The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced the election of new Board of Directors leadership. Alan Kobayashi of MegaChips has been elected Board Chair; Syed Athar Hussain has been re-elected Vice Chair; and Richard Hubbard of Texas Instruments has been elected Secretary/Treasurer. The new leadership slate will serve one-year terms of office.

Alan Kobayashi, VESA's new Board Chair, is Fellow & Executive R&D Management for DisplayPort Group at MegaChips Technology America. Based in San Jose, CA, Mr. Kobayashi has served in a variety of senior corporate technology roles, and he has been an author of VESA's DisplayPort Standard and served as Chair of the DisplayPort Task Group, the Leader of the organization's PHY/Link Layer Compliance Sub-groups, and as a VESA Board member. Mr. Kobayashi holds several dozen patents in the area of A/V transport and display.

"VESA's work developing standards and establishing compliance test protocols is of strategic importance to the entire video display ecosystem," explained Alan Kobayashi. "I hope to help guide the organization as we continue to enhance our existing, widely adopted standards, while also developing solutions for the industry's emerging video challenges."

With the rise of intelligent systems and IoT demands, today's devices are generating volumes of data, with greater performance, connectivity and smart manageability. Advantech proudly announces two industrial-grade solutions: MIO-5271-3.5" MI/O Extension Single Board Computer, and the ultra slim Embedded Box PC-ARK-1550. Both are fanless designs which employ 4th generation Intel Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz (could support turbo boost up to 2.9GHz) / Intel Celeron 2980U 1.6GHz processors, with smarter/faster CPU performance, rich media support, up to 3 independent displays, plus improved security. Benefits include longer MTBF, dust-free, noiseless, zero fan maintenance, 24/7 reliability and long life cycle till Y2020 - making them perfectly suitable for IoT, intelligent systems and embedded markets which require total reliability and performance.

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, again shows its commitment to fanless solutions as the Shuttle Barebone DS437T hits the shops today.

This 36 mm thin steel barebone comes already fitted with a hard-wired Intel Celeron 1037U processor (dual-core, 2 MB cache, 1.80 GHz). The DS437T's two SO-DIMM slots together support up to 16 GB DDR3 memory. The SATA 6 GBit/s port offers rapid connection for 2.5" SSDs and hard disks. With the easy-to-open back cover, it is simple to install memory modules and a drive.

Akasa gave its premium Intel NUC case an update with the Newton X. The all-metal fanless case is chunkier than its predecessor, weighing in at 1.27 kg, and the extra metal makes for more heatsink fins, for better cooling of its innards. The case features a brushed aluminium front, with diamond-cut edge finish. It measures 150 mm x 185 mm x 47 mm (WxDxH). Compatible with Intel's D54250WYB and D34010WYB mainboards, and apart from the standard cutouts, the case offers a 2.5-inch drive bay, two front-panel USB 3.0 ports, a USB infrared receiver, holes for two Wi-Fi antennae, VESA mounts, and a Kensington lock slot. Akasa didn't reveal pricing.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced the addition of 'Adaptive-Sync' to its popular DisplayPort 1.2a video interface standard. This technology delivers several important capabilities to computer users: Adaptive-Sync provides smoother, tear-free images for gaming and judder-free video playback. It also significantly reduces power consumption for static desktop content and low frame rate video.

Computer monitors normally refresh their displays at a fixed frame rate. In gaming applications, a computer's CPU or GPU output frame rate will vary according to the rendering complexity of the image. If a display's refresh rate and a computer's render rate are not synchronized, visual artifacts-tearing or stuttering-can be seen by the user. DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync enables the display to dynamically match a GPU's rendering rate, on a frame-by-frame basis, to produce a smoother, low latency, gaming experience. In applications where the display content is static-such as surfing the web, reading email, or viewing a slide presentation-DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync allows the display refresh rate to be reduced seamlessly, lowering system power and extending battery life.

