SlashGear

You want to know if it’s any good, though, don’t you. Well the potential is certainly there for a jump in big-screen performance: laser light-sources can produce 85% of the colours that your eyes can see (compared to around 40% produced by current bulb technology), with purer whites and greater colour saturation. Contrast ratios are also improved, with typical numbers of 2000:1 for laser comparing very favourably to the 250:1 of LCD-based rear-projection TVs. If it’s your wallet you’re thinking of, you might be surprised to hear that the same bulb that lasts 8,000 hours on a 40-inch screen will only manage 2,000 when tasked with a 60-inch screen; compare that to 10,000-20,000 hours for a laser-based system.

Still got doubts? I can’t really blame you, we’ve been promised so many “next big thing” breakthroughs that it’s easy to get cynical. But Coherent have just signed a licencing agreement with OSRAM GmbH, one of the two leading light production manufacturers in the world, to develop OPS laser backlighting for consumer applications. Interestingly, while most of the headlines are fixated on bigger and brighter screens, OSRAM are also investigating OPS lasers being used in “pocket projectors” for hand-held devices.

It’s exciting times for display technology; hopefully these two exclusive videos give you a better insight into where it might be going. Make sure you stay tuned to SlashGear for more exclusive content on laser TV technology!

Coherent, Inc.