Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, today introduced the next evolution of its award-winning Central Station, the Series 7 Samsung Smart Station, as well as a redesigned Series 7 HDTV monitor for a whole-home solution. Part HD monitor, part wireless docking station, the second generation Series 7 Smart Station (CB750) builds upon the successes of its predecessor and now integrates with mobile devices in addition to notebook PCs, peripherals, network and AV, providing users with a simple and convenient way to increase productivity.

The new Series 7 HDTV monitor (TB750) includes HDTV functionality with a built-in TV tuner and integrated wireless display (WiDi) technology from Intel for added connectivity to the TB750 as well as integrations with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets for added versatility. The Series 7 Smart Station, available in 24- and 27-inch configurations, and the Series 7 HDTV monitor, available in 24- and 27-inch configurations, will be available on display during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at Central Hall booth #12004, January 10-13.

Genesys Logic announced its newest application processor, the GL3620. This chip is designed to be the prime-mover of tomorrow's high-definition 1080p web-cameras, which will strike mainstream price-points. This chip takes advantage of the USB 3.0 interface, particularly its isochronous transfer mode, which guarantees sufficient bandwidth to stream uncompressed (lossless) 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) video at 30 frames per second. This defined theoretical bandwidth limit is about 380 MB/s between the chip and the USB 3.0 host. Lossless video streaming from the webcam gives users the ability to use higher-quality software video encoders.

The Genesys Logic GL3620 also packs native HISP, which encodes RGB RAW data from CMOS sensors to interpolated YUV format. It also looks after bad pixel correction, image scaling, gamma correction, image quality enhancement, etc., to maintain backwards compatibility with USB 2.0, probably albeit, at lower resolutions. The chip also includes a native MJPEG encoder that offloads the host CPU from doing the lossless stream to MJPEG conversion to stream to IM clients. Genesys Logic will exhibit GL3620 demo at CES 2012 in Las Vegas from January 10th to January 13th 2012. In related news, Genesys logic will also demo its three other new USB 3.0 chips, the GL3520, which is a USB 3.0 hub controller; the GL3321, which is a USB 3.0 to SATA bridge chip; and GL3220, which is a USB 3.0 flash card reader controller.

KFA2, the European premium NVIDIA brand, announced today the GTX 580 MDT X4 EX OC, the latest in the line of MDT series multi-display performance gaming graphics cards. The KFA2 GeForce GTX 580 MDT X4 is designed to be the flagship product within our MDT range, offering unparalleled performance in the latest DirectX 11 games in full 1080p.

Whilst the KFA2 GeForce 580 MDT X4 supports up to 4 monitors for multi-display, its main feature includes 'Virtual single monitor mode' which shares one desktop across 3 screens, producing surround HD game play (50Mhz compatible monitors needed for this feature). This myriad of features and unrivaled performance is complimented by a KFA2 custom designed LED chassis and high efficiency triple fan cooling solution.

AMD today released its latest unofficial drivers, Catalyst 12.1 Preview. Surprisingly, this release comes ahead of the month's scheduled WHQL-signed release, Catalyst 11.12 WHQL. According to sources, 12.1 Preview is the first driver that provides early (read: rough-on-the-edges) support for AMD's next generation Radeon HD 7900 series graphics cards, scheduled for launch on the 9th of January, 2012. That apart, Catalyst 12.1 brings the following changes to the table:

• AMD HD3D technology support enhancement
  o Enables support for AMD HD3D technology in conjunction with AMD CrossFireX configurations
  o Delivers a new Stereo 3D mode over HDMI 1.4a connections - 1080p at 30Hz is now enabled on supported displays.
• AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements - Application Profiles
  o AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver enables users to create per application profiles to individually control 3D and CrossFireX settings for Direct3D applications
  o Please be sure to select the "Restore Factory Defaults" option under the Catalyst
• Control Center Preferences menu before using the new application profiles feature - this ensures there are no compatibility issues between previous drivers and the new AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver with regards to application profiles
• AMD Catalyst Control Center / Vision Engine Control Center enhancements - Video UI improvements
  o AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver includes user interface enhancements to simply adjustment of video color and video quality controls
• Performance highlights of the AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview driver (in addition to the AMD Catalyst 11.11c performance driver)
  o Improves performance (10%) in Elder Scrolls: Skyrim when Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing is enabled on the AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series for single GPU and AMD CrossFireX configurations

