LG.Philips LCD on Monday said it will unveil at the Consumer Electronics Show a 52-inch multi-touch screen designed for advertising and other commercial uses.
The liquid crystal display maker said it will also show 32-, 42-, 47-, and 84-inch screens at the Las Vegas event, which runs Jan. 7-10. The 84-inch model comprises four 42-inch displays in a two-by-two array.
The devices use an infrared image sensor to recognize input from a persons fingers or a writing instrument. The screens have a 90-Hz touch response time and a resolution of 1,920 pixels x 1,080 pixels.
LCD-based public displays contend with plasma display panels. To better compete, LCD manufacturers are tailoring products to the commercial market with larger and thinner screens that have narrow frames for combining multiscreen arrays, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.
The public display market for large-size screens, which are 26 inches or larger, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 31% from 2006 to 2011, or from 1 million units to 3.5 million units, respectively, LG.Philips said, quoting numbers from DisplaySearch. The number of shipments of LCD-based products is expected to outpace plasma-display panels during the 5-year time frame.
LG.Philips latest products enable people to manipulate on-screen objects using both hands at once. They are also capable of recognizing handwriting. Some of the screens have a transflective backlight that makes the displays viewable in direct sunlight. Transflective LCD screens use a retro-reflector to transmit light when external sources, such as sun or a lamp, are available. When these sources are unavailable, the screens transmit their own light from backlights at the rear of the displays.
"Through improving our public display products viewability in both indoor and outdoor conditions and by differentiating their interface technology, we are planning for full-scale operation of our public display business in 2008," Soo-Chul Park, head of LG.Philips public display department, said in a statement.
The 52-inch LG.Philips public display is the largest multi-touch interactive panel, according to the company. The 47-inch model can split light from the panel into separate paths, making it possible to show three different images to people standing at different angles relative to the display.
The 42-inch product uses transflective technology for outdoor use, and can be joined in a two-by-two array for an 84-inch display that acts as a single screen.
See original article on InformationWeek.com
