NVIDIA Buys Into MotionDSP, Creators of CUDA-Based Video Encoder

NVIDIA has gone ahead and partnered themselves with another company, this time one that promises to give the company's CUDA technology a huge boost. MotionDSP is a company that has been working on advanced video technology for some time, some of which I had the pleasure to see first-hand at NVISION last month. The fact that their software relies a lot on CUDA makes this partnership a no-brainer.

MotionDSP's upcoming video software, called Carmel, promises to use CUDA to its fullest extent, and in some cases, it will be able to encode in real-time... something not yet seen on any desktop processors today, no matter the frequency or core count. The software will feature various enhancements, such as fixing of jittery videos, lightning up of super-dark videos, among others. You can see real-world examples here. That page also allows a beta sign-up.

Once this software gets released in Q1 2009, it's bound to put NVIDIA's CUDA technology in a great light, as long as it can live up to its promises. I'm confident it will, as I've been toying with various GPU-accelerated video encoders for the past little while and the results I've seen are good. But with MotionDSP's taking a few more months before its final launch, I'd expect that solution to be far more robust. I'm already looking forward to it.

MotionDSP’s software, codenamed “Carmel”, uses sophisticated multi-frame methods to track every pixel across dozens of video frames, and reconstruct high-quality video from low-resolution sources. MotionDSP’s software significantly reduces compression and sensor noise, improves resolution, and corrects for poor lighting conditions.

Source: NVIDIA Press Release

Where's all the fresh content?!

This month has been a little slow in terms of content posted, and for that, we apologize. I'll take a moment or two here to explain what's been going on, when things will go back to normal, and also divulge a little bit into what's coming up. Over the past month, we've been working hard on things in the background, most notably with our testing methodologies, which I explained briefly last Wednesday.

As a result of the effort, we've completely revamped everything from how we install Windows Vista to how we run each one of our tests. Once we begin posting reviews under our new methods, we'll be also posting an article that goes into some depth about every aspect of how we accomplish the results we do. I won't get too much into this now, but trust me, you'll want to check it out.

Content affected is graphic cards, processors, motherboards and storage, though I won't get into great detail until reviews begin to be posted. Having "storage" listed there might seen a little strange, since it's a category we've inadvertently shunned for quite a while, but you can be sure that it's coming back in full force, and we now have a cool methodology to back it up.

Aside from all of that, a few of our staffers have been ultra-busy with non-site duties, from dealing with everyday hassles to moving to another state, but things should begin to settle down now. Starting next week, you can expect our content publishing schedule to be put back on track, just in time for the new month.

As always, thanks a ton for the support and for enabling us to be able to continue doing what we love to do!

Top Thirteen Error Screens

Ahh, the error screen. Where would we be without 'em? Whether it's a Blue Screen of Death or a simple error pop-up from an application, they're a required part of computing, but undoubtedly one of the most annoying aspects of computing as well. The Technologizer blog takes a look at their personal "top thirteen" greatest error messages of all time, and some are not going to be that surprising.

The BSOD is of course there, but did you realize there's also a "Red Screen of Death"? It's one that originally came with Windows Longhorn - before it became Vista - although there's a slight chance it still could be in the retail version, but it would be incredibly rare. I've caught only one while testing Longhorn, and what a sweet day it was.

Other picks from their list go back as far as the eighties with the Guru Meditation, a random error for the Commodore Amiga that had the same overall effect of the BSOD, though it was red on black, rather than white on blue. It of course also included useless codes that meant nothing to the layman. The list is quite good overall... and I can't really think of any that are missing off hand.

According to Wikipedia, some beta versions of Longhorn–the operating system that became Windows Vista–crashed with a full-screen error message that was red rather than the more familiar blue. Wikipedia seems to say that the final version of Vista can die with a red color scheme when the boot loader has problems, too. I’m relieved to say I’ve never encountered that, as far as I can remember.

Source: Technologizer

Spore's DRM Leads to Class Action Lawsuit Against EA

Spore... can't the poor game catch a break? Nope, not as long as DRM exists in the software. We've covered the DRM in Spore many times in our news already, but the latest happening is a class action lawsuit against EA, stating that the company violated two different laws in the state of California - though the laws could be similar in other states as well.

The reasoning behind the suit leads to SecuROM, the notorious "disk checker" DRM that has been loathed by many people for quite a while. The problem isn't so much the software itself as much as it is the fact that EA doesn't tell its customers that it will be installed. The company fails to mention the software specifically, but does mention that copy protection is used.

The biggest problem with SecuROM is that it takes a lot of effort to remove off the system if you don't want it there anymore. You can uninstall every game that utilizes it, but it will still be there, lingering. Whether or not this should be considered a real issue or not could be debated, but as I always say, if you buy your software legally, you shouldn't have to put up anything of the type. It's going to be interesting to see how far this lawsuit will go, but one sure thing is... it's not going to affect EA's pocketbook that much even if they lose, sadly.

