Mitsubishi Display Products Brings World's First 18 inch LCD Monitor With One-Touch Set-Up; Auto Set-up Appeals to First Time LCD Users with Professional Needs

Business Wire, Jan 4, 1999

CYPRESS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--Mitsubishi Display Products, creator of the industry's broadest line of award-winning monitor and projection products, has announced the LCD 80 -- the world's first 18 inch LCD with a simple, one step, Automatic Set-up System.

Carrying an estimated street price of $2,999, the new monitor takes the expense and fear out of purchasing and installing this advanced desktop technology.

"Larger screens and the sleek new designs of today's LCDs are appealing to a lot of people who are not usually early adopters of new technologies," said Hydee Ong, product manager for Mitsubishi's special products. "Typically, set-up on an LCD involves a series of manipulation with the on screen display (OSD) controls. To eliminate this process, Mitsubishi has built in a one-touch set-up and several other new features to make our new LCD 80 the easiest to install, and the most pleasant out-of-box experience for everyone, especially the first-time LCD user."

Automatic Set-up System

Auto Picture -- With a single click of the front panel button, the automatic picture set-up kicks in and not only adjusts the horizontal and vertical screen positions but also the clock and clock phase timing. All manipulations are carefully calibrated and appear on screen as the end-user does nothing more than just look on.

Auto Gray Scale -- Gray scale set-up is also completed at the same time and configures not only the contrast but the black level as well.

Auto Smoothing -- Auto Smoothing takes place whenever the screen resolution is adjusted, eliminating the need to deal with jagged images when downgrading resolution settings.

Auto Scaling -- The auto scaling feature on the LCD 80 automatically enlarges the screen image to eliminate the border typically produced on LCDs when changing resolutions.

Auto Adjustment -- On occasion, in LCD technology, some clock phase `drift' occurs due to the computer video graphics card. When this happens, images lose their initial sharpness and contrast. To eliminate this problem, Mitsubishi has equipped the LCD 80 with an automatic `drift' checker. This unique auto adjustment feature monitors the clock phase every 30 minutes and resets the LCD if any drift has occurred. Everything happens automatically and is transparent to the end-user.

All functions of the Automatic Set-up System are robotically calibrated at the factory for the clearest and brightest picture available from any LCD. In addition, when not using the automatic system, the monitor's OSD controls customize screen images through user-friendly microprocessor-based controls and intuitive front-panel buttons. Users can select and adjust over 15 different settings, including brightness, contrast, positioning, and clock phase. The OSD controls are offered in six languages.

Mitsubishi Technologies and Features

Compensation Film Technology -- Larger screen LCDs have come under fire for limited viewing angles and a lack of off-angle brightness inherent in the TFT technology. Mitsubishi has significantly reduced angle distortion and brightness dulling by adding a wide-view optical compensation film to each side (front and rear) of the LCD panel.

This film uses the negative birefringence characteristics of a dicotic compound allowing the LCD to realize a wider viewing angle without sacrificing brightness. This is the first application of this type in a desktop LCD.

Text or Graphic Select -- While working in either a text or graphic-rich document, the user of the LCD 80 has the option of enhancing the screen image by selecting the Text or Graphic setting from the OSD. The application of this setting enhances and sharpens text documents and gives greater color fidelity to graphic images.

Specifications

Featuring a distortion-free TFT active matrix screen, the new LCD 80 offers a contrast ratio of 230:1, and a brightness rating of 180 cd/m2, providing increased color clarity and crystal-clear flicker-free images. Measuring only 8.6 inches deep overall and weighing 19 pounds including the tilt-swivel base, the LCD 80 uses 90 percent less desktop space while weighing only a fraction of the standard CRT display.

The LCD 80 provides backward compatibility with older interlace systems and is compatible with Sun, SGI, IBM(R), Apple(R) Macintosh(R), Windows(R) 95, and high-resolution third-party graphics standards. A universal Apple Macintosh adapter is also included for cross-platform compatibility. The Mitsubishi LCD 80 meets all major emission and power management standards, including TCO, EPA Energy Star(TM), DPMS(TM), and NUTEK(TM).

Security and Extended Warranty

The LCD 80 is available with a Kensington Lock slot allowing for the option of securing the monitor at its location and is backed by Mitsubishi's standard three-year parts and labor warranty. Because of the innovations in the long-life bulb system of the LCD 80, Mitsubishi extends the three-year warranty to include the backlight bulbs which traditionally carried only a one-year warranty from manufacturers.