news archive
GLT Introduces Tri-Color Molded LED Backlights
Strongsville, Ohio, February 5 - New Tri-Color LED Molded Backlights from Global Lighting Technologies, Inc. (GLTI), Inc. employ patented MicroLens™ molded light guide technology to enable display designers to achieve virtually any color in their backlit LCD displays, sometimes with just one LED. The molded light guides utilize an LED with 3 chips that can combine red, green and/or blue in varying intensities to yield the colors desired by the product designer.
The backlights are designed for mid-size displays where different colors could be used to convey information. As an example, cellular phones could use tri-color LED backlights to convey information, such as warnings, menu options, or urgent incoming calls by the color of the display.
MicroLens™ is a patented, LED-based technology that offers an initial brightness similar to or greater than that of electroluminiscent (EL) backlighting technology, with 20,000 to 50,000 hours to half luminance, depending on the chip colors used and the drive current.
Designers of LCD modules can employ fewer LEDs using MicroLens technology than with conventional light-pipe or light-guide backlighting technologies, with smaller displays using as few as one LED. MicroLens light extraction features are molded into the light guides that encase the LEDs, enabling a larger area to be lit with a single. For example, an area measuring 1 x 3 inches can be backlit with a single LED using MicroLens molded light guides, while other technologies may require 2 or more LEDs. In addition to saving cost by reducing the number of LEDs, the complications that can arise from mixing the colors from two LEDs are eliminated.
GLTI's tri-color molded backlights are intended for use in cellular phones, medical instruments, test & measurement instrumentation, PDAs, pagers and other portable devices.
Pricing is approximately $4.00 each in volumes of 250,000 or more for single-LED backlights measuring two square inches or less.
Information: Brad Lizotte. Tel: (866) 922-4584 (toll free) or
(440) 922-4584, Fax: (440) 922-4585, email info@glthome.com,
www.glthome.com.
New Standard 15-Micron Character Modules from GPO
Hsinchu, Taiwan, February 2 - Grand Pacific Optoelectronics Corp. (GPO) announced that the company's recently developed 15-micron standard character module line is being favorably received by customers.
Modules with 10- to 15-micron technology are not new, but until now the technology was only offered in custom designs for mobile-phone and PDA manufacturers, the company said. Now GPO offers a range of standard character modules with 15-micron dot spacing.
All modules are available in standard (0°C to +50°C) and extended (-20ºC to +70ºC) temperature range; in fifth yellow mode with or without LED backlight; and in FSTN reflective mode.
Information: http://www.gpo.com.tw
NEC-MITSUBISHI
Announces Lower-cost 18-Inch LCD Monitor
Itasca, Illinois, February 1,
2001 - NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America Inc.
today announced its new 18-inch flat-panel NEC MultiSync®
LCD1830 monitor. With an estimated street price of just
$1899, the NEC MultiSync LCD1830 is designed to deliver the
benefits of a large flat-panel display, without the hefty
price tag, to mainstream corporate environments.
"The NEC MultiSync LCD1830 offers the most aggressively
priced 18-inch flat-panel monitor from NEC-Mitsubishi,"
said Chris Connery, product line manager.
The LCD1830 has an 18.1-inch
diagonal, a native 1280 x 1024 SXGA resolution, a weight of
18.7-pounds, and a depth of 8.5-inches deep with the stand.
Maximum power consumption is 49 watts, compared with the 140
watts typical of a 19-inch CRT monitor. The monitor
incorporates Mitsubishi's new Color Algorithm Technology,
which allows professionals to control and adjust a single
color without affecting the hues of other colors. The
algorithm supports the international sRGB color reproduction
standard.
Information: Tel: (888)
NEC-MITS; www.necmitsubishi.com.
ERG
Introduces New EL Inverters
Endicott, New York, January
– Two new series of Smart Force™ DC-AC inverters from
Endicott Research Group (ERG) Inc. provide a wide range of
solutions for electroluminescent (EL) backlit displays.
