New Technology Reviews!.: screens

Android gets the nod for in-flight entertainment on Boeing 787 Dreamliner

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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;">
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<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="207" mce_src="http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7083/787android540x345.jpg" src="http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7083/787android540x345.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="324" />Boeing has been working in the 787 Dreamliner for a long time now. After lots of delays one version of the aircraft is finally cleared to be delivered to buyers by the FAA. Today we have learned that Boeing, the maker of the 787 Dreamliner has chosen the Android operating system to provide passengers with in-flight entertainment like music, video, and apps. The OS may even provide airline-specific apps to passengers.</div>
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The news comes by way of Mark Larson at Boeing. The massive airliner will be fitted with Android-based servers and touchscreens. Panasonic is the company that built the screens for the Dreamliner and each seat from first class to economy will have the screen on the back. The screens in business class and first class will be non-touch because the screens will be too far away to reach them.</div>
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Apparently testing is going on for gesture based screens for those seats. Boeing already has 820 orders for the giant 787 and the Android choice locks competitors out of the airline industry in at least the 787. I think that Android screens with games, streaming video, and the ability to chat with folks on the ground will make flights much less tedious.</div>
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Android gets the nod for in-flight entertainment on Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing has been working in the 787 Dreamliner for a long time now. After lots of delays one version of the aircraft is finally cleared t...

How to Set Up a Computer With Multiple Independent Screens & Mice

A standard VGA slot can be used for additional monitors. Plug in the other monitor(s). On a desktop PC you will need to have a dual Virtual Graphics Array (VGA) slot available or a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port. On a laptop, a VGA slot is usually provided. You need to plug the VGA lead for the additional monitor into this port. Activate the additional monitors. Right click on the desktop and go to "Personalize." Choose the "Display" options and find the section where additional monitors are shown (which depends on the version of Windows). Arrange the monitor displays on the screen as you would like to use them in practice by dragging them with the mouse and "activating" the monitor(s). Choose extended screen layout or the "mirror" option to show the same display on more than one monitor. Use a USB keyboard, video and visual display unit (KVM switch) device for mouse and keyboard. These can be purchased in good computer shops. The KVM device enables you to change the USB activation for a single keyboard and mouse when required for up to two computers, by simply clicking on a physical button on the computer desk. Software can be used to control multiple monitors without hardware. Download and install MaxVista for multiple monitor management , including remote control over several monitors. This software operates over monitors on the same network, avoiding the need to purchase additional hardware and drivers. The software usually comes in the guise of a client-server solution, where the server part is placed on the main (controlling) computer and the client software is placed on the other machine(s). Activate the monitors as previously described in the hardware section. MaxVista allows you to control several monitors over the network, and you can also use extended screens in the same way as a hardware solution. Download and install Synergy (free open source software) and control several computers using a single mouse and keyboard. It is necessary to set up the monitor arrangement via configuration files, and this may initially seem daunting. Once this is set up, however, it is possible to control several computers even if they have different operating systems such as Windows and Linux.<a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_7724981_set-multiple-independent-screens-mice.html" title="#jsArticleStepImageCredit1 rel=thinbox></A> To use more than one mouse, download software for group working. Download and install TeamPlayer to use a single computer with more than one mouse. This software allows teamwork and collaboration so that it is possible for users to share a single (or multiple) screens with individual mice for each user. It is useful on joint projects, or for participants to ask questions by using the mouse on the screen used by everyone in the meeting. Create different Windows functions by using more than one mouse. This option allows a computer to have two or more mice attached, but each mouse performs a different function. This can be achieved by downloading and installing a script language called Autohotkey, which provides Human Interface Device (HID) support so that each mouse can be programmed to perform a different function. Design your configuration. Now you have all the methods and potential procedures in place you need to consider how your computers will be configured with multiple screens and mice. For example you may want multiple screens and multiple mice or single screens, multiple mice, or single mice and multiple screens. Design the system according to your needs.<A">Source.</A>

How to Set Up a Computer With Multiple Independent Screens & Mice

A standard VGA slot can be used for additional monitors. Plug in the other monitor(s). On a desktop PC you will need to have a dual Virtual ...

