Sim2 Presents LED-LCD Prototype

NEW YORK — Sim2 Multimedia and Dolby unveiled one of the first prototype LCD TVs to employ LED backlighting driven by Dolby Labs' set of High Dynamic Range technologies for local dimming control, at a press event, here.

The 46-inch display is one of only four produced so far as Sim2 continues to analyze its ability to mass-produce the sets for introduction through high-end custom installation and specialty A/V retail distribution. The sample model offered 1080p full HD resolution and a 60Hz frame rate.

On Monday, the company was not saying exactly when the first products would be ready to ship into the market or what screen sizes Sim2 plans to build. However, company executives said 46-inches is the smallest screen size the company will consider selling.

"At Dolby, our goal to harness the features and power of LED in combination with what we call High Dynamic Range technologies to not only deliver the very crisp and bright images that LEDs can generate, but also to employ advanced algorithms so that you can reveal subtle details and nuances in the image that you see," said Bharath Rajagopalan, Dolby image technologies business line director. "Today's TV can't do that. This will reveal deep contrast and high dynamic range to deliver what the human eye can actually see."

Images on the screen speared to show exceptionally bright images with a high degree of black levels and contrast. The backlighting uses an array of 1838 standard white LEDs, each producing 80 lumens of brightness using 480 milliamps of power.

Dolby's technology will eventually support more complex RGB LED arrays, the company said, adding that it is working on those applications now. For the meantime, it is using white LEDs.

The current adaptation uses individually modulated LEDs instead of a segmented backlight. Dolby said its HDR technologies are scalable to support a wide range of performance characteristics and budgets.

One of the benefits of the technology is the ability to use the LED control technology to cover up a small number of dead pixels that might arise in a panel with use, Sim2 said. In addition, LED lighting arrays are said to have a longer average lifespan than conventional CCF back-lighting systems.