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Sharp Corp said Monday it has started production of 5-inch full-HD (1,080 x 1,920 pixels) LCD panels for smartphones with a pixel density among the highest in the world. Production began at the end of September at Mie Plant No. 3 and full-scale production will begin this week.
This LCD panel employs CG-Silicon technology, a new pixel design, and an innovative production process to achieve the same number of pixels in a smartphone-size screen as there are in a full-HD LCD TV. The panel, which has approximately 1.3 times the pixel density of conventional LCD panels, can display crisp text, super-clear maps, and amazingly real HD images.
By providing ultra-detailed LCD panels to support the growing worldwide demand for smartphones, Sharp will contribute to smartphones with increasingly higher quality images.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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titaniumdioxide
Ohh Laa Laaa!! My hands are itching now. What phone model/s will make use of this display?Hopefully this one has more lumens than the latest phones I've seen so far.
basroil
Interestingly, these phones already have far higher resolution than anyone can make out at standard viewing distance. Any more resolution simply wastes battery power and slows down your phone.
titaniumdioxide
That is not always the case. Watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1wRivEeIU8
basroil
titaniumdioxideOct. 01, 2012 - 07:31PM JST
This type of thinking is common among non-engineers, partially due to media bias towards larger numbers without actually explaining the consequences.
The main issue isn't the display itself, backlight power is likely the same or lower than existing models. The issue is that then you need to add more graphics memory (512mb at least for smooth playback) and faster graphics and cpu chips to handle the extra data. The decoding of a 1080p video vs 720p video is something like 4x more hardware intensive, and having to do that constantly while the screen is on is a big drain. Consumers will also prefer to have the same framerate as with a smaller display, so that requires even more processor speed. Since Sharp hasn't announced any special advances in processing chips, the 1080p screen phone will always draw more power than an otherwise identical 720p phone.
And that, of course, is before even considering H264 decoding.
titaniumdioxide
basroil.
It is true that the GPU as a hardware component of the phone also affects the overall performance and battery. But your are missing a lot from your statement. One vital component of the GPU is the clock speed . All computing devices from phones to computer uses bunch of binary 1s and 0s. And the GPU converts these to pixels on the display. Well my point is I already know all the things what you're talking and you don't need to lecture me on Electronics engineering 101.
Another thing your missing is the Software. An example is SONY's mobile bravia engine. Algorithms on codecs that lessen the overall strain on the GPU.
But overall my point is, developing a display that has lesser energy consumption is already a great achievement . And besides who wants to go back on the old days were colored phones were pixelated and unrealistic?
titaniumdioxide
One thing more.
The link that I posted. Sharp said they can apply IGZO tech on OLED. As we all know OLED eliminates the need of using backlight . You were saying backlight power is the main issue. Well we can achieve reliance zero backlighting if they use OLED. Unfortunately the display is dim like the Samsung Galaxy S3.
globalwatcher
Why are they still in this market? They should focus on medical equipments that is wide open in global market.
basroil
titaniumdioxideOct. 01, 2012 - 08:56PM JST
Looks like you're forgetting to read what I posted. I specifically made two arguments:
1) 1080p resolution is wasted as the eye can't see it at normal, safe viewing distances.
2) The resolution increase itself COMPARED TO 720P, will strain batteries more. Any other technologies unrelated to the screen itself are pointless to discuss as they work with 720p as well.
And no, your stance on GPU is error through simplification. It costs no less than 2x more EVERYTHING than 720p (usually around 4x in real world). If you needed 1mWh to watch something in 720p, now it costs no less than 1080p assuming all other variables are kept identical. But since you can't see the difference in quality, it simply decreases battery with no other improvement. This of course assumes that there is a non-trivial increase in power consumption for any functions above idle, which will still be true for some time to come.
basroil
globalwatcherOct. 01, 2012 - 10:53PM JST
It's them, LG, or Samsung. The loss of Sharp means a monopoly will form.
titaniumdioxide
basroil
Again, I know what you're trying to say and I am not contradicting that. The problem is you are missing the main reason why companies are trying hard to achieve that "sizzle on a plate" sounding "high resolution". Again yeah you are right 720p and 1080p doesn't seem to make any difference unless you use a magnifying glass to look at the screen. And you are right higher resolution need extra juice.
