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Changes in the Digital Signage World

Digital Signage – Digital Signage is an important part of the display industry with many installations around the world. One of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about digital signage is large screens.  Actually the bigger the better. And yes, these displays still exist and boast not only high brightness but also longer run … Read more

Assessing 3D Stereo Comfort using an EEG

3D – Ever since the advent of 3D technologies, researchers have been investigating the psychological and physiological effects on users of viewing stereoscopic imagery.  The general impression that I have obtained from reading many such studies is that the most common test protocol consists of showing the user a series of stereoscopic images and receiving either … Read more

Balancing Charge Extends Quantum Dot Efficiencies

Technology – Chinese researchers have taken quantum dot (QD) LEDs above 20% external quantum efficiency (EQE) – thought to be the technology’s theoretical maximum – for the first time. By adding an insulator layer to the design structure, a team at Zhejiang University achieved an EQE of 20.5%, with an operational lifetime of 100,000 hours. Previous … Read more

Touch Gesture Motion Points Way to New User Interfaces

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User Interface – The tenth edition of the Touch Gesture Motion Conference organized by Mark Fihn in co-operation with IHS was held October 28-30, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Unlike some similarly themed prior events, this year’s TGM event provided a thorough and engaging overview of the current state of TGM user interface technologies focused on identifying the future of the … Read more

Pallas Extends Image With Bezel-Mounted LEDs

Digital Signage – A 3×1 vertical videowall has been designed, built and installed by Pallas LCD in Plaza Premium’s departure lounge in Heathrow’s Terminal 2A.  Although LCD technology was used, the videowall appears to be bezel-free. LG panels (47″, 1366 x 768 resolution, 500 cd/m² – these panels are supported but no longer manufactured) were used, … Read more

Pen Input Matures

User interface – At the Touch Gesture Motion Conference held October 28-30, 2014 in Austin, Texas, Rick Seger of N-trig presented a Pen Input Tutorial on Tuesday October 28 as well as a presentation entitled Beyond Touch on Wednesday October 29.   In his tutorial, Rick cited a number of academic studies (see for example) supporting the notion that note taking using handwriting … Read more

The Acquisition of HDR Content with CMOS Sensors

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Camera/Camcorder – 4K resolution or more, wide color gamut (WCG) and high frame rates (HFR) are only some of the issues for a camera to acquire the next generation of images – high dynamic range (HDR) is needed as well.  This is a pressing topic in the SMPTE community, as evidenced by Chris Chinnock’s recent six … Read more

Oakley Announces Airwave 1.5 With Connection to Garmin Action Camera

Head-Up Display –  Oakley has announced its latest Airwave 1.5 ski goggles which include Recon Instrument’s Snow 2 head-up display. There are no technical changes to the Snow 2 HUD however, Oakley is now adding support for the Garmin Virb.  The Virb is an action camera from Garmin that will allow the user to see not … Read more

Muxlab Offers Way to Extend 4K Video Signal to 150 Meters

Connectivity – Sending a 4K signal from a camera back to a recorder or production truck often involves using fiber optic cable if the distances are fairly long. Now, a Canadian company called Muxlab (Montreal, Canada) has a solution that uses CAT 5/6 cable to transfer the 4K video to a distance of 150 meters. That’s beyond the … Read more

Microsoft Band – The First Wearable from Microsoft

Wearable – There are plenty of new entries in the wearable market these days, however when a major company like Microsoft announces its wearable device, the world takes notice. The new smartband is called Microsoft Band and it provides the typical functionality of similar devices. Microsoft Band allows for: Guided workouts 24-hour heart rate tracking Sleep tracking … Read more

Broadband: It’s All About The Pipes

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Broadcast & Distribution – It has become increasingly clear that consumers are moving to streaming and cloud downloads to watch TV shows and movies at home. This trend, which has been documented by numerous research firms and news organizations, reached a “tipping point” in 2011 when more video was acquired via streaming and downloads than by … Read more