NEC Display announces a unique addition to its X Series, a 43-inch X431BT bar-type (for lack of a better term) display with 1920x480 native resolution and 700 cd/m² maximum brightness.

Everyone, including NEC, has 16:9 LCDs for DS applications, but not everyone is looking at different, unique sized applications. This is a flat panel, direct-view LCD monitor that's basically a long, thin strip.

The X431BT includes DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI-D connectivity, capability to be mounted in both landscape and portrait orientation, includes Picture in Picture (PIP), Picture on Picture (POP) and side-by-side display modes and two inputs can be displayed simultaneously in any of the modes by either maintaining one aspect ratio or evenly stretching both images to fill each half of the screen.

Go NEC X431BT

Our sister publication rAVe USA were given an hour with Bob Rushby, CTO of Christie Digital and inventor of the MicroTiles.

If you ever wondered how these MicroTiles work, you should watch these videos in this order:

Go What are MicroTiles?

Go How do MicroTiles Work?

Go What can you do with MicroTiles and is it Green?

Go Christie’s own InfoComm display using MicroTiles

With the InfoComm introduction of a new line of LED Large Screen Systems branded "TL Vision," Trans-Lux now offers one of the most extensive offerings of digital display technologies. Included in the new TL Vision line of LED Large Screen Systems is the industry's first 3mm pitch.

J.M. Allain, President and CEO, Trans-Lux Corporation, says "With the introduction of our new TL Vision digital displays to complement our established line of Trans-Lux branded DataWalls and FairPlay branded Scoreboard Systems, Trans-Lux will look to capture a much more prominent position in the sports and entertainment, gaming, financial and leasing markets."

Trans-Lux has added a high resolution line of TL Vision Large Screen Systems to its offering including indoor and outdoor displays and an industry first 3mm LED solution. The groundbreaking new 3mm LED Display is for high resolution applications with image quality that rivals HD flat screen displays – but has the ability to be customized in virtually any size and shape.

In addition to LED digital signage solutions, Trans-Lux Corporation recently announced the formation of TL Energy which offers a comprehensive line of LED lighting technologies that emit less heat, save energy and enable creative designs.

Go Trans-Lux

I am in Japan this week to attend the 3DSA conference, which is sponsored by NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology). Part of the research conducted by NICT, and the focus of 3DSA, is on futuristic display technology.

This week we also picked up word that the Japan Football Association (JFA) is promoting some very advanced display technology as part of its bid to win the 2022 World Cup event. Therefore, talking about the future of displays in 2022 seemed like a good idea for today's Display Daily.

The FIFA World Cup event is huge and this year marks a major ignition point for 3DTV with coverage of the event. This coverage will be in stereoscopic 3D for viewing on glasses-based 2-view TVs.

In 12 years, the experience could be quite different. According to JFA general secretary Kohzo Tashima, chief executive officer of the bid committee, they have included a 550 billion yen (USD$6 billion) "Universal Fan Fest" project as part of their bid package. This project will "treat football fans worldwide to ultra-realistic live 3-D telecasts of World Cup matches."

What does this mean? According to Tashima, during each match, images would be captured from 360 degrees by 200 high-definition cameras and transmitted as three-dimensional images. The matches would be shown on giant screens or, if technological advances in coming years allow, projected like a real match onto the pitch itself, giving viewers the illusion of watching the real thing. We were not quite sure what he meant by "the pitch itself," so we asked NICT VP Dr. Kazumasa Enami about this concept. It turns out we asked exactly the right guy as it was his proposal to JFA that got them excited about the possibilities and inclusion in the bid.

According to Enami, the idea is to create a display system as large as an Olympic-size swimming pool. Projectors would be arrayed underneath a giant-size screen and the audience would sit in bleachers around this display - just like in the actual sporting venue. Using a super multi-view technique, the audience would be able to see the event from their perspective in the seats. Change your seat and you would get a different view of the action -- just like in real life. And -- this would all be without any eyewear.

Is this possible? According to Enami, yes. In effect, they are already doing the development work needed to create such a display. For example, a 70" super multi-view light field type display using over 50 projectors has already been developed in their Kyoto labs. A 200" version is planned for 2013. Can a 100-meter version be ready by 2022?

Yesterday, I was able to tour the NICT facility and see demonstrations of other futuristic display technology. For those readers of Large Display Report, you may already be familiar with some of the advanced technologies developed by NICT, most of which was shown at NAB 2009.

For example, one technology features a device to interact with a 3D virtual object using a tool that includes force feedback and sounds (drag the tool over the object and you hear a scratching sound). New to this technology is the addition of smell, although we were not able to experience that advancement.

NICT is also quite involved with integral imaging and electronic holography. A demo to highlight this capability showed capture of a rotating object using a white light source, a 240x135 lens array and a JVC camera with 3840x2160-pixel resolution. Elemental images from each lens array component are electronically processed into a hologram. These are combined over the entire image to produce red, green and blue holograms that are sent to the display section at 30 frames per second. The display system features red, green and blue lasers illuminating very high-resolution LCoS panels (also from JVC) to transform the holographic data, which is written to the panel, into a visible image. This image changes in real time, but it has a tiny 4-degree field of view, is only about an inch square in size and contains speckle from the laser sources. This was also shown at NAB last year.

