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Computer Optional For AOC's New HD Display
MojoKid writes "As a 22-inch, HD flat-panel display, AOC's new 2230Fm LCD has nothing necessarily earth-shattering about its design. But what got our attention was the marketing tag for the device: 'No PC Required.' It turns out that, in addition to being a traditional flat-screen LCD with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 (HDCP ready), the 2230Fm also includes a built-in media player, with what AOC calls its HD3 technology. The 2230Fm supports MPEG-1, 2, and 4 video formats. Supported audio formats include MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, FLA, and M4A. Supported photo formats include JPG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF images with resolutions up to 8000 x 8000 pixels. The display also has a low 2ms response time and high 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio."
How is this "news for nerds" or "stuff that matters" exactly?
What does it run? It would be interesting if it was embedded Linux, because there would be so much you could do with it (server, etc)
Do you mean to ask "But does it run L****?"?
I don't really care what it runs. It's a slashvertizment. Call me when C|Net or Taco or Ars or someplace that I've heard of reviews it.
Lock the wife and the dog in the boot of the car.
Return one hour later.
Who's happy to see you?
I'm all for having the option of having a low power embedded computer system in the display, just the ticket for a number of applications; but I cannot help but suspect that the value of such systems will be severely curtailled without some sort of standardization.(particularly given that the slightly uglier but much, much more standard option of an embedded PC in a VESA mount is always waiting in the wings)
Obviously, whatever board is working its magic in this AOC, and similar, is a full blown computer. I'm not sure about this case; but a fair few of these have a network stack, browser, and everything. Do you want to depend on a monitor vendor for security updates and bugfixes? Do you want to learn that the board embedded in your pricey display has all the personality quirks of a cut-rate DVD player from the wrong side of the bargain bin? Any sort of real integration with other systems, which would open all sorts of really interesting possibilities, is likely to be either a)a gigantic pain in the ass and kinda flakey, b)specifically blessed by the vendor and all the gods for this and only this use case and accompanying software, or c) Not Happening Buddy.
Going ahead and turning these things into full blown computers probably isn't the answer; but it would be very, very nice to see some sort of standardization, option for user access to the guts, etc. Appliances have their place; but they really do limit the possibilities of a given situation.
TFA doesn't mention network streaming or what USB HD file systems it will support, or even if it supports USB storage other than flash drives. So, based on description available, users will need to copy a few of their media files to an SD card or flash drive (using the computer that is not necessary), and plug it into the back. Fantastic. This is definitely worth the extra space and the 200 dollar markup over regular 22 inch monitors.
Said, "It's just like dice but it's got more sides And it tells me who lives and who dies"
Well I think you need to do a little more research first. The resolution isn't sub-par at all. Par would mean normal, median, average, etc. A little research turns up that essentially every 22" desktop monitor is 1680x1050. So the resolution is right on par.
As for LED backlighting, are you kidding me? That is currently very expensive. It's neat and all, but you aren't going to see it outside of either laptops (where the reduction in thickness and power is worth it) or extremely high end displays (where the increase in colour gamut is worth it). At present you need to be willing to drop serious cash to get such a display.
I also don't get all the hating on cheap monitors. Are LCDs something only the rich should be allowed to have? No? Then stop bitching when companies want to make budget displays. You want a better monitor? Go get one. There's plenty out there. I personally have an NEC 2690 and I just love it. Highly recommended. However, don't cry when you can't have it for $400.
There's a market for high end displays, and a market for cheap ones. If you aren't interested in a given segment, ignore it, but don't hate on those that are. Some people don't have thousands to spend on a display and want a monitor for a couple hundred, even if that means a cheap TN panel.