Panasonic just unveiled a new invisible television There's literally nothing on.
Since the arrival of flat-screen TVs, there's not been a whole lot to get excited about in the world of televisions - how many ways can you improve on a big slab of glass, after all? Well, how about by making it almost invisible when you're not using it?
That's the thinking behind a new prototype from Panasonic that's just been shown off atthe CEATEC electronics expo in Japan this week. When switched on, it's just like a normal TV. When switched off, it's as transparent as glass, meaning you can see the wall or shelving behind.
Panasonic describes it as the "future of display screens" - although as you might expect, the company's staying tight-lipped about the technology behind its transparent TV, just in case its competitors have something similar in mind. According to Mat Smith at Engadget, the screen is made from a fine mesh embedded in a glass panel. You can slide the panel around too, at least in Panasonic's demo clip, where the TV performs double duty glass pane of a cabinet:
Because it can be moved around,you can easily get at shelves behind it, or adjust the height of the display depending on who's watching.
Importantly, the screen uses the latest OLED(organic light-emitting diode) technology, where each pixel lights itself (rather than being lit from behind).
Traditionally, OLED panels put a thin layer of plastic between two electrodes on top of a glass slab.Because of this, when the electric signal disappears, the slab can look virtually transparent.
OLED technology requires very little power too, which is why panels like this can be so thin. Eventually, tech firms are hoping to develop flexible OLED screens that you can bend or even roll away.
And this isn't just for your favourite crime drama or soap opera either - Panasonic's marketing spiel envisions people using the display to control smart home devices, play music, or maybe even set the mood with a series of themed images.
Panasonic originally showed off the technology at CES in Las Vegas earlier in the year, but the company's engineers say the latest version of their invisible television looks even more transparent when switched off, and brighter when switched on.
Unfortunately, despite the progress they're making, it looks like it won't be ready to buy for another three years or so, according to company representatives.
But that might actually be a good thing - it'll give us some time to save up for it.
FIN
Colton Walker
I've literally been waiting for this since Minority Report Fucking finally
>inb4 thread dies due to lack of memes
William Walker
Where's the camera though?
Brody Bell
we're living in the future lads
Angel James
wew lads
Cameron Barnes
One step closer to holographic TV.
Andrew Peterson
which is one step closer to 3d 2d wiafus
John Butler
Hololens? I know it already has nfl support in the pipeline
Ryan Barnes
Webm it or archive it, reddit. I'm not giving anyone any clickbucks.
Chase King
Can't wait to dress myself in flexible invisible TVs and make different clothes appear at will.
James Hughes
Bump
Carson Powell
>women know their place in the mid 1900s >Gloria Steinem comes along and ruins everything >65 years later women being encouraged to enter the tech field and help invent holographic visual mediums and augmented reality >men no longer need to put up with their shit
It's finally coming full circle...
Adam Watson
Can't wait for there to be an easy wifi hack a celebrity doesn't know about causing a red-carpet wardrobe malfunction that she calls rape
Carter Howard
It was late but is here >Transparent TVs >Flyboards youtube.com/watch?v=AD0YgOHuWrk >Robots >Android waifus. >Working VR The next years are going to be interesting. We still need holograms and get our asses to Mars.
>move to new house >buddies helped you pack >literally can't find your TV until you trip over it and shatter it into a million pieces T-the future is here
Hudson Price
who cares about vr? you literally just have a screen taped to your head and a Wii-like body censor, it's nothing like the put on and enter a different reality like we've always dreamed of.
Thomas Morales
It's literally a camera that records what's behind of it and displays it
It's nothing lads
Jason Mitchell
>organic dropped
Leo Lewis
You have to start somewhere.
Jordan Thompson
are you joking here?
Christian Campbell
Okay looks impressive. But where the fuck is my hover car from Blade Runner. They were supposed to be around in 2019 and I ain't seen shit yet. Fucking slanty eyed cunts can't do anything right.
Ok let's see you come up with a better idea then user? Since your such an expert on invisibility technology
Brandon Gray
Eat shit you chink apologist twat.
Juan Clark
thats still not definite there is a camera there. Eitherway it would have to be a very impressive camera considering it has to mimic whats behind it with a focal point less than an inch
Chase Thomas
They actually made hover cars ages ago and then scrapped them because they were impossible to control (lack of friction) and uneconomical as fuck, wasting fuel like a fucker
Adrian Thompson
Taking away military rights from japan is one of the great things america has done for this world
Dylan Ross
There's a literal FPS drop for her reflection
How much more obvious do you want it to be?
Jonathan Wilson
>Tfw actually Chinese American Hehehe
William Howard
Well that's not fucking good enough is it? Go and sort that shit out. You've got two fucking years left.
Justin Collins
I watched it again and didn't notice. I must have bad eyesight but how can you notice that?
Jaxson Martinez
>Working VR We need to get VR to work on something like a contact lens. Then we could have an augmented reality HUD right in our eyes. Also, things could look like they were holographic, but not actually projecting anything. It's just all in the eyes.
Brayden Nguyen
Look at the reflection when she moves her hand. It lags
Jackson Gutierrez
>house of the future >just like past ones, none of this stuff will ever actually go to market
Gabriel Gomez
actually, a screen like that has a shitload of possibilities. The fridge with the screen was one of them. You could use it in a car too for showing your route, etc.. You could have every window in your house use this tech.
