CONTROL ROOM DESIGN AND ERGONOMICS

Seamless Plasma Screens

The latest technology in this field is the so-called seamless plasma display. These displays have a minimal gap between each module when built up as a video wall. However, these systems have some limitations compared to DLP rear projection cubes. A recurrent issue with plasma screens is burn-in. This effect can be avoided only when the images are moved continuously from one module to another; other­wise, burn-in will appear. Currently, there are no plasma screen displays which do not have this effect. In plasma screen displays, the image format is 16:9, but in prin­ciple the applications used are 5:4 or 4:3. This means that on a plasma screen display the projected image content will appear stretched and distorted.

Resolution of the plasma screen is only 853x480 pixels, while the applications are mainly XGA, SXGA, or SXGA+. This means the resolution will be downscaled to the low resolution of the seamless plasma screens. With plasma screen display technology the image size is only 42 inches. The mullion between each plasma screen is 5 mm and this is not seamless.

‘Seamless’ plasma screens use glass screens whose surface is prone to glare. This means that there are problems with the readability because of mirror effects from the ambient light. Plasma screens have a low viewing angle and also high power consumption. The attractions of the ‘seamless’ plasma screen technology are the relatively cheap purchasing price, their light weight, and their elegant, slim design. Disadvantages include the level of costs needed to operate this technology. The technology has a limited and low resolution to the image format and has been found to be unreliable. With continuous operation over a twenty-four-hour period, there is the burn-in effect. The technology has a mullion gap. There is also a lack of flexibility to the displayed resources which makes it difficult to manage the displays. Plasma screens don’t have automatic brightness and colour correction.