- Apr 10, 2001
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COOL
Sharp unveils double-vision LCD screen
Thu Jul 14, 2005 6:48 AM ET
By Nathan Layne
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp. has a solution for the family fight over who gets to watch what on the TV -- sit on opposite sides of the room.
Sharp said on Thursday it will begin producing a new type of liquid crystal display (LCD) panel this month that if used in a TV would allow viewers sitting to the right and left of a screen to watch different channels.
"Take a typical family where the mother likes to watch dramas and the father likes to watch baseball or soccer. Now they can watch them together on the same screen," Mikio Katayama, head of Sharp's LCD business, told a news conference.
Katayama acknowledged that sound would be an issue. He said directional speakers were one possibility in the future but earphones would be the most likely option at present.
The world's top maker of LCD televisions said it had achieved the breakthrough by superimposing a "parallax barrier" onto the LCD to make the source light separate into right and left directions, creating a so-called dual-view display.
It differs from picture-in-picture technology that is common in many TVs now on the market.
Sharp did not disclose what products would use the new panel, but said it could eventually find uses in mobile phones, personal computers, car navigation systems and in various commercial applications.
The panel could be used to display two different advertisements on one screen at the same time. Placed next to an escalator, for example, passersby would see one advertisement on the way up and another on the way down.
Katayama was also confident the technology would be applied to car navigation systems, allowing the person in the passenger seat to watch a movie or TV program while the driver checks a route map.
Sharp also announced it had developed a new LCD panel whose viewing angle can be switched from wide to narrow, allowing people to view private information on their PCs or cellphones without having to worry about others being able to see it.
Automatic teller machines (ATM) or terminals found in convenience stores are other potential applications.
This LCD employs a special material to prevent light from going to the left or right.
Katayama said Sharp is speaking with several potential customers and that products will be launched soon.
Sharp aims to generate 10 billion yen ($89.25 million) worth of sales from the two new displays in the business year to next March, or less than one percent of its forecast for overall group revenues of 2.75 trillion yen.
Sharp's shares closed Thursday up 1.65 percent at 1,725 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average's 0.90 percent rise. ($1=112.04 Yen)
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