MSI announces the launch of the MSI ProBox23, the first model in its new generation of commercial oriented barebone PCs. These series use the latest Intel H81 chipset, and support the 4th Generation Intel Core processors with high performance and integrated GPU providing powerful graphics processing.

Furthermore, the MSI ProBox23 is equipped with a thin mini-itx motherboard and energy efficient CPU cooler. With a length and width of only 20cm and a height of just 5cm, this barebone PC is one of the smallest in its kind. Moreover, the MSI ProBox23 can easily be mounted behind a monitor, making it the best space-saving solution for commercial and entertainment applications. The MSI ProBox23 will be available worldwide per beginning of April 2014.

Intel is ready with an NUC form-factor system based on its Atom "Bay Trail" SoC. Called the NUC DN2820FYKH, the system runs a Celeron N2820 SoC, which integrates a dual-core 64-bit x86 CPU clocked at 2.40 GHz, and a TDP of under 7.5W. Its board features a single DDR3L SO-DIMM slot, a single SATA 3 Gb/s port, a single USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI display output, and stereo audio. Network connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, IrDA, and Bluetooth 4.0. The unit measures 116.6 x 112 x 55 mm, and features a VESA wall-mount, letting you latch it onto your monitor. Intel plans to sell it for US $139.

At CES, various display makers exhibited their gaming-grade monitors featuring NVIDIA G-Sync, a display fluidity technology that's an evolution of V-sync, which we've seen with our own eyes to make a tangible difference. AMD, at the back-room of its CES booth, demoed what various sources are calling "FreeSync," a competitive technology to G-Sync, but one that doesn't require specialized hardware, or licenses to the display makers. AMD didn't give out too many details into the finer-workings of FreeSync, but here's what we make of it.

FreeSync taps into a lesser known feature that AMD Radeon GPUs have had for the past three generations (i.e. since Radeon HD 5000 series), called dynamic refresh rates. The feature allows GPUs to spool down refresh rates to save power, without entailing a display re-initialization (the flicker that happens when a digital display is sent a signal with a new resolution and refresh rate), on supported displays. Dynamic refresh is reportedly also a proposed addition to VESA specifications, and some (if not most) display makers have implemented it. On displays that do, AMD Catalyst drivers already run dynamic refresh rates. For display makers, supporting the technology won't require buying licenses, or integrating specialized hardware into the displays.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced today that DockPort will be added as an official extension to the existing DisplayPort standard. DockPort is an emerging technology that enables high-speed USB 3.0 data over the existing DisplayPort connector. Originally developed by AMD, Texas Instruments, and other VESA member companies, the DockPort extension will allow notebooks, tablets and other small form factor computers to aggregate the display, data and power interfaces into a single convenient connector.

Computers and other smart devices require high-speed I/O ports to share high-resolution video with external displays, high-bandwidth data with external storage and other peripherals, and power for battery charging. As notebooks and tablets become thinner and more portable, consumers want to combine these three common interfaces into a single port on their mobile device. With a single DisplayPort connection using the new DockPort extension and enhanced power capabilities under development, consumers will be able to attach their computers or tablets to a docking station and have instant, hassle-free access to a wide array of external resources.

Acer America is now offering its FT200HQL 20-inch class LED-backlit display with 10-point capacitive touch for consumers in the United States for an affordable price of $199. The ergonomic design provides an excellent Windows 8 experience for a wide range of environments.

