SED | Next Generation Flat Screen Displays

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Electronics giants Canon and Toshiba are involved in a technology tug-of-war over the very technology that both companies once partnered in developing; SED - Short for "Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display" is like no current flat panel technology, and promises to be the future of large-screen flat panel displays.

Canon began to visualize and develop SED as early as 1986. In 1999, Canon joined forces with Toshiba in the development of this new technology. With the future looking so bright, the two companies started a joint venture company: SED Inc. However, fate has brought these two seemingly friendly corporations in to a battle for a better SED flat panel display. It now seems that SED television will be available from BOTH com[panies. Who will prevail and place their name on this technology? Well, that part is up to us.

Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display is a name that those not blessed with “digi-genius” will be unable to comprehend. Simply put, this type of display takes the best parts of CRT monitors - the bulky fat ones - and puts it in to the body of flat panel displays - the sleek, sexy ones.

For those of you a little more tech savvy, this is how SED works. The SED display consists of two flat pieces of glass, sealed with a vacuum in between. One piece of the glass is covered with electron emitters, while the other is covered with phosphorus. These are both methods used in CRT televisions today. The vacuum in between the glasses is approximately 1 centimeter thick, which allows for extremely thin monitors. Each electron emitter is matched up with one pixel on the display, allowing extreme precision in the images. Imagine the clear concentration of each pixel, offered in an extremely thin package -- this is essentially SED flat panel television.

The visual quality of SED television is far superior to anything currently on the market, with 100,000:1 contrast ratios, and superb angled-viewing picture quality, everybody sees the same gorgeous image regardless of where they are seated.



Canon had an extremely successful debut of their flavor of this technology at CES2006, so now the only question unanswered is how Toshiba will respond in this technology tennis match.

Toshiba, the ball is now in your court.