Exactly what are these new technologies?

OLED TVs and Laser TVs offer two versions of television technology. These two types of televisions have multiple similarities to consider. They also have individual benefits to consider before you make your final purchase.

First, there are concerns over both technologies and they are:

* Laser: Some techies have raised questions of the effect of prolonged exposure to the lasers that project the image onto the screen. Manufactures say it is fine, but research is in progress.
* OLED: The organic material will deteriorate and this affects the picture quality. We would like to add that this is after thousands of hours use. They are looking into prolonging its lifetime.

We are sure they will be improve and addressed over time, giving us all confidence in future developments.

OLED TV
Sony 11″ OLED TVThe Technology Behind OLED
OLED television (Organic Light Emitting Diode television) features LEDs that have a luminescent layer that is made of organic compounds. This technology allows a matrix of pixels to be created. This matrix of pixels allows the LEDs to emit light of multiple different colors and intensity.

Benefits of OLEDs
OLED televisions allow for a wide range of colors. The matrix that is created, along with the organic compound, allows for amazing brightness and contrast. The OLED television allow for a deeper black on the screen, which offers greater contrast with each screen. OLED TVs are also known for their low power consumption. They do not use as much power as many of the TV types on the market today, including Laser TV.

Laser TV
The Technology Behind Laser Televisions

Panasonic Laser TVLaser TVs use multiple waves to create the colors that are needed for the television picture. The use of lasers allows for an accurate projection.

The waves follow the idea of the old projection TVs. Laser TVs are large, utilizing the laser technology to give a clear, sharp, stable picture over a large area with great color depth, contrast and strong blacks.

Benefits of Laser TVs
Laser TVs are known for having a wider range of colors than OLED TVs. These televisions are also known for being lightweight, and for being relatively thin. Laser TVs are known for having a long life, and for keeping the picture quality throughout their lives.

Choosing Between the Two

OLED TVs are perfect for people who want a smaller TV. The current technology only allows for smaller TVs at present. If you are looking for a larger TV, you will want to look towards Laser TVs. OLED TVs rarely tip the 11 inch for commercial production. Laser TVs, on the other hand, have been created, commercially, over 60 inches.

Laser TVs have come to the market at a lower price than OLED TVs. Eventually, the price of the OLED TV will drop. The technology is still new, and is still expensive. As technology progresses and the sizes get larger, prices will lower.

Laser TVs have progressed further than OLED TVs. Eventually, the technology behind the OLED TV will catch up. Until then, Laser TVs meet the needs of the consumer more than the OLED TV. Each TV serves a different market, as the projection technology behind the laser TV caters to a larger screen.

source:
http://www.hdtvinfoport.com/oled-laser-comparison.html

Enabling crisp full-motion video

With the recent widespread use of PC and online games, and PCs equipped with DVD drives give users more opportunities to see moving images such as those in 3D games or action movies on screen. This increase in motion picture content means computer monitors must be able to display not only still images, but moving ones as well.

Manufacturers and IT publications often cite a fast response time as an indication that a display can play videos or games with little or no blurring. Hence, we would like to share with you what response time is, and how helpful it is in determining how well an individual LCD display can portray moving images.

Response time:
Why is it increasingly important for LCD applications?

If response time is slow, the transition from one picture (or frame) to another can produce an afterimage or blurring effect. This problem occurs not only when looking at motion pictures, but also during scrolling. For this reason, panels with faster response times are typically recommended for displaying moving images. Listed below are calculations for the liquid crystal response times that LCD displays meet, with consistent reliability, for various application standards. Response time is measured in milliseconds (ms, 1/1000 second). The shorter the time frame, the better the display quality.

 
Crisp Low Response Rate at Left and High Response Rate at Right.
Notice the blurring that occurs (right image) with High Response Rates.

