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This year, LG Display came to CES 2024 with something to prove. It had multiple sizes of transparent OLEDs (the show’s theme appears to be transparent displays) and a gaming monitor capable of 480Hz refresh rates – double what we’re used to seeing. Perhaps the most interesting things at its showroom were LG Display’s most advanced OLED panels yet, featuring its META technology 2.0. While it sounds like promotional fluff (and there’s some of that here), the company is trying to address arguably OLED’s biggest weakness.

While the company revealed its META technology last year, version 2.0 features advanced microlens arrays (now called MLA+). These are micrometer-sized lenses with a Dragonfly eye design that improves the viewing angle of OLED displays up to 160 degrees. These lenses (and there are 42.4 billion of them in LG Display’s 83-inch 4K prototype), combined with new algorithms result in an OLED far more brighter than its predecessors – 42 percent brighter than conventional OLEDs, according to the company.

META 2.0 could address one of the biggest criticisms of OLED compared to rival screens- whether Mini or MicroLED – that it can’t get bright enough. LG Display says its META 2.0 OLEDs can hit 3,000 nits of brightness.

Why would you want an even brighter OLED? Combining MLA+ with a new brightness-optimizing algorithm analyses scenes in even more detail, to enhance both peak and also color brightness. These next-gen OLED displays can reach color brightness of up to 1,500 nits — 114% brighter than conventional OLEDs. A new detail-enhancing algorithm will also attempt to accurately render bright and darker images, where detail is sometimes lost. It’s not just a matter of image quality either — the technology offers power savings too.

LG Display’s 83-inch 4K META 2.0 OLED demonstration display will apparently be joined by 55-, 65- and 77-inch options, as well as 8K OLEDs as big as 88 inches. These will reach consumer TVs, monitors, and the rest – just in time to go head-to-head with the latest, brightest MicroLED rivals.

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lg-displays-next-gen-oled-panels-address-the-techs-biggest-weakness-001551026.html?src=rss 

NASA is delaying its return to the Moon with the Artemis program. “To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first-time developments, operation and integration, we’re gonna give more time on Artemis 2 and 3,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters on a call.

As such, Artemis 2, which had been scheduled for a November 2024 launch, is now targeting September 2025. That four-person mission is set to fly around the Moon, in a similar fashion to the uncrewed Artemis 1. As for Artemis 3, which will take humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, that’s now targeted for September 2026, marking a nine-month delay.

Those are the only delays NASA has announced for now. Nelson said “Artemis 4 remains on track for September 2028.” Along with a lunar landing, that mission will mark the delivery of a habitat module to the Lunar Gateway, a space station that’s planned for lunar orbit.

The delays are for safety reasons. “For Artemis 2, there are new capabilities being on-ramped for the mission,” Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program said. Those include propellant loading, crew loading and egress and fresh abort and life support systems.

Kshatriya said NASA is learning from both the data it obtained from Artemis 1 and the production of components for future missions. “From the test flight in particular, we had one major finding that we need a little bit more time to work [on] and that is the performance of the thermal protection system on the spacecraft, on the heat shield,” Kshatriya said.

While the heat shield performed well overall during the Artemis 1 landing in terms of thermal protection, it experienced “some unexpected phenomena we need to make sure we understand perfectly,” namely some charred material. NASA doesn’t want to leave anything to chance when it comes to astronauts’ safety and it spent “the bulk of 2023 investigating” that concern, Kshatriya noted. NASA hopes to identify the root cause of the issue in the spring.

Meanwhile, among other concerns, NASA encountered some issues with the life support system. “During the acceptance of some components for Artemis 3, we noticed a failure in some motor valve circuitry,” Kshatriya said. “These components passed acceptance testing for Artemis 2, but did not pass them for Artemis 3. That gave us pause to stop and look at that circuit in a more detailed way.” As such, NASA found a design flaw in the circuit. 

Given its importance to the life support system, the agency deemed the system unacceptable as is. “We have to replace it to guarantee the safety of the crew,” Kshatriya said. It’s likely to take quite some time to resolve the issue as NASA will have to carefully test every change, but Kshatriya added the agency knows how to solve the problem. 

