SAMSUNG : Samsung Develops Two Notebook LCDs with 16:9 Aspect Ratios, and One with an Active White-LED Backlight

Seoul, Korea – October 17, 2007: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world’s largest provider of thin-film-transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, announced today that it has developed three new LCDs for notebook PCs – two offering a true 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio for viewing movies, TV shows and new-age gaming, while the third features active White-LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting that boosts picture clarity and reduces power consumption.

Samsung will unveil its latest LCD models, which it expects will garner considerable interest in the high-end notebook PC market, at FPD International being held in Yokohama, Japan, October 24-26. Mass production is scheduled to commence in the first half of next year for the 16:9 displays and in the second half of 2008 for the White-LED backlit panel.

The new 16:9 aspect-ratio displays – 16-inch and 18.4-inch – deliver virtually the same rich colors as that of an LCD TV, with color saturation levels of 60 percent for the 16-inch model, and 90 percent for the 18.4-inch model, compared to the 40-50 percent range seen in most notebook monitors today.

Both 16:9 LCDs also feature an 800:1 contrast ratio, 8ms (millisecond) response time and 262,144 colors.

The new 16-inch and 18.4 inch Samsung LCD panels have the same 16:9 aspect ratio as most LCD HDTVs, whereas notebook screens of the past have gradually moved from a 4:3 aspect ratio to the current standard of 16:10 that became popular with the widespread use of Windows XP, a phenomenal increase in Web traffic and the rise of multimedia content.

However, with the growing use of Windows Vista and wireless LANs, there has been a sharp rise in the use of notebook PCs, in large part, as an entertainment medium. The most accurate representation of video content for Blu-ray DVDs, HD-DVDs, electronic games and digital TV can be seen in the use of a 16:9 notebook display.

When the source video is 16:9, a 16-inch HD LCD will reproduce movie images at 114 percent better screen efficiency than that of those provided by a 15.4-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Similarly, an 18.4-inch full-HD LCD allows users to watch a movie with an image that is 124 percent better screen efficiency than that of a typical 17-inch model and about the same efficiency as a 19-inch model.

In addition to its 16:9 aspect ratio notebook displays, Samsung has completed development of a 15.4-inch LCD with an active, White-LED backlight. The new 15.4-inch display operates on 40 percent less power than a typical LED backlight.

Already, backlight units (BLU) using LEDs can operate on less power than conventional BLUs, which use cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). CCFL BLUs remain fully lit all the time, while an active LED BLU illuminates the screen selectively, according to the image being displayed. Light areas project varying degrees of light, while dark areas are turned off. As a result, power consumption is greatly reduced and the contrast ratio is improved tremendously. Samsung’s new 15.4-inch LED backlight unit has ten times (10,000:1) the contrast of a typical notebook PC display.