The first question fellow industry analysts ask each other at large trade shows is "What have you seen that is revolutionary in nature and blows your socks off?" My encounters with all of my most respected colleagues at the recent CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas netted the same response. "There is nothing revolutionary but several interesting evolutions are worthy of note." While I agree with them in general, there are some developments that will affect the Rental & Staging market in a significant manner.

LEDs can produce a spectacular, vivid range of colors. LCD can deliver a color gamut 105 percent better than NTSC standards for CRTs contrasted to current LCDs backlit with CCFL technologies producing no more than 75 percent of the NTSC color space.

Let's begin with one of the most significant development in display technologies today relating to illumination. Of course traditional CRT displays as well as current plasma displays and the gigantic LED wall displays are "self illuminating". All of the other display technologies require some form of illumination external to the display device to create the brightness on screen. In all forms of projection we use metal halide or Xenon lamps and in the world of LCD flat panels, currently, the CCFL or cold cathode fluorescent is the light source. While our good friends at Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Sanyo are working on new LED array light sources for their rear projection light engines one of the most significant illumination developments is the use of LEDs for LCD flat panel displays.

LED illuminated LCD displays were outstanding at CES 2006. The ability to show incredible color purity, increased contrast, better uniformity and a life span that approaches as much as 100,000 hours is a big step in the evolutionary path of displays. Shown here, a unit from LG.

First of all, let me state that demonstrations of LED illuminated LCD displays were outstanding. The ability to show incredible color purity, increased contrast, better uniformity and a life span that approaches as much as 100,000 hours is a big step in the evolutionary path of displays. LED illumination has come a long way in a few short years:

LEDs use significantly less power. For example, Cree an LED technology leader claims a 12 percent improvement over CCFL-driven backlights.

LEDs run cooler. There is no incandescent filament or gas to heat.

LEDs last longer and are more durable. With no filament to burn out, no fragile glass tube to shatter, no moving parts to protect, and operating at cooler temperatures, some claim up to 100,000 hours of use.

LEDs can produce a spectacular, vivid range of colors. There are two approaches. One is a bright white LED and the other a tristimulus LED using high-output blue, green and red LEDs. Both solutions enable an LCD to deliver a color gamut 105 percent better than NTSC standards for CRTs contrasted to current LCDs backlit with CCFL technologies producing no more than 75 percent of the NTSC color space.

Good News, 'Bad' News?

Samsung, and Sanyo are working on new LED array light sources for their rear projection displays. Pictured here, a DLP rear projection unit from Samsung using a LED light source, shown at CES.

The good news is one of better durability and display life coupled with a broader color range, truer skin tones and offering better contrast ratios and as a result more purity and realism. The "bad" news is that the first examples from Samsung, LG, NEC, and others will have a premium price. Just remember that you get what you pay for.

Not to be overlooked by the progress in illumination, there are some other LCD and plasma display developments worthy of note. Let's start by examining the newest trends by some leading manufacturers.

Several manufacturers have shown really large PDP and LCD flat panel displays with LCD sizes over 80 inches diagonal and PDP sizes at an astounding 103 inches from Panasonic but as Tony Soprano would say, "fugitaboutit." These are nice technology exhibits but price and volume manufacturability makes them impractical at least for now.

One potential technology tour de force is from Toshiba who appears to be back in the commercial game. They will introduce at NAB the world's first 56-inch LCD panel with Quad Full High Definition (QFHD, 3840x2160), featuring 8.29 million pixels. The new panel features resolution that is four times that of currently available products (1920 x 1080). The new panel consists of over 24.8 million units of transistors, with a data transmission speed of over 1.4 gigabytes per second. Stay tuned for this one!

Both Samsung and LG have opened their next generation LCD plants "creatively" referred to as 7G and Sharp is on the way with their eighth generation plant. These plants will be kicking out larger LCD displays ranging in sizes from 37 inches with capabilities to over 80 inches from a single substrate but look for the volume to be in the 40-inch to 57-inch range due to the obstacles of price and yield. Leading the "size wars" at least for now is Sharp who will have their 65-inch LCD out in Q2 of 2006. All of the new LCD panel designs will answer the "poor video" look of slow panels by featuring much faster response times down to four milliseconds. Competition from Taiwan and China will make the 37-inch and 40-inch panel's very price sensitive but the bigger panels will not see a significant price drop in the near term. Look for more features and real benefits added to existing models to help the sales flow and to keep the prices propped up in the market.

Short Term Options

From the viewpoint of what is available in the short term, Toshiba will be introducing its new internal magnification system for LCD flat panels, which will allow the user to join up 36 panels (6x6) into one video wall matrix. Samsung offers its 400N and460N displays with a 5x5 video wall processor built in and LG will offer a new 42-inch and 55-inch LCD display with similar features. Keep in mind that none of these built in processors will take the place of more sophisticated processors beyond the very basics and the image magnification feature. Check with each manufacturer to see what they actually can and cannot do.

Meeting my criteria for cool is a couple of innovative solutions new to the market from Samsung with their MagicNet and Sharp's Dual View technologies.
Samsung offers MagicNet as a built in solution for digital signage, trade show, and multiple monitor control applications on their 400PN and 460PN series monitors. It transmits media files (photo, audio and movie files) and office files (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, HTML and PDF files) existing on a server to monitors using the Ethernet network of the server/client architecture. Several monitors can be connected to a server, and any file can be transmitted to any monitor over the network. Files can be transmitted in two ways: the server sends files to the monitors after registering with the schedule; or the monitor searches for the files registered in the library of the server, sends the files to the monitors, and plays those files after receiving them via the network. When more than one server is connected, you can select a server from the monitor and receive the schedule. Each monitor is capable of accessing the Internet by itself.

Sharp has outdone themselves with new Dual View LCD displays. The company has developed a new LCD, which can simultaneously display different information and image content in right and left views in a single unit by directionally controlling the viewing angle of the LCD. This feature makes it possible to provide information and content tailored to specific users depending on the angle at which they view the screen. Using a number of proprietary technologies, such as a parallax barrier superimposed on an ordinary TFT LCD, the LCD sends the light from the backlight into right and left directions, making it possible to show different information and visual content on the same screen at the same time depending on the viewing angle. Controlling the viewing angle in this way allows the information or visual content to be tailored to multiple users viewing the same screen. Just imagine the possibilities and it is available now.

The Plasma Overview

We cannot do a display article without mentioning the developments in plasma. Contrary to some in the industry, plasma will be around for the foreseeable future. On the issue of size, LG wins! I know that Samsung once again showed its 102-inch display and Panasonic one upped them with a 103-inch giant but LG can actually deliver its 71-inch plasma display. Battle won but the war still goes on.

Plasma will continue to win the best video picture award with serious improvements in contrast, brightness, and 1080 resolution from all the big players, but my pals at LG tell me to stay tuned for their new PDP optical filter technology invented by LG Chemical. It is supposed to do wonders for color purity and uniformity.

The most interesting and potentially significant development in plasma displays involves a new Zero Burn plasma technology from Video Appliances. This patent pending design claims to virtually eliminates burn in at the sub pixel level and for the first time, anti burn-in is actually guaranteed! What makes it interesting for me is the involvement of the guys who actually invented plasma back in 1964 at the University of Illinois. The displays from Visual Appliances will address the commercial and rental markets and offer a ruggedized design, full computer module built in, remote KVM, and a touch screen interface. This might qualify as revolutionary.

The only constant in the world of commercial AV is change and in the world of flat panel displays, the changes, although for the most part evolutionary, are for the best. When we know more, you will know more!