Dolby and SIM2 Multimedia have taken the wraps off a prototype high-dynamic-range (HDR)-enabled LCD flat-screen display. The prototype set, a 46-inch LCD, uses Dolby’s new light emitting diodes (LED) local dimming technology. A photo of the new set is below.
Dolby’s HDR technologies utilize the capabilities of LED-based backlight units.
According to Dolby, the new HDR-enabled LCD set can “deliver picture quality that matches real-world visual perception of depth, detail and color.” We’re all used to such claims from HDTV manufacturers, but with the LED-based backlight units, Dolby might actually be on to something — even if their terminology is a little fluffy.
The prototype 46-inch LCD with HDR LED backlight technology uses 1,838 LEDs for its display, provides a resolution of 1920×1080 fitting a native 16:9 aspect ratio, has a brightness greater than 4,000 cd/m2 and — no joke — has an “infinite” contrast ratio, with full on/full off options.
Dolby’s new set also has a step size of 16 bits of luminance, and its luminance uniformity is more than 95% through the LCD panel.
SIM2 designed and developed the LED-based backlight units, which drive the electronics of the LCD display plus the BLU and BLU thermal management system.
Incorporated into the design is a Xilinx Virtex field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) chipset, recently approved by Dolby for HDR innovations. The Xilinx FPGA chipset enables the implementation of Dolby’s complex high-dynamic-range algorithms in the SIM2 display.
Dolby and SIM2 are showcasing the prototype in New York City today and will be sharing its latest LCD display innovation in cities around the world.
