Monitor

The new Disney+ streaming service will entail a mixture of old and new shows from all of the studios under its umbrella. This, therefore, includes Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox, Pixar and Marvel. Therefore, Netflix may indeed forfeit several lucrative series-length titles as Disney parts company with it in 2019. This year should also see much more granular detail on what this new subscription has to offer.

XDA contributors have noticed that the latest update to the Android TV OS has resulted in the appearance of "sponsored content" on the launcher visible from several kinds of device. They include the Sony Bravia X900F, the Mi Box 3 and NVIDIA's Shield TV. At present, this can be circumvented by uninstalling the updates from a specific app.

The ASUS ROG Swift PG349Q is a 34-inch, 21:9 Ultra-wide monitor with a resolution of 3440x1440. The OEM claims that these specs give 35% more desktop space compared to a WQHD panel. More to the point, however, this new monitor can be clocked between 100 and 120 hertz.

The MacBook accessory company Hyper has posted a page on its website for something it calls the "mother of all USB hubs". It has a total of 18 USB ports, 4 SD card slots, a range of legacy monitor ports and, best of all, a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. If this method of expanding on limited ports in your ultrabook sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The Cupertino giant has unveiled the next generation of its TV arm. However, it is not a device; rather, it is a software- and content-based upgrade. The new Apple TV app allows users to cherry-pick channels or streaming providers at need. They could also add Apple TV Plus: the company's new panel of original shows available via subscription.

Transparency Market Research's latest report is based on the observation that the demand for a 'smart' or 'connected' living room is growing steadily these days. It may consist of entertainment or media hardware that works seamlessly together via wireless controls. Currently, the market that underpins this idea is worth about US$500 billion; however, this is estimated to nearly double over the next 5 years.

Last year, we reported on rumors that Huawei was working on its first smart TV. Now, a Chinese news outlet claims that its sources have told it these products are nearly ready for release. These products are apparently to be released in 55- or 65-inch variants.

LG has stated its US dollar prices for its new OLED TVs. These state-of-the-art panels were previewed at CES 2019, and come with Dolby Vision, ThinQ AI and inbuilt Google Assistant. They start at US$2,499 - and work their way up to US$12,999.

Since 3D glasses have mostly been replaced by VR headsets and TV makers already removed all 3D features from their products, Nvidia has decided that its 3D Vision tech is not cutting it anymore. The last driver to support this technology will be released with the GeForce Game Ready suite this April.

Some companies have developed transparent displays to the point where they may be the immediate future of head-mounted, heads-up and state-of-the-art shopfront technology. A new analysis has shown that their market may be worth US$2.591 billion by 2023. This market will be made up of see-through OLEDs and LCDs in a range of display sizes.

Leica has launched the Q2, the second generation of its high-end full-frame sensor module. It is capable of 4K/UHD recording, 47.3-megapixel image capture, and expanded crop functions. The new Leica Q2 also has some degree of water-ingress protection for all-weather use.

A thin majority - 52% - of all households with broadband connections in the US now watch content that can be found, bought or sourced online on their connected TVs. These findings have been reported by Parks Associates. They have also discovered that this activity is now more popular among such households compared to other leisure pursuits - even gaming.

An Indian Twitter user has alleged that an Android TV to which he had access allowed him to see all the other accounts linked to the same via the Google Home app. The bug in question also could have let him put their Google Photos-stored images up on the screen. Google has responded by temporarily suspending the app options involved.

Xiaomi's Redmi sub-brand, today, launched its new mid-range phone. The Redmi Note 7 Pro features a dual rear camera setup, with the main sensor being Sony's 48 MP IMX586—also seen on the Honor View 20 and Mi 9; Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 675; and a 4000 mAh battery.

Acer has released a report in which it puts its January 2019 revenues at about US$540 million. These figures have decreased by 23.7% compared to December 2018 and by 1.3% compared to January 2018. The company has cited the ongoing effects of the SoC shortage in explaining these changes.

Canon has launched a new full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS RP. Unlike other DSLRs, even those with APS-C, these devices use a sensor equivalent to traditional film (i.e. they measure 36x24mm in total). This confers advantages such as improved depth-of-field and general image quality.

