What do 3D monitors, pico projector chips, 240Hz LCD TVs and even new substrate glass all have in common? All will be honored at "Display Week," as word is finally out on the winners of the coveted Display of the Year Award to be presented during at the Society for Information Display Symposium and Expo due to get underway in San Antonio, TX next week. We’re not just talking about a popularity contest among display technology and product providers. The goal of the award is to step back and recognize the "the greatest degree of technical innovation" "…commercial significance" (one criterion is the product must be commercially available during the prior award year) and "…potential for positive social impact."

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

In the Display Device of the Year award category, Samsung (Gold) and Texas Instruments (Silver) made the cut this for "…a display with novel and outstanding features such as new physical or chemical effects, or a new addressing method."

In the case of Samsung, it was the new 240Hz LCD panels (40- 46- and 52-inch) with full HD resolution and motion estimation /motion compensation (ME/MC) technology, that delivered the best MPRT (motion picture response time) in any mass produced LCD panel.

The Silver award runner up went to TI for their groundbreaking DLP Pico chip set, shrinking the size of their technology to "enable much larger DLP projectors to fit inside a mobile phone," according to TI spokesperson, Frank Moizio. He said more than ten pico products have been announced based on this technology with resolutions as high as WVGA with more on the horizon. And we are just beginning to see the social impact of the cell phone embedded projector on our socially engaged, socially networked generation of kids.

Last year Sony took the gold award prize for its XEL-1, OLED TV, and Samsung claimed silver for its 2-in. QVGA AMOLED module.

Amazon and iZ3D took the prize for Display Application for "…a novel and outstanding application of display, where the display itself is not necessarily a new device."

The Kindle platform took top prize (Gold award) for virtually "revolutionizing Americans’ reading habits…" with its e-Paper display, direct-content download from Amazon and multi format reader software. Last year even "Oprah" got into the act when she favorably reviewed the technology on her TV show; the buzz was so great it clogged the massive Amazon site with hundreds of thousands of visitors the day of her TV endorsement.

The Silver Display Application of the Year award went to the iZ3D for its 2D-3D switchable display bundle that includes gaming monitor, passive 3D glasses, and driver software. The social impact of this product is undeniable, bringing 3D into the homes of a whole new generation of gamers (over 300 games supported and counting). CEO Thomas Striegler said he hopes this not only creates buzz around his 3D product, but helps generate more 3D content for home consumption. Prior year award winners include the Apple iPhone (Gold Award) and Real D Zscreen (Silver Award).

In the Display Component of the Year category, Corning and Merck took Gold and Silver award respectively for "… a novel component that significantly enhanced the performance of a display."

Corning won because of its new Jade (fusion-formed) glass substrate technology that helps enable both LPTS and OLED manufacturers improve efficiencies (yields) by eliminating the secondary heat treatment and/or polishing. Merck, maker of the liquid crystal in LCDs, took the Silver award for its PS-VA (short for polymer-stabilized vertical-alignment) technology. The company developed a reactive mesogen film to improve the viewing angle performance of both IPS and VA mode LCDs with manufacturing flexibility, thickness, and cost benefits for Merck customers. Luminus (PhlatLight) and Fujifilm (WV-EA film) took the Gold and Silver (respectively) awards last year.

The selection process for these awards is not trivial, so kudos to Dick McCartney and his awards committee (OK, I’m on that team but probably contributed the least) for their hours of dedicated effort and seemingly endless stream of e-mailings. This sacrifice also included sleepless nights for some, as the global conference call schedule required very late night or very early morning times to accommodate members in a variety of time zones. But beyond the technology, what is amazing is that this team of very busy people found time to serve the industry in a selfless act of recognizing the accomplishments of others.