The Artemis delays follow the failure of a mission that sought to transport the first US commercial payload to the Moon. Astrobotic had hoped to make a soft landing on the lunar surface with its Peregrine lander. However, due to some post-launch issues (in particular, a propellant leak) the soft landing is no longer possible.

“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon. However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft,” Astrobotic wrote on X. “The team continues to work to find ways to extend Peregrine’s operational life.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasa-delays-its-first-crewed-artemis-mission-until-september-2025-195019383.html?src=rss 

Netflix’s long-anticipated sci-fi series 3 Body Problem finally has a full trailer, following a short teaser released last year. This new trailer is over two minutes long and absolutely filled with exciting moments and tantalizing clues. Watch it below.

The show’s based on a hit book series by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The showrunners include David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, formerly of Game of Thrones. Yes, everyone hates them because of the ending of HBO’s fantasy epic, but here’s the thing. 3 Body Problem is the first novel in the finished Remembrance of Earth’s Past series, and the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, when working from pre-existing material, were absolutely iconic. So this could be very good, though it has suffered from delays.

As for the plot, well it’s complicated and hard to even discuss without getting into spoilers. The books are out there if you can’t wait until the show’s March 21 release date. As a clue, the clunky title actually refers to a common problem with both classical physics and quantum physics involving Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. In other words, it’s hard sci-fi, but the books have plenty of action and mystery set-pieces, and the show looks to follow suit. Expect plenty of advanced technologies and otherworldly weirdness.

3 Body Problem stars Benedict Wong, Eiza González and several Game of Thrones alums including Jonathan Pryce and John Bradley. Besides Benioff and Weiss, screenwriter Alexander Woo is on-board as a co-showrunner. Woo’s best known for his work on True Blood and The Terror, among other well-regarded series.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflixs-sci-fi-adaptation-3-body-problem-finally-gets-a-full-sized-trailer-200027248.html?src=rss 

EcoFlow has arrived at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to show off its largest and most useful home battery backup solution, the Delta Pro Ultra. It’s calling the hardware a “smart hybrid whole house battery generator and backup” that will draw power from a wide variety of sources. You’ll be able to charge it from either high or low-output solar panels, from the grid, or even juice it up from a gas powered generator. (But also, don’t do that unless lives are on the line, please, the planet can’t handle it.) The Delta Pro Ultra also vastly increases how much power you can keep on hand at any one time. The existing Delta Pro can scale — with additional batteries — up to 25kWh but, if your wallet is thick enough, you can equip the Ultra with 90kWh of batteries, which the company says should be enough to keep your home’s essentials running for up to a month.

In fact, the theme of this hardware is supersized capaciousness since every element of it has been built to service the most extravagant McMansions. For instance, the solar input can take up to 16.8kW of power at a time, letting you wire up to 42 400W panels at a time. Combined with the ability to draw extra power from the grid when energy costs are low and you should see the initial outlay paid back fairly quickly. And the company says output runs from 7.2kW — enough to run a Central Air unit — all the way through to 21.6kW with enough additional gear, which should be enough to power most key appliances in your home.

On its own, the Ultra is plug-and-play, although if you want to take advantage of its higher outputs and deeper integration with the home, you’ll have to buy its Smart Home Panel 2. That will of course require the services of a qualified contractor but, even so, the company says that installation is pretty clean and tidy. Not to mention that it’s nice and quiet when outputting less than 2,000W to help avoid complaints from the neighbours.

If you’re looking to splash out on a new whole house battery backup system, the Delta Pro Ultra is available to order starting today. For the first month, the inverter and battery will set you back $4,999, while the Smart Home Panel 2 costs an extra $1,599 when bought separately. Not to mention you can snag both in a bundle for $6,399 until February 9, when prices for all three will leap up to their RRP of $5,799 (Ultra), $1,899 (Panel 2) and $7,499 (bundle).

We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ecoflow-delta-pro-ultra-is-a-home-battery-that-can-harvest-power-from-42-solar-panels-190032452.html?src=rss