Chromebases may have fallen out of fashion years ago, but Acer is reviving the Chrome OS form factor with the Chromebase 24I2 and 24V2, two business-centric Chrome OS all-in-one desktops. Both devices will feature 24-inch Full HD touch displays, Intel 8th generation Core CPUs, and plenty of ports and hardware to support teleconferencing, business work, and more.

RetailMeNot, a company that collates online deals for consumers, has released a report indicating that this month is a good time to buy a new TV, along with some other appliances - second only to the Black Friday weekend, in fact. This mainly applies to the US, as it cites factors such as President's Day sales and Super Bowl promotional events.

As the demand for OLED displays continues to grow, Taiwanese manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and adjusting their business structures for increased production. Many companies, such as AU Optronics and Novatek Microelectronics, are expecting a massive boom in OLED sales and are more than willing to provide the necessary supply.

Anyone who travels frequently and would like to have a second mobile display should be interested in the new Kickstarter campaign by the Chinese company Taihe, which is currently experiencing a small hype. The company is planning to produce a mobile display that comes with Full HD and USB Type C will cost just 160 dollars.

The smart TV market was worth US$143 billion by the end of 2017. However, a new report has indicated that this value will grow by $110 billion in the next four years. This rate will be driven by a sustained downward trend in smart TV prices and the increased uptake of 4K, according to a new report.

Panasonic has launched its new GZ2000 TV at CES 2019. The company calls this product "the world's most cinematic TV" as it has been tuned by Hollywood colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. Panasonic also claims that the GZ2000 is the world's first to have HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and the new HLG photo format in a TV.

NVIDIA is expanding its G-Sync technology to more monitors, the company has announced at CES in Las Vegas. NVIDIA has already certified 12 AMD FreeSync monitors as being "G-Sync Compatible" and will roll out the functionality for GeForce GTX 10 series and RTX 20 series GPUs in its 2019 Game Ready driver on January 15. The company has also rebranded G-Sync HDR, which it only announced at last year's CES, as G-Sync Ultimate.

Lenovo's latest gaming monitors are beasts that boast high refresh rates. The Legion Y44w is a massive 43.6-inch Ultrawide (3840x1200, 32:10) FreeSync monitor with a 144 Hz refresh rate. The Legion Y27gq is a 27-inch QHD (2560x1440, 16:9) G-Sync display with a blazing fast 240 Hz refresh rate.

Samsung's Micro LED TVs made another appearance at CES 2019. The technology has come far enough to allow for various display sizes thanks to the modular panels housing the Micro LEDs. Additionally, Samsung is claiming that Micro LED (MLED) displays will have the same deep colors and high contrast of OLED displays without the burn-in worries that come with OLED. Initial impressions for MLED TVs are good, but Samsung says that the technology won't be ready for consumers for several years.

TVs that can curl up and store themselves in a box are becoming a staple of CES. This technology, introduced by its maker LG in 2017, has yet to appear in stores. However, this year, the company has brought them to the event again - as well as the news that they will go on sale in 2019.

The Razer Raptor 27 is the gaming company's entry into the gaming laptop market. The 27-inch 1440p monitor boasts a quick 144 Hz refresh rate, response times as low as 1 ms, and a bright (420 nit) HDR400 certified IPS panel. The monitor will ship with flat acid green cables tailor-made for the display's cable management system.

Right now, the only way to benefit from OLED displays as a gamer is to buy a TV that has at least a 55-inch diagonal. This could prove to be quite the investment, and gamers have been looking forward to OLED monitors in the 20/30-inch range for several years now. 2019 might just be the year for such monitors, as Sony and Panasonic recently showcased 21.6-inch FHD and 4K OLEDs plus a 27-inch display for smart home applications.

Sound on Display is a technology by which the audio associated with a display emanates from the screen itself, thus eliminating the need for inbuilt speakers. LG has demonstrated this innovation in TVs; now, Samsung appears poised to integrate it into smartphones. The OEM's take on this breakthrough may be showcased at CES 2019.

Microsoft is now rumored to be working on 4K webcams. These accessories, which are likely to go under the Surface brand, will be compatible with Windows 10-powered devices and the Xbox One. The new webcams, which may also support Windows Hello, may be available next year.

Worldwide sales are expected to more than double YoY. Top manufacturers like Asus continue to push the boundaries of gaming monitors by offering 4K UHD 144 Hz HDR options to attract more gamers. Curved gaming monitors will also make up more than half of all gaming monitor sales by the end of this year.