The suit accuses EA of "intentionally" hiding the fact that Spore uses SecuROM, which it alleges is "secretly installed to the command and control center of the computer (Ring 0, or the Kernel) and [is] surreptitiously operated, overseeing function and operation of the computer, and preventing the computer from operating under certain circumstances and/or disrupting hardware operations."

Source: Gaming and Culture Blog

Voodoo Still Alive and Strong

On Monday, we broke the news that big changes were coming to VoodooPC, and although we are still unsure of the end-effect these changes will have, we are a little better informed today. Phil McKinney, VP and CTO for Hewlett-Packard's Personal Systems Group posted on the official Voodoo blog to help clarify the goings-on.

According to Phil, Voodoo isn't going anywhere, and I'm sure many will agree that this statement deserves a *phew*. But our original predictions of what will happen with the name seem to be true. Phil says, "We're migrating products and innovations from the high-end Voodoo portfolio into various parts of HP’s portfolio." So while Voodoo the name isn't going anywhere, the company itself will be integrated into HP.

This, to me, is a good thing overall. VoodooPC has been making some stellar products for a while, but since being acquired by HP, things haven't exactly exploded. The integration promises to improve that situation and make Voodoo products better available for more people, which I assume means we'll see an expanded portfolio in the near-future.

Phil goes on to state that Voodoo has new products in the pipeline, though he doesn't go into any real detail whatsoever. Could it be the rumored larger Envy? An Omen sidekick? A netbook? I guess we'll have to wait and see. If more information surrounding the layoffs and company changes come to light, we'll be sure to let you guys know.

Integration into the larger HP means greater leverage of HP’s processes, partners, go-to market programs, distribution and infrastructure. This plan will allow more consumers broader access to the incredible products and technologies developed by this team. Rahul Sood, who continues to report to me as Voodoo CTO, blogged about this more than a month ago.

Source: Voodoo Blog

Hasselblad to Announce 60 Megapixel Camera Next Year

Just the other day, I posted about Leica's new high-end D-SLR that features a sensor capable of capturing 37 megapixels, which is impressive in itself, but even more impressive to be coming from a company like Leica. But when you think of cameras with an insanely large megapixel count, it's of course Hasselblad that first comes to mind.

The company announced a 50 megapixel camera over the summer, which is staggering to think about as is, but apparently they have an even bigger model en route that ups the ante to 60 megapixels. The camera will be called the H3DII-60, so in all likeliness, it will likely be very close features-wise to other current H3DII models.

The upcoming model will also feature a true 94% full-frame sensor, which Hasselblad stresses is important, since most "full-frame" cameras out there are not true full-frame. It will retail for £18,750, a £4,000 premium over the H3DII-50, so you better have a need for those ten extra megapixels.

A "revolutionary" new tilt and shift adaptor, the Hasselblad HTS 1.5, is also joining the Hasselblad line-up. The HTS 1.5 allows photographers to use tilt and shift functionality with most of their existing or new HC/HCD lenses. "The addition of digital sensors that read and record all movements and Hasselblad's proprietary digital lens correction mean that we can offer photographers both a unique level of quality and maximum ease of use," said Poulson.

Source: PC World, Via: Engadget

Tech Roundup - September 25, 2008

Motherboards & Processors
• Asrock K10N78-1394 AM2+ - Pro-Clockers
• Biostar TPower I45 - PC Stats

Displays & Video Cards
• ATi Radeon HD 4870 X2 Quadfire Performance Analysis - ClubOC

Memory & Storage
• OCZ Spyder 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive - Virtual-Hideout

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Altec Lansing T612 Speaker System - Think Computers
• OCZ Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse - Overclockers Club
• WolfKing Trooper MVP Laser Gaming Mouse - Benchmark Reviews

Cooling
• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev.2 Heatpipe VGA Cooler - TweakNews
• Glacialtech Igloo 7312 Silent E Heatsink - FrostyTech
• Thermalright True Black 120 - Hardware Logic
• Vizo Ninja HS Notebook Cooler - DragonSteelMods
• Zalman CNPS9300 AT CPU Cooler - PC Perspective

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Antec MicroFusion 350 Remote - Nordic Hardware
• Antec NeoPower 650 Blue PSU - OCModShop
• BFG Tech LS-680 680W Power Supply - Big Bruin
• Cooler Master UCP 900W - Technic3D
• GMC Noblesse AVC-S1 HTPC Case - Red and Blackness

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• COWON iAUDIO 7 MP3 Player - TheTechLounge
• JVC Everio GZ-HD40 120GB Camcorder - Digital Trends