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Panasonic to Significantly Improve LCD TV Contrast

amirm

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LCDs suffer from inability to completely shut off light when the signal requires it. Some amount of light still bleeds through causing blacks to be shades of gray. "Local dimming" divides the screen into regions and as such, can control the amount of brightness in each region. If the entire region is black, then this works perfectly but if there are mix of bright and dark pixels, the scheme breaks down resulting in lower contrast or distortions/haloes.

The holy grail of local dimming is being able to control the amount of light that goes through each pixel. Seems like Panasonic may have developed exactly that. They have inserted a black and white LCD layer whose job is to modulate the amount of light that goes into the RGB pixels past it. This adds complexity and cost in a market that cannot afford it. As such, the cost will be high and Panasonic is searching for industrial applications for it. It is a shame as it likely would be a good solution for enthusiasts too as it not only will have similar black levels to OLED, but very high brightness which OLED struggles to produce.

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Panasonic Develops Industry's First*1 IPS Liquid Crystal Panel with Contrast Ratio of over 1,000,000:1

a contrast ratio[1] of over 1,000,000:1, which is 600 times*2 that of conventional liquid crystal panels. With Panasonic's unique IPS[2] liquid crystal technologies that feature wide viewing angles, high brightness, and high reliability, the new IPS panel has achieved a high contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1 by integrating newly developed light-modulating cells that permit pixel-by-pixel control of backlight intensity. This achieves a faithful and high-grade video display, ranging from dazzling light to pitch-black.

The new IPS panel is ideal for use in professional-use High Dynamic Range (HDR) monitors for broadcasting stations and video production studios. HDR displays can reproduce images that are faithful to what people see, ranging from bright light to jet-black darkness. Also, the new high-contrast panel is suitable for use such as medical monitors that require faithful video display and automotive monitors that require clear visibility without black floating[3].

Panasonic's new IPS Liquid Crystal Panel has the following features:
  1. An industry-first high contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1*1, which is 600 times that of conventional products
  2. Capable of stable operation at a maximum brightness of 1,000 cd/m²
  3. Can be manufactured using existing liquid crystal panel manufacturing facilities
The new high-contrast IPS panel solves the problems inherent in conventional liquid crystal panels. Despite their track record in wide-ranging applications from B-to-C to B-to-B fields, conventional liquid crystal panels suffer black floating, white washout phenomenon, in dark parts of the display area when the backlight intensity is increased to raise brightness. When the backlight intensity is lowered to make dark parts clearer, these panels also suffer a loss in sparkle in bright parts.

Suitable applications:
High-end monitors for broadcasting, video production, medical, automotive, and other fields

Sample availability:
Sample shipment will start in January 2017.

Notes:
  • *1 Among IPS liquid crystal panels (as of November 28, 2016, based on a survey conducted by Panasonic)
  • *2 Compared with Panasonic's current products that have a contrast ratio of 1,800:1
[Features]
1. Industry-first high contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1 - 600 times that of conventional products
Conventional liquid crystal panels, with a contrast ratio of approximately 1,800:1, suffer black floating in dark parts when the backlight intensity is increased, and they suffer a loss in sparkle in bright parts when the backlight intensity is lowered.

Panasonic's new high-contrast IPS panel uses newly developed light-modulating cells, which operate based on the operating principle of liquid crystals, and these cells are integrated into the display cells. As a result, it is capable of controlling the amount of backlight entering the display cells pixel by pixel, thus achieving a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1.

The light-modulating cells are composed of a liquid crystal material that differs in light-transmission properties from that used in the display cells, allowing independent control of the display and light-modulating cells. This has reduced light leakage significantly, allowing finely-tuned gradation expression. Furthermore, the application of Panasonic's IPS liquid crystal technologies, developed for industrial use, has achieved a contrast of 1,000,000:1 (maximum brightness: 1,000 cd/m², minimum brightness: 0.001 cd/m²) while maintaining features including wide viewing angles and high light-transmission efficiency.

Consequently, the new high-contrast IPS panel can make HDR-compatible displays for professional use at broadcasting stations and video production studios, and is suitable for uses including medical monitors and automotive monitors.

en161128-4-2.jpg

Structural comparison between conventional and new liquid crystal panels

2. Capable of stable operation at a maximum brightness of 1,000 cd/m²
The new high-contrast IPS panel achieves a maximum brightness of 1,000 cd/m² by enhancing the transmittance of the display and light-modulating cells and adopting a high-brightness backlight. For the light-modulating cells, the company has developed a light-tolerant material that provides stable operation over a long period of time, despite exposure to intense light from the high-brightness backlight, as well as a unique cell structure.

3. Can be manufactured using existing liquid crystal panel manufacturing facilities
The new panel can be manufactured using the existing equipments for liquid crystal panel manufacturing. Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd., possesses an industry-leading scale of 8.5th-generation (G8.5)[4] production lines that are capable of manufacturing 10- to 100-inch products.
 

RayDunzl

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Why didn't they already think of that?
 
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amirm

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I don't know for sure since in hindsight, it seems a rather obvious solution to the problem. What is known though is that it is a lot more expensive. It is essentially a black and white display added to a color one. The mass market for TVs is cutthroat and leaves no room for such things.
 

fas42

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Hmmm ... with our Aldi LCD I adjusted the strength of the backlight so that at nighttime a completely black image was just barely less dark than the "black" of the set when switched off - and proceeded to align everything to that, including having three sets of numbers to punch in for contrast and brightness, depending upon ambient lighting at the time. Result: the blacks are truly "black", at all times - and the highlights of brightness still have plenty of punch. I call this, making the best of what the technology can deliver - it seems an obvious course of action ...
 

Cosmik

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I thought that the future was OLED - I didn't realise that they don't go very bright (yet).
 
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amirm

amirm

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I thought that the future was OLED - I didn't realise that they don't go very bright (yet).
You can make them bright but then their life is highly shortened. Even as is, OLEDs may have short life time. Hopefully manufacturing enhancements continue to improve this aspect.
 
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amirm

amirm

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Is that necessarily true? Time will tell when we actually see these devices.
If the light valve is an LCD shutter then by definition it will polarize the light and it will interact with the polarization on the front RGB elements. So likely Keith is right and hence another reason Panasonic is aiming specialty applications where the operator sits straight on.
 

Fitzcaraldo215

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I thought that the future was OLED - I didn't realise that they don't go very bright (yet).


Well, LCD has always been the poor stepchild, getting dumped on for being technologically inferior in this way or that. Yet, it continues to survive with updates and major technological improvements. Still gets dumped on, though. Meanwhile, other technologies which were thought superior visually, like RPTV or plasma, have bitten the dust never to return. Don't get me wrong. If I needed a new set at this moment it would likely be an LG OLED, whose price is now not unreasonable. But, with the ongoing advances, by the time I am ready, the latest, tricked out LCD set might be the way to go. Don't count LCD out to continue to survive, evolve and prosper, especially with Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Visio, etc. behind it.

BTW, I do not think OLED will ever catch up to the brightness of LCD, even as they both evolve. But, the OLED has other advantages, at least for now.
 
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