Monday, March 30, 2009

Power Hungry Plasma Displays to Be Banned in Europe and California

European Union and California wants to ban plasma screen televisions plasma screen televisions as they "guzzle" too much power and adds to the global warming issue.

Press Coverage on Ban: According to the Daily Express, "A 42in plasma television uses over twice as much power as a traditional television set. Some of the larger models can take as much as electricity to run a fridge freezer".

LA Times reports that "(California) State regulators are getting ready to curb the growing power gluttony of TV sets by drafting the nation's first rules requiring retailers to sell only the most energy-efficient models...". The regulation is expected to pass in mid-2009. According to LA Times, "During a peak viewing time when most sets are on, such as the Super Bowl, TVs in the (California) state collectively suck up the equivalent of 40% of the power generated by the San Onofre nuclear power station running at full capacity. Televisions account for about 10% of the average Californian's monthly household electricity bill". Further the article goes to describe how Plasma screens are more power hungry than LCD screens.

Power Usage Comparison of Plasma vs LCD: We looked at various professional large screen displays that businesses would buy, to see if what is being reported is correct. Below we analyze some of the Plasma professional display brands against the Sharp LCD screens to understand how plasma screens compares with LCD screens. Our finding was that Plasma displays consumed almost twice as much power per display than LCD display of similar size.

Comparing Panasonic Plasma Display vs. Sharp LCD Display

· 65" Panasonic Plasma Display: A 65inch professional plasma display by Panasonic (TH-65PF11), which is high definition display, consumes 755W of power, according to the company display brochure.

· 65" Sharp LCD Display: A 65inch profession LCD display by Sharp (PN-S655), which is also a high definition display but using LCD technology, consumes 480W of power, according to the company display brochure.

We looked at other professional display brands to see their power consumptions.

· 60" LG Plasma Display: LG does not offer a 65inch professional plasma display for business use. The 60inch plasma display LG plasma display (60PG70FR) uses (690W-760W) of power.

· 50" Sony Plasma Display: The largest professional plasma display offered by Sony is 50inches (FWD-50PX3/S). The 50inch plasma display uses 440W of power compared to Sharp 46 inch LCD display using 312W of power.

Do your own analysis but it does seem that Plasma displays consume more power than LCD displays. By placing restrictions on display companies EU and California governments hope to encourage display companies to produce more efficient displays and TV screens. With the growth of flat-screen TVs, this is bound to make a difference. As consumers and the world gets more "green" conscious, it makes sense for business to be aware about recent trends as this will save them more money in the long run.

More details about the LCD and plasma displays visit http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com

Monday, March 9, 2009

LCD Screens For Commuter Trains (Metro) And Railway Stations

Large LCD screens can be found on the train, at the railway station and in railway control rooms. Recently, January 9, 2009, the Indian Western Railways announced that they will install 4,000 large panel LCD screens in 67 trains. The LCD screens will be installed by an OOH media company who will earn revenue from the advertisement on the screens and Western Railways will get a license fee of Rs 7 Crore (approx. US$1.75M) per year for the duration of the contract (which is 5 years). These LCD screens will play a mix of entertainment, information and advertising for 18 hours a day in all trains. LCD screens can also be found in the railway stations. Trivandrum Central, the biggest railway station in the state of Kerala in India, is considered "swanky" by most visitors as a result LCD flat screen televisions contributing to the overall look and feel.

However the LCD display needs for these railway displays are usually similar. Below we outline key needs of LCD screens for railways:

Price: Price is an important criteria however many OOH media companies, to their detriment, usually buy the cheapest LCD screen available for a given format size. Railways require rugged closed LCD displays. Buying cheap LCD displays or LCD TVs which are not closed boxes, may result in premature failure of the screen.

Ruggedness and 24x7 Operation Capability: LCD screens for railways need to be rugged. For this reason, it is important to have LCD informational displays vs. LCD TVs as LCD informational displays are fan-less closed box units that can offer protection from dust and other contaminants. Further LCD informational displays are made for 24x7 operation while LCD TVs are made for limited viewing. Ruggedness and life of the LCD screen is very important to reduce failures of the LCD screens. LCD failures will cause inconvenience to passengers and may disrupt traffic flow at railway stations.

Network Capability: Be sure that the LCD screen has RS-232 and LAN network connectivity. The network connectivity allows for remote monitoring of the various LCD screens. Alarms can be set if an LCD screen is switched off or if it is not working. Power and other controls can be monitored remotely. For example, an energy saving feature can be activated so that when there is no signal, a power save mode is activated to reduce the brightness of the LCD backlight.

Picture Quality: Most large LCDs are high definition. High definition LCDs provide better picture resolution, better contrast ratio, high brightness, high colour reproduction and fast response time resulting in better picture clarity. High definition, high brightness and high contrast ratio are important features for LCDs to have in railway environment for easy picture viewing. Further, the non glare feature of LCDs allows for easy viewing in ambient light or where there is background light being reflected on the screen. Most new LCDs have 176° viewing angle, making it easy for viewing. Check the viewing specifications to make sure meets your quality requirements

Slow-scan (legacy) Signal Capability: If the LCD screens are being installed in the old chassis of the old CRT television or in a mixed network of CRT televisions and LCD displays, the LCD screen needs to be slow-scan legacy signal compatible.

