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Luminus Devices' PhlatLight technology gets detailed
Today, Samsung is the only TV maker with sets containing Luminus Devices' PhlatLight, but according to a new report detailing the technology, that could be a-changin'. We heard that this stuff was taking home some fancy award earlier this year, but now we're getting a real in-depth look at what all it can do to make our lives better. Aside from having the potential to last the entire lifetime of the TV (over 60,000 hours) and "deliver a consistent picture without fading," PhlatLight essentially "combines the benefits of both LED and laser technologies." There's plenty more on the technicalities waiting in the read link below, but those focused on end products will be delighted to know that this system is slated to arrive in front projectors and pocket projectors in the not-too-distant future.
AUO promises thinner, greener HDTVs at SID 2008
AUO's back again, displaying what new flat panel technologies are trickling down to its OEM televisions, and soon to hit shelves in more reasonably-priced models (albeit wearing another company's name) near you. Hitachi and others are at the forefront of the thinner, lower powered LCD movement, and AUO promises an "ultra-slim" 10mm thick 42-inch LED backlit model next week at SID 2008. The new technology gives power savings of 44% over current models, as well as a 46-inch display with 50% power savings, 500 nits of brightness and 5,000:1 "ultra static high contrast ratio". While we'll wait to find out how that compares to other HDTVs with questionable claims to high contrast rations, the company also plans to show technology that provides 200,000:1 contrast ratio with LEDs. Besides just using less power, we can look forward to LCDs built with using less raw materials and resulting in less chemical waste, which due to our extensive comic book research, we can unequivocally say is a good thing.
Luminus PhlatLight LED backlighting grabs a gold award
No doubt, emissive displays like plasma and OLED get lots of oohs and ahs, but for right now, LCD dominates the market. With plasma moving to the niches and OLED still on the horizon, we're happy to see that innovation in LCD performance keeps on coming. No doubt the biggest innovation we saw last year was the introduction of LED backlighting. Fashion being what it is, though, Luminus Devices' PhlatLight technology -- which puts LEDs along the display edges as opposed to directly behind the panel -- makes it possible bring LED backlighting to increasingly thin cabinets. Personally, we'd go for a slightly thicker display to get HDR capability from our LEDs; but we're on the fringe like that. For its contribution to making thin, evenly backlit, energy efficient LCDs, Luminus will be given the Society of Information Display's Gold Award next week alongside two other gadgets familiar around these parts: the Apple iPhone and Sony XEL-1.
Samsung's white-LED backlit display for 2008: 10k:1 contrast for your laptop
We're just talking LED-backlit LCD panels at the moment, but with any luck, they'll appear in your favorite laptop someday soon. Samsung's trio measure in at 18.4-inches (1,920 x 1,080), 16.0-inches (1,366 x 768), and a more traditional 15.4-inches (1,440 x 900). The latter boasts a White-LED backlighting for a whopping 10,000:1 contrast (at least), 300cd/m2 brightness, 45% color saturation, and power consumption of just 2 Watts or less when playing video. Expect the 16:9 pair to hit mass production in the first half of 2008 while the white-LED mofo should arrive before 2008 is through. Full specs after the break.[Via Akihabara News]
Samsung's 70-inch LED-backlit LCD television now on sale
Samsung's gettin' busy this morning in Korea with the launch of their 70-inch Full HD LCD television. Not only is it the world's largest commercially available LCD, this 1080p pup also brings a 120Hz refresh along with Samsung's local dimming LED backlighting solution for a reported 500,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio... for whatever that measurement's worth. The LN70F91BD is another ACAP packer featuring 3x HDMI 1.3 terminals and a USB 2.0 jack for purposes unknown. Available in S.Korea only at the moment with worldwide sales starting in the second half of the year. Only ???59,000,000 for the privilege which translates to about $63k or €48k -- chump-change for culturally ambiguous superstars.[Via AVING]
MacBook Pro backlight comparison: LED vs CCFL
Turns out our local zombie-infested Apple store was already stocking yesterday's new Santa Rosa-based LED-backlit MacBook Pro -- and so naturally we had to do our own wholly unscientific comparison. Now, for starters, please note: all side-by-sides were taken with an 8 month old 2nd gen MacBook Pro with CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent tube) backlight and matte display on the LEFT, and the 3rd gen MBP with LED backlight and matte screen on the right. Apple told us the difference would be imperceptible -- was it? Check out the pics, and read on for some thoughts.%Gallery-3773%
More on Apple's new LED-backlit MacBook Pro