Buying Guide: Best monitor: 12 LCD screens tested

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.opening_screen-200-200.jpg"> Picking where to put your pennies when it comes to pricing up a PC can be a pain. Buying the best of everything would sidestep the problem neatly enough. In reality, lottery winnings and banker's bonuses are hard to come by. Compromises must be made. But if any component deserves a large chunk of your dosh, it's undoubtedly a flat panel. For starters, the screen is quite literally a window into the workings of your PC. It's the one component that influences the user experience every time you sit down and fire up. Put another way, a shader-packed graphics card is great for games. For everything else, it's a billion transistors twiddling their thumbs. A high-end CPU admittedly has a wider repertoire. For most things, most of the time, however, a cheap quad-core chip delivers all the performance you can actually use. So, a good PC monitor gives more and it gives it more often. That's not all. Flat panels do not develop as rapidly as most PC-related technologies. Buy a high-end pixel pumper today, and it will be looking old hat inside six months; Performance boosts of 50 per cent or more from one generation to the next isn't unheard of. Likewise, CPUs, hard drives, you name it. But not screens. A great example here is our very own Dell 30 incher. It's over three years old. That's an eternity by the standards of most PC components. But it's still a stunning screen. In terms of scale and resolution, in fact, it hasn't been bettered. What's more, it probably has at least a year or two as a high-end screen left in it. In that context, if you'd paid £800 in 2007 you can spread the cost over five years. Suddenly, it doesn't look so expensive. That's not to say flat panel technology is at a stand still. As we'll see, there are some interesting developments afoot in all parts of the market. But what it does mean is that is that a quality monitor is almost definitely the best long-term investment that you can make for your PC. With the general case in favour of flat panels all sown up, it's time to get specific. The PC monitor industry is currently dominated by a single screen technology, the liquid crystal display or LCD for short. However, there are several variations on that theme. Not all panels are equal. LCD panels explained Getting to grips with the three main LCD panel types is therefore your first and most important step towards flat-panel perfection. However, it's also handy to have a basic understanding of how an LCD panel works. Every picture element or 'pixel' in a liquid crystal display contains – you guessed it – liquid crystals. A typical LCD panel is made up of thousands, if not millions of these pixels arranged in a grid. Behind this grid is a backlight. Shove an electric current through the crystals courtesy of a pair of transparent electrodes and – presto-chango – they realign. In simple terms, there are two basic positions or states the crystals can assume, one that blocks light and one that allows light through. Strictly speaking the crystals don't actually block light, they polarise it and in combination with static polarisation filters light either passes through the LCD panel or is blocked. Anyway, the crystals can assume a huge number of intermediate positions between on and off, allowing some but not all light to pass through. What's more, in a colour LCD panel every pixel is made up of three individual elements covered by filters in the primary colours: red, green and blue. Vary the intensity of light passing through each of these elements and you end up with a full palette of per-pixel colours. Clever, eh? If that's the basics, the details of how each panel controls the crystals vary considerably and that throws up some very obvious differences in image quality. Which brings us to the first of our flat panel triumvirate: cheap 'n' cheerful Twisted Nematic. Usually known as TN, its raison d'etre is quite simply to be the most affordable full-colour active-matrix LCD technology. Consequently, TN panels aren't exactly renown for world-beating visual fidelity. The trouble with TN In fact, TN panels suffer from a number of inherent image quality problems. Poor viewing angles are perhaps the most obvious give away that you're looking at a TN panel. The problem here involves the way the liquid crystals in a TN panel are effectively fixed at one end. When a current is passed through, the crystals bend or 'twist', hence the name. However, this is not as effective or accurate as crystals that are free to fully rotate. The upshot of using this particular technology is that light tends to leak out at undesirable angles and that means that colours can look odd if the panel is not viewed from directly in front of it. Then there's the fact that the default position of the crystals in a TN panel allows light through. Combined with the restricted crystal movement, this tends to result in poor black colours, limited contrast and an overall watery, washed out appearance. Put simply, TN panels are leaky when it comes to light. Those bendy crystals make for relatively poor colour accuracy, too. However, it's not all bad news. The limited range of crystal movement does have one upside – quick response. Put a current through a TN pixel and the crystals jump to faster than any other panel type. That means sharper moving images. Perfect for games and films, in other words. In-Plane Switching Next up is In-Plane Switching or IPS. This technology is effectively everything that TN is not. In other words, it's pricey but pulchritudinous [Ed - the dictionary says 'bootiful!']. For starters, the crystals in an IPS panel are free to fully rotate about their axis. They also have a pair of controller transistors per picture sub-element where other panel types have just one. The net result of which is that IPS panels control light better than any other LCD technology. That translates into the most accurate and realistic colours and the widest viewing angles. And that's why you find companies, such as Apple trumpeting the use of IPS panels in devices like the iPhone 4. In many ways, IPS is the finest LCD tech available at the moment. IPS is not, however, the best by every metric. The extended range of movement the crystals can achieve makes for longer response times and blurrier moving images. IPS panels are also not all that hot at completely blocking out the backlight. VA, the halfway house Indeed, that's a trick done best by our final panel tech, Vertical Alignment. There are two types of VA panels, PVA and MVA. The former is more common, but the basic principles are common to both of them. Most significantly, the default, current-free position of the crystals blocks light from passing through. This allows the deepest and most convincing blacks of any LCD panel technology and the greatest contrast between dark and light tones. That in turn allows for the richest, most saturated (if not the most