BenQ Corp. plans to offer a 65-inch LCD TV in the second half of this year as it moves to expand the size of its LCD TV products.
The company is also researching the possibility of using LED (light emitting diode) backlights in some desktop LCDs (liquid crystal displays), including 19-inch and 21-inch sizes. The company currently has no laptop PCs equipped with LED backlights due to concerns that the displays are too easy to break.
BenQ plans to offer a range of new LCD TV products this year, including a new 37-inch model that supports full high definition viewing, due out in April, and a 46-inch model to be launched in July or August.
The new LCD TVs will be sold in Taiwan, China and the Middle East initially, and some will make it to Europe by the second half of this year. The LCD panel used in the TV makes the biggest difference in picture quality, and it's down to the supplier to improve their technology in order to meet user demands for clear images and vivid colors. Around 80 percent of BenQ's LCD panels come from AU Optronics Corp. (AU).
LED backlights, which greatly enhance color saturation in LCD TVs but cost a lot more than older technologies, could be used in BenQ LCD TVs sometime in 2008. Currently, LED backlights for larger displays go into high end LCD TVs. AU has said it ships some LCD TV panels equipped with LED backlights to customers in Japan that are willing to pay a premium for the picture quality.
A backlight is a light behind the LCD display, on a laptop, monitor or TV, used to illuminate the screen. Most flat displays currently rely on cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlights because the technology is less expensive than LEDs. The LED backlights can be two to three times more expensive than CCFLs, an executive at AU, the world's third largest LCD (liquid crystal display) screen maker.
LED makers have been driving down costs by putting LEDs into more gadgets. The more they increase production, the lower their per-LED cost. LEDs are now used in auto lights and the small displays on DVD players and MP3 digital music devices. Some companies, including Asustek Computer Inc., are starting to announce new laptop PCs with LED backlights in their screens. As costs come down, LEDs will be used in larger and larger screens.
Source:佚名