Post by sunbeam on Jul 17, 2005 20:01:21 GMT
Guardian:
It could end arguments over which channel to watch on television: next month Sharp, the consumer electronics company, will launch a liquid-crystal display that shows two different images to people watching from the left and the right.
While one person browses the web, using the monitor as a PC screen, another can watch television. The monitor can also show two television programmes simultaneously.
Mikio Katayama, head of Sharp's LCD business, said yes terday: "Take a typical [Japanese] family, in which the mother likes watching drama and the father likes baseball. Now they can watch them together on the same screen."
The display, which is expected to cost twice as much as an ordinary LCD television, will go on sale worldwide, and the technology will be sold for other firms to use, Sharp said.
Sharp, the word's leading maker of LCD televisions, said its experts had superimposed a "parallax barrier" on to the display, separating the source light so that images can be viewed from both left and right. But the display has its drawbacks. Viewers directly in front of it will see only two images overlapping. The mix of sounds means that at least one user must wear earphones, although Mr Katayama said the firm would consider equipping screens with directional speakers at a later date.
The screen has other uses. It could, for example, allow a front-seat car passenger to watch a film while the driver uses the car navigation system.
The technology could find its way into mobile phones and personal computers and holds huge potential for advertisers, who will be able to promote products in different ways, or more than one product in the same space.
Sharp has high hopes for the display and a second LCD panel that can be switched from a wide to a narrow viewing angle, allowing users to look at mobile phones or laptops without worrying about people looking over their shoulders.
The company hopes the two products will generate 10bn yen (£50m) in sales by March.
While one person browses the web, using the monitor as a PC screen, another can watch television. The monitor can also show two television programmes simultaneously.
Mikio Katayama, head of Sharp's LCD business, said yes terday: "Take a typical [Japanese] family, in which the mother likes watching drama and the father likes baseball. Now they can watch them together on the same screen."
The display, which is expected to cost twice as much as an ordinary LCD television, will go on sale worldwide, and the technology will be sold for other firms to use, Sharp said.
Sharp, the word's leading maker of LCD televisions, said its experts had superimposed a "parallax barrier" on to the display, separating the source light so that images can be viewed from both left and right. But the display has its drawbacks. Viewers directly in front of it will see only two images overlapping. The mix of sounds means that at least one user must wear earphones, although Mr Katayama said the firm would consider equipping screens with directional speakers at a later date.
The screen has other uses. It could, for example, allow a front-seat car passenger to watch a film while the driver uses the car navigation system.
The technology could find its way into mobile phones and personal computers and holds huge potential for advertisers, who will be able to promote products in different ways, or more than one product in the same space.
Sharp has high hopes for the display and a second LCD panel that can be switched from a wide to a narrow viewing angle, allowing users to look at mobile phones or laptops without worrying about people looking over their shoulders.
The company hopes the two products will generate 10bn yen (£50m) in sales by March.