- David Keene– Remember when it seemed like every trade show brought new breakthroughs in flat panel display technology. The march up to 1080P was the most compelling race to watch. And remember all that talk about the “refresh rates” of LCD vs Plasma. (How fast can a crystal in the substrate of an LCD panel turn? I loved that discussion, and miss it… like a bunch of monks discussing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.) Having just come back from the Digital Signage Expo in Vegas last week, and seen all the latest flat panels, where are we? If you were to just attend the demos at the shows, it seems the last frontier of FDP’s is in “seamless”, i.e. thinner and thinner mullions. Or is it “bezels”? (Why can’t our industry pick a term and stick to it? And BTW, there are no “seamless” tiled displays.) But what about the future of the display technology itself, the image-forming technology? The move to LED backlit LCD panels– as opposed to CFL fluorescent-lit panels, has been the most important evolution in the past few years. (Don’t get me started on the term “LED TVs”. Some manufacturers have chosen to this term, for marketing hype, to describe an LCD panel that is LED-backlit. Silly. LED panel are the kinds made by Barco, Daktronics, etc., where the LED’s make up the actual pixels, not light a pixel from behind. There are true “LED TV’s”– big ones, on the strip in Vegas, and in Times Square.)
LED-backlit LCD panels: a good idea. LED as light source is more energy efficient (the edge-lit variety), it produces a better (larger) color gamut (especially in the lower color temperature range), it lasts longer as a light source than fluorescent tubes, it allows for a thinner profile panel, and it allows for local dimming on some units. All cool stuff.
To get an update on where the technology, and the market, is headed on LED-backlit LCD, attend our Webinar, Wednesday, March 9th. I will moderate, as Sanju Khatri of iSupply, gives the sales and marketing numbers, and Rachel Karnani, of NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.
click here to Register (free of charge)
Presenting will be:
• Sanju Khatri, Director, Digital Signage & Public Information Displays, iSuppli Corporation
Since joining iSuppli in 2001, Sanju Khatri has become one of the industry’s leading authorities on signage, professional, and projection displays. Her research coverage spans a diverse range of application markets, including hotel TV, retail signage/billboard, conference room, education, transportation, control room/simulation, financial exchange, rental/staging, and outdoor events.
• Rachel Karnani, Product Manager, NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.
Rachel Karnani, Product Manager at NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc., is responsible for the full gamut of large-format LCD display product marketing, including market analysis, pricing and inventory issues, as well as interfacing with the sales and channel marketing teams.
