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Sharp 'Moth Eye' LCD Panel demo shows off future HDTVs with less glare
While its high pixel density mobile displays stole much of the attention at CEATEC 2012, Sharp also has tech destined for bigger screens like this "Moth Eye Panel" that Engadget Japanese took a look at during the show. Thanks to nanoscale irregularities on its surface similar to the eye of a moth it claims to give bright colors and high contrast while cutting down glare as seen above (moth eye panel on the left) The technology isn't in use yet, but Sharp says the film has been produced in 60-, 70- and 80-inch sizes already, so if you thought the company's extra large and Elite HDTVs couldn't get any better, next year's model will probably have at least one way to prove you wrong.
Nintendo 3DS XL sports less reflective screen than its predecessor, improved parallax effect
Supersized screens may be the centerpiece of Nintendo's 3DS XL, but a new Iwata Asks interview reveals that its top display packs some new anti-glare tech too. Takashi Murakami, from the company's Mechanical Design Group, notes that each of the LCD's three glare-prone layers were specially treated to reduce reflectivity from the original 3DS' 12 percent, down to three. According to head honcho Iwata, anti-reflection coatings have been on the Big N's radar since the GameBoy Advance era, but were typically abandoned because they were too pricey. The Q&A session also confirmed something we noticed when we put the handheld through the review gauntlet -- the larger display increases the parallax effect, which translates to a deeper looking 3D experience. If your current handheld's screen bounces too much light for your liking, the XL can take its place starting August 19th in North America.
3DS XL's screen reduces glare
Nintendo's 3DS XL system may have a size advantage over the original 3DS console, but it will also feature a new LCD screen that is less reflective, according to a recent Iwata Asks interview. Takashi Murakami, who works in the mechanical design group for the console, said the reflectivity of the new LCD screen will be 3%, down from 12% on the 3DS."On a LCD screen there are basically three reflective layers, which all of them reflects and cause glare. So this time, we specially treated all the layers," Murakami said. Cutting down on glare for handheld systems has been a goal since the Game Boy Advance, which Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said had been abandoned most of the time due to cost.It especially seems to be in Nintendo's interests to reduce the glare on a stereoscopic 3D system like the 3DS XL though, which was also said to offer a broader depth of 3D than its predecessor, as the system includes a larger depth slider.
'Invisible glass' could reduce display glare, fails as food-in-teeth mirror
There's nothing worse (seriously, it's scientifically proven) than catching some serious glare on your smartphone, unless you're checking for spinach in your teeth -- but thanks to Nippon Electric Glass' new "invisible glass," an overly reflective surface may be a problem of the past. According to our friends at Tech-On, the company has developed a new type of vitrine that reduces glare by using a special film on each side of the substrate, which allows more light to pass through the layers rather than bounce off the surface. Normal glass reflects around eight percent of light, while the new variety only rebounds 0.5 percent, dramatically reducing the luminous reflectance to around 0.1 percent or lower. Looks like your yearning to purchase this thing is finally justified.
Dynamic Eye LCD sunglasses blot out the sun, not the rest of your life (video)
Those giant Chanel sunglasses you bought for $450 may make you look happening at the pool, but did you notice the extra squint-lines you're getting thanks to their barely-there tinting? Not cool, and that wouldn't be a problem with Dynamic Eye shades. The concept model above admittedly looks worse than that pair of knockoff Oakleys you got for $20 from some mall kiosk, but that's hugely better than the early prototype demonstrated below, ready for its cameo in Revenge of the Nerds V: Nerds Hit the Beach. The concept is simple: each lens is an LCD that creates a dark box over the sun, blotting out the biggest source of glare and allowing the rest of the glasses to remain rather less tinted. They're even said to work at night. It's a project the company has been working on for years and still has many months of development left, but it feels close enough to ask for your help via Kickstarter. If you're feeling generous, a $400 donation will ensure you get one of the first pairs to roll off the assembly lines -- or you can just chip in $10 for now and get an e-mail telling you when you can order. Probably the safer way to go.
