Prysm, the inventor of laser phosphor display technology, has announced the next generation of its LPD videowall tile. The new tile has a resolution of 427 x 320, compared with 320 x 240 for its predecessor – a 78% increase in resolution per tile. This means that an HD native-resolution display requires a 5 x 4 array of the new tile, with a 117in diagonal, compared with 6 x 5 and 150in for the original.
Besides the increased resolution, Prsym says that the new tile offers increased image uniformity and quality. “We’ve made some improvements in how we scan the image and create the surface,” said Dana Corey, vice president of sales and technical operations, talking to Installation. In addition the power consumption of the tile – one of LPD’s key USPs – is unchanged (per unit area).
“With this product, we’re looking at closer-proximity viewing – more executive centres, briefing rooms, command centres, and corporate lobbies where the spectators are much closer, because we have this higher resolution,” said Corey. It also makes touch and gesture functionality more appealing, he added.
The new tile resolution was chosen to enable viewing from a range of distances – since Prysm is in the ‘100in and above’ bracket, said Corey.
“Especially in the US, we have been taught by the home [market] that resolution is everything – and 1080 fits most places where you watch TV. Sometimes we forget when we go to ‘commercial land’ that we have to keep in mind viewer distance to the screen… When you do a large format, if you’ve got a viewer at six feet and a CEO sitting back at 30 feet, that difference of expectation is quite dramatic – and you’ve got to be able to fit both of them. That’s where the right resolution makes all the difference. When you build a display for the commercial space, you need to build at what I call ‘usable resolution’ – one that fits the model whether I’m close or far.” In addition, minimising rescaling reduces costs, he pointed out.
Corey highlighted collaboration room solutions as a key focus for Prysm: “We’re seeing a change in the market from dedicated telepresence spaces to multipurpose rooms within the corporate world – and [our collaboration room solutions are] an answer to that.” He hinted about a forthcoming announcement of a joint solution between Prysm and a big name in the videoconferencing world: “There’s some exciting news coming that will substantiate the opportunity even more.”
The new tile is shipping now, and will be displayed at InfoComm in a 10 x 4 and a 10 x 5 videowall display.
