14 DAY TRIAL // Sharp announced a 64 inch LCD monitor that supports 4096 X 2160 resolution, at 8.84 million pixels. The presentation was made at CEATEC in Japan, one of the more popular week-long trades, taking place outside Tokyo, and right after the recently ended CEDIA Expo featured 1080p projectors, plasmas and LCDs. (Back in June, three German companies were developing technology capable of displaying a 5000 X 2000 resolution image)
The screen is still in the development phase and will be targeting film producers as well as medical researchers, said a Sharp representative. Some TV personalities from Japan complained that the "1080" made them look bad, while the new resolution is much better.
In the meantime, the DVD Forum is planning on introducing (starting next year) a region-coding system for HD DVD. In May, the Forum set up a working group to "develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC - Region Protection Coding - on HD DVD Video, including region map and requirements in consultation with the studios". The region-fixing system is largely unpopular, and many customers hoped the studios would abandon this idea.
Also, according to EngadgetHD, the Samsung M55 laptop will feature a HD DVD drive and HDMI output. With this, Samsung is showing the formerly known "world's thinnest and lightest 17-inch widescreen" (at 30.5mm 34.4 mm thick and 2.99 kg).
In the rumors category, Gizmodo is reporting that Panasonic could go for the dual-format hybrid player starting the next year. Sources say that Panasonic is doing this to protect itself, as they don't want all their eggs in one basket.