Apple left a little mystery in their MacBook Pro announcement today, and being that this marks their first official release of an LED-backlit laptop we had to take out the guesswork and get confirmation on a few of our more burning questions. All 15-inch MBPs now use LED-backlit displays standard; 17-inchers still use CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) Apple claims users can see a battery-life benefit of between 30 mins - 1 hour (depending on use). They did not have stats on exact efficiencies between LED and CCFL backlit displays. The new LED backlight is the same brightness: 300 vs 300 nits of the previous gen's CCFL The viewing angle is also the same as before In other words, besides faster time from fully-off to full-brightness and an increase in battery life, Apple claims users should notice absolutely no perceivable difference between last-gen displays and the new LED-backlit ones. Other bits To clarify, MacBook Pros are using Santa Rosa, but MacBooks are not yet using Santa Rosa Even though the MBP is 0.2 pounds lighter, we're still without an internal / integrated 3G option
MacBook Pros updated: Santa Rosa, LED backlighting, and 1920x1200 display
Right on cue, we've got MacBook Pro updates for you to love or hate depending upon your fanboy affiliation. First the 17-inch which now features new NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics and a new 1920 x 1200 pixel display (for $100 extra)... at last. Both the 15- and 17-inch models now sport Intel's Santa Rosa platform -- Intel's latest take on Centrino featuring an 800MHz front side bus which changes dynamically to save power. Apple was also kind enough to finally loose a MacBook Pro with LED backlighting just like Sir Steve promised. However, that appears to be limited to the 15-inch model. So now we're looking at a 15.4-inch MBP with a 1440 x 900 pixel display topping out with a new 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 160GB 5,400rpm disk, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up to 4GB supported), pre-enabled 802.11n of course, a new 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics option, 8x (up from 6x) slot-loading SuperDrive, and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR. It maintains the same dimensions while tipping the scales at 5.4-pounds (down from 5.6-pounds). The 17-inch meanwhile tops out with the same 2.4GHz proc and up to 250GB of disk. Much newness, at least for the 15-incher, for the same entrance fee of $1,999 starting today -- that'll only get you into the cheap seats but the faithful have to sit somewhere.
Philips' 42-, 47-, and 52-inch Ambilight LCDs go 1080p, 120Hz, LED backlighting
Has it really been 10 years since the first Ambilight television? Does anyone care? After all, the press release was issued back in January at CES and missed by nearly everyone, including us. Well, Philips certainly cares and aims to celebrate by dishing out a triplet of Ambilight LCDs ranging size from 42-, 47-, and 52-inches. As you'd expect, they've got all the sweetest buzzwords covered: 1080p, 120Hz, LED backlighting. They also feature Philips' Perfect Pixel HD processing engine, plenty of HDMI inputs (3x on the 52-incher) and of course, Philips' Ambilight glow for a more immersive experience with reduced eye strain -- or so says Philips. Priced at $2,999 for the Ambilight Full Surround (independent lighting on all four sides) 42-inch 42PFL9832D (pictured) or $2,799 for the 47-inch 47PFL9732D and $3,599 for the big 52-inch 52PFL7432D with Ambilight 2 for that left and right glow. All are expected to roll Stateside as early as June. [Via Electronic House] Read [Warning: DOC link]
ASUS gets official with its LED-backlit U1F lappy
All the same sexy, but this time we've got a bit more info on the upcoming U1F 11.1-incher from ASUS. Of course, that LED backlight inside the 5mm thick LCD is the highlight, but there's plenty more to love inside this 18mm thick laptop (0.7-inches, though it tapers up to 1.1-inches thick). Oddly enough, one of the neatest highlights is the optional external disc drive. This one ain't no stripped down combo drive number, but instead houses a Blu-ray / DVD super multi burner for the ultimate in optical goodness. We're not sure what you'd be doing with a Blu-ray movie on this WXGA LCD, and there don't seem to be any HD outputs for slapping video onto a big screen, but we like the chutzpah all the same. Under the hood there's a Core Duo U2400 processor with a Intel 945GM Express chipset and Intel a/b/g WiFi. Hard drive options range from 40 to 80GB, the webcam is of the VGA variety and connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP. With a 3-cell battery on board, the U1F weighs 2.2 pounds, thanks to the magnesium-aluminum / carbon fiber built case and an LCD about half the thickness and 1/3 lighter than the traditional kind. The LED backlight also boasts of better luminance, faster response time and lower power consumption than the traditional LCD, and combined with some fancy ASUS Power4 Gear eXtreme power management should have battery life up 20-25 percent over traditional laptops. Still no word on price or availability, but you'll be able to get this thing with Vista Home Premium or Vista Business when it does ship.[Via DailyTech]