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 12.1 Preview

StarTech.com, a leading manufacturer of hard-to-find connectivity parts has announced the release of the USB 3.0 to HDMI/DVI Adapter (SKU: USB32HDE) and USB 3.0 to VGA Adapter (SKU: USB32VGAE), which leverage the high-bandwidth (5 Gbps) SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface to deliver smooth, high resolution content to your HDMI/DVI-capable display (HDMI to DVI Adapter included), or VGA display, respectively.

The new USB 3.0 video adapters function as external graphics cards that can be used to extend a desktop to double your workspace for increased productivity, or mirror a primary desktop, showing the same image on each display.

Acer America Corp., the number one provider of 3D displays worldwide(1), today introduced the Acer HR274H, a 27-inch 3D monitor featuring new advances in 3D technology. Featuring Acer's innovative chip-based solution, the new monitor can convert any 2D content to 3D, allowing anyone to watch their favorite movies, videos, photos and games in 3D.

With crystal clear 1920 x 1080 resolution, it is the ideal monitor for advanced 1080p full HD gaming on a PC, Blu-ray Disc console gaming, widescreen movie playback and multimedia and productivity applications.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and a channel manufacturer, today unleashes the GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 cores Limited Edition graphics card geared for the latest stunning Microsoft DirectX 11-enabled titles.

The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 cores Limited Edition graphics card delivers the performance and visual details gamers crave for an unmatched immersive gaming experience. Equipped with 448 lightning-fast shaders and 1280MB of GDDR5 memory, the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 cores Limited Edition graphics card packs a performance punch.

Hightech Information System Limited (HIS) today made the world's first USB 3.0 to HDMI adapter available - the HIS Multi-View+Sound. Delivering a fast and easy way to expand your visual computing experience across multiple screens, the HIS Multi-View+Sound turns your computer into a gaming and multimedia center.

Yes, you heard that right, when completed, the Raspberry Pi foundation will be selling a credit card sized computer running Linux that can plug into your television and play H.264 1080p30 videos. Raspberry Pi is the somewhat cheekily-named UK registered charity which has been set up to design and build a very low cost computer that is targeted for use in computer science lessons in schools, to "put the fun back into learning computing." Why, was it ever not fun?! However, such a simple and cheap general purpose gadget has the potential for many other uses than the classroom, as the world is full of inventive tech-minded people that can tinker with something like this and build innovative projects with them, perhaps by using several of these together.

The product will come in two configurations, a $25 Model A with 128 MB SDRAM & $35 Model B with 256 MB SDRAM and both will come with the same 700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 media processor featuring an ARM11 (ARM1176JZF-S) core, Broadcom GPU core, DSP core and support for Package-on-Package (PoP) RAM. We expect that in this day and age, most people will go for the 256 MB model, which is still a very small amount of RAM. For those that want to get the most out if this device, the website - www.raspberrypi.org - has a forum and a wiki with tons of technical details on the device, including benchmarks and links to many other news stories & blogs about the product. There's even a shop, although at the moment, it's only selling keyboard stickers of the foundation's logo.

Lenovo, today announced the IdeaCentre Q180 - a consumer desktop PC no larger than a paperback book, yet powerful enough to turn a digital TV into a multimedia hub for enjoying music, videos, games, web browsing and more.

"With the IdeaCentre Q180, we upped our game in the compact PC category," said Nick Reynolds, executive director, Product Group Marketing, Lenovo. "Featuring the latest HD Graphics and Blu-ray 3D playback, the Q180 enables consumers to change the way they enjoy multimedia and the Web in their living room at an affordable price point."

