LPD, or laser-powered phosphorus dislay is looking to replace LCD as the popular HDTV technology with crystal clarity, no memory burn-in effect, and superb color reproduction.
It sounds like a good idea and all but it will never happen. Why am I so skeptical?Manufacturers could care less – Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, and LG have spent billions on plants to make LCD and plasma HDTVs. If there was a way to update or upgrade existing televisions with this technology there would be an opportunity for LPD. LaserVue was an attempt by Mitsubishi to promote the use of lasers to improve where DLP left off and it didn’t pick up either. DLP is only made by one manufacturer, plasma is made by only a handful of companies with LCD being the 500lb gorilla.
Thin is in – Companies are competing to make televisions as thin as possible. LPD televisions are going to be at least five inches thick which is acceptable by today’s standards. Customers have been trained to crave televisions they can hang on walls or above fireplaces. At five inches you won’t be able to hang those televisions anywhere. As a new technology LPD would have to be more expensive than LCD which would be a hard sell. If they could make a 50 inch version for $599 or so they might have a chance but by the time LPD sets got to that price OLED would be a viable replacement to LCD.
LPD don’t last long enough – LCD and plasma panels are typically rated for 100,000 hours. If you watched television for an average of 5 hours a day, then it would last for 20,000 days or a little under 55 years. LPD sets are rated at 65,000 hours and even though there’s a chance that no one would keep a set for 10 or 20 years, there’s a good chance that panels will start to dim and fail a lot sooner. I’d rather 100 of something over 65 any day of the week.
[Source - New York Times]
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