OptiClear Surface from NEC Technologies

NEC Technologies, 1255 Michael Dr, Wood Dale, IL 60191

ErgoDesign Philosophy 

NEC's ErgoDesign philosophy is a comprehensive design approach
concentrating on human factors such as low emissions (MPRII compliance),
comfort (tilt swivel base, up-front controls), reduced eye fatigue
(flicker free operations), and aesthetic looks.

NEC Professional Monitors Since 1985, NEC Technologies has prided itself in
creating the highest quality monitors in the world. NEC has once again
improved display performance with the addition of the OptiClear surface as
a new element of the ErgoDesign philosophy on the MultiSync 5FGp and 6FGp
monitors. This new technology meets and often exceeds other screen
treatments available.

When using high contrast CRTs for large-screen monitors, glare and
reflection can become a factor in areas where lighting is less than
optimal. Ambient lighting conditions or direct lighting on the face of a
large-screen monitor can produce unwanted reflection and glare because of
the monitors' large screen area. NEC now offers the new MultiSync 5FGp and
6FGp with the OptiClear surface. Included with power management
capabilities, these monitors offer a screen surface that reduces glare and
reflections, and increases the contrast of the image. This is accomplished
without compromising image sharpness, focus, or clarity, which is critical
in today's demanding software applications.

Competing Anti-Reflection Methods

Bonded Panels 

A bonded panel is a sheet of tinted glass treated with an anti-reflective
coating that is adhered directly to the face of the monitor tube. Since
the glass is bonded directly to the CRT surface, the two glass surfaces
normally present between the CRT and a filter are eliminated, thus
removing the possible reflections from these surfaces.

The bonded panel has traditionally been considered the best solution for
glare reduction, but it continues to be the most expensive and, therefore,
less desirable solution. The added cost stems from additional material
(specially treated glass) and labor. Because of the bonding technologies
involved, the yield of properly bonded CRTs is reduced. Bonded panel
operations increase labor, components, scrap, and production time and lead
time difference by two.

These additional expenses of the bonded panel result in dramatic increases
in the price of large-screen monitors in the neighborhood of $250 to $350
more than an equivalent monitor without a bonded panel. For this reason,
many companies offer two monitors: a bonded panel monitor and a
regularly-priced monitor without the bonded panel.

Etched-screen surfaces 

Before the introduction of the MultiSync FG monitor series in October 1991,
the majority of monitor screens had etched surfaces. This process
physically "scratches" the tubes surface in one of two ways: with the use
of chemicals or physically in a "sandpaper" like manner. The effect is a
scattering of the reflected light off of the surface of the monitor.
Ambient reflections are reduced, but unfortunately the image displayed
through this surface is slightly blurred. Focus is compromised at the
price of reduced reflections.

This process is widely used and very inexpensive in comparison to all the
other screen treatments. Physically etching the surface actually increases
the yield of acceptable CRTs because the process literally re-sands the
CRT surface including any previously unacceptable areas. Unfortunately,
this option degrades the display performance more than the other methods.

Silica

The Silica technology is gaining popularity with entry-level monitor
products. The silica treatment is actually a fine deposition of bonding
material and fine silica that is sprayed and baked onto the screen
surface. In contrast, etching removes CRT surface material, but silica is
an additional layer on the CRT surface. This creates an effect similar to
that of etching but not as severe. The screen appears to have a slight
coating that creates the appearance of blurring or ghosting the ambient
reflections. The silica coating is appropriate for entry-level monitors
because users do not use high-resolution applications that require fine
detail.

ARAS and ARAG 

ARAS and ARAG are short for Anti-Reflective, Anti-Static coating and
Anti-Reflective, Anti-Glare coating, respectively. Obviously, the coatings
offer not only anti-reflection, but the additional features of anti-glare
and anti-static. These two coatings place a deposit over the surface of
the monitor that absorb or dissipate ambient reflections. Such coatings do
not cause the blurring effect as described previously, although the
original CRT surface chosen will affect the performance of the coating.

The OptiClear Surface 

The revolutionary OptiClear surface allows NEC Technologies to offer the
same results as the best of all anti-reflection choices at a fraction of
the cost. The manufacturing technique for the OptiClear surface
application has been compared to a "liquified bonded panel." The advantage
of the OptiClear surface is that the manufacturing process does not incur
the much larger overhead that the bonded panel manufacturing requires.

The OptiClear surface is a revolutionary, engineering breakthrough that
actually absorbs a portion of the light hitting the screen while allowing
the screen image to be displayed without distortion.

The success of this-surface is complemented by NEC's award-winning display
that features unprecedented focus, purity, and bright colors. The addition
of the OptiClear surface reduces reflection while enhancing the original
contrast and clarity of NEC's famous display quality. The surface had to
meet or exceed NEC's high-quality surface specification. The MultiSync
5FGp and 6FGp monitors combine the NEC screen quality with OptiClear
Surface for another winning combination .

Compared with other technologies, the OptiClear surface from NEC combines
all of the capabilities of the other screen treatments mentioned such as
anti-reflection, anti-glare, and anti-static and incorporates them into
one high-level surface without the high cost or performance tradeoffs
typically necessary for this high level of performance.

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product Information'  Electronic News Service
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
 the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
 OmniPage Pro is now used for converting all printed input! 
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
