Kogan Ultra High Definition TV as Desktop Monitor Replacement

Kogan have announced they will offer a 55" Ultra High Definition TV for $1000. As well as the4K (3840x2160) resolution, this has Android 4.2, Wi-F, Ethernet, 4 USB ports and a Micro SD slot. It is less basic unit than the Seiki Digital 50 inch model, which is US$999 on Amazon.com. A use for such large screens I would like to try is as a desktop computer display. At 55 inches, the monitor is so large it could stretch across the whole of the back of a 1200 mm desk. Mounted on the partition behind about 140 mm above the desktop, it would extend up to the hight of an office partition. The screen would fill much of the peripheral vision of the user and create an immersive effect.

The user is unlikely to be able to use the screen as one large display and would instead put their main window in the lower centre, and then move items used occasionally, such as a diary, off to the side and family photos above. The screen would in effect become a pin-board. The flat screen close up may create some problems, with the outer edges harder to see. This could be corrected by distorting the image to enlarge the images at the edges. When sitting in the centre of the screen everything would look in proportion, with the screen's edges appearing to curve inwards. Standing away from the screen it would look distorted.

4k TV as Desktop Monitor Replacement

Seiki Digital are now selling a 65 Inch 4K UHD LCD TV (model SE65UY04) for US$1,600. The smaller 50-Inch model got a not very flattering review on CNET. Essentially, apart from the high resolution, these are not very good TVs, but might be a useful replacement for a desktop computer monitor, for those who need a very large display. Rather than having two or three LCD displays side by side on a desktop, one 50 inch 4k TV could be used. The 65 inch unit could be attached to the wall behind a desk and be used as a sort of a virtual noticeboard. The user could position windows of information where required. The screen would then also be large enough to use for a small group presentation.

Big Picture Display Screen for Knowledge Workers

This is to suggest that the "Big Picture" concept for fighter jet cockpit displays be applied to the desks of knowledge workers and students. Instead of a cumbersome arrangement of multiple screens, there would be one large flat panel display the width of the desk and extending up to, or above, the height of the seated operator. In an open plan office cubicle, the display screen would cover the entire panel above the desk. In a learning commons the screens would be wall mounted just above desk height and could be used for a group presentation or by an individual, using different furniture configurations. In an large one person office, or an office shared by a small team, the screens could be used by individuals and for small group presentations.

Big Picture Cockpit

During the 1980s fighter aircraft cockpits evolved from having individual analogue gauges, to a number of multifunction computer displays. Chief Cockpit Designer for McDonnell Douglas, Eugene Adam, then proposed a "Big Picture" display, with just one large display screen taking up the whole panel in front of the pilot (Tactical cockpits-the coming revolution, 1991). This concept is only now being implemented in the latest generation aircraft, with the availability of suitable screens and the need to display more information. I suggest the same approach be applied on the desktop for knowledge workers.

Big Picture for Software Development

Last week I suggested converting the computer labs at the ANU Research School of Computer Science into a Learning Commons on the ground floor of the Computer Science and Information Technology Building (CSIT) at the Australian National University. This would require removing the desktop computers so the fixed benches they are on could be replaced with more flexible furniture. My colleagues pointed out that the students would then have to reply on laptops and tablet computers, which may be good for general education but do not have a screen big enough for serious software development.

The common practice is to provide software developers, and other knowledge workers, with one or more large LCD displays. When I visited Google Sydney in 2009, I noticed the technical staff had 30 inch monitors. This is about as large as a single monitor can be and still comfortable for the average person to use.

The 30 inch display is the largest monitor Barco sell for Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. ATC previously used larger CRT displays, but the smaller screens have better ergonomics.

A common set-up today is three monitors for a larger wrap-around console, but the width is still limited. See drawing 27, "Classic Consoles for Man and Woman" in "The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design" by Alvin R . Tilley of Henry Dreyfuss Associates (Wiley, 2001). These are not technical limits of the display technology, but of the human body. There is no point in making a screen which is so big the user can't see the edges of it, nor can the screen be so large it makes the user feel uncomfortable.

Some very specialized set-ups have more LCD screens above the row at desk height, starting with an extra one in the centre. This might be used for a financial trader's desk, or the operator of an industrial plant or a military system. However this arrangement is cumbersome for an ordinary office.

Virtual Wrap-around for the Big Picture

One option would be to make use of the large LCD panels now being made for digital TV. The current "sweet spot", for low mass production prices, is around 50 inches, with these now available for under $1,000. Current LCD LED TVs are mostly designed for 1080p video mode, with a screen resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, but 4320p Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV) would use 7680 × 4320 pixels.