accurate) colours. In most other regards, VA panels are a perfect halfway house between TN and IPS panels. They're more colour-accurate than the former, but lack the fidelity of the latter. Likewise, VA screens are halfway between the two when it comes to viewing angles and pixel response. Screen tricks If that's the crucial panel types covered, there are a number of secondary screen technologies that are worth understanding. Until recently, backlight technology had been essentially static for a decade or more. You could have any backlight you wanted, as long as it was based on Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL). More recently, LED or Light Emitting Diode technology has begun to assimilate LCD monitors, having already become de rigueur in high-end HDTV sets. It's important to appreciate that current LED monitors are still based on LCD technology for the panel itself. It's only the backlight that is LED powered. All the usual LCD caveats therefore apply. However, LED backlights do deliver a number of important advantages. For starters, they use less power. They also respond more quickly, making dynamic contrast technology more viable. But most of all, they produce purer light, allowing a wider gamut of colours. Another factor that effects image quality on any monitor is digital image processing technology. At least, that's what the manufacturers would like you to believe. The most widely publicised is dynamic contrast. The theory behind dynamic contrast makes a lot of sense. Games and movies vary in brightness from outdoor daytime vistas to dingy dungeon scenes. Why not vary the backlight to suit? That's just what a lot of monitors are now capable of doing. The result, on paper at least, are incredible contrast ratios measuring in the millions to one. In practice, dynamic contrast doesn't really deliver. More than anything, it tends to crush detail in darker scenes. Another lesser known digital enhancement technology is pixel overdrive. The idea here is to improve pixel response. It's achieved by pumping excess voltage through the liquid crystal in an attempt to get them to move more quickly. In practice, it does just that. But it also has a tendency to cause the pixels to overshoot the target colour state. When that happens, the colours can go a bit, well, weird. That's not all. When used in VA panels, overdrive can cause another problem, the dreaded input lag. This involves a tangible delay between the output signal from the video card and the resulting image update on the panel itself. As an end user, you notice this in the form of sluggish mouse responses on the Windows desktop or laggy inputs when playing games. Pick a panel (or two) That's key technologies covered. Now it's time to pick a panel and that means setting a budget, choosing a size and deciding on the resolution. When it comes to the latter, your choices have become more limited of late. Nearly all 22 to 24-inch panels now sport the standard full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. On the upside, that means that even bargain basement 22-inch panels below £150 offer as much desktop real estate as many larger screens. In fact, you have to go all the way up to the likes of Dell's £700-plus U2711 27-inch monitor or HP's £1,200 30 incher before you actually get more pixels than a cheap HD 22-inch monitor. It's also worth remembering that the pixel pitch, or pixel size, on a 22-inch HD monitor is much smaller than that of a 24-inch or larger HD monitor. That impacts image quality in a number of mostly positive ways such as improved clarity and sharpness. A more ambiguous benefit of a tighter pixel pitch is smaller text, which will or won't bother you depending on your eyesight. A further knock-on effect is that with 22-inch HD monitors, the pixel pitch is so small it's debatable whether anti-aliasing is really necessary. So, there you have it. It may seem like there's a lot to learn when it comes to picking a panel. But the key lessons are simple enough. First, remember that all panels are not equal. If a given screen is large and cheap, it's probably based on a TN LCD. Second, the latest LED powered monitors are desirable but not the huge leap forward manufacturers would have you believe. Finally, don't assume that a bigger screen will have a higher resolution, that's rarely the case. Hit the next page for the monitor reviews... HANNS.G HP222DJ0 £134 22-INCH <img alt="Hanns.G hp222dj0" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.hannsg2_large-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> When does a cut-price screen becomes a flat-screen false economy? It's tempting to think the Hanns.G HP222DJ0 is plenty cheap but not particularly cheerful. After all, by at least one obvious metric it's well behind the competition. This is an old school 16:10 aspect ratio screen where the rest of the known universe has gone 16:9. The old-school means full 1080p HD is not on the menu here. Instead, you must make do with 1,680 x 1,050. LG E2350V £149 23-INCH <img alt="LG e2350v" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.lg1_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> A 23-inch monitor with a full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixel grid for under £150? Impressive stuff. But that's not all. The brandspanking LG E2350V adds a voguish LED backlight to what already seems like a bonkers bargain. Then there's the screen bezel hewn from transparent purple plastic and sporting a glossy finish, not to mention HDMI and DVI connectivity. It's a great package. IIYAMA E2271HDS £150 22-INCH <img alt="Iiyama e2271hds" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.iiyama1_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> When it comes to screens, bigger isn't always better. At least, that's the hope for the new Iiyama E2271HDS. By most metrics it looks competitive with the £150 monitor brigade. But at 22 inches in overall screen girth, it's a little short on stature. While the E2271HDS might be smaller than some of the competition, it's still a full-HD panel, packs 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and sports an LED backlight. BENQ EW2420 £158 24-INCH <img alt="Benq ew2420" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.benq2_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> This is it, folks. The holy grail of LCD monitors. The messiah of flat panels. A truly affordable large display powered by something other than a TN panel, in other words. We give you the new BenQ EW2420 24 incher, yours for a whisker over £150 and sporting a VA panel. Cue much rejoicing. That's cheaper than many 24-inch TN monitors. But somehow the EW2420 also packs an LED backlight and delivers the real-HD deal courtesy of a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel grid. BENQ V2410T £162 24-INCH <img alt="Benq v2410t" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.benq1_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Spare a thought for the BenQ V2410T. Until