AUO doesn’t directly attend the ISE, but as public displays are a market that the company is very interested in, the company normally has a hotel suite near the show. We went along to see what it was showing.
The company started by showing us a 32″ FullHD Touch panel using PCap technology. As AUO is not expanding its capacity for core cells in any great way now, the company is looking to add value by supplying more and more of the system. The touch display supports 10 point touch and as this is for applications including gaming machines and meeting rooms, the cover glass has 6H hardness. Brightness is 400 cd/m² and resolution is FullHD.
Also in 32″, the company was showing a high brightness display with 1,500 cd/m² of output and using a circular polariser for low reflections. Contrast is 4,000:1. The panel uses a High Tni LC material (110ºC) and the display can be used in landscape or portrait mode.
High brightness is important for AUO and the company had a new UltraHD panel with 2,500 cd/m² and rated for 24/7 use. Other features are similar to the 32″ but the power consumption is 692W. This panel has done particularly well in QSR applications, especially in drive-through areas.
An unusual product is a 42″ stretched display with 1920 x 480 resolution which also supports high brightness of 1,500 cd/m² and power consumption of 80W (typical). This level of brightness is becoming popular in retail window displays. The company is also developing a 29″ stretch display. Both of these, and the 37″ that the company has, are made to this size rather than being cut from larger panels.
AUO has this new stretch display which has high brightness. Image:Meko
Analyst Comment
One of the topics of conversation at this ISE was UltraHD. Since the format started to appear in TV, there have been questions about when it would become important in public displays. I have been generally negative about the need for UltraHD in public display. It just didn’t make sense, because of power issues, content issues and the desire for brands to have consistent inventories. However, I also said that there would come a point when the panel makers decide that they are no longer keen on supplying FullHD. It seems to me that the time for this switch this year. FullHD will not disappear, especially in video wall panels, but this year is the one that UltraHD will really accelerate. (BR)