Higher Resolution is NOT just all about the visibility of the display perceived by the user. Sure there are not much difference between 1080p and 720p when seen at a distance, does that mean manufacturers should stick to 720p forever? That is why there are R&D in technology like these so we can advance the present ones. There are challenges that arise when you develop such technology (Like the one you're saying "energy efficiency") but with these challenges are Engineers and Scientist working round the clock looking for a solution. There are already solutions out there that solves the problems and more better solutions are formulated.
To summarize High Resolution in NOT all about how the user view the display. I'm too lazy to bring up why higher resolution DOES matter so I'm leaving you a example with the Ipad.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/17/why_high_resolution_screens_matter_for_apples_ipad_2.html/page/1
blackrock
I'm with basroil here. 720p is more than enough for 4'' phone screen. 1080p mean the CPU/GPU has to work twice as much to drive the display, means using more power, not to mention the power to change every pixel color every 1/50 second.
Ti02: you mistook video decoding with displaying. You can decode a 1080p clip and display it on a 720p screen. Even in that case, the CPU/GPU has to work twice as hard as decoding a 720p clip.
Bravia engine is a set of image processing algorithms. On Xperia, if you turn it on, your battery is likely to be drain faster.
Apple used that "more pixels" strategy to trap people, but it's not true. And the truth is they didn't use that resolution at all.
Lastly, Sharp's TV business is in trouble, not LCD panel manufacturing. Any innovations are welcome.
basroil
titaniumdioxideOct. 02, 2012 - 01:37AM JST
Yes, it is ONLY about the visibility. There are far more important things for visibility, like finger grease, backlight efficiency, and dynamic range of the display.
Again, IT IS ONLY ABOUT VISIBILITY. The issue here isn't 720p vs 1080p, it's 300ppi vs 440ppi. The fact of the matter is that you cannot compare a 10" screen to a 5" screen considering the 10" screen has twice the area. If 1080p on a 5" screen is 440ppi, 1080p on a 10" screen is just 220ppi, leaving you with 80ppi to go to reach a reasonable resolution limit, at minimum focusing distances. For cellphones, it's fine to achieve 300ppi as people tend to be near the minimum focusing distance, but that means just 720p is already more than enough on your standard 4-4.5" screen. You literally cannot see the difference between 720p and 1080p on a cellphone EXCEPT ON HOW BAD YOUR BATTERY LIFE IS.
Athletes
I have never bought Sharp products before. However I am a great admier of Sharp Aquous LCD TV. The reason I did not own any sharp products was PRICE. It was not because I dislike them. Currently Sharp is aggressively expanding their Large size flat TVs. In my eyes, Sharp Aquous LCD TVs are very visullay pleasing. When I saw Sharp 80 inches TV in US, I thought I was in heaven drifting along the clouds.
There are 3 80" Sharp models in the US, which can be purchased from USD $3,850 to USD $4,600
The 70 " is available in the US from USD $2,000 to $2,600.
The 90" is available in the US already for $10,999
I have two 32 inches TV of Panasonic and Hitachi. Pansonic one is 1080p. Hitachi one is 720p. In my eyes, Hitachi 720p looks better than Panasonic 1080p. They have same scanning rate as 50 hz. In the reality, more resolution does not mean, it will looks better in pictures. Picture scanning rate, color processing, color ratio and scaling of picture sizes are decisive factors for getting better image quality.
In my experience, even some TV has resolution 720p (1366x720), they looks better than 1080p(1920x1080). It may be also true for smart phone LCD TV panel too.
Only Ipone has Apple rentina technology for eliminating any visible pixels blinking with very close distance. Sony will launch new 84 inches TVs with Apple rentina tech very soon. At this stage, no TV image quality are pixels free like Iphone and Ipad.
basroil
AthletesOct. 02, 2012 - 10:19AM JST
Clearly you have no clue as to modern phones. All the high end phones in the last year and a half are above 250ppi (what apple calls "retina display", which is actually just a marketing gimmick), many of them above 330 ppi that iPhone has. In fact, Apple doesn't own any patents in "retina display", those are actually owned by LG and Sharp who made the screens.
tairitsuiken
Whoah, battle of the engineers...