recently, it was an extremely attractive 24-inch monitor. Not only does it sport a full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixel grid. It also packs an LED backlight and a fully adjustable stand. Not bad for around £160. Problem is, BenQ itself has only gone and launched the even more desirable EW2420, taking the 24-inch plus LED recipe and adding VA panel technology to the mix. SAMSUNG LD220Z £225 22-INCH <img alt="Samsung ld220z" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.samsung2_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Got a desktop replacement laptop and fancy adding a second display in dual-monitor mode? Then the Samsung LD220Z Lapfit Touch is for you. It's a 22-inch full HD screen designed for portable PCs. As the name suggests, this has full multi-touch functionality. In fact, it doesn't even need special drivers. Connect via USB to any Windows 7 PC and the touch capabilities are enabled. Ergonomically, it works well enough and it's a slick-looking screen thanks to the minimalist design and glossy black bezel. IIYAMA E2710HDS £235 27-INCH <img alt="Iiyama e2710hds" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.iiyama2_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> When it comes to sheer visual drama, there's no substitute for square inches. You need a really large display like the Iiyama E2710HDS. What you do not need, however, is a banker's bonus to afford one. An impressive 27 inches of flat panel is now available for under £250. Still, it's no surprise to find the Iiyama E2710HDS gives you little extra apart from those inches. The panel technology is, of course, trusty old TN and the native resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. SAMSUNG PX2370 £238 23-INCH <img alt="Samsung px2370" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.samsung1_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Desktop monitors with cheap TN panels have been the bane of our computing lives in recent times. But what about desktop monitors with expensive TN panels? Enter the Samsung PX2370: a paradox in a flat panel. Without doubt, TN screen technology has improved dramatically in the last 18 months. But can this 23-inch TN panel justify its hefty price tag? HANNS.G HZ281 £279 28-INCH <img alt="Hanns.G hz281" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.hannsg1_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> There can be only one winner in the battle of the big, budget-priced screens. But will it be this 28-inch Hanns.G HZ281 monitor or its nemesis, the 27-inch Iiyama E2710HDS? The 28-inch Hanns.G obviously squeaks it for square inches. However, the HZ281 also sports a 16:10 aspect ratio. That makes the size differential in square inches even larger. But it also means the HZ281 has more pixels. ACER GD245HQ £289 24-INCH <img alt="Acer gd245hq" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.acer_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Whether it's gaming or movies, it seems the whole world is going mad for stereoscopic 3D. Does that make the 3D-capable Acer GD245HQ the monitor of the moment? By most metrics, it's a pretty ordinary panel. It's a 24 incher with a TN panel, a CCFL backlight and the standard issue 1,920 x 1,080 HD pixel grid. None of that would be bad if it weren't for the near £300 pricing. DELL U2711 £766 27-INCH <img alt="Dell u2711" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.dell_large-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Can PC monitors be too big? Speak to owners of über 30-inch displays and you may be surprised by the answer. That's where the Dell Ultrasharp U2711 steps in. At 27 inches, it's significantly smaller than ultra-panels such as HP's ZR30W. But thanks to a monster pixel grid of 2,560 x 1,440, it gives very little away in terms of native resolution. It's also quite a bit cheaper than most 30 inchers. But you still get a first-rate feature set. HP ZR30W £1,189 30-INCH <img alt="HP zr30w" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20247/PCF247.w_group.hp_front_1-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Think about computing giant HP and we suspect images of corporate cubes leap to mind more readily than sexy screens. But there's no doubting the new HP ZR30W is an absolute stunner. It's a 30-inch monster with a high quality IPS panel and a monster resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. It comes with a massive price tag to match, of course. But the HP ZR30W is an awful lot of screen. And the best monitor is... The market for vaguely affordable LCD monitors has been dominated by mediocre TN panels with samey image quality for some time now. Mercifully, that has finally begun to change. Firstly, BenQ has blown things wide open with it's ridiculously cheap new 24-inch VA screen. Here's hoping that becomes a trend. Even if it's a one off, however, there are reasons to be optimistic. The rapid adoption of LED backlights is giving a welcome boost to image quality across almost all price points. Moreover, panel manufacturers are beginning to get to grips with the inherent shortcomings of TN technology. The best TN panels of today aren't far off matching IPS panels from a few years ago. On that optimistic note, it's time to wheel out the prizes. Bringing up the rear is Hanns.G's 22 incher, the HP222DJ0. In isolation, it's not a bad panel for around £130. But you get so very much more for an extra £20 in terms of everything from size to resolution and image quality. Next up is Samsung's PX2370. It's a surprisingly poor showing, but there's no getting around the fact that this 23-inch monitor is horribly, horribly overpriced. Another Samsung display takes the next slot. It's also overpriced, but the LD220Z Lapfit Touch does have a number of unique features, including multitouch capability, to justify its £225 tag. There's absolutely nothing ordinary about HP's majestic 30 incher, the ZR30W. It's a fabulous screen. Problem is, it comes at a fabulous price. Dell's gorgeous 27-inch U2711 is pretty pricey, too. But £700-odd feels much more attainable than nearly £1,200. In either case, if you can afford them you won't be disappointed. It's going to be literally years before anything significantly better than this pair comes along. If £700-plus is out of the question, do not despair. A pair of very serviceable large-scale screens is available for a fraction of the cost. The Iiyama E2710HDS is bright, powerful and gives you 27 inches of full HD for just £235. Even better, if only marginally, is the Hanns.G HZ281. It gives you an extra inch and a few more pixels along with an equally powerful backlight and decent image quality. All of which means there can be only one winning panel. You might think it was obvious from the beginning. But the BenQ EW2420 still had to deliver on the enormous promise of a 24-inch VA panel, plus LED backlight for just over £150. It's not a perfect screen, but it's by far the best budget monitor currently on the market.

