It's almost beneath me to critique this invention  

Posted

but i'm bored....

Sharp Develops 'Two-Way Viewing-Angle' LCD


At last, a way to end squabbles over which TV channel to watch — without buying a second set. Sharp Corp. has developed a liquid-crystal display that shows totally different images to people viewing the screen from the left and the right.

Is this really a problem in the real, non cliched, world? Sure, Seinfeld's act in the early 90's had a bit about how men "hunt" and women "nurture" in terms of their tv viewing. But i think you get to the point where either you are interested in the same programs or you aren't. Is it that difficult to watch tv by youself when you like a show that the other person doesn't? If you are watching different programs, then you really can't interact with the person next to you. At that point, you are basically 2 year olds playing in the same sandbox. the other person is there, but not really.


One person can be surfing the Internet, using the display as a PC screen, while another watches a downloaded movie or TV broadcast. It also works for watching two TV channels: One person can watch baseball while another watches a soap opera.

I'm sorry, call me old fashioned, but i just don't see the computer and entertainment/tv area ever uniting like this. Web TV failed for a reason. A computer, as we know it, involves tools such as printers, keyboards, mouses, etc, that just "fit" better in a desk area. Until my invention of a keyboardless keyboard (don't ask) takes over, i just don't envision someone lounging around on the couch, surfing the net.

and look how they picked the sexist stereotypes. baseball for men, and soap operas for women. Who is this invention targeted at? women in loveless marriages who day dream about being able to watch tv with their husbands? "oh, that john does is watch baseball. i wish i could pull him away from the tv....or at the very least be able to sit next to him when he does it.

Sad.

and btw, how are you supposed to LISTEN to either station if they are both on? does the sound get only sent to the corresponding side of the room? Has anyone thougth of the sound problem?!?

The "two-way viewing-angle LCD," announced by the Japanese consumer electronics maker Thursday, will go into mass production this month and will cost roughly twice as much as a standard display.

Roughly twice as much!!! so, it's like 2 tvs for the price of 2! Except you can't seperate the double tv, or have the 2nd one still working if the 1st one breaks down. Oh man, you can't make this stuff up.

[and please don't make the "it saves space" argument. these are plasma tvs we are talking about. ]

Sharp will offer the product for worldwide sale, but the Osaka-based company will also supply other manufacturers with the displays for various products expected later this year, said spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama.

I don't really have any complaints with this paragraph.

Sharp says the technology offers many possibilities.

It could be used in cars so drivers can look at a map while the passenger watches a movie. Or at a store, sales clerks and clients can view different data on the same display simultaneously.

Hello client, this is clerk. Let's discuss different data. but, please stand exactly 17 inches to my right so we can both view this magic screen. What's that you say? One screen that is split in half and has two functioning displays [like having two windows opened on the computer] would be just as effective? and it would allow the opportunity for you, client, to view my data just in case you have a question? Well, that's crazy talk. Are you a communist?

Another possible use is for billboards that display two kinds of advertisements depending on where viewers stand. The display will also work in the regular way and show a single image to all viewers.

Dang jethro, it could work in the regular way too? that's fantastic. And btw, we already have billboards that show two images. They have little slabs of wood shaped like half opened blinds that allow for two pictures depending on your location. Do we really need this technology digitized? If you are going to have a friggin TV for a billboard, how about you just have a moving advertisment (or multiple ones) to begin with. DO we really believe that people standing to the left of a billboard represent a different target audience? Sheesh.

One catch is that the images overlap if viewers stand right in front of the screen. Moving a few inches to the left or right may be necessary for a clear view.

Yeah, that's a catch. That's a huge catch. That's captain intangibles going over his shoulder and diving over Cano to make a spectacular catch. read that again please. YOU CAN'T SEE IT STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SCREEN.

Another drawback is that users will have to work out a way to listen to the sounds coming from the different channels. One solution is for one viewer to use earphones.

Honey, let's watch tv together tonight. it's been so long since we had any quality time. Ok, now go put your headphones on so i can watch my baseball game in peace.

The technology appears to derive from Sharp's three-dimensional LCD displays, which work by projecting slightly different images to the right and left eyes without the use of special glasses. Sharp has been selling 3D laptops for a few years, aiming them mainly at engineers, architects and other professionals.

Technology for the sake of technology, with no useful purpose, is just stroking your ego.

A U.S. startup, Deep Light LLC, plans to launch its own monitors next year that can present several different images to different viewers in 3D without glasses.

I gotta be the first one to have this. all my friends will think i'm the coolest.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 15, 2005 at Friday, July 15, 2005 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

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