Click here to subscribe today or Login.
HD WASN’T ENOUGH. 3D wasn’t enough. Neither were 60, 70, or 80 inches of screen real estate.
They had to come up with something else. And they did: See-through TVs.
Yes, you read that correctly. They’re working on displays that are transparent.
No, this isn’t a delayed April Fool’s joke, and no, I’m not talking about glass.
What I’m talking about is a transparent plate of glass that can display full-color imagery while still allowing viewers to see what’s on the other side of the glass.
You might be asking yourself “Of what use is that?”
Well, it would be a dream for storefronts, for one. But it could also allow for some interesting changes to come to the living room.
For decades, living rooms throughout America had a significant amount of square-footage taken up by large, bulky television sets. Then, finally, flat panel displays were invented that took the sets off the floor and set them on the wall like a picture frame – but they’re still obviously television sets.
Now picture this. No television. Just a remote. Point it at your picture window and turn on the screen. There you have it. A display integrated into the house.
Tired of outside scenery? Winter blues get you down? No problem. In a few years, you’ll be able to set your windows – they can be transparent, or they can display images of a tropical paradise, if you so desire.
This technology is pretty amazing if you think about it. There’s no backing on the device, so all the electronic wizardry needs to go on in the frame.
I predict that eventually, this technology will be integrated into glass – perhaps it will even become standard in new homes.
For now, you can’t buy one of these so called “Window TVs.” And when they are first released, you can bet they’ll be confined to digital signage. But like the touch screen TV, they will make their way into home entertainment and it’s likely to be sooner, rather than later.
If you use your smartphone’s tag reader to scan the QR code in this story it will take you to LG’s Infinia website.