Showcase PCs: The art of gaming through holograms @ CES 2022 - Show Notes

Showcase PCs: The art of gaming through holograms @ CES 2022

Wednesday Jan 26, 2022 (00:12:46)

Description

There is no doubt that gaming PCs have come a long way in terms of both performance and aesthetics. Showcase PCs represent the pinnacle of this trend, taking the idea of turning the gaming PC into an art form to its logical conclusion. The custom 3D and 4D designs create a truly immersive experience, transporting you into the game itself.

What are Showcase PCs?

Showcase PCs are gaming PCs that have been transformed into works of art. They feature 100% unique, custom-made designs that set them apart from anything else on the market. The holographic effects create an immersive experience that truly immerses you in the game world.

Currently, the trend in gaming PCs is the extreme RGB setup, or "unicorn vomit" as it is affectionately referred to in our offices. Everything in, on, and around the computer has the ability to light up and, with platforms like Razer Chroma, work in unison. This includes the case, RAM, drives, cables, mice, mousepads, keyboards, webcams, and even your chair.

But, what if you could take that extreme RGB and kick it up? That is exactly what Showcase PCs are - the next generation of PC art. Using fans, which a gaming PC already has a lot of, you can create holographic text, images, and even animations in and on your PC case. Add to that more traditional LED lighting and you can extend the experience of the image and animation.

Why Choose a Showcase PC?

There are many reasons to choose a Showcase PC. Firstly, they look amazing and will add an extra level of style to any gaming setup. Secondly, the holographic effects create an incredibly immersive experience that will take your gaming to a whole new level. Finally, Showcase PCs are available at a more affordable price point than other high-end gaming PCs.

The simple installation (known as 3D) includes a holographic screen on the inside of the side panel of the case. But, if you really want to make your case unique, you can have a second, smaller screen on the top (known as 4D). The best scenario is to use these two in conjunction, having your animation move from one to the other. One example we saw was a fish swimming through the case and then jumping out of the case over the top and back into the "water" below.

How Do I Get One?

There are a couple of ways to get a Showcase PC. The first, and will be the first to launch publicly, will be to purchase a complete, pre-built system. You'll be able to choose from existing bundles, including everything you need to get started, or customize the specs of the computer and decide whether you want the single internal screen (3D) or both the internal and external screens (4D).

Soon, you'll also be able to purchase self-installation kits to upgrade your existing PC case or spice up a new build.

Summary

To learn more about Showcase PCs, see more videos of them in action, or to purchase your own, you can go to the company's website.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

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Participants

Allante Sparks

Special Correspondent

Allante - also well known as Wolff - is the newest member and co-host for PLuGHiTz Live! Radio. A gifted artist, he is usually found drawing up a character or two or sketching up whatever comes to mind. Do not think that he is not a hardcore gamer because he is about as hardcore as it gets! His favorites range from fighting games to RPGs, adventure and even a racing game here and there. Fighting games are his forte and he relays this message for all who oppose: You mess with the Wolff and you get the fangs!

Xbox Live - Enigmatic Wolff

PSN - Tsukuyomi_Okami

Scott Ertz

Episode Author

Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

Interview

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Transcript

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Erin Hurst (0:07)

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Allante Sparks (0:28)

We actually have our we have our next guests up. So let's see who we have here. Hello.

Andrew Kuhlman (0:38)

Hey, sorry. Let me just get on a tangle on them a little cut off here and my mic.

Allante Sparks (0:44)

No worries. And you're from Showcase PC?

Andrew Kuhlman (0:50)

Yes, my name is Andrew Kuhlman. I'm the CEO of Showcase PC. I just stepped outside of CES. Our booth was going crazy, so I had to do it.

Allante Sparks (0:58)

Excellent. Well, do me a favor you out? You've already introduced yourself, but talk about Showcase PC? What are you guys all about?

Andrew Kuhlman (1:08)

Sure, absolutely. So we make a 3D and 4D and the world's first hologram gaming PC. So we sell PCs that you can actually put the hologram directly into the case itself and then build a computer yourself. We also sell fully assembled gaming PCs, with any kind of specs you want, with any kind of hardware you want in it. And then we're also going to be selling self-install kits. So you can actually take the hologram and put it directly into the PC that you already have. So you can turn your regular PC into a hologram PC.

Allante Sparks (1:40)

I can't even wrap my head around that. I mean, how exactly does this work?

Andrew Kuhlman (1:46)

So it uses an LED fan technology, 3D Fan technology, and basically, there's a LED. LEDs are 206 LEDs on the blade of the fan and the fan spins around very fast. And every time it spins around, there's a dot that comes out of lights, where a certain image would be, and as long as the image stays consistent, and the data is consistent, you are going to have images, you're going to have videos, and it does not project black. So any image or video with a black background, will pop out and look three-dimensional and be able to rotate in space and give you all kinds of cool effects because it is LED technology.