LG.Philips demos 47-inch LED backlit-LCD with 1,000,000:1 contrast
You've already seen Samsung's new LED-backlit LCDs for 2007, now check what cross-K-town rival LG.Philips has in store. Last week's ICDL 2007 had LG.Philips demonstrating their 47-, 26-, 15.4-, 12.1-, 8-, and 7-inch LED backlit LCD panels. The big daddy 47-inch panel appears to be the guts of the LG HDTV we heard rumors about. And just like we heard, this panel brings a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution and a "Mega CS" 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio for truly black, black-levels obtained though a process of local dimming. It's listed with a 500cd/m2 brightness, 178-degree viewing angle, 8-ms response, and 1.07 billion colors covering 105% of the NTSC color gamut. No word on release so we'll have to cling to the original "as early as Q2" hearsay for now. Meanwhile, the 26-inch panel brings a 1366 x 728 pixel resolution, 540cd/m2 brightness, 18,000:1 contrast ratio, 178-degree viewing angle, and covers a hot 136% of the NTSC color gamut. The 15.4-inch and 12.1-inch LED-backlit LCDs are destined for laptops. The 15.4-inch panel matches the equivalent LED-backlit Samsung panel spec-for-spec only it comes in a bit dimmer at 300cd/m2 vs. Sammy's 330cd/m2. The 12.1-inch panel measures just 3.15-mm thin yet packs a respectable 1280 x 800 resolution, 400:1 contrast, 250cd/m2 brightness, and 16-ms response. The 20-mm thick 7-inch panel and 16-mm thick 8-inch panel are destined for navigation devices offering both a wide temperature range of operation and high-brightness. Great, nice to see LG, now please get that 47-incher onto the shelves with your 120Hz TrueMotion technology mkay? Oh, and less than $2k... pretty please, with sugar?Read -- 47-inch Read -- 26-inch Read -- 15.4-inch Read -- 12.1-inch Read -- 8-inch Read -- 7-inch
Apple reportedly (still) readying LED-backlit MacBook Pro
They may not have made an appearance at Macworld, but Apple's rumored LED-backlit MacBook Pros look to be slightly less of a rumor today, with AppleInsider reporting that "faithful industry sources" have confirmed the switch to the brighter, less power-hungry technology. Supposedly, Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro will be the first out of the gate, getting the LED transplant sometime in second quarter of this year, with the other models in the line presumably to follow soon thereafter, although exactly soon remains to be seen. Not surprisingly, Apple appears to be timing the release of the new-and-improved MacBook Pro to coincide with the spring launch of Leopard, letting them show off the OS's snazzy new features in the best possible light.
Samsung busts out the 720TD, 711ND and XL20 LCDs in Japan
Samsung has just announced three fairly innovative SyncMaster LCDs for Japan, the 17-inch 720TD and 711ND, along with the XL20 (pictured) which measures 20.1-inches. All three displays have some pretty interesting features, starting with the 720TD which we saw at CES with its pen-based input action. It's not an actual touchscreen, since you need the stylus to get anything done, but if our previous viewing is any indication, the LCD should be going for a lot less than its touchscreen counterparts. The display also manages a 1,280 x 1,024 resolution, 270 nits of brightness, 700:1 contrast ratio and a 8ms response time. Next up, we have the 711ND, which packs in Windows CE, 128MB of RAM, 128MB of ROM and an Ethernet port for running Internet Explorer, viewing media and connecting a network, all sans PC. As for monitor specs, they aren't incredibly exciting, with 300 nits of brightness, but a mere 600:1 contrast ratio. Lastly, the XL20 packs in possibly the most lovable spec of all: an LED backlight, boosting the contrast ratio to 1,000:1, though the 250 nits of brightness and 8ms aren't quite as exciting as we would hope for from an LED display. The monitor also boasts of a 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, and both DVI-D and DVI-I ports. Unfortunately, there's no word on price or exact availability for any of these displays, and no mention yet of a US launch, but we'll keep a look out. Keep reading for pics of the other two displays.
Samsung shows off 40-inch LED backlit LCD at IFA
We do love us some LED backlighting, and Samsung has the goods at IFA this year. Their new LE40M91 LCD measures a reasonable 40-inches, runs at a 720p resolution, and manages an easy to love 10,000:1 contrast ratio. The display also features 450 nits of brightness, and a 146% color gamut. Best of all are the rumors that this display could be going for a mere $3,000 when it's released, and the dual HDMI ports don't hurt none either. The display is accompanied by a pair of non-LED LCDs, but they aren't too shabby all the same. Measuring 40 and 46-inches respectively, the LE40F7 and LE46F7 manage 1080p resolutions, 6000:1 contrast ratios, 127% color gamut and 450 nits of brightness, along with all the same connectivity of their LED cousin. Since this is all going down at IFA, Samsung is just announcing these displays for European markets right now, but our hopes are definitely for eminent and wallet-friendly Stateside releases.[Via HD Beat]