Buying Guide: Best monitor: 12 LCD screens tested

Picking where to put your pennies when it comes to pricing up a PC can be a pain. Buying the best of everything would sidestep the problem ...

Tosh to show off autostereoscopic screens at CES 2011

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/events/ces2010/toshiba-regza-cell-TV-200-200.jpg"> Toshiba has confirmed that it will show off its autosteroscopic 3D technology at CES 2011, with hopes that the screens on display will be bigger than its previous 20-inch offering. Tosh showed off a 20-inch and 12-inch model at CEATEC – and queues of people wanted to see the glasses-free 3D televisions. And the company will hope for a similar response at CES 2011, although president of Toshiba's digital media network Masaaki Oosumi hinted that the screens may be bigger. <img alt="Tosh - wants rid of the glasses" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/tv/images/3d_without_glasses/Philips%20IFA%203D%20pic-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Three months of improvement "It has been three months, I think we should show [the TVs] with better technology," <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/122010-toshiba-to-show-no-glasses-3d.html">said Masaaki Oosumi</A>. "Next year is the key year to extend development of the technology and extend the screen size," he added. The desire for glasses-free 3D is palpable, but the autostereoscopic technology has significant hurdles before it becomes a mass-market television proposition. Although the likes of the Nintendo 3DS will soon arrive bringing small 3D screens using the technology, finding the sweet spot for larger screens is tricky, and the viewing angle range is small.