Allante Sparks (2:23)

This, it's so awesome that you're coming into the segment right now because I was actually just talking about some technology like this. This is some of my favorite things that I'm running into. This is so cool and you're saying that this is something that you can actually have animating inside of your computer.

Andrew Kuhlman (2:45)

Yep, it projects inside the computer, you can fit any graphics card in there anything you want and it allows for ultimate customization. I mean, right now, you know, gamers and streamers, they're all about customization and we've had LED lights forever but we really haven't had a new innovation and how to customize and really personalize your PC case. But with this technology, you can now put anything you want in the case, you can put your logo, you can put your face, you can put your pet, you can put your favorite anime character and have them dance around. I mean, there are really no limits. It's really limited only by your imagination.

Allante Sparks (3:20)

That is fantastic. I mean, I'm gonna have to get a Hatsune Miku model to do our idol dance on my computer at any given moment. Now that's, that is awesome. I absolutely love the idea of this. And you're right. I mean, this is kind of the age of, my friends and I like to refer to it as a unicorn vomit. We've got RGB, everything, you know, RGB RAM, or RGB, a hard drive and fans and things like that, which is super cool. I love it. I'm all about it. Everything I have is random. But this is not something that we've seen, you know, and I think this is absolutely- I think this is amazing. So look, let me ask you about this. Could you explain how you install something like this into your computer?

Andrew Kuhlman (4:18)

Sure. Right. So we're actually working on the development of the device that's a self-install. Right now, it's removable, so it's basically a clip that would come in, and it sits at the front of your PC, in front of your graphics card. If you have a really large graphics card, you'd probably want to vertically mount it. Otherwise, it can fit smaller graphics cards. It can fit larger graphics cards if they're vertically mounted. It clips in, it clips out very easily. So you can take it out to install anything or to get your hardware. You can easily stick it in without any problems and it's a fan so it has the additional benefit of cooling. It helps with the cooling of your system. So not only do you get a great 3D image that pops out but you also get better cooling on your system as well.

Allante Sparks (5:00)

Sounds like you guys got something excellent going on here.

Andrew Kuhlman (5:04)

Thank you.

Allante Sparks (5:04)

I do have a comment from YouTube actually, somebody would like to know- it looks like the comment actually left, I believe that the comment was something to the likes of, are you guys selling individual parts and things like that.

Andrew Kuhlman (5:26)

So we actually can sell. Right now on pre-order, we just have the cases. So we have the one, the single hologram case, that's going for 299. We have the double hologram case going for 399, we're going to be uploading full gaming PCs with all different specs. So you can get a full-gaming PC as well. And then we're going to also be creating a self-install kit for pre-order. So you can actually bring the hologram fan into your own PC that you have already. As long as you have, you need about two inches of space in the front of your PC and as long as you have that, then you can install the hologram fan and in turn your regular PC into a hologram PC.

Allante Sparks (6:09)

Now, let me ask you about this, because like I said, I've run into this technology before but not quite used like this.

Andrew Kuhlman (6:16)

Right? Right. It's definitely been there. It's been out there and CES 2019 and 2018 as a big wall array for the kind of like commercial applications and for bars and pubs and what-not. But we're actually the first people that have miniaturized and put it inside of a PC case. And I'm excited about it because gamers are very artistic and creative people. So I'm excited to see what kind of creative things they can do with this now that it's open to such a wider community.

Allante Sparks (6:47)

Absolutely. I mean, I'm excited about it. I'm both a gamer and an artist. So I'm already thinking of ways I can use this and spruce up my PC. Now, let me ask you this. Are you able to link multiple devices together to let's say, make bigger images?

Andrew Kuhlman (7:04)

Yes. So if you see on our website, we have two fans, two hologram PC right now. And that actually is a linked two fans linked together. Okay, and that allows us to create images and videos where the objects tend to seem to jump out of the case, play with a top ledge or swim along a lot of top edges. We have a King Kong that walks around along the top edge, we have an orca whale that jumps out of the top edge and a big water splashes. We have a couple of other really cool ideas that I'm working with my animation team on right now. They are synced together so you can do all kinds of crazy stuff at the top of your case.

Allante Sparks (7:44)

How many would you say could be your maximum?

Andrew Kuhlman (7:48)

If they have arrays out there now for nine or 10 or 15 but you couldn't fit them any in a PC case? So for us, we have the one and we have the two that's probably the max, we're gonna try and smash in there.