Do you want a really small PC that fits in the palm of your hand? Well, if you do, then VIA Technology have got you covered with their new ARTiGO A1150. As you can see from the pictures, it has a high 'cuteness' factor, due to its diminutive size of just 5.7" x 3.9" x 2". For processing, it sports a 64-bit VIA 1.0 GHz dual core Eden X2 CPU and a VX900H media system processor supporting the latest HD video codecs including H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2/4 at up to 1080p. Interfaces include HDMI and VGA ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, five USB ports including one USB device port, three audio jacks with optional wireless IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and SD card reader modules.

Target uses include the usual home/office environments, use as a super space-saving desktop PC, a home server, media streaming and surveillance applications. Of course, the real question is what kind of performance can one expect out if it, given that it's targeted at the desktop PC market, so one hopes that it can run Windows 7 at a decent performance level. Oddly, the VIA press release doesn't say anything about the RAM, so it's not clear how much can be fitted, which type and what speed grades are supported.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and channel manufacturer, today debuts the silently quick GeForce GTS 450 ZONE Edition for users that demand stunning Microsoft DirectX 11 visuals and noise-less cooling.

The ZOTAC GeForce GTS 450 ZONE Edition takes the award-winning GeForce GTS 450 graphics processor with 192 high-performance shaders and passively cools it using a ZOTAC-exclusive dual-slot fan-less cooling system that features copper heat-pipes and aluminum fins to keep the graphics processor cool while operating silently.

DisplayLink, the leading provider of technology for virtual and USB-connected computing, and I-O DATA DEVICE (www.iodata.com) today announced the availability of the I-O DATA USB-RGB3/D USB 3.0 to DVI display adapter. Incorporating the DisplayLink DL-3100 chip for connectivity and virtual graphics, it is the first USB 3.0 enabled display adapter to ship in Japan.

"And this is as true in Japan as any other technology-embracing market."

Featuring the robust DisplayLink 3.0 video compression and support for resolutions up to 2048 x 1152, including 1080p, even the newest notebooks, netbooks and PCs can enjoy the benefits of multi-screen computing. And with the throughput of SuperSpeed USB 3.0, those monitors will display high-performance, full-screen HD video, 3D games, rich 2D graphics and multi-channel audio.

The KFA2 GeForce 570 MDT X4 is designed to play the latest DirectX 11 games in full 1080p. Whilst the KFA2 GeForce 570 supports up to 4 monitors its main feature includes 'Virtual single monitor mode' which shares one desktop across 3 screens, producing surround HD game play.

The card features 4 DVI ports to support digital PC displays natively, and also has one Mini-HDMI port with digital audio for use with HDTVs. Like the GTX 560 Ti MDT X5, the GTX 570 MDT X4 also allows you to connect an additional display for the Windows desktop to use for chats, playlists, video, supporting all the latest features such as DirectX11 and PhysX.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX Mainboard, immediately available worldwide at incredibly competitive pricing. The VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX provides the ideal platform for DIY enthusiasts to custom build stylish home desktop and media center PCs.

Featuring a high-performance 1.4GHz VIA Nano X2 dual core processor and the VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor, the VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX Mainboard delivers a highly optimized platform that boasts stunning HD video performance of the most demanding video formats at resolutions of up to 1080p. The VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX also supports high fidelity surround sound through the VIA VT1708S HD audio codec which delivers amazing stereo 24-bit resolution and up to 192kHz sample rates and adds HDMI support in a compact, power-efficient package.