The LPS Series is designed to
power conventional foil EL lamps, and its low power
consumption of less than 400 mW per unit load is well suited
to EL lamps used in battery-operated devices. The LPS Series
is available in 3 different package sizes, with the largest,
the "H" package, capable of powering 60 in2
(386 cm2) to 120V @ 400 Hz.
The JLA Series powers E lamps
for LCD backlights that are incorporated into imported LCD
modules from manufacturers such as Epson, Hitachi, Optrex,
Seiko, Sharp, and Toshiba. There are 3 JLA Series package
sizes, with the "H" package having the capability
to power 80 in2 (516 cm2) to 120V @
400 Hz.
Vacuum encapsulated for
reliability, these inverters prolong the useful life of the
EL lamps by automatically adjusting operating voltage and
frequency as the lamps age.
Pricing for JLA and LPS
Series inverters start at $4.64 in quantities of 1,000.
Delivery is 4 weeks A.R.O.
Information:
Endicott Research Group. Tel: (800) 215-5866, Fax: (607)
754-9255, email: sales@ergpower.com,
www.ergpower.com.
Panasonic
Ships New DirecTV HDTV Receiver To Retailers
Secaucus, New
Jersey — Panasonic
Consumer Electronics Company (PCEC) announced in late
December the shipment of its new DIRECTV-enabled HDTV
receiver to retailers. The TU-HDS20 is a DTV-certified
multiple-format tuner capable of receiving all 18 ATSC
digital television broadcast formats and current analog (NTSC)
signals, plus DIRECTV and DIRECTV HD satellite
transmissions. In addition to offering multiple input
sources, the Panasonic HD Digital Receiver features the
unique Advanced Program Guide (APG), which makes program
selection easy for the viewer.
The tuner has
a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of
$1099.00. In addition, an elliptically shaped satellite
dish, which will receive analog and digital DIRECTV signals,
is available with an MSRP of $199.95.
"The
TU-HDS20 enables consumers to enjoy digital and analog
television from multiple broadcast sources, including
DIRECTV, and select programs easily from the APG," says
Bill Mannion, vice president and general manager of
Panasonic’s Television and Network Systems Division.
Outputs
include component video (Y, PB, PR),
composite video and audio, RGB HV, S-Video, Dolby Digital
audio (optical), and a modem. The television receiver or
monitor used with the TU-HDS20 must be equipped with a
composite video input or an s-video input to receive an NTSC
signal, and with component video inputs to receive converted
DTV signals.
The TU-HDS20
was jointly developed for the North American market by
Matsushita Television and Network Systems Company (San
Diego, California) and Panasonic AVC American Laboratories,
Inc. in Westampton, New Jersey. PAVCAL is the primary
Panasonic research and development site for advanced digital
television and multimedia technologies in North America.
Information:
www.panasonic.com.
Samsung Drops
Prices on TFT-LCD Monitors
San Jose, California, January
25 – Samsung electronics America’s Information System
Division announced today "the most affordable prices
ever" for two TFT-LCD monitors, as well as some
CRT-based monitors.
Samsung’s SyncMaster™
770TFT "is the first 17-inch TFT monitor in the U.S. to
be offered for under $1200 (street price), said Fred Garcia,
the division’s director of marketing. "The 770TFT is
priced at over a thousand dollars less than other
manufacturers’ 18-inch large-screen TFTs," he said.
"Samsung has sold more 17-inch TFTs, both branded and
OEM, than all other manufacturers’ 18-inch displays
combined in the United States." The 770TFT is Pivot
Enabled™ for instant switching between portrait and
landscape viewing.
The 15-inch SyncMaster
570sTFT monitor has a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 with a
75=Hz refresh, and can be used in portrait and landscape
modes. Street price is $669.
In CRT monitors, Samsung has
priced the 17-inch flat-screen SyncMaster 755DF at $234
(street). The monitor uses Samsung’s DynaFlat tube with
Samsung’s Smart III enhanced phosphor coating.
Information:
Tel: (800) SAMSUNG; www.samsungmonitor.com
