Samsung Develops Two Notebook LCDs with 16:9 Aspect Ratios, and One with an Active White-LED Backlight

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has developed three new liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) for notebook PCs - two offering a true 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio for viewing movies, TV shows and new-age gaming, and a third featuring active white light-emitting-diode (LED) backlighting that boosts picture clarity and reduces power consumption, according to a report by the Society for Information Display.

Samsung will unveil its latest LCD models, which it expects will garner considerable interest in the high-end notebook PC market, at FPD International in Yokohama, Japan, October 24-26. Mass production is scheduled to begin in the first half of next year for the 16:9 displays and in the second half of 2008 for the white-LED backlit panel, the company said.

The new 16:9 aspect-ratio displays - 16-in. diagonal and 18.4-in. diagonal - delivers virtually the same rich colors as that of an LCD TV, Samsung said, with color saturation levels of 60% for the 16-in. model and 90% for the 18.4-in. model, compared to the 40-50% range seen in most notebook monitors today.

Both 16:9 LCDs also feature an 800:1 contrast ratio, 8ms response time and 262,144 colors.

The new 16-in. and 18.4-in. Samsung LCD panels have the same 16:9 aspect ratio as most LCD HDTVs, whereas notebook screens of the past have gradually moved from a 4:3 aspect ratio to the current standard of 16:10 that became popular with the widespread use of Windows XP, a phenomenal increase in Web traffic and the rise of multimedia content.

In addition to its 16:9 aspect ratio notebook displays, Samsung has completed development of a 15.4-in.-diagonal LCD with an active, white-LED backlight. The new 15.4-in. display operates on 40% less power than a typical LED backlight, according to Samsung.

Backlight units (BLU) using LEDs can operate on less power than conventional BLUs, which use cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). CCFL BLUs remain fully lit all the time, while an active LED BLU illuminates the screen selectively, according to the image being displayed. Light areas project varying degrees of light, while dark areas are turned off. As a result, power consumption is greatly reduced and the contrast ratio is improved tremendously. Samsung said its new 15.4-inch LED backlight unit has ten times (10,000:1) the contrast of a typical notebook PC display.