Tosh to show off autostereoscopic screens at CES 2011

Toshiba has confirmed that it will show off its autosteroscopic 3D technology at CES 2011, with hopes that the screens on display will be b...

Screens: an easy and elegant VNC app for iOS

<DIV class=separator style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsmszOWdbW6IZ64-Ex96wjDwG1VxrPGfSKLAnobK_RdaRgrA5k-_cii284b8zDcwZyZNiSj9S60sJC61RlkAQV_R_BCYSszzFrXjJ41YS3ZYu9g6Abmxaa994z3kNFwsiHfiIQGIWlO4/s1600/screenslogo12-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsmszOWdbW6IZ64-Ex96wjDwG1VxrPGfSKLAnobK_RdaRgrA5k-_cii284b8zDcwZyZNiSj9S60sJC61RlkAQV_R_BCYSszzFrXjJ41YS3ZYu9g6Abmxaa994z3kNFwsiHfiIQGIWlO4/s1600/screenslogo12-18.jpg"></A></DIV>VNC (virtual network computing) has been around for a long time, but lately there seems to be more and more interest in it, perhaps because of all the iPad and iPhone owners who want to connect to their computers back home or at the office. Screens, from Edovia, is a new entrant in the VNC app race. It is on sale at US $14.99 for a limited time, after which the price will go up to $24.99. The app is universal, so your purchase allows you to install it on both an iPad and iPhone, or an iPod touch. Like many other similar apps, Screens has support for many multi-touch gestures, as well as squeeze motions to enlarge or shrink the screen back down. The main difference is that with the other apps, you use those gestures to move a cursor around the screen or in some cases, move the screen around a stationary cursor. Screens allows you to control the remote computer using your finger as a virtual mouse or trackpad. Of course, you have to run a VNC server app on the machine you want to connect to, and you can find those for Windows and Linux. OS X has VNC built in; you just activate screen sharing in the Mac Sharing preference pane. If you have multiple PCs set up to connect to, you flick between those screens on your iPad, iPod touch or iPhone. I've tried it at home and was easily able to connect to my desktop Mac and a Windows XP PC. Using the app was a pleasure, and because of the way touch is integrated it felt like a pure multi-touch app, rather than a screen emulator. There is a dedicated keyboard, and a second one with keys that relate to the type of computer you are connecting to. For example, you can invoke a Spotlight search with a tap when connected to a Mac. Gallery: Screens Remote access app for iOS devices<img alt="" src="/screens1-12-18thumbnail.jpg" title=""><img alt="" src="/screens2-12-18thumbnail.jpg" title="">

Screens: an easy and elegant VNC app for iOS

VNC (virtual network computing) has been around for a long time, but lately there seems to be more and more interest in it, perhaps because ...

Toshiba and Apple join forces for iPhone screens

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com///classifications/gadgets/phones/mobile-phones/iPhone/iphone4_2up_front_side-200-200.jpg"></div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B001GI9DSK&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Toshiba has revealed that it is spending big money to build a factory that will supply Apple with small LCD panels for its iPhone and iPod touch range. 
Tosh is to spend a staggering 100 billion yen (£757 million) on a factory that will be situated in Ishikawa Prefecture and be capable of creating high-res LCD displays – perfect then for the iPhone and its retina tech. 
According to the Nikkei Business Daily, the plant will be constructed in 2011, with production to start in the latter half of the year.

Toshiba and Apple join forces for iPhone screens

Toshiba has revealed that it is spending big money to build a factory that will supply Apple with small LCD panels for its iPhone and iPod t...

