V2400W: fusion of luxury art & technology

     With the release of its new V2400W premium LCD display, BenQ not only debuts the world’s slimmest 24” widescreen LCD monitor, but creates a new lifestyle trend in computer hardware design that targets the sophisticated, stylish consumer. The V2400W, in fact, recently received the internationally-renowned iF Design Award, a prestigious and coveted recognition of outstanding design that is vied for by the world’s most elite companies.
     Combining unexpected asymmetry and the aerodynamic curves of the B-2 stealth bomber, the V2400W is the world’s first glimpse into BenQ’s newly evolved Kinergy Design.
     This unique blend of dynamic energy, kinetic beauty and unconventional perspective elevates technology beyond the utilitarian to opulent art that expresses personal taste, social identity and lifestyle enjoyment.
     Even with high-end technology including a 4000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, new RHCM injection process and full 1080p HD support, the V2400W’s technical features are secondary to the product’s visually arresting design.
     The BenQ brand has long stood for innovation in design and technology with products engineered for superior performance and optimum lifestyle enhancement. The new V2400W takes that reputation, company mission and industry as a whole one step further, creating a new level of consumer expectation and desire where technology becomes more than utility, but art that symbolizes beauty, elegance, personality and luxury.
     The V2400W’s streamlined curve is made possible by advanced Rapid Heat Cycle Molding (RHCM) Injection Technology which enables new shapes and designs to be molded beyond the traditional boxiness. In addition to unlocking imagination in design, this high-end tooling also delivers casing that is smoother, stronger and more solid.
     Torque and friction between the metallic parts of the hinge were precisely calculated so that the right-sided stand can safely support the 24” widescreen and also provide the flexibility to adjust viewing angles. An overall mirror-black finish highlights the monitor’s premium status.
     Exquisitely slim, the V2400W is only 2.44 inches at its thickest point, making it more than 21 percent slimmer than the next thinnest LCD monitor even at the V2400W’s thickest point. A subtle blue LED and slick touch controls elegantly accent the V2400W.
     Positioned as a premium luxury-lifestyle product, the V2400W performs accordingly. HDMI with HDCP, DVI-D and VGA inputs offer future-proof high-definition connectivity as well as compatibility.
     BenQ’s proprietary Senseye+photo Human Vision Technology provides vividly realistic, true-to-life colors. Five preset modes----Dynamic, Photo, Standard, Movie and sRGB----simplify optimized viewing at the touch of a button.
     The V2400W is also NSTL-compliant for superior color precision consistent from monitor to printer to digital camera to any visual device. The V2400W’s exceptional 4000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio additionally intensifies black to new levels, revealing even the subtlest dark details in extraordinary clarity and precision.
     And for displaying video in crisp, clean detail free of blur and ghosting, the V2400W incorporates BenQ’s Advanced Motion Accelerator Technology (AMA) for super-fast 2ms GTG response time.
     The V2400W became available at the end of March in China and Asia; and available April in Europe and N. America.

OKI, Intel & Huashu develop hybrid STB

     Oki Electric Industry, Intel K.K. and Huashu Digital TV, a leading cable TV company in China, have announced that the three companies have jointly developed a Next Generation Hybrid Set Top Box (STB) to serve the digital home market segment in China.
     The digital STB platform design reflects Huashu’s experience as a developer of value-added services in China and is based on OKI’s leading video processing technologies and the Intel CE 2110 media processor.
     The hybrid platform is designed to let TV viewers enjoy high-definition television broadcasts, video-on-demand and future valued-added services such as 3D graphics.
     “The convergence of broadcasting and communication will create a new digital home market,” said Keizo Ikeda, president of Media-network Appliance Company at OKI. “OKI believes the Next Generation Hybrid STB will enable subscribers to leverage value-added services and help telecom carriers improve their profitability. From an early stage, OKI has provided IPTV STBs to a major telecom carrier in Japan. With this track record and with our advanced technologies, OKI’s ultimate aim is to contribute to China’s digital development.”
     The number of digital TV subscribers in China reached 23.64 million households in Nov. 2007, representing 24.3 percent of the China’s total households subscribed to CATV, and an 81.3 percent increase from the previous year. (Source: Industrial Development and Digital Broadcast Research Center)
     With the coming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and Shanghai World Expo in 2010, the number of high-definition broadcast channels is expected to increase.
     The digitalization of cable TVs and the spread of IPTV are expected to drive the convergence of broadcast and telecommunications-based video services with resulting growth in the STB market segment.
     To accelerate the adoption of digital TV technology, telecom carriers in China have provided low-end set top boxes to their subscribers at no cost.
     These devices have limited the ability of subscribers to access value-added services, and free STB distribution has made it difficult for carriers to increase their profitability.
     “With the coming digital home era, Huashu has been looking for a platform to enable carriers to promote home digitalization, enhance network intelligence, meet the needs of multiple home applications,” said Zhou Hong, vice general manger at Huashu Digital TV. “The Next Generation Hybrid STB, jointly developed by OKI, Intel and Huashu, is a perfect solution for such a platform, and with it, we aim to provide new value-added services to our subscribers while improving our average revenue per user.”
     The Next Generation Hybrid STB, which can be used for both digital video broadcasting (DVB) and IPTV, supports HDTV decoders including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and H.264.
     The platform uses the high-performance Intel CE 2110 media processor which includes a 2D/3D graphic accelerator and supports applications including a Flash player, Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and a browser.
     Founded in 1881, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. is Japan’s first telecommunications manufacturer, with its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
     OKI provides top-quality products, technologies and solutions to its customers through its info-telecom system business, semiconductor business and printer business. Oki has developed the ML2272X Series speech-synthesis LSIs that enable users to adjust playback speed and speech tone.
     While the speech tone, or pitch, in previous speech-synthesis devices increased or decreased as the playback speed changed, with these new devices, users can adjust both the speed and tone. Because the chip is equipped with a 16-bit audio-class D/A converter, it also offers high voice quality compared to previous OKI speech-synthesis LSIs. Samples of the product will be shipped today and volume shipment is scheduled to start in June 2008.
     Visit OKI’s global web site at http://www.oki.com/.
     Huashu Digital TV is a leading cable TV provider, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, actively promoting cable TV digitalization.
     Huashu focuses on the country’s development through digitalization and has provided two-way digital services, value-added services and digital information services within the country.
     Huashu Digital TV contributes as a pioneer in developing the digital TV industry in China by increasing the number of highly value-added service subscribers.