the key performance and entertainment requirements of today's small form factor and mobile PC systems.

Increasingly, content is being filmed in high-definition (HD), with movies, TV shows and sporting events taking advantage of the smooth playback, extraordinary picture clarity, and brilliant colors that HD video offers. However, until now the high bit-rates associated with quality HD video have posed a real challenge to the processing capabilities of power efficient PC systems such as those found in small form factor and mobile devices.

LG announced a new fleet of full-HD capable LCD monitors today. The lineup consists of three models of different screen-sizes under the Wxx53V-PF naming scheme: the 22 inch W2253V-PF, 24 inch W2453V-PF and 27 inch W2753V-PF. LG seems to have emphasized on both form and function with these ones. Sporting a piano-black shell with a dash of clear acrylic, the monitors pack LCD panels with 2 ms response time. All models have native resolutions of 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p HD), and are HDCP-capable.

Additionally, they feature intelligent Auto Bright, Live Sensor, and Cinema mode proprietary features. The monitor detects the intensity of light in the environment it's working in, and accordingly adjusts brightness and contrast levels. All models support offer DVI-D, D-SUB, and HDMI port as input connectivity options. LG is yet to release or price these monitors outside the Japanese market as of now.

About a week into introducing the high-definition LCD-MF242X family of 23.6 inch monitors, I-O Data adds another one to its ranks, the 21.3 inch LCD-MF221XGBR. The new monitor seems to be more of a scaled-down version of the LCD-MF242X. Dimensions aside, it has an identical feature-set.

The monitor comes with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p-ready), and an LCD response-time of 5 ms. It comes with a maximum brightness of 300 cd/m², static contrast-ratio of 1,000:1 and dynamic ratio of 10,000:1. Coming with a generous set of connectivity options, the monitor takes input from DVI, D-Sub and HDMI 1.2a connectors. It tips the scales at 4.5 kg (around 9.92 lbs). Backed by a three-year company warranty, the LCD-MF221XGBR sells for around US $227.

MSI today unveiled the EX625 performance notebook. MSI EX625 features Cinema Pro Technology, which offers consumers the finest movie viewing experience. With a simple touch of the exclusive Cinema Pro button; you may immediately switch to Movie Mode. The quality on screen will be more detailed, the richness in sound and the subwoofer as well as Dolby sound will be activated, providing the finest sensory of the theaters. Furthermore, the embedded high performance subwoofer design can create shocking effects.

Combing Color Film Print Technology with ocean wave patterns in design, the EX625 has been injected with a brand new texture to personal notebook computers. The most advanced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics card with GDDR3 512MB VRAM, for a more fluid, more detailed, more realistic 3D high-definition viewing experience. In the other hand, EX625 selects the brand new ECO Engine Technology, the outstanding and unique power saving function by MSI Notebook, as the power management function to extend the battery running time while performing different tasks.

ASUS today continued its heritage of producing high performance, richly-featured LCD monitors with the addition of new HDMI-equipped models to its lineup. Available in screen sizes ranging from 18.5" to 23.6", and driven by an array of exclusive image enhancing innovations such as Splendid Video Intelligence Technology and ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR) technology, the VH192, VH222, VH226 and VH242 are designed to deliver the ultimate multimedia experience. VH Series monitors boast a perfect aspect ratio of 16:9, ensuring the flawless playback of movies and games.

Without any official release from Western Digital, a new product of theirs has emerged on Best Buy called the WD TV HD Media Player. It is a very small device not much bigger than the remote it comes with, but what is unique about this gadget is that it allows you to plug in a USB flash drive or USB hard disk drive (HDD), and play full 1080p high definition videos, pictures and music, on to your TV. It supports two USB2.0 devices simultaneously, measuring only 1.6x4.9x3.9 inches and weighing a mere 10.7 oz, it could be the answer for many people instead of having HTPC's or trailing cables from their main PC's. The RRP of the device appears to be $129.99, however it is currently on sale at Best Buy for $99.99.

Cognizant that the brilliant reproduction of colors is the key to believability and immersion during movie watching and gaming, ASUS today launched the VK266H and VW266H widescreen (16:10 aspect ratio) LCD monitors which support 1920x1200 high resolution, Full HD 1080p video playback via an HDMI input, a high 20000:1 contrast ratio, 2 ms (gray-to-gray) response time and ASUS' exclusive Splendid Video Intelligence Technology. Splendid utilizes a color engine that analyzes the properties of video content being played back and automatically optimizes image quality for the best visual results in any usage scenario-ultimately making for a vastly improved personal entertainment experience. In keeping with ASUS' recent drive to integrate video conferencing features into its monitors, the ASUS VK266H is also equipped with a rotatable 2.0 megapixel webcam with Smart EV (Exposure Value) Control technology to enable high quality and convenient real-time video communications under different lighting conditions.

Presenting the fastest IGP to date. The upcoming AMD 790GX chipset, unlike preliminary reports suggesting it was going to be an extreme performance competitor to the GeForce 8200 IGP incorporated NForce 780a, is a high-end chipset armed to compete with the likes of NForce 750a, Intel G35. It supports ATI Crossfire multi-GPU technology.

In two new company slides published by the Chilean website CHW.net, early performance evaluations of the 790GX IGP were conducted, where the AMD chip beat the GeForce 8200 IGP by a very significant margin. It outperformed the Intel G35 by nearly 300 per cent margins in some tests. Apart from this ferocious little IGP, the 790GX supports ATI Crossfire with the energy-saving Hybrid-Crossfire feature. When not gaming, the display is handled by the IGP, depending on the load, the graphics card(s) are powered and speeds are adjusted. So when playing a game that the graphics card(s) can churn out 300 fps from, the GPU parameters can be lowered so you still get say, 100 fps while the GPU power is reduced significantly.

ViewSonic Corp. introduces the latest addition to its complete range of LCDs with the affordable, feature-rich VA2626wm LCD monitor. At less than $530, the 1080p Full HD panel offers a large workspace for the productive multi-tasker and the ultimate viewing experience for movie buffs and gamers. Multiple inputs, like HDMI, VGA and DVI with HDCP compatibility, allow Blu-Ray" disc player, cable box, satellite box, or gaming console connections, and quickly take users from work to play.

AMD Releases ATI All-In-Wonder HD Series Card

AMD today expanded The Ultimate Visual Experience for North America with the ATI All-In-Wonder HD, combining award-winning ATI Radeon Premium graphics and ATI TV Wonder HD tuner technology card in one PCI Express 2.0 solution. As the newest multimedia powerhouse to join the long line of All-In-Wonder offerings, ATI All-in-Wonder HD transforms the PC into a highly immersive digital video recorder for HDTV and analog TV, plus expands the realm of exceptional gaming with cinematic HD graphics for mainstream PCs. Blu-ray disc playback can be enjoyed in full HD glory (1080p) thanks to ATI All-in-Wonder HD's unified video decoder (UVD) technology, ensuring movies play back smoothly and with incredible detail.

The graphics core is derived from the Radeon HD 3650, 55 nm, clocked at 725 MHz (memory: 600 MHz DDR2). AMD claims that the graphics performance of the card will beat a standard Radeon HD 3650 by 5 to 15% in popular games. The card incorporates the ATI Theater Pro 650 chip. Other prominent features include ClearQAM, a hardware MPEG-2 encoder and full hardware acceleration for H.264 and VC-1. The Adaptive Comb-filter provides better image quality.

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