Digital photography just got better. Samsung has announced a 3-in. LCD panel with VGA (640 by 480 pixels) resolution that directly meets industry interface standards for digital still cameras. Digital cameras use the ITU-R601 interface, an international standard for CRT TVs that operates at 30 MHz. Yet this standard is incompatible with LCDs, which normally run at 60 MHz.
Manufacturers have compressed the images or manipulated the signal to make up the difference, but these techniques only work with qVGA-resolution LCDs (320 by 240 pixels). Samsung avoids this problem with an LCD that operates at 30 MHz, making it possible to obtain VGA images without creating another interface.
Also, the LCD’s dot inversion scheme lowers power consumption while significantly reducing the image flickering that has prevented the use of VGA LCDs in the past. The 30-MHz source driver requires less power than 60-MHz source drivers, further reducing power consumption for digital cameras and other portables requiring high-resolution displays.
Commercial production of the LCD panel will begin in the first half of 2007.
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