Using its Panasonic brand, Matsushita is shipping to retailers an upgraded form of LCD RPD (rear projection display) HD sets using a trademarked system known as Lifi (light fidelity), which the firm said is designed to enhance and maintain maximum image brightness longer than earlier LCD RPD displays.
The Lifi HD line, which includes an LCZ and LCX series, also is supposed to reduce the interval from turn-on to full video presence to about 15 seconds, or roughly a quarter of some RPD displays.
The Panasonic LCZ series will use 1080p resolution and be available in 61-, 56- and 50-inches. The LCZ models will offer 720p resolution, according Panasonic, with its U.S. base in Secaucus, N.J.
The firm said it achieved higher brightness and longer screen life by converting HID (high intensity discharge) lamps to Lifi. With typical LCD RPD, the firm said, deteriorating electrodes in HID lamps—and subsequent tungsten evaporation—diminishes brightness. But Panasonic said its Lifi light source is not dependent on electrodes, and thus the lifespan of the lamps (and the screen’s peak brightness) are considerably lengthened.