Intel started the trend of improving integrated graphics with their second generation LGA1155 socket Core i3, i5 & i7 line of processors. Depending on the model, these processors sport integrated HD2000 or HD3000 graphics right on the processor die, which nowadays give acceptable performance for low-end gaming and can play Full HD 1080p video perfectly. This trend is increasing with the upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, which will be able to support a massive 4096 x 4096 pixel display, as we reported here. AMD now also have equivalent products with their Llano-based A-series processors. So, where does this leave discrete graphics cards? Well, the low end market is certainly seeing reduced sales, as there really isn't enough of a performance difference nowadays to always warrant an upgrade from an IGP. As integrated graphics improve further, one can see how this will hurt sales of higher end graphics cards too. The problem is that the bulk of the profit comes not from the top-end powerhouse graphics cards, but from the low to mid-end cards which allow these companies to remain in business, so cannibalizing sales of these products to integrated graphics could make high-end graphics cards a much more niche product and crucially, much more expensive with to boot.

Western Digital, the world's leader in external storage solutions and maker of the popular WD TV media player family, today introduced the next generation of its WD TV Live streaming media player, an easy to use Wi-Fi enabled media player that is the first in its category to deliver the Spotify music service.

WD TV Live features WD's newest intuitive user interface that delivers the latest hit movies, TV shows, music and online services from companies like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Blockbuster directly to your TV. The new streaming media player connects to the Internet wirelessly or through an Ethernet connection, with the high performance 802.11n wireless connectivity supporting Full-HD 1080p video resolution.

As the market for compact PCs grows, so will the push to make them faster. In space-congested mini-ITX form-factor cases, you're more likely to face a crunch with the length of addon-cards the case can accommodate, than its height (whether it's low-profile or full-height). To address this, Japansese graphics card manufacturer ELSA unveiled its latest GeForce GTX 560 Ti based graphics card, which uses a much shorter PCB (lengthwise).

Called the ELSA Gladiac GTX 560 Ti Mini, the card provides a reasonably powerful GPU that's game for 1080p gaming, in a compact form-factor. The PCB's length is 59 mm less than that of NVIDIA reference PCB. It uses a heat-pipe fed fan-heatsink assembly that uses a 80 mm fan to ventilate a dense aluminum fin array. The card uses clock speeds of 822 MHz, 1644 MHz, and 4008 MHz (core/CUDA cores/memory effective). It features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. It can pair with any other GTX 560 Ti card in 2-way SLI configuration. It will make its way to markets next week.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today expanded its line of All-in-One PCs with the introduction of the Toshiba DX735, featuring a 23-inch Full HD multi-touch display. A complete entertainment hub for the home or dorm room the DX735 offers high-end audio, video and computing performance as well as premium computing capabilities to manage and create content.

"Our All-in-One systems blend the best of Toshiba's PC and visual product expertise for families and students looking to enjoy TV, watch DVDs and play games," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Featuring a stylish and space-saving TV-like design, the DX735 is a great add to almost any room, enabling users to interact with their media, while acting as an ideal hub for family photos, videos, music and more."

Intel released its latest generation of Atom processors, codenamed "Cedar Trail". Unlike earlier expected, the portable (netbook) variants of the new Atom processor aren't launched this day, just the low-power desktop (nettop) variants of Atom D2500 and Atom D2700. Cedar Trail is built on the 32 nm fabrication process, it features faster graphics, more graphics connectivity options (such as DisplayPort), hardware HD video acceleration, and a faster integrated memory controller.

Both the D2500 and D2700 are dual-core processors, with two x86-64 cores, and four logical CPUs for the OS to deal with, using HyperThreading technology. The D2500 is clocked at 1.86 GHz, while the D2700 runs at 2.13 GHz. Both chips feature 1 MB of shared L2 cache, the TDP of both are rated at 10W. New features included with the two are Intel Wireless Display Technology, Fast Boot, and PC Sync. The improved embedded graphics core is capable of 1080p video playback, supports hardware acceleration of popular HD video formats, and supports Blu-ray 2.0 format. Available to OEMs, the Atom D2500 and D2700 are BGA chips, priced at $42 and $52 in 1K quantities, respectively. The portable (netbook) variants of this generation, the N2600 and N2800, are expected to arrive a little later.

