How does the next generation flat-screen video display developed by Canon and Toshiba differ from other emerging video technology? SED TV, (Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display) born from the marriage of Canon and Toshiba’s SED Inc., was on display as a prototype at the recent CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. Actually, that’s a little backwards as SED Inc., the company Canon and Toshiba formed to mass-produce the exciting new SED TV after years spent researching this new technology. But nonetheless, SED TV enthralled the attendees at this year’s show, leaving video aficionados all across the country anxiously anticipating the launch of the SED TV in American Stores.
SED TV combines both yesterday and today’s technologies to give the video viewer the very best of both worlds. For example SED TV uses one electron gun per pixel as opposed to just one electron gun. Since the electrons don’t have to travel as far, less power is needed. Moreover, since the electrons are so close to the display surface, the SED TV is much slimmer than the CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube).
SED Inc. hopes to launch the SED TV set in stores sometime next year but won’t reach maximum production goals until 2010. Still, 2007 may bring SED TV out of the emerging spotlight and into most stores.
One of the hopeful competitors to SED TV, and also using less power than the traditional LCD is OLED (Organic Light- Emitting Diode). OLED technology is a thin film light-emitting diode (LED) intended primarily as picture elements in practical display devices.
Eastman-Kodak developed small molecule OLED. Since OLEDS can be printed onto any suitable substrate using inkjet technology, they can have a lower cost than LCDs or plasma displays.
Still, we are likely to see SED TV sets before we would an OLED display. The biggest technical problem left to overcome for the OLED technology has been the limited lifetime of the organic materials. Particularly, current materials used as blue OLEDs typically have lifetimes of around 1,000 hours when used for flat panel displays, which is lower than typical lifetimes of LCD or plasma technology.
But that’s not the only reason we’ll be shopping for SED TVs first. Another concern for OLED technology, the intrusion of water into displays can damage or destroy the organic materials. Therefore, improved sealing methods are important for practical manufacturing and may limit the endurance of more flexible displays.
SED TV REVIEWS
There are many SED TV reviews even though the product hasn’t officially launched yet. Many of those who pen the SED TV reviews had a front seat at the 2006 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas.
SED stands for Surface Conduction Electron-Emitter Display and is, most likely, the next “standard†for optimum TV watching. According to developers Canon and Toshiba this technology creates a flicker-free picture that leaves conventional LCDs (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasmas behind.
All SED TV reviews describe the technology that makes SED TV possible. In a nutshell, SED TV has the quality of CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) imaging without the bulk. Some SED TV reviews liken the technology to a slimmed down CRT.
No SED TV review would be complete without mentioning SED Inc, the company that Canon and Toshiba formed to manufacture their sophisticated yet simple technology. Canon has spent more than 20 years researching SED technology, and then teamed up with Toshiba in 1999. Toshiba plans the official launch of SED TV later this year. Together, the two companies have spent 1.8 billion for a factory in Japan to mass-produce the SED sets and plan to have produced 3 million of them by 2010.
SED display panels use half the energy of Plasma display panels and are cheaper to manufacture. One reason the SED TVs don’t use as much energy is that instead of one electron gun, it uses millions of them to power its pixels and the result is that the electrons don’t have to travel as far, thus the need for less consumption.
One SED TV review touts the Toshiba SED TV as the Plasma/LCD killer. Still, other SED TV reviews admit that while impressed with the Pioneer and Panasonic LCDs, the Toshiba SED TV has done the unthinkable in combining the best of CRT technology with the best of flat panel displays.
So how does it all work? SED sets use 6,220,800 electron emitters, or one for each color per pixel, to be precise – which cause red blue and green phosphors to glow. That may not mean much to most but the results definitely matter. “Toshiba’s prototype SED sets featured the deepest black levels we have ever seen on any television, including CRT – and these sets are as flat as any plasma,†stated one SED TV review.
Another SED TV review proclaims, “Toshiba’s SED technology touts a contrast ratio of 8600 to 1, a viewing angle of 160 degrees with 1/3 the power consumption of Plasma with a response time of 1 millisecond which almost all SED TV reviews agree is unheard of. Virtually every SED TV review comments on the brilliant display.
Personal Computer World’s SED TV review mentions the 2005 Paris expo where Canon demonstrated a 36 inch panel SED side-by-side with a 37 inch plasma and LCD TV, all showing the same material. The competing products were not named, nor their configuration described, but Canon assured delegates they were using default settings.
The SED image was considerable brighter and more colorful than the Plasma and LCD sets, with very wide viewing angles and black levels as deep as Plasma.
The Toshiba SED TV reviews are enjoying wide accolades but not one SED TV review has ventured to guess how the pending lawsuit brought by Nano Proprietary, Inc of Austin Texas, who filed suit in April of 2005, claiming that Canon had violated an earlier licensing agreement with Nano by transferring technology to Toshiba. The suit isn’t expected to go to court until February 2007, so whatever impact, if any, it could have on future Toshiba SED TV reviews remains unknown.
In the meantime, Toshiba is hoping their SED TV will become the industry’s new standard.