Buying Guide: Home cinema projection screens: how to choose

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20187/HCC187.screens.main-200-200.jpg"> At <a href="http://hcc.techradar.com/">Home Cinema Choice magazine</A>, we talk a lot about projectors, and not much about projector screens. But this doesn't mean we don't find screens as interesting, or consider them less important to the home cinema experience. Far from it. One reason we don't review more screens is a practical one; installing and handling such large and cumbersome items can be a nightmare. But the other reason is that the screen market is so diverse, and associated so closely with the specific needs and room conditions of each user, that reviewing individual screens would seem too specific to be worthwhile. The fact is, though, that if you get the screen wrong, then you will be selling your projector short, no matter how expensive it might have been. Which type should I choose? Start off by looking at the different types of mounting options available. There are two main approaches: fixed frame, where the screen is placed in a rigid frame and attached permanently to the wall, or 'roll-away', where it can be rolled up when not in use. Within the latter category there are also various sub-options we'll consider in a moment. For people lucky enough to have dedicated home cinema rooms, the fixed frame approach will often be the simplest, since the screen doesn't need to be hidden when not in use. It's widely considered, too, that permanent screens stay more tautly stretched and thus produce more accurate pictures. Roll-away screens are obviously a great solution for people trying to accommodate a home cinema setup in a room that also gets used for other activities, such as a living room. The most basic of these screens sit on a roller attached to, or hidden in, the ceiling and the user has to manually pull the screen down when needed. <img alt="pull down screen" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20187/HCC187.screens.steve_screen-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Also very popular is the motorised roll-down variety, where motors drive the screen down into position at the touch of a remote control button. Some projectors carry 12V trigger outputs, in fact, so that they can activate motorised screens automatically when the projector is switched on. If even having a slim roll-out screen housed on your ceiling feels too intrusive, a further, portable option is the pull-up projection panel. these come fixed inside carry cases that you stand on the floor, so that the screen pulls out of the top and is held upright by a collapsible support frame. We've found that the more affordable floor-mounted types may not always stand completely upright or even flat. But the fact that you can put them in a cupboard when you're not using them is a practical benefit that will justify the performance compromises for some. rigidity and perfect flatness, so crucial to a good picture, are often one of the main reasons some projector screens cost vastly more than others, especially in the roll-away department. Projection screen aspect ratios Another key decision is which shape and size of screen you should go for. In terms of shape, there are three aspect ratio options: 4:3, 16:9, and 21:9. For home cinema enthusiasts, the old 'square' 4:3 screen approach is almost certainly a nonstarter these days. Which leaves us with 16:9 or 21:9. If you intend to watch a lot of HD, you will probably be best off with a 16:9 screen that matches the ratio of HDTV material. If you're a die-hard movie fan, though, you might consider a 21:9/2.35:1 CinemaScope screen. After all, most big films now are shot in 2.35:1, and so the majority of Blu-rays are produced with that aspect ratio. However, the situation isn't totally cut and dried. Blu-rays don't currently hold 'true' 21:9 masters (instead adding black bars within the picture data), and projectors don't have true 21:9 pixel ratios. So if you want a full 21:9 experience, you need a projector with a CinemaScope lens attachment – something which can add considerable cost to your projector setup. If you really want the ultimate in Cinemascope clarity you could consider a curved screen like <a href="http://www.anders-kern.co.uk/">Stewart's CineCurve</A> (below). These give a more immersive effect, focus light at your viewing position and compensate for the lens distortion you get with anamorphic lenses. <img alt="curved screen" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20187/HCC187.screens.curve_cinema-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> It's curtains for you The existence of multiple aspect ratios explains another popular option: masking, where absorbent material can cover parts of the screen to change the shape of the visible section. On a basic level, this can be done manually using curtains, although it is quite a faff. You can also install a motorised curtaining system external to the screen. But by far the most elegant solutions are high-end fixed screens that have motorised masking, where black borders of absorbent material can be electronically moved out from all four edges of the screen. Such screens usually ship with preset aspect ratios and are selectable using single remote control buttons, but you can usually manually tweak the border locations yourself too. To be really effective, the movable borders on these sorts of projection panels need to absorb light extremely well. And such screens are generally hugely expensive because of both the motors and tracking mechanisms involved. But they're generally an excellent proposition when built well enough, especially if you regularly watch 21:9 material, but don't want a CinemaScope lens or 21:9 screen. Choosing the correct size is more complicated than you might think. Aside from the size of your wall you need to consider at what distance from the screen your