Microsoft Research thinks telescopic pixels will rival LCDs

The boys and girls at Microsoft Research are getting set to publish a report detailing a competing (and in their perspective, superior) technology to replace the LCD monitors we've grown to know and love heart with reservations. By using pixels that boast "a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light," displays could theoretically be created which are "faster, brighter, and more power efficient than liquid crystal displays." Dubbed telescopic pixels, the devices would be able to turn off and on in under 1.5-milliseconds, which is quick enough to put "red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes behind each pixel." Furthermore, these pixels are way brighter than those used in LCDs, which means users would see less power draw and be able to view the screen more easily in direct sunlight. Sounds solid from here, but could you not humor us with a release time frame or something?

[Via TG Daily]

[konshuss @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:38AM]

sounds good. time for me to forget about this completely for a year or so and check back to see if this is anything more than vapourware...

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:40AM]

Please please make these soon, and make really cool TVs out of them. I'll appreciate it when I'm buying a really cheap LCD when these make their price go down :)

[OneLove @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:39PM]

am not done with plasma yet.

[nathan.wong @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:40AM]

a little DLP here, a little pixel here and there you have it! Something that'll make it to the market in 10 years after numerous delays.

[DoomGaZer @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:45AM]

This looks like some kind of strange amalgam of OLED and LCD technologies (mirrors AND LED's). Maybe the LED's aren't organic so they don't break down as easily or as fast and maybe they won't have a such a hard time producing one of the primary colors like they do with OLED (it's blue I think).

[innesm @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:28PM]

I think they call them telescopic pixels because each one is a like a tiny Newtonian telescope where the parabolic mirror can be made more or less parabolic to effectively block out the starlight (backlight) from the eyepiece (hole pointing at the viewer).

[Chad @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:45AM]

Isn't that how Texas Instruments DLP technology works just on a chip instead of per pixel?

[yuriythebest @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:50AM]

unless it's stereoscopic (3d) I'm not itnerested

[JMMGoalster @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:46PM]

its not interested in you either

[pball_inuyaha @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:31PM]

is it just me or does the "a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light," comment make it sound like it might get better blacks than lcds? If you can block the light you'd get black. Thus I hope this will block out all light meaning better and deeper blacks.

That might end the crt vs. lcd argument with true blacks

[DoomGaZer @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:26PM]

From the reply to my previous post it sounds like they will even be able to block light from pixels next to each other so you get an even crisper image with no blending of nearby colors. I wonder how that would look.........

[Matthew Hilario @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:15PM]

LCD's nuts.

[Limezor @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:39PM]

Its good to have some competition.

[NHAnimator @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:49PM]

"a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light,"

Huh?

1. If a mirror is being used to block light, isn't that light turned ON all the time? Wouldn't that be a waste of electricity/increase of heat?

2. Are the mirrors actually transmitting light? Or just reflecting it?

Please tell me what I'm missing.

[innesm @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:07PM]

I believe you're missing the fact that existing LCDs' pixels let through less of the backlight when they are 'fully on'. These telescopic pixels let through more light, meaning the backlight can be less bright for pixels of the same brightness. I think also they're saying that when fully off, telescopic pixels let through less light than fully off LCD pixels which would promise higher contrast.

[kjb434 @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:12PM]

And LCD and DLP has light being transmitted all the time. The use of LED's for each color in each pixel is where the power usage is saved.

[DoomGaZer @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:34PM]

yes, but by the fact that they are "red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes ..." i.e. LED's, doesn't that mean they produce their own light and have not need for a back light? Also, can't you just shut them off to make black? Do the mirrors turn faster then shutting the LED's off and thus produce a faster refresh rate? Does leaving them on constitute better power savings than turning them on and off constantly?

[ShadowKain @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:35PM]

Price will be surprising, that I am sure of.

[crispy @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:02PM]

moving parts in a display versus something that has no moving parts? Don't count on seeing this technology in portable devices anytime soon. You might jar the device wrong and break off some mirrors in the display.

[Chris @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:35PM]

LOL we're talking pixel sized here, we're not talking literall mirrors that are rotating with little motors especially with the ability to move in 1ms

[DP @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:35PM]

Sounds good, now let's see a television before Q3.

[WilfordBrimley @ Jul 24th 2008 12:42AM]

It will probably be a few years before this sees light of day in a product, and that's only if it turns out as well as they hope and is inexpensive to produce.

This article at Ars may clear up confusion of how it works:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080720-new-telescopic-pixel-displays-could-outperform-lcd-plasma.html

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