The new monitor displays bright and clear images for enjoying digital photography, online shopping, social media and movies. The 19.5-inch screen size is large enough for the comfortable viewing of most applications, yet compact enough for multi-monitor setups and space-constrained areas. Windows 8 compliant, it enables users to take advantage of the user-friendly features in Windows 8 with a 10-point multi-touch screen, whether using a new PC or an old PC upgraded to the new operating system.
To make the most of the capacitive-touch capabilities, the display is VESA wall-mountable and its stand enables users to view images tilted back from 10 - 90 degrees for optimum comfort and ergonomics. This tilt feature is especially beneficial for touch-friendly activities like playing games, viewing photo albums and cookbooks as well as Web surfing.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced today that it certified 300 new DisplayPort products in 2013, a 63% increase in the number of certified products. Products that passed VESA's rigorous compliance test, which qualifies products to feature the distinctive orange-and-black DisplayPort logo, include desktop and notebook computers, displays, graphic cards, cables and adaptors. This year, for the first time, 4K Ultra-HD (UHD) televisions and 4K computer displays have also been DisplayPort certified and introduced into the market.

"Consumers increasingly seek out the DisplayPort logo when purchasing new computers, displays and other products," explained Bill Lempesis, VESA executive director. "DisplayPort's thorough certification process assures the buyer that their new DisplayPort purchase is flawlessly interactive with other DisplayPort products. DisplayPort is constantly evolving, with new features like multiple display streaming over a single cable, and 4K x 2K display resolution at 60 Hz with up to 30-bit per pixel color depth."

Akasa rolled out the Tesla H, an all-aluminium fanless case for Intel's second-generation NUC, based on its Core "Haswell" processor. At 240 x 150 x 48 mm, it's somewhere in between traditional NUCs and slimline mini-ITX cases; but uses that volume productively, in adding not one, but two 2.5-inch drive bays. The first one takes advantage of the standard SATA 6 Gb/s port on the D54250WYK motherboard, and the other requires the included mSATA to SATA adapter. The case is also compatible with Intel's D54250WYB and D34010WYB motherboards.

As mentioned earlier, the all-aluminium case features ridges along its body that let it double up as a passive heatsink for the Core "Haswell" processor and PCH. In addition to the two 2.5-inch drive bays, the Tesla H offers two front-panel USB 3.0 ports, HDA audio jacks, a USB infrared receiver, three holes for WLAN/Bluetooth antennae, a Kensington lock slot, and VESA wall mounts. Akasa didn't announce pricing or availability details.

Responding to the growth of portable and ultra-thin computing devices, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced that it is defining a micro-DisplayPort connector standard. Designed to be physically smaller than VESA's existing DisplayPort and mini-DisplayPort connectors, the new micro-DisplayPort connector will target smartphones, tablets, ultra-thin notebooks and other mobile systems that require an extremely compact connector to drive external video displays.

"Market demand for slim, mobile systems is growing rapidly," said Jim Hunkins, System Architect, Display Technology for VESA member AMD, and Lead of VESA's DisplayPort Connectivity Subgroup. "Imagine sharing videos, photos, presentations and other visual content directly from your tablet or smartphone on a 4K-UHD display. An elegant, micro-sized video connector is essential to enable next-generation mobile systems to interact with the ever expanding array of external display options."

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced the publication of VESA's Display Identification Data Standard (DisplayID) version 1.3. Delivering on the Association's promise to create standards that address emerging trends in display technology--including higher resolutions and pixels per inch (PPI)--the latest version of DisplayID now includes support for resolutions at 4K and beyond, tiled display topologies, stereo 3D formats and additional timing standards.

"Every day, increasing transmission rates, video resolutions, PPI and processing capabilities are making new display capabilities available to consumers. Our vision for DisplayID was to define a standard that can easily keep pace with a rapidly expanding universe of display options," said Syed Athar Hussain, display domain architect for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and VESA vice-chairman. "With DisplayID, video sources-like computers, game consoles, cable boxes and video players-can easily discover the capabilities of the monitors they are connected to, enabling an automatic and seamless user experience between devices."

Intel rolled out its first NUC (next unit of computing) kit based on its newest 4th generation Core processor family. Named NUC D54250WYK, it's a combination of D54250 motherboard, and a compatible chassis, with a compatible cooling solution. Its motherboard integrates a BGA Core i5-4250U processor (dual-core, HTT, 1.30-2.60 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache, HD 5000 graphics with Ultra-HD support), Intel QS77 chipset, room for two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots (16 GB max., DDR3-1600 supported).