audience will sit, which is down to personal preference. When people go to the movies some like to be relatively near the front, others prefer the back, while some will only sit the middle. And so it is at home, where people like to have different screen sizes relative to their preferred viewing position. Screen size also depends to some extent on the quality of your projector and screen. If neither is particularly good, sitting too close will only make you more aware of the shortcomings. Finally, it's a simple fact that how large a screen your projector can drive is dependent on the amount of brightness its lamp can produce. So while 'light cannons' such as Sim2's spectacular C3X Lumis can drive screens many hundreds of inches across, you might find relatively low brightness projectors struggling to keep images looking punchy over 80-100in. We mentioned screen material earlier and it's this aspect of screen selection that's the most bewildering yet, potentially, crucial. The first decision you need to make is quite simple: do you want to mount any speakers behind the screen? If so, you'll need an acoustically transparent, perforated fabric that enables sound to pass through without becoming muffled or blocked. Such fabric can cause problems with reduced brightness and back wall light reflections, as light passes through the acoustic holes. No pain, no gain After this basic decision, though, life gets more complicated. For a start, you have to get grips with the concept of gain. Some screens are high gain, while others are low, with all sorts of ratings in between, and each gain value has its place. Many white home cinema screens tend to be low gain, with values written as 1.0-1.3. these gain figures, rather archaically, describe the ratio of light a screen reflects in relation to the amount of light that gets reflected by an untreated magnesium oxide board. so a 1.3 gain screen will reflect around 30 per cent more light than our lovely magnesium oxide white board. The growing interest in black-level boosting screens that use a grey material rather than white is resulting in gain figures below 1.0 appearing, too. The question of whether you should get a high or low-gain screen, again boils down to matters of taste and, more importantly, room setup. For instance, high-gain screens have reduced viewing angles versus low-gain ones, which could be an issue if viewers will have to sit to the side of the screen. High-gain screens can suffer from hot spots too, where the centre of the image looks brighter than the rest. And finally, high-gain projection panels can damage colour balance, since they don't reflect red, green and blue equally from all viewing angles. But before you discount them, if there's often a degree of ambient light in your movie room, the high-gain variety could be essential. In fact, a few have been developed now with extreme gain properties, specifically to try and emulate (for a fraction of the cost) the performance of, say, a massive (80in plus) plasma screen in a normal living room environment. A particularly outstanding example of this is the screen Innovations <a href="http://www.anthemavs.co.uk/">Black Diamond II</A> we tested in issue 183. Dedicated, blacked out home cinema rooms might be better with more standard-gain screens, though, and possibly even a grey sub-1.0 gain screen. Grey screens were extremely worthwhile a few years ago before projectors started to produce impressive contrasts, but they arguably still have a place even if you've got a good high-contrast projector. <img alt="screen mask" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/Home%20Cinema%20Choice/HCC%20187/HCC187.screens.imasque-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> If your viewing room is either decorated in light coloured finishes or else houses numerous light furnishings, the way grey screens stop light bouncing around a room could prove very useful. One final consideration is the issue of the quality, finish and weave of the screen you buy. We've heard various cynics suggest that expensive screen materials don't really make a difference. But this is just plain wrong. We've seen first-hand how some screens really can produce sharper, more detailed images with HD than others. Also, some screens can cause a slight moiré effect over areas of fine detail while others don't. Some screens, as previously discussed, are brighter and more reflective than others, and some are better at reproducing a convincing black colour. Some diffuse light right around your room for wide viewing angles, while others focus it right back at you. Some reproduce colours completely neutrally (and thus accurately), others can introduce an underlying tinge of their own or favour certain tones over others, leading to an unbalanced colour palette. We're even starting to see screens appearing now that claim to be better for 3D than others. This might seem spurious at first glance, but actually stereoscopic pictures need utter clarity for high levels of detail and really accurate colour toning to become convincing, so we can understand some screens working better with the technology than others. One of the first screens designed and tested with 3D in mind is <a href="http://www.image-screens.com/">Image screen's Cadre 3D</A>. Finally, the basic quality of the fabric in terms of wear and tear, hanging weight and resilience to rolling, with roll-away projectors, can have a massive impact on long-term viewing. You would be well advised to get help from custom installation experts before finally settling on a screen. And try to partner your projector with a screen of as much quality as you can afford. After all, unlike a TV, a high quality screen should last you a lifetime.

Buying Guide: Home cinema projection screens: how to choose

At Home Cinema Choice magazine , we talk a lot about projectors, and not much about projector screens. But this doesn't mean we don'...