Planar Systems has debuted the Planar LookThru OLED transparent display, a virtually frameless display that makes it possible to create truly see-through installations unobstructed by enclosures behind the displays. It utilises the latest OLED technology to eliminate the need for a backlight or enclosure.
Planar describes the product as creating a new category for transparent displays, achieving the vision of futurists and science-fiction filmmakers who have predicted a world filled with clear displays presenting video content. It is the latest transparent solution that Planar has brought to market, expanding on the company’s early transparent display innovations introduced in 1999.
“Planar’s transparent OLED offering creates new applications for display experiences never before possible,” said Jennifer Davis, vice president of marketing and product strategy at Planar Systems. “This revolutionary product provides new surfaces for storytelling and allows for a futuristic and modern aesthetic that has appeal across industries and applications.”
The Planar LookThru OLED transparent display allows users to view video content, digital images and text on a virtually frameless glass display while enabling designers to overlay this content onto real objects or scenes that sit behind the glass.
VIDEO:Planar LookThru OLED Transparent Display from Planar Systems on Vimeo.
The 55in Planar LookThru OLED transparent display is self-emissive and is said to offer brilliant picture quality, exceptional contrast and wide viewing angles. It has 45% light transmissivity, creating clear, unobstructed views of objects, scenes or other digital screens behind the transparent display. It can be used in both portrait and landscape mode, and provides full HD resolution.
When paired with a Planar image processing solution, the display can be tiled to create videowall installations. Suggested applications for the new display include retail, corporate and museum settings. It can be integrated into any environment in which glass is used, including room dividers, conference rooms, counters, museum exhibits, retail fixtures and ticket booths.
“The advancements in flat panel displays have allowed us to bring in digital content as active architectural surfaces in the environments we design,” said Alan Robles, associate and experience designer in the Retail Studio with the global architectural firm Gensler. “Transparent OLED represents the opportunity to further extend those interactive surfaces into more enveloping interactions where we can put our user in the midst of the content, and the content becomes a transparent layer of their experience. This technology could revolutionise the retail environment by taking traditional components such as fitting rooms and product interaction displays to their next evolution.”
The Planar LookThru OLED transparent display is available in two mechanical configurations – a model for table-top or ceiling-mounted installations as well as a model for flush-mounted installations.
It is available with optional touch screen interactivity offering 32 simultaneous touch points. Both models are available with optional touch technology and use the latest touch sensors tested and proven to perform in today’s most demanding environments.
The display features proprietary Planar Extended Ruggedness and Optics (ERO) technology, which uses a damage-resistant optically clear Corning Gorilla Glass bonded to its front surface. This high-durability surface can withstand the rigours of high-traffic environments and interactive touch, and also improves perceived contrast by more than 300% when compared to traditional large-format cover glass.
Digital inputs including HDMI and DisplayPort, and the display is fully controllable using RS-232, LAN, Crestron and other control systems, and compatible with sources ranging from PCs and players to HDCP-compliant consumer video devices.
The new display will be available in February 2016 through Planar’s global network of authorised resellers, who are currently accepting pre-orders.
