All posts in HDTV

Can PenTile RGBW be used for TV?

by JoelPollack on June 7, 2011 in HDTV, LCD, New Technology with No comments

You bet!

Samsung SEC has built prototypes of a 32-inch FHD TV using PenTile RGBW with a white LED backlight.  This was demonstrated at the 2010 Flat Panel Display International (FPDI) conference in Makuhari, Japan.  This PenTile RGBW LCD  TV runs at about 55% the power of an equivalent brightness legacy RGB stripe panel showing the full range of multimedia applications.  The PenTile RGBW TV is capable of even higher savings for TV or video alone.

Due to the white subpixels, the white areas and reflections from things like the metal in a chrome bumper have a real zing that is not seen in conventional RGB stripe TVs.

Just like the mobile displays these are built with one-third fewer subpixels, but from only 2 meters away the pixels are seen as 48 cy/deg* of human vision where the pattern is not easily seen by the best of eyes.

* 48 cy/deg means that in one degree of human vision one can see 24 white lines and 24 black lines

Our Technology Demonstration at SID

by JoelPollack on May 16, 2011 in HDTV, New Technology, SID with No comments

For years, display makers have considered introducing field sequential color for TV applications. This technology doesn’t need any color filters, so it has great promise for very low power TV. The key issue has been an artifact known as “color breakup.” As viewers scan their eyes across the screen, it is possible to see colors separate. This is especially true for images such as black and white stripes.

For our prototype demonstration, we have collaborated with Samsung to develop PenTile RGBCW with FSC in order to demonstrate that color breakup can be almost entirely eliminated. And at the same time, it is possible to get extraordinary color gamut and very low power consumption through the use of RGB LEDs in a 2D dimming backlight. New algorithms allow us to smoothly stitch together FSC, PenTile RGBCW and the 2D RGB backlight to show what is possible for wide color and power savings of about 75% compared to legacy RGB stripe TVs.

If you’re going to be at Display Week 2011, you won’t want to miss this.

What to Expect from Us at SID

by JoelPollack on May 15, 2011 in HDTV, LCD, New Technology, SID, Tablets with No comments

While PenTile is generally associated with mobile products, where customers have seen all of our current design-ins, we have been applying the technology to larger sizes as well.

At Display Week 2011 in Los Angeles, along with Samsung, we will demonstrate new technology for two applications…

  1. A 10.1” tablet demo using PenTile RGBW LCD, with the highest resolution ever made
    It runs at 55% of the power of an equivalent RGB stripe display and enables a thin and light tablet without sacrificing ultra-high resolution. This tablet is about the same pixel pitch as the highest resolution smart phones, but now in a 10.1-inch diagonal size. You’ll love it.
  2. The future of television
    For future TV, power savings will be critical. New technology from us and Samsung SEC combines a PenTile multiprimary LCD with field sequential color (FSC) and a 2D RGB LED backlight to achieve a very wide color gamut at the same time as the highest level of power savings. If you are display technologist, this demo will surprise you. You will see that it is now possible to remove color breakup, the main artifact associated with FSC.

Where Have I Seen PenTile Before?

by JoelPollack on May 2, 2011 in About PenTile, Digital Still Cameras, HDTV, LCD, OLED, Smartphones with No comments

PenTile technology has been incorporated into more than 70 high-resolution mobile products over the last three years, so you’ve seen it in a lot of places… though you may not have known it at the time.

There are two versions of this technology. One is called PenTile OLED, which has no white subpixel and uses an RGBG pattern of OLED subpixels. The other is PenTile RGBW technology.

PenTile OLED has been used most famously in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S and in digital cameras like the Samsung NX10.

PenTile RGBW LCDs have been used in phones like the Motorola Atrix.

It can just as easily be used in a GPS screen, portable video player, computer monitor, HDTV, electronic game or other high resolution phone or digital camera device.

The short answer to the question… you’ve seen PenTile displays all over the place.