Normally a large flat screen would not be considered suitable for a user to sit at, as the outer edges of the screen would be hard to see, which is why a wrap-around console with the two outer panels angled in is normally used. However, the outer edges of the image on the large screen could be modified to emulate a wrap around console. In this mode the central portion of the screen would display normally, but anything toward the edges would be enlarged for easier viewing. This would give a slightly immersive effect (which could be enhanced with 3D glasses).

A 50 inch, or larger, screen would be difficult to simply stand on a desk. However, the screen could be mounted on a wall, or partition, just above desk height. A 5o Inch diagonal screen, with a bezel, is about 1m wide, which would provide a suitable separation for operator stations where space is a premium, such as a learning commons, trading room or military operations centre.

A 50 inch or larger screen could also be used for a presentation to a small group, which is not something which can be done as well on a wrap-around, faceted display. In the learning commons, the walls could be equipped with screens just above desk height. These could be used for small group work, with the participants seated at a board-room table, or standing. A smaller table could be used at the same screen for individual work.

No special hardware would be required to drive the screens. The students could use software with their laptops for group activities on the wall screens.

Wall, ceiling and floor mounts for video displays

Simplest way to mount a LCD flat panel display screen is onto a vertical wall with a Vesa mount consisting of two metal plates with holes in them. One plate is screwed to the wall and the other bolted to the back of the display panel (there are standard spaced threads on the back of most display panels for this). The two plates maybe joined by pivot, so the screen angle can be changed slightly.

However, there is occasionally a need for mounting a screen from the ceiling, floor mounting or having a screen on a mobile stand. For this there is a bewildering range of screen mounts. But these can cost thousands of dollars. The simple two plate VESA mounts are available for less than $100.

Power saved by replacing two small LCDs with one large one?

It is tempting to reuse old small LCD computer screens by using two of them on one computer to provide more screen area. But would it be more energy efficient to use one large new screen in place of two old ones?

Older LCD monitors use fluorescent backlights, whereas newer screens use LEDs, which are claimed to be more energy efficient. As an example, the Dell G-Series G2410 24-inch LCD LED backlit screen is rated at 20W, the same as an older 17 inch florescent back-light Dell E1709W.

So using one 24 inch screen would save half the power of two 17 screens. However, how much power do these screens typically use in real operation? If you already have surplus small screens, when does it become better for the environment to replace them with new larger screens?

Wall TV Like a Painting

Slim LED backlight LCD TVs are becoming avialable at reasonable prices. This raises the prospect of mounting them on the wall, like a painting. Kogan are offering a 41 mm thick 26 Inch TV for around AU$600. These have provision for the usual VESA wall mount. The screen is thin around the edges and so would appear to float away from the wall. It might be interesting to mount it amongst some paintings, put an artwork on the screen and see how many people notice it is a TV.

Sony LCD TV Presence Sensor

The Sony BRAVIA 40 inch WE5 Series HD LCD TV comes with a "Presence Sensor". This can be switched on so that the unit will turn off the screen to save power if it detected no one is in the room. It switches the picture back on instantly when someone comes in. The feature does save power with my measurements showing a drop from 109 Watt to 60 Watt.

Presumably this feature works using an infra-red sensor, as used in low cost burglar alarms. The sensor appears to have a range of about 3.5 m over 120 degrees. The time can be set to 7 seconds to test the feature. It might be set to five minutes for a screen which is only used occasionally or thirty minutes more typically.

The system works very well and would be useful in education and for digital signage. One problem is that the feature does not seem to be active when the TV is receiving VGA input. Otherwise it could be used in meeting rooms and parts of libraries not in constant use. One feature I would like to see is the screen brighten slowly, rather than come on suddenly at full brightness.

Also it would be useful if the feature had a second stage which would switch the unit to standby after a further period of inactivity. That would save more power (dropping consumption to 25 Watt), at the cost of the unit taking longer to restart.

See also:

1. Sony 40 Inch LCD TV Initial Impressions

2. Sony BRAVIA WE Series LCD TV".

ps: Sony TVs are also available via Amazon.com but may not be versions suitable for Australian TV: Sony BRAVIA W-Series 40-Inch LCD HDTV

Sony 40 Inch LCD TV Initial Impressions

The Sony BRAVIA 40 inch WE5 Series HD LCD TV comes in a box 210 x 1250 x 785 mm weighing 26 kg. It is light enough for one person to lift, but so large it takes to to move it. This is much heavier and larger than a LCD projector. But it is lighter than a comparable sized plasma screen.

The unit is relatively simple to unpack and assemble, with a stand which slots into the bottom of the screen and is held with four bolts.

I connected an VGA cable to a computer and composite input from a digital set top box. The unit also has HDMI 2 input, but I did not have a HDMI cable available. No cables were supplied with the unit, apart from the power cable.