Connectivity on the D54250WYK includes four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports (internal header), gigabit Ethernet, a SATA 6 Gb/s port (internal), one full-height mPCIe gen 2.0, which doubles up as mSATA 6 Gb/s, and one half-height mPCIe gen 2.0, letting you add your own wireless communications card. The unit draws power from an external 65W power-brick (included). It can latch onto your display over standard VESA wall-mounts.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is proud to announce the next generation GIGABYTE BRIX compact PC kit with new models featuring the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors. The new GIGABYTE BRIX is available in four models, each powered by the latest 'Haswell' architecture CPUs, offering improved CPU and graphics performance plus native 4K display support. The new GIGABYTE BRIX also features a front SPDIF jack and expanded USB 3.0 connectivity.

"This new and updated GIGABYTE BRIX builds on the incredible success and popularity of our original compact PC design," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "We're confident end users will enjoy the improved overall performance that the latest Intel Core processors offer, as well as additional upgrades we have made regarding audio and USB connectivity."

Akasa officially launched its Newton V line of cases for Intel NUC platform, which it unveiled at this year's Computex. The all-aluminium cases are available in black, silver, and gold colors, and like most other NUC cases are designed to passively cool the processor and chipset, the two hot components on the platform. Its body panels are chunky and ridged, to double up as heatsinks. The Newton V is designed specifically for Intel's D53427RKE motherboard, which features a 17W Core i5-3427U dual-core processor. Measuring 150 x 150 x 47 mm, the Newton V dry-weighs 950 g. It features VESA wall-mount holes, two holes for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennae, three front-panel USB ports, of which one is USB 3.0, and a Kensington lock slot. Akasa didn't announce pricing.

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. is exhibiting its latest virtualization products and solutions at VMworld 2013, an annual conference for IT professionals focusing on virtualization and cloud computing. Samsung will be showcasing a number of virtualization products for the first time in the U.S. at VMworld, booth #1729, from August 25-29. These include the new NB-NH Cloud Stand, the all-new 21.5" NC221 and the rest of Samsung's 2013 NC Series zero client lineup of cloud displays, equipped with the new 2nd generation Teradici chipset (Tera2) processor for lower energy costs and greater power efficiency.

"Samsung is dedicated to supporting enterprise customers with products that offer businesses across vertical markets such as education, federal government, corporate, banking/financial and healthcare with secure and efficient ways to embrace cloud computing," said Tod Pike, senior vice president at Samsung's Enterprise Business Division. "Samsung continues to drive technology leadership in virtualization and cloud display by providing solutions like the NB-NH Cloud Stand that enable businesses to more easily deploy, maintain and manage user environments that are less vulnerable to security risks, while also freeing up valuable desktop real estate."

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, today announces the Europe-wide delivery of a Slim PC with Intel Celeron 847 processor. The machine, marketed under the name DS47, is approximately 39 mm thin. Due to its robust exterior, it is also suitable for use in harsh environments.

Despite its compact size of 20 x 16.5 x 3.95 cm (DWH), the DS47 has remarkable features. Its motherboard comes with an energy-efficient Intel Celeron 847 processor (2 MB cache, dual-core 1.10 GHz) soldered onto the board. The steel casing has room for a 2.5" drive (HDD/SSD with SATA 6 Gbit), up to 16 GB DDR3 SO-DIMM and a full size mini PCI card. To ensure particularly easy installation, each component is accessible via separate cover plates. A convenient SD card reader is located on the front of the machine.