Auto-dimming electrochromic panels reduce glare when driving (video)
It's rush hour, and you're headed due West on your evening commute -- the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver's position while a VGA webcam measured the light coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works... albeit slowly. If you're rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable -- Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch -- but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here's hoping GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break. %Gallery-93034%
New MBP offers top display quality, but some beg to differ
For pro photographers who care about color fidelity on a laptop screen, there's good news from Rob Galbraith on the revamped MacBook Pro line: the new laptops offer improved color performance, which Rob's review describes as "better colour accuracy than any Apple laptop we've profiled since...2001." Color accuracy, display evenness and grayscale viewing are all noted as excellent; the only sore spots are viewing angle and the grating lack of matte screen options for anything but the 17" top model. He notes that TechRestore may begin offering matte-screen replacements for the smaller units soon, for those who can't tolerate the glossy glare. Not everyone is satisfied with the MBP screens, however. Designer Louie Mantia of the Iconfactory has a bone to pick with the screen quality of his new 13" unit; it's sporting a 6-bit display, which has been an issue with color-sensitive professionals for years now. To add insult to injury, the Apple store sold Louie the wrong DisplayPort adapter for his external display, and nobody at Apple HQ is willing to give him an answer on whether or not an 8-bit panel is even an option (hint: it's not, sorry about that). One could argue, as he does, that a 'Pro' machine ought to have a professional-quality panel... but that campaign's not likely to get much traction in the halls of Cupertino. Via Apple Hot News
The LapDome: tent-shaped sunscreen for your laptop
Friends, are you sick and tired of the constant struggle to use your laptop while sunbathing? Do you find yourself battling the life-giving rays of our closest star, desperately trying to finish that presentation... pool side? Well toil in vain no more -- the LapDome is here. That's right, instead of going inside like a normal person, now you can cover up your laptop with the most ludicrous and embarrassing product since the Pocket Fisherman. You'll get the idea real quick -- it's a mini-tent used to shield your computer from the sun, and the glare which it causes. The company's ad campaign asks "Does this look familiar?" next to the depiction of a woman covering her laptop with a beach towel, then suggests covering your laptop with a small tent might look better. We suggest stopping the madness, ASAP.[Via Pocket-lint]
Sun defeated by Glare Shield
Pfft... the sun. It's so overrated. Sure, it gives us the heat the planet needs in order to sustain life, but dammit... it gets in the way of some fine outdoor gaming sessions. Thankfully, the Glare Shield will help get rid of the problems caused by that pesky source of vitamin D.Not only will the Glare Shield protect the screen from the harmful rays of the sun, it'll give you the privacy you want in a much less... conspicuous way.[Via PSP GadgetZ]
Samsung's new mobile DDI promises better daylight viewing
Samsung has just revealed a new mobile display driver IC (DDI) which claims to deliver clearer images in broad daylight, and while this sounds like a promising development, we're gonna wait to see it in action before passing judgment. What makes this so-called "intelligent" DDI different from the ones currently driving LCD screens is that it contains a built-in photo sensor that detects 32 levels of ambient light and uses a proprietary algorithm developed in conjunction with the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology to adjust properties such as brightness and saturation at the individual pixel level. Basically, the new DDI promises to optimize display viewing in direct sunlight while at the same time reducing power consumption by ramping down the brightness in lower-light environments. Our skepticism stems from the fact that this tech doesn't sound like it really does anything to combat sun glare, and since we always keep our brightness maxed out anyway, we're not sure how much benefit we'd get from an auto-adjusting screen. Like we said, though, we'll wait until we see one of these Samsung-powered displays in action before completely dismissing its effectiveness, and it sounds like we won't have to wait too long, either -- mass production of the new mobile DDIs is scheduled to begin before the end of the year.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