Plugged in using VGA to my laptop, the screen gave a very clear computer display, but disappointingly dim. The display was not bright enough to be used in a room with sunlight coming through the window. The display was unusable in conditions where a 24 inch Dell 2405FPW LCD display worked fine. When sunlight in the room was reduced, the screen brightened enough to be usable.

Plugged into a digital set top box via component video, the unit gave an acceptable resolution image. However, as with the PC display, the image was not bright enough to be comfortably viewed. It turned out that this was a problem with the Power Saving feature. When set to "high" this dims the screen. This makes the unit not bright enough for typical digital signage or presentation applications. Turing this power saving setting to "off" was the only way to obtain an acceptable level of brightness.

Power consumption

When I plugged the unit in it drew 76 Watt. The unit arrived in "shop" mode, with the power savings setting turned off. It took some time to work out how to turn off this mode. Many people would not find, or not be able to set, the power saving setting and Sony should set them on before delivery.

The unit used 120 Watt when displaying moving component video and 123 Watt with PC input. When in standby mode it used 26 Watt. The unit also has a physical power switch which reduced consumption to less than 1 Watt (the limit of measurement of my power meter).

Safety Problem

The instruction manual for the unit includes advice for preventing the TV from toppling over. This says to install a machine screw (not supplied) into a hole on the the TV and tie a "strong cord" (not supplied) to it, with the other end secured to the TV stand with a bolt (not supplied). These instructions will not be relevant in most educational and digital signage applications, where the unit will be securely attached to a wall with a Vesa mount. However, the manual instructions are inadequate and the unit is unsafe for home use, as supplied. The unit should be withdrawn from retail sale until this is corrected.

See also: "Sony BRAVIA WE Series LCD TV".

ps: Sony TVs are also available via Amazon.com but may not be versions suitable for Australian TV: Sony BRAVIA W-Series 40-Inch LCD HDTV

Sony BRAVIA WE Series LCD TV

Sony have loaned me a Sony BRAVIA 40 inch WE5 Series HD LCD TV to try out for a few days. Specifically I wanted to see if this unit save much energy. The application I have in mind is for learning commons, where flat screens are used for digital signage and for presentations. In this applications the screens tend to be left on all day, so energy use is an issue.

One disappointment is that according to the specifications, the unit appears to be florescent backlit, not LED. As a result the backlight has to be all on, or off, the lighting behind black parts of the image can't be turned off.

However, the unit offers a Presence Sensor, which would be useful for public venues. This switches the picture off when no one is in the room. Sony claim this saves 50% of the power. This could be good for presentation screens, which tend to get left on. It may also be very effective for some applications of digital signage: when the person come within viewing range of the screen it will light up, thus attracting their attention.

At present the TV is still in the box, on the floor, some comments about how it goes to follow...

ps: Sony TVs are also available via Amazon.com but may not be versions suitable for Australian TV: Sony BRAVIA W-Series 40-Inch LCD HDTV

Display Screens for Medical Imaging

Browsing through the diminishing collection of paper magazine at the University of Canberra library on the weekend I came accross an article on the use of LCD screens for displaying medical images. This goes by the acronym PACS (picture archiving and communication systems). It is used to manage digitised old fashioned X-rays, as well as ultrasound, magnetic resonance and computed tomography. Having been subject to all these procedures recently, I found it of interest.

Because of the risk of missing something on an x-ray, there are specially made and calibrated (and therefore expensive) LCD screens. One interesting way to quickly check a monitor is to display text in subtly varying colours and ask the user to type it in. There is open source medical imaging software available.

Energy efficient LCD monitors with Led back-lights

Newer LCD monitors (and screens in some laptops) are being made with LED backlights in place of the previous fluorescent ones. These allow finer control of the light and so provide energy savings. The new Dell G-Series models are claimed to use half the power of their predecessors: 18W for the G2210 22-inch and 20W G2410 24-inch. One catch with this is that Dell is not offering smaller size LED models. The larger the screen the more power needed. So if you replace a 17 inch florescent back-light screen which uses 20 Watts (Dell E1709W) with a new LED 22 inch one which uses 18 Watts , you are only going to save 2 Watts (10% not the claimed 50%).

But there are some other power saving features of the monitors which may still make them worthwhile. They only use 0.15W in sleep mode, compared to 2 Watt for previous units. Also a sensor reduces the screen brightness automatically in dim rooms. The screen is also dimmed when displaying a mostly white image. Apart from saving energy, it can be painful for the eyes to be suddenly confronted with a very bright white screen.

The screens are also ENERGY STAR and EPEAT Gold compliant. A claim of being 28 percent lighter than comparable models seems a little odd, as LCD screens are not very heavy anyway. But perhaps this indicates less material is needed to make them, which is an environmental benefit.