News

DisplaySearch Releases New Flat Panel TV Performance Evaluation Report with Data from Westar Display Technologies (29/6/2004)

DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in flat panel display (FPD) market research and consulting, announced the availability of a new report designed to evaluate and quantify the performance of LCD TVs as this rapidly growing market emerges. Of vital interest to marketing, sales, procurement and product development personnel, DisplaySearch's new Flat Panel TV Performance Evaluation Report includes extensive electro-optical measurement data and analysis by Westar Display Technologies, a leading supplier of display quality measurement systems and services to the FPD industry and an independent display measurement laboratory.

Measurement data taken on six popular LCD TVs purchased at retail outlets confirms that great advances have been made in adapting LCDs to the requirements of home entertainment applications. However, there are significant differences across these products. This report will help buyers learn which products offer the best performance and let suppliers know where they need to improve relative to the competition.

The highly anticipated report provides comparisons of four TVs supplied by leading consumer electronics (CE) brands -- Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Sony -- against two TVs from traditional information technology (IT) brands -- Dell and Gateway. The panels were manufactured in three countries, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, but the results show that the performance can be enhanced significantly by the choice of display controller and other electronics added by the set assembler. The tests also provide valuable insight into the relative performance of panels using In-Plane Switching (IPS) and Vertical Alignment (VA) modes to assure good viewing at wide angles. The report contains over 100 pages of detailed data, together with a comprehensive analysis of the results.

Phil Downen, Westar's FPM Product Manager, states "In addition to the usual optical tests one would expect (luminance, uniformity, contrast ratio, etc.), we've measured several key properties that acutely affect the TV viewing experience including color gamut, off-axis color shifts, off-axis gamma, and gray-level to gray-level response time. This comprehensive data set is presented in an organized, side-by-side, manner allowing easy comparison of key TV figures of merit."

This report is the first in a series planned by DisplaySearch and Westar Display Technologies. The relative performance of Plasma Display Panels (PDPs) and Microdisplay based Rear Projection TVs will be evaluated in future issues. Subscribers to this innovative new database series will be able to:

-- Determine the success of each manufacturer in meeting design goals.
-- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each technology.
-- Compare the performance of mass-produced models with that of research prototypes.
-- Benchmark the progress of each manufacturer in meeting customer expectations.

"The television marketplace is now the fastest growing segment of the flat panel display industry, and this relatively young industry is still in the process of developing methods and standards of measuring performance," explains DisplaySearch President Ross Young. "We think the industry will truly benefit from an independent and neutral organization quantifying LCD TV performance and we expect to show continuous improvements over time as the rapidly growing LCD industry increases its focus on TVs."

The new Flat Panel TV Performance Evaluation Report is available now and priced from $6,495 to $7,495, depending on the size of the organization.

www.displaysearch.com