July 20, 2010
Flat Panel Video Displays Are Ready For 3D And GreenAV
Long before flat panel video displays
(FPD) became popular with consumers,
they established a strong foothold
in commercial markets. From early
plasma installations for information
display on the floor of the NYSE
to boardrooms, training facilities,
and trade shows, FPDs proved their
mettle outside the home while the
residential world was still tied for the
most part to CRTs with a smattering
of rear-screen projectors. Of course,
that has all changed, with LCD and
plasma sets all but commanding the
direct view video display market, no
matter what the application, from
casual viewing to the most critical
video monitoring. The commercial,
institutional, government and military,
house of worship, and lodging
and hospitality installations we deal
with are certainly no exception.
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Flat panel displays that are impervious to the elements are becoming more widely available.
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We’ve come a long way since
early-stage plasmas that were
expensive and highly prone to burn
in and LCDs with low contrast and
poor off-center view quality. With
that, it is time for our annual catchup
view of the state of flat panels
and a few hints for the newcomer to
our industry and the seasoned professional
alike.
Particularly since CES in January,
the biggest news in the world of displays
has been around the subject of
3D, and it remains to be seen whether
that technology will ultimately resonate
with consumers and for those
specifying and designing commercial
installations. Here we must note that
sets designed for consumers use have,
almost exclusively, relied on technologies
that require active-shutter
glasses to view the 3D effect. The
technology works and the 3D can be
very immersive, but it must be noted
that the active glasses are not cheap,
somewhat fragile, and at this time
there is no standard for them.
That means in a sports bar or
similar installation, using consumer
sets because the premium they charge
for 3D is not great will be offset by
the high cost of the glasses and the
need to replace batteries. The bottom
line is that the cost of the glasses will
make it almost impossible to justify
3D. However, there is an alternative
in the form of flat panel sets that use
polarized systems for creating the 3D
effect. The sets are a bit more expensive,
but the glasses can be purchased
at throw-away level pricing. That’s
the very reason this type of flat
panel display technology was used in
pubs throughout the U.K. during 3D
tests by BSkyB earlier this year. No
complaints about the picture quality,
and the publicans were able to
provide all viewers with glasses. The use of polarized displays with passive
glasses has already been used in the
U.S. in various museum and other
public venue displays, as well as in
broadcast production trucks.
That all lays down sufficient precedent
for any 3D installation you may
become involved in, with the caveat
that you need to check that the displays
have HDMI inputs compatible
with your program sources. ESPN
has already launched its 3D channel
in time for the World Cup, and there
will be much more sports oriented
programming from them (and others)
throughout the year, leading to
the BCS Championships next year.
Like it or not, you may not be able
to escape 3D, and you’ll need the display
panel info to do that.
Along with 3D, the next biggest
change in FPD this past year that will
expand in the months ahead is the use
of LED backlighting for LCD panels.
First, a plea that when describing
these sets in bids or discussions with
clients or prospects that you describe
them exactly that way: “LCD sets
with LED illumination.” Calling them
“LED TVs” is simply incorrect, and
while it is tempting, it could get you in
trouble with those who know better.
The advantage of these sets is not
only their thin profile compared to
sets with traditional CCFL (fluorescent
tube) backlights, but also their
lower energy consumption. Within
this type of set it is also important
to explain the difference between
edge-lit sets and back-lit sets. The
former have a smaller premium over
CCFL models and are thinner. The latter, while more expensive due to
the larger number of LEDs involved,
have the capability to do local area
dimming that results in greatly
increased contrast. Here, the trickledown
from consumer video displays
may begin to provide some cost relief
for commercial sets, but even without
it the technology is worth considering
on its other merits.
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As this demonstration from CES 2010 shows, power consumption for current generation flat panel displays continues to improve.
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In terms of panel size, there has
been little change in the “ultra large”
category, with Panasonic’s 103-inch
plasma the only real choice above
100 inches, with the mammoth 152-
inch Panasonic still more or less a
working science experiment. Even
if it were available, from a price
perspective (not to mention ease of
moving the thing!) you’d be better off
with a 3x3 matrix of 50-inch PDPs.
The Panasonic 103-inch is a proven
performer, and it now has a slightly
smaller 85-inch cousin.
Next down are the traditional consumer
and professional sizes from 40
inches to 65 inches in the mid-range,
and 22 inches to 37 inches in the mid range. There, you have a wide variety
of choices in LCD, though plasma
remains a relative rarity below 42
inches and currently isn’t available
below 32 inches.
Going to smaller, monitor-sized
displays, specialty companies such
as Marshall, Data Video, and
Wohler, to name just a few, join the
majors in providing a wide range of
sizes for multi-monitor installations
such as security, incoming program
monitoring, and source or system
control. Here, let the application be
your guide, but the vendors give you
almost all the choices you need.
Ah, so many displays, so little time,
but a few more things worth mentioning.
The first is the increased availability
of true “outdoor” flat panel
displays. Now available from a number
of suppliers to meet the extremes
of hot, cold, and wet conditions,
they greatly increase your placement
options for video. Out at the pool?
At the entrance to a garage? Bringing
your digital signage outdoors? No longer
a problem on any of those fronts.
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An interesting future technology application for OLED is the possible availability of
transparent displays, as shown here in a 14-inch Samsung OLED laptop display.
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As to technology, OLED has been
on the cusp of market availability for
some time. Sony is no longer selling
their 11-inch-diagonal consumer
model, but they did announce a 7.4-
inch monitor at NAB. Best suited for
monitor use, but hopefully a taste of
things to come. Look for a few OLED
sets from Korean-based companies in
the mid-teens size range perhaps this
year, but it will likely be into 2011 or
2012 before we see OLEDs competing
with plasma and LCD in the mid
and larger size ranges. This is one not
to promise availability to your customers
for a while.
Summing up, flat panels are simply
the only real remaining choice
for video displays up until the application
is better suited by projection.
They are reliable, offer great picture
quality, have better energy efficiency
than ever before in both LCD and
plasma, and are available in virtually
every size you could want. They
can be thin both in depth and in
frame/mullion size for video walls,
or encased so that they are impervious
to the elements. There was a
time where you had to justify using
them due to price. These days there
is no justification not to have them
not only replace any remaining CRTbased
video monitors or displays, or
to replace earlier generation FPDs
approaching end of life.
The skeptics Columbus faced can
now be said to have been correct at
least when it comes to video displays:
It is a flat world!
Margin builder
Despite all the recent news about flat panel display energy
consumption in the wake of the deliberations and ruling of the
California Energy Commission, no matter what the technology,
energy usage for flat panel displays has dropped in recent
years. Perhaps this gives you a reason to propose that clients
with older displays consider a gradual replacement program
to give them the performance, image quality, and energy
conservation benefits of today’s FPDs.
Michael Heiss (CaptnVid@aol.com)
is a technology and marketing consultant
based in Los Angeles, CA.
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