Out in Front: December 21, 1995

Planar Systems’ new ICEBrite family of monochrome VGA displays features the company’s integral-contrast-enhancement (ICE) technology, which doubles contrast and brightness over previous offerings. Moreover, the flat panels offer greater than 120,000 hours of reliability, a greater-than-160× viewing angle, and ruggedness. These features make the units suitable for such applications as medical instrumentation, industrial automation, transportation, and point-of-sale systems. The ICEBrite family includes 6.4-, 8.1-, and 10.4-in.-diagonal models, all of which offer 640x480-pixel resolution.

The company simultaneously reduced cost and improved performance in the ICEBrite family. To reduce cost, Planar developed new, low-cost driver semiconductors, developed a display family with a common electronic architecture, and implemented a new, automated interconnection scheme. Factors in optical-performance improvements include new features in the thin-film-display production process and an increase in display refresh rate to 120 Hz. As a result, the displays offer contrast in excess of 20-to-1 in 500-lm/m² ambient light and brightness of 50 cd/m. The 10.4-in. model sells for $395 (10,000). -- by Maury Wright

Planar Systems Inc, Beaverton, OR. (503) 690-1100.