February 2007

news archive

Bright View Develops New Film for Plasma Contrast Enhancement

MORRISVILLE, N.C. - Bright View Technologies Inc. in January introduced a new contrast enhancement film for plasma display panels (PDPs) that the company said significantly improves the contrast of plasma displays in bright settings.

"One of the most significant performance issues related to today's plasma displays is poor bright room contrast," Kenny Kim, Executive Vice President and Co-founder market research group Displaybank, said in a Bright View press release. "This is an important competitive factor because LCD (liquid-crystal display) panels generally have better bright room contrast performance. The surfaces of plasma display panels are inherently reflective. When ambient light is reflected from the panel along with image light, image contrast and color saturation are considerably reduced. The Bright View film effectively addresses this problem."

"Our film is unique in that it delivers enhanced contrast under the harsh overhead lighting conditions commonly found in the retail environment as well as in the typical home viewing environment, where there may be both overhead and side lighting originating from windows and table lamps," Bright View CEO Ed Teague explained in the company statement.

Samples will be available this quarter, and production is targeted for later in the year. Arisawa Manufacturing Co. Ltd. will also manufacture the film.

BOE HYDIS Develops TFT-LCD with Improved Outdoor Readability for Portable Applications

ICHEON, South Korea - BOE HYDIS has manufactured a thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) for notebook and tablet PCs that the company said provides superior outdoor readability. Using BOE HYDIS' signature Advanced Fringe Field Switching (AFFS) wide viewing angle technology, improved transmission, and an internal LCD panel reflection that is triple that of conventional panels, the new product is able to offer enhanced visibility even under bright sunlight and completely overcome the existing outdoor readability shortcomings of existing TFT-LCDs, the company said in a press release.

BOE HYDIS achieved the panel's enhanced internal reflection by forming the reflection area inside the cell, an area not used in existing products, the company explained in a press release. Thus, the stronger the outdoor light, the higher the internal reflection to improve readability. The product also effectively controls both the external light and internal light coming from the back light or color filter, contributing to higher readability, BOE HYDIS said.

As a transmissive LCD, BOE HYDIS claimed this product maximizes its transmissive features when used indoors, and utilizes its transflective strength to improve readability when used outdoors. In general, transmissive products perform well only when used indoors; they are difficult to use outdoors. And while transflective products guarantee good outdoor readability, their production cost is high and indoor picture quality is low, limiting their applicability to such devices as cellular phones, the company said.

But BOE HYDIS claims the newly developed 10.4-in. XGA (1024 x 768) product for tablet PCs enjoys heightened efficiency in wide viewing angle mode through the application of AFFS. Power consumption has been reduced by 40% while maintaining the exact same brightness levels of conventional AFFS products, and brightness by external light sources has been increased 25%, BOE HYDIS added. Surface reflection has been reduced by 50% to under 0.3%, and transmission has improved to 8.75%, up by 30%. Brightness has improved 30% to 240 nits.

BOE HYDIS plans to apply the new technology to its 10.4-in. and 12.1-in. LCDs and start mass production in the fourth quarter of 2007.

"With the growing need for portability and mobility of digital devices, their outdoor readability has become more important," BOE HYDIS President & CEO Haesung Park commented in a company statement. "As such, this new product will target the high-end premium notebook, tablet PC and UMPC markets."