The Korean electronics giant Samsung will reportedly debut a line of notebooks with 4K OLED panels at CES 2019. These devices will come in 13.3 inch, 14 inch, and 15.6 inch variants. However, don't expect the consumer models of these new machines to come cheap.

In Japan, Acer has introduced seven new monitors with frame rates of up to 240 Hertz and response times of up to 0.5 milliseconds.

The latest issue in the growing string of problems with the Windows 10 1809 update affects devices using certain versions of Intel's display drivers. The Windows 10 October update breaks audio playback through monitors or TVs connected via versions 24.20.100.6344 and 24.20.100.6345 of Intel's display driver.

Lei Jun, Xiaomi's CEO, announced at a press conference that 43.9% of the company's revenues in the third quarter of 2018 had come from international markets. These overseas earnings had increased by over 100% compared to last year. This may be attributed to Xiaomi's by-now solid standing in Europe as an electronics provider.

Samsung is one of the world leaders in curved display technology, and is to take flexible OLEDs even further with its upcoming foldable phone range. However, IceUniverse believes that the company has even more of the same up its sleeve; a 360-degree type of transparent display.

A Eurogamer analyst has reported that Red Dead Redemption 2, a fresh release from RockStar Games, seems to have failed his test for high dynamic range (HDR) support while running on the XBox One. If these results are valid, the game only offers an upscaled form of standard DR (SDR).

Rockstar Games has announced the Companion App for its upcoming release, Red Dead Redemption 2. This app connects an Android or iOS device to the console in question, and allows the player to view maps, stats and progress on their phone or tablet while gaming.

Narrow bezels are all the rage these days—so much so that some OEMs have been overtly exaggerating their claims through marketing material. We want users to be aware of deceiving product shots that are seemingly becoming more commonplace amongst smartphone OEMs.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K has just been announced. It may be able to deliver HDR10+, as well as Dolby Vision, in order to stream content. Amazon has also included object-based Dolby Atmos surround sound, for material that supports it. At just US$49, it may be a significant problem for the upcoming Chromecast update.

At the recently concluded XDC 2018 conference, Intel's Linux graphics kernel developer, Manasi Navare touched upon the support for DisplayPort 1.4a and Display Stream Compression capabilities of the upcoming generation of Intel integrated graphics. The Gen 11 iGPU is slated to be a part of the 10nm 'Ice Lake' CPU family expected to launch sometime in holiday 2019.

Back in 2009, Alienware opened up the gates of its first retail store in the US. In the meantime, the brand's network of brick-and-mortar locations expanded all over the world and even got to China. Now, the time has come for a new Alienware flagship store and Frank Azor is flying there for the grand opening.

OLED offers an unbeatable experience when it comes to response times, viewing angles, and contrast ratio. After making a very brief appearance on the Alienware 13 R3 and Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga last year, the technology has been lying dormant ever since to make room for narrower bezels and more incremental improvements to IPS panels.

Samsung announced the new CJ79 monitor at IFA 2018 yesterday. The CJ79 is a 34-inch ultra-wide QLED monitor with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. The display features a VA panel that offers a 3000:1 contrast ratio and comes with support for AMD FreeSync.

Samsung has launched its new, 144Hz monitor in 32- and 27-inch variants. They claim that the new product, the CJG5, will be "reasonably" priced while offering decent specs and features. While there is no information on when it will be available, it has quite a lot of visibility at Gamescom this year.

The new JN-35VCG200UWHD gaming monitor is among the first to support 200 Hz refresh rates for ultra-wide resolutions. It might not be 4K and HDR-capable, but its AMVA panel with 180R curvature provides 3 ms response times, 300 nits peak brightness and stunning clarity via AMD's FreeSync dynamic refresh technology.

The C43J89 is Samsung's new ultra-wide monitor that boasts a resolution of 3840x1200 in a 120Hz 43-inch VA panel. Coming in both business and gaming variants, the C43J89 supports a host of connectivity options, offers a 99% FOV, and can display two sources simultaneously.

At Computex 2018, HDMI showed off some new features of the HDMI 2.1 specification on the Xbox One X. The Xbox One X will be the first device to support HDMI 2.1 features such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). These features will be coming in an upcoming firmware update to the console and will require compatible TVs for the same.