114076 Workbook Module 7 INTERNET SOURCE – PLEASE UPLOAD ON INTERNET SITE 114076 Skills Practice 7.3 http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2005/05/26/the-looking-glass-war-sonyversus-toshiba The Looking Glass War - Sony versus Toshiba By David A. Utter - Thu, 05/26/2005 - 3:33pm. Blu-ray versus HD DVD, liquid crystal versus plasma, and how manufacturers want us to see in the future. Blu-ray versus HD DVD For three years, a pair of consortiums has tried to develop a new generation of DVD media. Based on blue lasers, the new media would have to be able to store massive amounts of data, enough to deliver the sort of high-definition visual content that makes George Lucas grin. Sony and Toshiba, the lead corporations in the Blu-ray versus HD DVD standards fight, and their associated allies, need to bring this war to a close. Electronics manufacturers on both sides have the capability to deliver either technology to market by the fourth quarter of this year. But no one wants to revisit the VHS-Betamax wars that hampered VCR adoption in the 1980s. Launching DVD players based on competing standards could lead to a situation no one wants: consumers waiting on the sidelines for a single standard while thousands of products sit on shelves unbought. And despite signs that Sony had finally pushed Blu-ray to victory, and Toshiba would agree to supply playback and rights management software for blu-ray devices, Toshiba seems to have dug in its heels and screamed its defiance. Alta Gelderbloem 1 114076 Workbook Module 7 No standard for blue laser DVD media storage today, then, and we don't seem to be getting one tomorrow either. Whichever standard emerges, consumers will need a TV capable of highdefinition (HD) display. LCD and plasma screens offer consumers flat-screen dimensions of 40 inch diagonal measurements and up. Likewise, pricing for those screens has stayed up, and a downward pricing trend will have to happen to get more consumer adoption. Watch the Screen 42 inch plasma HD screens have a price of around $4,000 USD, while a similar LCD 42 inch screen would go for about $5,000 USD, according to analysts referenced by Reuters. And a less advanced 42 inch plasma TV could go for around $2,000. That means LCD makers have to add next-generation production lines faster in order to compete on price. Samsung is working on these now, while LG.Philips has seventh generation lines in production. Other manufacturers will follow suit, and they will have to if they hope to replace cathode ray sets with LCD or plasma options. Right now, that ancient cathode ray technology accounts for around 90 percent of global TV sales, according to Lehman Brothers. It has been suggested that manufacturers will sacrifice profit margin for market penetration. Without a HDTV screen in the home, consumers won't be motivated to pickup blue laser DVD players, or more importantly, blue laser DVD content. This should mean a pricing battle that brings retail costs in line with what consumers would comfortably pay for a cathode ray set. DVD media will be the factor that drives profits for companies like Sony, as people won't be buying a new HDTV every year. Alta Gelderbloem 2 114076 Workbook Module 7 The electronics manufacturers want you to see the future in glorious high definition, but it may take two or three years to finally get a lot of consumers there. David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here. http://www.touchscreens.com/intro-displaytech.html Comparing Conventional CRT and Flat Panel LCD Monitors The two most common types of monitors that are being used today are CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors. CRT type monitors are the traditional monitors that we have been using for years. LCD type monitors are based on a newer technology and are becoming very popular, mainly because they have great space and energy saving advantages over CRT monitors. CRT and LCD monitors are based on completely different technologies, and thus have quite different display characteristics Physical Size One of the biggest advantages of LCD monitors is that they are compact and lightweight. An LCD monitor is based upon a very thin screen as opposed to the bulky tube of a CRT monitor. This means that not only do they take up less of your desktop space, they can also be used in many places where a larger CRT monitor can not fit. Shown here, a 12.1" LCD monitor with a stand takes up only about one-third of the desk space of a typical 14" CRT monitor. Alta Gelderbloem 3 114076 Workbook Module 7 Display Size Thanks to advances in LCD technology, colour flat panel LCD monitors are now available that are comparable in screen size to traditional CRT monitors. Shown here, a 12.1" LCD display (left) has only a slightly smaller viewing area than a typical 14" CRT monitor. Newer, larger LCD monitors are also appearing that have 15", 17", and even larger screen sizes that are comparable to the largest CRT monitors. One thing to note is that LCD monitors are typically sized by their actual viewable diagonal measurement, but CRTs typically are not. For example, the viewable area on a 17" LCD monitor will typically measure 17" diagonally, but the viewable area on a CRT monitor will typically only measure 16" diagonally. Alta Gelderbloem 4 114076 Workbook Module 7 Colours Most CRT monitors are capable of displaying unlimited colours. Some LCD monitors are only capable of hundreds or thousands of colours, but many of the newer LCD's are capable of unlimited colours. Resolution An important issue with LCD monitors is resolution. CRT monitors are usually capable of displaying multiple video resolutions, each with the same quality. LCD monitors, however, usually has what is called a Native resolution, or the resolution that it displays best. The native resolution is generally the highest resolution that the LCD can display and this is the display resolution that will appear the crispest/sharpest. Brightness Typically, brightness is not a concern with CRT monitors. LCD monitors are backlit and have different levels of brightness. The brightness rating for an LCD monitor is commonly referred to as 'nits', and commonly range from 70 to 250 nits. The higher the nits, the brighter the display. Viewing Angle Another issue with the LCD monitor is the viewing angle. A CRT screen can be looked at from a very wide angle, practically from the side, but an LCD monitor typically has a smaller viewing angle, needing to be viewed more directly from the front. From the side, the image on an LCD screen can seem to disappear, or invert colours. Newer displays that are coming out have wider viewing angles so this is not as much of an issue as it has been in the past. Alta Gelderbloem 5 114076 Workbook Module 7 Power Consumption and Radiation Emission Besides being compact and space saving, LCD displays offer several other benefits. For one, LCD monitors consume much less energy than CRT monitors. This makes the LCD great for laptop and portable computers. Secondly, CRT monitors are known to emit harmful radiation, whereas LCD monitors do not. Price CRT monitors are generally more affordable than LCD monitors. In the past LCD monitors have been very expensive but their costs have come down quite a bit in the last 1-2 years. One thing to consider is the up-front cost versus the long-term cost. A CRT monitor will cost less up front but will use more energy than a flat panel monitor. An LCD monitor will cost more up front but will conserve energy in the long run. The energy savings may not be much for an individual user, but if you are looking at a corporate office where 50 displays are in use, the energy savings might be more of an issue. http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=interlace The TechWeb Network Results found for: interlace Interlace To illuminate a screen by displaying all odd lines in the frame first and then all even lines. Interlacing uses half frames per second (fields per second) rather than full frames per second. Alta Gelderbloem 6 114076 Workbook Module 7 The interlace method was developed for TV broadcasting because the allotted bandwidth for TV channels, defined more than a half century ago, was not sufficient to transmit 60 full frames per second. Interlacing with 60 half frames was visually better for moving images than 30 noninterlaced full frames. Interlace Vs. Progressive Scan Interlaced screens display every other line (1-3-5 etc., then 2-4-6, etc.), while non-interlaced screens, known as "progressive scan," display lines consecutively (1-2-3 etc.). All non-digital TVs are interlaced. Older CRT computer monitors were also interlaced at their highest resolution and progressive scan at lower resolutions. Some digital TV standards are interlaced, such as the highdefinition 1080i format, and HDTV sets support both interlaced and progressive scan signals (see HDTV). Alta Gelderbloem 7