Some of us like to use multiple monitors on our desktops to create more pixels and a bigger electronic desktop (like me). You can do this by buying two or more monitors and configuring it yourself. I have also seen companies that do this for you with thin bezels in between the otherwise standard LCD monitor panels. Now, new products are coming to market based on projection engines that can create a seamless curved display.

Chris Chinnock
Senior Analyst and Editor
for Insight Media

At CES, we had a chance to see a 42.4" curved display developed by Ostendo and being introduced by Dell’s Alienware division. At Macworld the following week, NEC showed a similar prototype curved display system.

The Alienware display was being demonstrated in the Texas Instruments booth where it was hooked up to a road racing game, complete with steering wheel and gas/brake pedals. I had a chance to drive the game and found it immediately captivating. The wide-angle screen is indeed immersive and draws you right into the game. While there were some obvious blending zones where the four projectors overlapped, this was quickly forgotten once engaged in the game.

The curved display (nominally a 42.4" diagonal, but a poor way to characterize the image) is based on Ostendo technology. They have developed a small LED-based DLP engine that couples the light from four (4) XGA-resolution engines onto the screen. Each engine is oriented in a 3:4 aspect ratio and projected onto the curved screen with blending in the overlap regions. The result is an image with 2,880 x 900 pixels.

At Macworld, NEC highlighted the curved display, which they hope to bring to market by Q4′08. NEC is strong in areas like corporate enterprise, satellite imaging, financial markets, 3D CAD/CAM, broadcast and medical imaging - markets where a curved screen display will offer a value proposition.

NEC says the curved display is likely to be offered for around $5K or a bit higher, and they will likely target financial and graphic designers to start, with medical imaging to follow. But adoption will depend on how much users are willing to pay for the immersive, fast, wide dynamic range and wide color gamuts the display offers over more conventional display systems.

NEC already offers professional series LCD monitors that can command this type of pricing, so this is not likely to be a huge obstacle for some users. I am sure we will have more to report on this later.

Note: an expanded version of this article will appear in the next issue of Large Display Report.