LCD RESPONSE RATES
30 ms:1/0.030 = 33 fps meets specs of NTSC (30 fps), PAL (25 fps) or movie (24 fps) standards
16 ms:1/0.016 = 63 fps meets the spec of HDTV (60 fps) standards
12 ms:1/0.012 = 83 fps meets VESA flicker-free display with CRT of 72 fps and human-eye perception
8 ms:1/0.008 = 125 fps 3D PC games requirement
4 ms:1/0.004 = 250 fps Professional 3D PC games requirement
fps = frame (picture) per second

What is response time?

The transition time when LC materials are rotating on each of the required white/black or gray levels is called “rise time” and “fall time,” respectively. Normally, the transition time of 256 x 256 LC rotation levels needs to be measured. However, some companies don’t measure degree levels due to limitations of equipment capability.

Liquid crystals are rarely completely turned on or off. Instead, they cycle in between gray states. The following are two common methods some manufacturers use to measure response time:

On-Off response time Refers to the change time for screen pixels to turn from white to black (Tr) and from black to white (Tf) when the screen receives the signal. However, it does not indicate the transit time between gray levels.

Gray-to-Gray response time:

Since virtually all moving images include gray levels, and the frequency of gray-to-gray transitions is typically far greater than black-and-white transitions, we use the Gray-to-Gray response time definition to address the gray-to-gray transition time, allowing us to make an accurate assessment of a displays’ suitability to portray moving images.

At present, there is no accepted standard for the computation of Gray-to-Gray response time. However, as a company that emphasizes product reliability, most manufacturers insist on using the average to gauge performance, delivering better value to the end user.

How some manufacturers accelerate response times and guarantees reliable products:

Lower rotational viscosity liquid crystal materials and reduced cell gap thickness enhance “On-Off Response Time” performance.

To rapidly improve liquid crystal on-off response time, some manufacturers have developed products with lower rotational viscosity liquid crystal materials and reduced cell gap thickness during the first stage.

Many manufacturers overcome technical challenges such as non-uniformity and side effects caused by new LC materials in the LC-cell manufacturing process. Furthermore, new products undergo strict testing before launch.

Higher voltage with overdriving technology reduces the moving image’s “Gray-to-Gray response time.”

These quick response times modeled with new LC materials and a thick cell gap have earned such products much praise in the market in terms of capability and reliability, encouraging their makers to keep seeking new technologies for product upgrades. Models with overdriving technology have been integrated into many LCD displays, from manufacturers such as Acer, accelerating response times, especially for gray-to-gray.

Faster gray-to-gray response time via overdrive (OD) technology

The key benefit of OD technology is the clear improvement of the gray-to-gray level, which is the most important factor in the moving-picture viewing experience. Liquid crystal molecules respond faster to the high voltage that’s needed for black-white transitions than to the low voltage that’s needed for transitions between gray areas. Therefore, even though going from one grayscale level to another is less of a jump than going from black to white, the gray-to-gray transition time can actually take longer. Two LCD panels with the same black-white response times but with different gray-to-gray response times will have different moving picture playback capabilities.

As the figures below show, using an overdriving algorithm, LCD displays can reduce the deviation in the transition time and approach ideal performance. This significant improvement allows LCDs to deliver high-quality moving pictures for 3D games and videos.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, electronic flat panel used to display information and images. It includes monitors for computers, televisions, instrument panels, and other devices ranging from aircraft cockpit displays, to every-day consumer devices such as video players, gaming devices, clocks, watches, calculators, and telephones. LCDs are simply everywhere now.

Its major features and benefits are: lightweight construction (compared to Plasma displays); portability (in the case of smaller displays); the ability to be produced in much larger screen sizes than were practical for older Tube (CRT) displays; and perhaps most important, its much lower power consumption.

Technically, an LCD display is an “electronically-modulated optical device” made up of any number of tiny pixels filled with liquid crystals and arrayed in front of a light source (backlight) or reflector to produce images in color.  The earliest discoveries leading to the development of LCD technology date from 1888. Today, tube CRT displays are almost a thing of the past!

