LCDs Claim High Viewability In High Ambient Light Environs

Exceptional viewability, even where high ambient light makes traditional LCDs impossible to read, is said to be provided by the Mitra series of low-profile, low-power displays. The key to the high readability is credited to four factors: Mitra's backlight; the way in which the lamps themselves are driven; the optical system within the backlight module; and the use of front-of-screen filters that are said to provide excellent contrast at a considerably lower power versus other products on the market. Other features expected to help make the sunlight-immune LCDs a strong contender for use in ATMs, public information kiosks, instrumentation, and other products include: "plug-and-play" compatibility, allowing simple set-up to an existing Sharp LCD panel; and uniformity of brightness, resulting in better viewability. Mitra displays range from 6.5" to 12.1" (later to 20.4") in size, span a VGA to 1280 x 1024 resolution range, have a brightness of 1700 cd/m², and offer up to 16.8 million colors. Power consumption is 11W to 29W.