Allante Sparks (8:00)

I understand. I know some people out there, including someone that's watching now that has a pretty large PC chassis.

Andrew Kuhlman (8:09)

Oh, really?

Allante Sparks (8:09)

They might try to challenge you on that. That actually brings me to my next question. What are the dimensions of the device?

Andrew Kuhlman (8:18)

So it's about 2.5 inches deep and the blade is about 11 inches across total. So you need about the circumference of about 11 inches diameter across for the item to fit. So but we have it in an NZ XT, I think it's an H510 case right now. And it fits with plenty of room to spare and that's like a mid-sized case, it's not even the largest case out there. So, it can fit in a normal-sized case without an issue. It's not huge. I mean, they make a lot of these hologram fans that are very big, like 20 inches across, even bigger. But you know, we do use a smaller one so that it can fit comfortably in the case with room to spare.

Allante Sparks (8:57)

Exactly. I mean, like you said this, this product has been normally for commercial use, and its limits have kind of been constrained to that, huge images and stuff. But I mean, not too many people have a giant PC right now in their homes.

Andrew Kuhlman (9:17)

Right. That was one of the difficulties in developing this is because there's so many huge fans out there, we had to develop a smaller version that would fit comfortably inside the case. And make sure it doesn't interfere with any of the peripherals, get away the cables or the wiring of the graphics card. So that's been a little bit of a technical challenge for us but we figured it out.

Allante Sparks (9:36)

Now what about power comes consumption.

Andrew Kuhlman (9:40)

So it's very low. I don't know the exact amount but it's just a fan and LEDs. It can go right into your Molex and we also have a separate power supply as well as I can just plug right in your wall.

Allante Sparks (9:51)

Okay. Oh, that's cool.

Andrew Kuhlman (9:53)

Yes, we have the opportunity for a separate power supply so it doesn't even need to directly connect to Pass by your computer.

Allante Sparks (10:01)

Fantastic. All right. I mean that that sounds great. I mean, it sounds like you're really catering to the market of gamers and artists and people who just like their stuff to look cool.

Andrew Kuhlman (10:13)

Yeah, absolutely. We are all about customization. We started with the 3d acrylic PCs, which we've sold for about a year now and those have been very popular. We just developed the hologram PCs and we debuted them here at CES. We've been crowds at our booth all day long. So we've gotten a lot of attention, and I'm excited to see the kind of artistic things people are going to deal with in these cases.

Allante Sparks (10:37)

Absolutely.

Andrew Kuhlman (10:38)

It's gonna be interesting.

Allante Sparks (10:40)

Yeah, no, I agree. 100% I'm looking forward to it. When when, uh, when are we expecting this to hit the market?

Andrew Kuhlman (10:47)

Okay, so the single hologram fan, we should have ready by about June or sooner for preorder. I said June on the pre-order. But that was conservative. I think it'll be a lot sooner than that. And then the dual hologram fan will be a couple of months later, we come out in time for Christmas.

Allante Sparks (11:04)

Yeah, there we go. That'll be hit. That'll be hit. Alright, anything else that I can add that I may not have touched on?

Andrew Kuhlman (11:15)

No, I would say go to our site Showcasepc.com, click on hologram PCs, we have a video there showing the display capabilities of it. And you can really see what it can do and I will say it even looks better in person. Because you do have some interference with the fan blade spinning and then the video capture but to the naked eye if you can't see any flickering. It's really incredible to look at and they are open for preorder right now on our website.

Allante Sparks (11:41)

Awesome. All right. Thank you very much. I really appreciate your time. This was my pleasure.

Andrew Kuhlman (11:48)

Thank you.

Allante Sparks (11:48)

I enjoyed every single second and I can't wait until we see this on the market.

Andrew Kuhlman (11:53)

Thank you so much. I appreciate you having the time to interview me. Thank you.

Allante Sparks (11:58)

Absolutely. You enjoy the rest of your show, be safe and I hope to see you again soon.

Andrew Kuhlman (12:03)

Okay, thank you.

Allante Sparks (12:04)

All right now.

Andrew Kuhlman (12:05)

Bye.

Erin Hurst (12:09)

TPN CES 2022 coverage is executive produced by Michele Mendez. Technical Directors are Kurt Corless and Adam Barker. Associate producers are Nancy Ertz and Maurice McCoy. Interviews are edited by Jo Mini. Hosts are Marlo Anderson, Todd Cochrane, Scott Ertz, Christopher Jordan, Daniele Mendez, and Allante Sparks. Las Vegas studio provided by HC Productions. Remote studio provided by PLUGHITZ Productions. This has been Tech Podcasts Network Production, copyright 2022.

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