Product category: Displays
News Release from: Arrow Electronics (UK) | Subject: Sharp ASV LCDs
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 26 January 2004
LCD first for
large-format videoconference system
Tandberg has developed the world's first videoconferencing system to feature large format LCD screens
With the support of Arrow in Norway, videoconferencing specialist Tandberg has been able to develop the world's first videoconferencing system to feature large format LCD screens. At the same time, the company has become the first company outside of Japan to build the latest Sharp 76cm (30in) TFT-LCD technology into a commercially available OEM product.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 26 January 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Tandberg, one of the world's largest manufacturers of videoconferencing equipment, has integrated two Sharp 30in wide-XGA colour TFT-LCD modules into its new Tandberg 7000 high-end videoconferencing system.
This dual-monitor system is targeted at boardrooms and conference rooms and delivers a fully integrated, high-resolution videoconferencing solution in a slim, small footprint design that takes up minimum floor space.
The Tandberg 7000 represents the first system in which Tandberg - which designs and manufactures videoconferencing equipment with display sizes up to 127cm (50in) - has employed LCD technology for monitors of this size.
Previously, the largest LCD the company had used was a 31cm (12.1in) module from Sharp deployed in the desktop Tandberg 1000 system.
In this case, however, the large Sharp LCDs from Arrow Norway were chosen over alternative technologies as they were the only modules that could deliver the specified resolution, brightness, contrast ratio, viewing angle and performance within the design constraints that the slimline nature of the 7000 design imposed.
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The 30in (76cm) modules chosen by Tandberg are wide-XGA 1280 x 768 dot active matrix colour TFT-LCD modules capable of displaying 16.77 million colours.
Brightness ratings and contrast ratio are 500cd/m2 and 800:1, respectively.
Sharp's Advanced Super View (ASV) technology provides for wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles of 170 degrees, while ensuring minimal colour variation throughout the viewing angle.
A specially designed cell structure contributes to response times that, at 15ms, are around 40% faster than those achieved by previous LCD panels for clear presentation of even fast moving video presentations.
The main constraints that the slimline, small-footprint design of the Tandberg 7000 imposed were on the size and weight of the LCD modules and the maximum permissible power dissipation and heat output.
In each case, the Sharp 30in module's dimensions (including built-in inverter) of 718.1 x 445.6 x 51.3mm, 8.4kg weight, and module power consumption rated at 91W, all fell within these constraints.
The specifications of the Sharp LCD displays have allowed Tandberg to deploy standard modules within the videoconferencing system, with the only element of customisation being the physical mounting of the displays in the unit.
The main additional challenge that the Tandberg engineering team faced when using the displays related to EMI, as Petter Muren, Tandberg's Design Manager, explains.
"As we were one of the first manufacturers to use these modules, it was hard to predict the EMI performance of the finished product once the LCDs were built in.
However, by working closely with Sharp in Japan via our contacts at Arrow Norway, the Sharp and Tandberg elements of the design were optimised to minimise EMI and to ensure EMC compliance for the complete Tandberg 7000 system".
He adds: "Our contacts at Arrow Norway proved invaluable during this process by ensuring rapid access to data, samples and prototype products.
When we moved from design to production Arrow continued to support us by building up early inventory levels, maintaining a competitive pricing structure, and setting up the logistics procedures best suited to our procurement and manufacturing model".
Volume quantities of the Tandberg 7000 videoconferencing system are now being manufactured in Norway and are being shipped to customers worldwide.
The 30in wide-XGA colour TFT-LCD modules used in the Tandberg 7000 videoconferencing system use Sharp's Advanced Super View (ASV) technology to deliver wide viewing angle, high-speed performance and high contrast ratios using the "normally black" method.
When power is switched on, the liquid crystal molecules in an ASV display spread out like a starburst, angled in a large number of different directions.
Because of this, the molecules look the same regardless of viewing angle.
This contrasts with the conventional normally white TN liquid crystal approach in which the liquid crystals all face the same direction and, therefore, appear different depending on viewing angle.
As a result, ASV LCD modules offer a wide viewing angle of 170 degrees, whether viewed from the left, the right, above, or below.
There is also minimal colour variation throughout the viewing angle, and no half-tone inversion, ensuring a clear image wherever the user is positioned.
In addition to the improved speed of change in the liquid crystal molecules, Sharp has also employed a proprietary cell structure to achieve very fast responses that are almost twice as fast as those of conventional LCD panels.
This means that, even for fast-moving video, ASV LCDs provide a clear image display with minimal after-images.
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