WELCOME & CONTENTS EDITOR’S COMMENT Bleeding OLEDge
LG HAS announced that it is going to start selling curved OLED TVs to consumers – starting this month in its native South Korea, expanding to other territories “in the months ahead”. The 55in model will retail for the equivalent of US$13,500. According to the press release, “the entire screen surface is equidistant
‘Ever since ISE 2008, I’ve been waiting to see OLED
technology used in real-world applications’
from the viewer’s eyes, eliminating the problem of screen-edge visual distortion and loss of detail”. I have to admit to a degree of scepticism here: first, the whole equidistant thing surely only works if you’re sitting at a distance from the screen equal to the radius of curvature; and second, has anyone ever bemoaned the flatness of a 55in screen image? I’m all for immersive video, but I don’t think this really counts. I suspect that there’s a strong element of ‘because we can’ in this announcement, with LG looking to score bragging rights over its competitors, especially its compatriot Samsung. Overall, though, OLED technology has a lot of potential, with its rich, bright colours, extremely thin form factor and, yes, its ability to be fabricated onto curved substrates. Ever since Sony first demonstrated prototypes at, I think, ISE 2008, I’ve been waiting to see the technology used in real-world applications with TV-sized, as opposed to handheld gadget-sized, screens. The technology also lends itself to 4K and higher resolutions, As we
reported a couple of months ago, NPD DisplaySearch believes that OLED will overtake 4K LCD shipments by 2016, but LED-lit LCD will comprise all but a tiny proportion of the overall TV market by then. The original version of dystopian sci-fi classic Total Recall (from 1990, the internet tells me) featured large TV displays that covered almost the entire wall surface of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone’s futuristic pad, but the screen, whatever it was, blended into its surroundings when switched off. (Of course, this could just be an implanted memory…) I’ve long wondered if we’ll ever see this kind of thing in everyday life, and if we do, what technology will be behind it. Projection could produce something along these lines – particularly considering recent progress with ultra-short throw models. However, given that the majority of consumers are used to buying something resembling a TV set, I think OLED stands the better chance of winning the day here.
BY THE way, if you’ve been meaning to nominate someone – maybe even yourself – for Intent Media’s Pro Sound Awards, don’t forget that you can only do so up to the end of this month. The lobbying period ends on Friday 31 May. The categories under the Installation heading are Team of the Year, Permanent Installation Project of the Year, and Temporary Installation Project of the Year. There aren’t any complicated forms to complete – just send a maximum of 300 words to
prosoundawards@intentmedia.co.uk explaining why you think your selection deserves recognition from the industry.
Paddy Baker, Editor, Installation–
paddy.baker@
intentmedia.co.uk
NEWS & DATA 4 News 6 Appointments: The latest industry moves
8 Expos and events: Calendar for the coming months
10 Industry data: The tablet PC market will surpass notebooks in 2013
SHOW REVIEW Prolight + Sound p12
PEOPLE 18 Opinion: Blair Parkin on the strength of the Miami market
20 Opinion: Peerless-AV’s Gordon Dutch says mounts should be more than an afterthought
23 Interview: Dan Wittenberg of Application Solutions Ltd on the next generation of PA/VA technology
FEATURES 24 Control rooms: IP is not yet the force it is in other AV markets
28 Intercoms and paging: Scalable, flexible systems are in demand
34 Room control: Touchscreens are becoming more tablet-like
38 Regional voices: Germany 40 Show preview: IFSEC
TECHNOLOGY 42 New products 46 Showcase: Projection screens
SOLUTIONS 50 Gessi Milano: Bathroom fittings showroom’s impressive Concept Lab
53 David Bowie is, London: Audio is at the heart of this new exhibition
57 Visualisation Centre, The University of Wolverhampton: A new business facility embraces touch technology
Cover image: Munich traffic control centre, courtesy of eyevis
www.installation-international.com
May 2013 3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60