New LCD tech could make virtual reality displays three times sharper

Screen resolutions continue to improve at a phenomenal pace. Just over a decade ago most people were still using 576i and 480i standard definition screens, but after HD went mainstream resolutions of 720p and 1080p have become the norm, and now 2160p is starting to creep in. 

These new resolutions are normally reserved for larger displays, where the individual pixels don’t have to get too cramped, but a new technology called blue-phase liquid crystals might be about to change all that by changing up how the crystals in liquid crystal displays show color. 

Using this new technology, the Optical Society reports that pixel per inch density could reach as high as 1500 ppi, three times the density of Apple’s current retina displays. 

Rather than televisions being the big winner as a result of this technology, new virtual reality screens could see the most improvements as they benefit from fitting as high a resolution as possible into a small screen that sits just inches from the user’s eyes. 

The nitty gritty

The effect is achieved through changing the makeup of the crystals that show individual pixels.

Current LCD displays use three subpixels (one red, one green and one blue) which act as filters that combine to create various shades when light from an LED backlight is shone through them.

However, new blue-phase panels have LEDs that are able to flip between the three colors quickly enough that the human eye perceives just a single color. As a result, no filter is needed at all, massively reducing the amount of space needed for each pixel.

This technology has been around since 2008, but it’s only now that researchers have been able to reduce the operational voltage enough to make the displays viable. The next stage will be to produce a working prototype, which researchers predict could happen as early as next year.

For all those predicting that it’s only a matter of time before OLED takes over from LCD, blue-phase could be about to make LCD relevant for years to come.

Jon Porter

Jon Porter is the ex-Home Technology Writer for TechRadar. He has also previously written for Practical Photoshop, Trusted Reviews, Inside Higher Ed, Al Bawaba, Gizmodo UK, Genetic Literacy Project, Via Satellite, Real Homes and Plant Services Magazine, and you can now find him writing for The Verge.

Latest in Televisions
Google Chromecast 2
Google is finally rolling out a fix for broken Chromecasts – just as new bugs appear on the Chromecast with Google TV
Sony UBP-X700/K shown from the front
Sony launches new version of the best cheap 4K Blu-ray player that drops the streaming tech – but the price looks odd
Samsung, Roku, and Hisense TV screens
I review TVs for a living, and here are the 3 best budget TVs you can buy today
Eight Samsung TVs mounted to the wall showing different basketball games
Samsung is offering you 8 new TVs in one bundle for March Madness, in case you want to watch all games at once like a Bond villain’s lair
OLED Philips Roku TV
The new 65-inch Roku OLED TV is already under $1,000, and that's a price I can get behind
close-up of soundbar mesh with Sonos branding
Sonos reportedly cancels its streaming video player, but I hope it resurrects one part of it, because it could be huge
Latest in News
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today