Fighting sunlight!

I suppose one could argue that this isn't strictly speaking automation but the number of times I have been unable to read screens in and out of the plant environment because of sunshine or glare makes this is something that interests me. I hope it will interest you too!

Ginsbury have announced the availability of two new 15” Landmark high brightness, sunlight readable TFT LCD modules. The 15.6” LMG226B-156XW01 and the 15.0” LMG241-150X02TL deliver very high levels of screen luminance resulting in exceptional picture sharpness and clarity in high brightness environments.

The LMG226B-156XW01 is a sunlight readable LCD module with a VHB (very high brightness) LED backlight. The LED backlight enables a maximum screen brightness of 1,800cd/m². At this brightness the power consumption of the backlight is 29watts. Typical contrast ratio is specified as 500:1.

The 15.6” display module has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels with a viewing angle of greater than ±80° in both horizontal and vertical directions. The module has mechanical outline dimensions of 363.8mm (w) x 215.9mm (h) x 14.3mm (d).

The LMG241-150X02TL is a 15.0”, 1024 x 768 pixel resolution, sunlight readable display with a VHB LED backlight in a side mount package of less than 12mm maximum thickness. At the maximum backlight power of 18.5watts, the LMG241-150X02TL delivers a brightness of 1,500cd/m² and a contrast ratio 800:1.

Paul Constable, Product Manager, Ginsbury said, “Standard colour TFT LCDs are often unable to provide sufficient luminance for viewing under bright, outdoor environments and the result is poor image quality. Landmark LCD display modules are high performance products designed specifically for use under high ambient light conditions. The high brightness LED backlights employed by Landmark ensure the display image is easily readable even under direct sunlight.”

The half brightness lifetime of the VHB backlight in the LMG226B-156XW0 and LMG241-150X02TL modules are rated at 50,000 hours. The half brightness lifetime is the number of operating hours before the backlight luminance drops down to 50% of its initial value. Landmark high brightness backlights are engineered to provide the largest possible dimming range. For applications in low lighting environments, the screen brightness can be reduced to less than 5cd/m² using an LED backlight controller with PWM (pulse width modulation) dimming control.

Both modules feature an anti-glare hard coating (3H) treatment on the front surface of the display and an operating temperature range of 0°C to 50°C.

The Landmark 15.0” and 15.6” display modules are ideal for high brightness environments and outdoor applications such as digital signage, outdoor kiosks, marine, medical, mobile and industrial. The Landmark LMG226B-156XW01 and LMG241-150X02TL are available from Ginsbury immediately.