New LCD screen features are continuously emerging. Check with the LCD screen manufacturer to learn about new features. Read other articles and make the right decision for your LCD purchase.

For more information on LCD monitors, check out Sharp’s official LCD monitor site! http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com/

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Emerging Trend: Large LCD Monitors for Surveillance and Security

Increasingly video-based surveillance and security systems are being widely adopted by both corporations and consumers primarily due to increasing need for surveillance in these turbulent times but also due to affordability of security systems, ease with which surveillance systems can be installed and value-add features such remote monitoring that address special surveillance needs. As a result video-based surveillance systems are increasingly appearing in public areas such as airport lounges, shopping centres, retail stores, colleges, universities, manufacturing facilities and corporate offices. These video surveillance systems can be CCTV or IP based. Consider the benefits that a video surveillance system provides and the broad adoption by the market is quite understandable. A surveillance and security system:
· Helps deter employee theft and shoplifting theft,
· Helps monitor & document performance in manufacturing or other facilities resulting in potential reduction in maintenance cost and/or employee productivity improvement,
· May help reduce insurance cost and fraudulent liability claims, and
· Can continuously document events so your entire business has greater protection.

Reasons for Large LCD Monitor Adoption: Within these surveillance systems packages, large LCDs monitors (>42”) are becoming the industry norm. The reasons being:
· Size: Large screens allow for continuous and simultaneous monitoring of multiple camera video feeds on one screen with clarity. Smaller screens require that the images from the video feeds to rotate creating holes in the monitoring data.
· 24x7 Operations: Professional LCD monitors are meant for 24x7 “round the clock” operations with long life. CRT televisions or Plasma television each have their issues with round the clock operations such as static or flicker for CRT televisions. Also, the life of a CRT or Plasma TV is much shorter when operated in 24x7 operation mode as compared to an LCD monitor. CRT and Plasma televisions are built to be on for a few hours per day.
· Picture Quality: Most large LCDs are high definition. High definition LCDs provide better picture resolution, better contrast ratio, high brightness, high colour reproduction and fast response time resulting in better picture clarity which is especially helpful when the camera is being zoomed in or multiple images are viewed simultaneously. High Definition LCD TV allows you to view minute details like number plates of a speeding car, face of a person etc. Further, the non glare feature of LCDs allows for easy viewing in ambient light or where there is background light being reflected on the screen. It is harder to reduce glare in CRT or plasma televisions. Most new LCDs have 176° viewing angle, making it easy for viewing. Check the viewing specifications to make sure meets your quality requirements.
· Robustness: LCDs generate less heat than a CRT or Plasma television. The fan-less design for most large LCD monitors results in a closed box display with less noise. The fan-less design and the closed box display also results in less dust entering the system and provides for a more robust architecture.
· Space: LCD monitors are flat panel displays requiring less space than normal CRT TVs. They can be wall mounted. The LCD monitor can be encapsulated in a fire retardant frame to protect the display
· Better Video and Data Merger: Increasingly programs are being utilized to identify theft or issues in real time and data is being merged onto the video stream in real time. LCDs provide for better merging and viewing of data with video.
· Remote Monitoring and Operation of Large LCD Screens: Alarms can be set if an LCD screen is switched off. Power and other controls can be monitored remotely. For example, an energy saving feature can be activated so that when there is no signal, a power save mode is activated to reduce the brightness of the LCD backlight.
· Value-add Features: Value-add features such as touch screen zoom-in /zoom-out and image swap or other functions such as internet access can be easily found or added onto LCD monitors.

Purchase Consideration When Buying a Large LCD Monitor: Besides price there are a few items to consider when purchasing an LCD monitor.
· Match LCD Monitor to Camera Capabilities: If you buy a monitor with lower resolution than the cameras installed then the camera capabilities will not come through. Ideally the monitor should be equal or better resolution than the camera. Also, if the cameras are black and white, then a black and white monitor can be used.
· Input /Output Connectors on the Monitor: With the increasing use of PC and digital video devices, it is important to have both analog VGA and digital DVI input terminals to the monitor. Also, be sure that the monitor has BNC connectors for direct connection from a video feed to the display. BNC connectors support video looping, which provides output (loops back) to a centralized recording facility (DVR) or to other displays in a daisy-chain pattern. When scrolling through different images, this allows for seamless integration between pictures.
· Picture Quality Features: Consider the resolution, contrast ratio, brightness, colour reproduction and response time to meet your surveillance need.
· Value-add Features: Consider the value-adds that address your need. Such as, do you need remote monitoring, touch screen capability, or internet access?

Make the knowledgeable decision and your surveillance system can address your needs for many years.

For more information on LCD monitors, check out Sharp’s official LCD monitor site! http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com/