The new ROG MARS II picks up where previous graphics card powerhouses from ASUS ROG left off, and continues the legacy of the finest hardware for hardcore gamers. The limited-edition card is built on twin NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 GPUs and a mammoth 3GB of GDDR5 video memory, with a proprietary ROG design that combines extreme cooling and extensive tuning facilities that cater to the most demanding power user. It also offers colossal pixel-pushing output that is unmatched by any graphics card.

ECS announced a trio of socket FM1 motherboards supporting AMD A-Series APUs. It includes an ATX motherboard targeting the home/gamer PC market, the A55F-A, a micro-ATX board targeting HTPCs, the A55F-M2, and another one targeting office desktops, the A55F-M3. Featuring in ECS Black Series, the A55F-A has just about all the goods to make up a budget gaming PC based on the A-Series APU. Budget gamers can start off with the integrated GPU (which is quite fast for 720p gaming), and then add discrete graphics cards. The extra room of standard ATX is wasted by three legacy PCI slots. There's plenty of connectivity, including USB 3.0, eSATA 6 Gb/s, five internal SATA 6 Gb/s, etc.

The A55F-M2 ticks all the checkboxes for an HTPC motherboard, one that doesn't rely on discrete graphics and yet has the resources for quality 1080p video playback. In this case, taking advantage of the powerful integrated GPU of AMD A-series, and HDMI 1.4a output (making it Blu-ray 3D ready). The HDMI port gives out 7.1 channel digital audio, or there's 6-channel analog audio to fall back on. All six SATA 6 Gb/s ports are internal, to run all the 3 TB hard drives you can afford to throw in. The A55F-M3 is a compact micro-ATX board with just about enough features to make for an office desktop based on the AMD A-Series APU platform. There's no fancy connectivity, there's SATA 6 Gb/s to support the latest hard drives and cheap SSDs in the future, analog D-Sub video output (not very future-proof), and bare essential connectivity.

StarTech.com, a leading manufacturer of hard-to-find connectivity parts has announced the release of the USB to HDMI Adapter (USB2HDMI) - a convenient multi-monitor solution that enables users to connect an HDMI-capable display to a Windows or Mac-based laptop or desktop computer, through a USB 2.0 port.

The adapter is a cost-effective solution for adding a secondary monitor or several monitors (using multiple adapters), without having to update the computer video card, or even open the computer case. The adapter offers practical, scalable technology that could be utilized in many environments, including business and home applications. As a solution for enterprise or SOHO business users, the adapter makes it easy to add multi-monitor configurations for the sake of improved employee productivity, while home-users/end-users could benefit from the adapter's use as a cost effective way to connect their home computer to an HDTV, for watching videos, viewing photos, or simply using the Internet.

SAPPHIRE Technology - the world leading supplier of graphics solutions, mainboards and other PC products - has just announced the SAPPHIRE HD 6950 TOXIC Edition, the fastest production card in its class.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6950 TOXIC Edition ships with clock speeds of 880MHz for the core and 1300Mhz (5.2 Gb/sec effective) for the memory making it the fastest production HD 6950 on the market. This has been achieved by building the card on a high specification PCB with digital VRMs for excellent power regulation and 8 + 6 pin power connectors. It has a high performance cooler featuring a Vapor Chamber, blower fan and a new perforated backplate to increase airflow out of the system case.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today announces the ZOTAC DisplayPort to Dual HDMI and mini-DisplayPort to Dual HDMI adaptors designed to double display output capabilities on desktops and notebooks.

The ZOTAC Dual HDMI adaptors transform native DisplayPort and mini-DisplayPort outputs from notebooks, desktops - graphics cards and integrated graphics - to dual HDMI outputs. The HDMI outputs are capable of resolutions up to 1920x1080 per port for a combined spanned resolution of 3840x1080 with the ZOTAC Dual HDMI adaptors.