What I missed last year was the 3D sound demonstration, which I found to be the highlight of the tour. For this, NICT hired three musicians: two guitar players and one shakuhati (bamboo flute) player. In the recording studio, 26 microphones arranged in a spherical pattern, surrounded each musician. For playback, NICT created a spherical speaker enclosure with 26 1-inch speakers arranged in the same relative positions as the microphones. These speakers were positioned in a room at the locations and heights of the original instruments during recording (check out the anaglyph 3D photo of the room). When played back, the sound quality was simply amazing. You could walk around these "virtual musicians" hearing the sound from various angles. Stand in front of the shakuhati player and it was definitely louder. Walk around and you can hear different mixes of the sound. The quality was so good it was nearly lifelike. Very cool.

NICT has other display technologies they are developing and there will be two days of papers from various groups that will provide insight into the direction of research in future displays.

Today, I talked about our 3DTV forecast methodology, which attendees told me was far more complex and involved than they had imagined. Tomorrow, I want to listen to what they think about the future.

Chris Chinnock is a senior analyst and editor at Insight Media. Reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As preparations begin for InfoComm in Las Vegas, it comes back to mind that Hyundai IT was the official digital signage provider at InfoComm 2009 in Florida.

You might see Hyundai IT more in IT events than in AV events, but make no mistake about how this Korean maker is committing itself to digital signage.

Hyundai showed its digital signage products exhibits to the public for the first time in Europe at last year's CeBIT. And at this year's CeBIT, their large stand was dedicated to all aspects of digital signage.

From case studies to kiosks to large displays to clever applications (including 3D content creation), Hyundai IT exhibited their end-to-end coverage of the DS market.

Our favorite was the ADSCALATOR, an industrial strength box with display screen that sets on any escalator to present messages to anyone going up or down the escalator.

Go Hyundai IT

Sony Professional brought a new range of BRAVIA digital displays to Screen Media Expo. Research, says Sony, suggests by 2012 60% of the digital signage market will be covered by television products. In response to the proliferation of televisions used in the digital signage market, Sony Professional has created a Bravia range with the functionality of a pro display and the usability of TV.

Sony brings its big recognition in TV to Sony Professional in the digital signage space. By including an RS232 control in the new BRAVIA B2B range, Sony offers the capability of performing self-diagnosis and timed power saving. The B2B BRAVIA range has hotel mode so user can select a default channel, show the time and limit the sound volume. The new BRAVIA B2B range has 32", 40", 46" and 55".

Also at Screen Media Expo, Sony has a refreshed version of its Ziris software. The all new Ziris V7 is an enterprise-strength digital signage software suite which is easy to use and has streamlined features for content delivery. A new, unified user interface pushes usability to new levels so that anyone familiar with typical office software will feel at home with Ziris 7 immediately.

Sony also showed its new digital signage player, the BKM-FW55, an eco-friendly full HD embedded digital signage player that actually fits inside the display for tamper-proof, simple, plug-in-and-play digital signage.

Go Sony at ScreenMedia Expo

With more than 150,000 ViewStream players in the field, Digital View now releases a 10" widescreen version of its all-in-one VideoFlyer digital display and media player package proportioned for shelf-edge mounting and point-of-sale promotions. Along with video and audio, it allows enhanced impact through touch screen interactivity, buttons, motion sensors and barcodes.

Integrated into a slimline, robust & lightweight aluminum enclosure – the VideoFlyer 10" incorporates a high res, high bright LCD with one of Digital View's specialist ViewStream media players. These professional grade, Linux-based devices play off internal solid state memory cards and are designed to deliver high definition video - 24/7 with "bullet-proof" reliability.

The VideoFlyer 10" offers content update via local USB stick, with option for remote network update. Playlists can be programmed using Digital View's free scheduling tool – 'DV-Studio' – and using a simple RS-232 cable, multiple VF-100W units can be synchronized together to create video effects with timed content.

"Small is beautiful, this neat widescreen package delivers high impact media without taking up valuable shelf space," comments Neil Wood, Product Director at Digital View Inc. "More and more customers are working in 16:9, so the VideoFlyer 10" is an exciting and important addition to the VideoFlyer range."

To support the launch, Digital View are also for the first time offering rental packages around standard VideoFlyer.

Go Digital View

With the M521 LCD Public Display, NEC Display Solutions launches the largest model in the Multeos series.

The 52" monitor with HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) combines an attractive design of a TV set with the reliability of professional digital signage displays.

It's designed for use in areas with sophisticated interior design, such as in hotels and restaurants, reception and waiting areas, fitness studios or conference rooms. A raft of configuration and connectivity options ensures seamless integration of the display into any technical environment.

NEC wants to remind us that while "Content is king" in digital signage slogan, in any stylish environment, the design has a major role to play, too.

Purely on the basis of appearance criteria, TV sets generally are superior to public displays. In long-term use, on the other hand, large-format LCD displays with professional panels deliver significantly higher performance and longevity along with a 3-year on-site service, unmatched by consumer TV products, says NEC Display Solutions.

NEC Multeos M521 is not only a combo of professional display and TV design but also offers an integrated option slot to accommodate a media player (while maintaining the sleek look of the monitor without any unsightly cable connections or additional PCs.)

The media player enables self-created content to be displayed, and significantly extends the range of possible uses for the M521. A restaurant, for instance, can display menus of the day or specials (and even change menus before and after screening a football match.)

NEC Multeos M521 recommended retail price is Euro 3299.00 (including VAT). NEC Display Solutions Europe offers a 3-year warranty including backlights.

Go NEC Display Solutions