Japanese peripherals maker I-O Data announced the LCD-MF272CGBR, a new 27-inch monitor. Featuring an AH-IPS panel with LED backlighting, it offers a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (WQHD), 178°/178° viewing angles, response time as low as 6.5 ms, and as high as 12.4 ms, 440 cd/m² maximum brightness, and 1,000:1 static contrast ratio. The panel features a contiguous piano-black front that makes it appear bezel-free, a matte-black rear, and a brushed aluminum stand that gives you basic tilt adjustments. It can be removed to reveal VESA wall mounts. Display inputs include dual-link DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI, and D-Sub. Measuring 650 x 240 x 200 mm (WxDxH), it weighs a little over 7 kg. Slated for late-July, it's expected to go for 79,800 JPY (US $800).

ASUS, a worldwide leader in high performance large screen displays, today announced the exclusive pre-order for the highly-anticipated PQ321Q True 4K UHD monitor. Starting July 1st, US consumers will be able to pre-order the world's first consumer 4K monitor through Newegg, Amazon, or TigerDirect at an introductory MSRP of $3,499 USD. The PQ321Q True 4K UHD Monitor, a desktop display with a stunning Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution, delivers a screen resolution equivalent to four Full HD displays combined. It has a 31.5-inch LED-backlit 4K Ultra HD display (140 pixels-per-inch) with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and supports 10-bit RGB 'deep color' for vibrant images with more natural transitions between hues.

Akasa's Newton NUC (next unit of computing) fanless case made its debut with the Galileo, way back in March. The case was formally unveiled at Computex, in three brushed-metal trims: the black one we've already seen, silver, and gold, all of which are made of anodized aluminum. Like most other 4" x 4" NUC cases, Newton's body doubles up as heatsink for the CPU. The cases will be available in variants that support the D33217GKE and D33217CK connector layouts. The cases further feature Kensington lock slots, and VESA mounts, so you can tuck them away behind your displays.

First surfaced in March, Akasa's Gelileo concept made headlines with its unique approach to passive CPU cooling in silent HTPCs. The case uses a little over a third of its body as a discrete aluminum fin heatsink that's partitioned from the rest of the case, and draws heat from the CPU over heat pipes. In its main compartment, there's enough room for a thin mini-ITX system. This approach could me more efficient compared to cases in which the entire body doubles up as a heatsink, because heat is nucleated and dissipated, rather than being convected all over the case. The case comes with VESA mounts, and ships with a 120W or 180W external power brick. Made of aluminum, the Galileo will be available in brushed-metal trims of black and silver.

Axiomtek presents a new 18.5 WXGA TFT widescreen fanless multi-touch panel computer, the GOT3187W-832-PCT. It comes with the extraordinary easy-to-deploy modulized design which allows easy deployment and maintenance. The 18.5-inch projected capacitive multi-touch screen further enhances mutual interactive experience. The sleek panel computer uses Intel Atom Cedarview processor D2550 at 1.86 GHz with Intel NM10 Express chipset, offering an excellent balance between high graphics performance and low power consumption. The GOT3187W-832-PCT with a sleek ID and advanced touch experience is ideal for using in a variety of commercial and industrial applications such as the self-service kiosk in retail and control panel of machine in automation field.

Axiomtek develops a modulized design for the new GOT3000 series fanless touch computer to save operator cost & time, and further increases the possibility of additional function extension said Virgil Hsu, Product Manager of Product Marketing Division at Axiomtek. Moreover, this sleek touch panel computer offers a PCI Express Mini Card slot and a fixed rotational WLAN antenna (optional) available for wireless network connection in real time.

Acer America is now offering its Acer B6 and V6 Series LED-backlit displays combining smart ergonomics and eco-conscious materials for both professional customers and consumers in Canada. The new monitors offer a thinner body than the prior generation and a wide array of models in various screen sizes, which feature a vertical alignment (VA) or twisted nematic (TN) panel depending on model.

The Acer V6 Series value line of displays focused on offering great quality at a good price is available in 19- to 24-inch screen sizes. The B6 Series premium line ranges in screen sizes from 22- to 27-inches and boasts a multi-function ergonomic stand, dual speakers and on select models, USB 3.0 with power-off charging for smartphones and other digital devices.