Unfortunately, from time to time, a new LCD TV or Monitor will have a problem pixel.  This is where the physical crystal actually is stuck or frozen in place.  However, don’t panic, since these can frequently be fixed.

There are three basic types of problem pixels:

• a hot pixel (always on, usually white)
• a dead pixel (always off, black)
• a stuck pixel (one or more sub-pixels (red, blue or green) are always on or always off)

To solve a problem pixel, it is recommended to let the display fully warm up (leave on for at least a full day) – this alone can fix many problems, as the display expands due to warming and can free the pixel.  Always try this before calling for help.  Next, call the manufacturer’s technical support for other techniques that they might recommend – each manufacturer may have different solutions for their products.  There are also other techniques that you might try, but always be careful not to damage your display, as this might void your warranty. 

LCD Problem Pixel Policy
In the event that warranty service or an exchange is required, it is important to understand that every manufacturer has their own dead pixel policies, and that they should be contacted about solutions before requesting any exchange.  We want you to experience the best possible image on your LCD, so typically, an LCD TV or Monitor with 5 hot, dead, or stuck pixels would qualify for an exchange within the first 30 days of ownership after support efforts have been exhausted.  See the product warranty below for more information.

LCD Technology

How LCD’s Work

The twisted nematic (TN) is the most common type liquid crystal used in display applications such as LCD televisions, monitors and projectors. It is so named because it has a naturally twisted crystalline structure. This crystal reacts to electric currents in predictable ways, such as untwisting to varying degrees depending on the voltage of the current to which it is exposed. The main difference between plasma and LCD technology is that LCD pixels don’t emit light. As with plasma technology, an LCD pixel is comprised of three sub-pixels in the elementary colors. Because they don’t emit light, LCD displays need white backlighting. The light emitted by the backlighting passes through the liquid crystal and is then colored by a filter. Each subpixel has the same characteristics; only the color of the filter changes depending on the pixel. The liquid crystal of each subpixel can be controlled electrically like a valve; the amount of light allowed to pass through the crystal governs how much red, green and blue is emitted for each pixel. Active matrix LCDs employ thin film transistors (TFTs),m or tiny switching transistors and capacitors arranged in a matrix on a glass substrate, to direct electric charges down columns to reach a particular pixel. In turn, this causes the liquid crystals to untwist and display a predetermined amount of light generated by the light source – usually a fluorescent bulb located in back of them. By exploiting a combination of red, green, and blue subpixels of various intensities (or gray scales), a single pixel triad can reproduce approximately 16.8 million colors.

LCD Pluses

LCDs offer higher resolutions than plasmas of the same size. They also have excellent image stability. In other words, you can sit close without experiencing eye fatigue. Additionally, LCDs boast a longer lifetime than plasma televisions – on average about 50,000 hours versus 30,000 hours. Also, If you’re contemplating a home entertainment setup involving a PC–perhaps running Windows XP Media center Edition – or other activities involving text as well as graphics, you’ll get a crisper, brighter image from an LCD. LCDs are also space-efficient and because they operate at much cooler temperatures cost less per hour than plasma televisions. The smaller and better transistors found in LCDs give them another advantage over plasma – higher resolution.

LCD Minuses

LCD viewing angles cannot match those of plasma displays. You tend to see some brightness and color shift when you’re sitting at too far an angle from your LCD, while a plasma’s picture remains fairly solid. LCDs also have lower contrast ratios than plasmas and are not as good at rendering deep blacks. Additionally, they are not as good as plasmas in tracking motion and fast-moving objects may exhibit what is called, lag artifacts.

LCD Uses

The area where LCD reigns supreme over any other flat-panel displays is, of course, computers. LCD monitors can now be used for most applications including games, office applications, and photo retouching. But it’s another story for television. LCD is lagging behind plasma, but it’s available in more reasonable display sizes. In terms of absolute video quality, plasma is still tops, because it offers blacks as good as what CRTs can display, exceptional viewing angles, and unmatched color. However, LCDs are closing the gap little by little with technologies that are constantly being refined.