TOKYO (04/25/2000) - With a goal of realizing more accurate color reproduction on flat-panel monitors, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and NEC-Mitsubishi Electric Visual Systems Corp. (NMV) have begun working with Microsoft Corp. to develop new specifications for LCD (liquid crystal display) displays, the three companies announced today.
The companies are working together after Mitsubishi Electric made breakthroughs in LCD panel development that puts LCD monitors much closer to matching the color reproduction possible with conventional CRT (cathode ray tube) -based monitors, they said in a statement.
Mitsubishi Electric's new color management technology results in better overall image quality by allowing for independent control of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta and yellow colors in LCD panels.
The specifications under development will be those Microsoft will expect LCD monitor makers to adhere to if they are to display the "Designed for Windows" sticker on their products, according to the statement.
Microsoft has already drawn up a basic set of specifications, said Yoshio Suzuki, a spokesman for NMV, and passed them to his company for evaluation. NMV will examine the proposals from a technical perspective and report back to Microsoft on what can be expected from a hardware viewpoint, after which Microsoft will draw up the final specification.
For its part in the deal, Mitsubishi Electric will work on development of an LSI (large scale integrated circuit) chip to be used in LCD monitors to ensure the devices meet Microsoft's specifications. Mitsubishi Electric plans to both use the chip in its own monitors and sell it to other monitor makers, said company spokesman Matthew Nicholson.
Prototypes of the new LSI-compatible LCD monitors will be shown from today at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2000 in New Orleans (US) and on May 17 at an event in Taipei, Taiwan, the companies said.
Mitsubishi Electric, in Tokyo, can be reached via the Web at http://www.melco.co.jp/. NMV, also in Tokyo, is at http://www.nmv.co.jp/.
Microsoft, in Redmond, Washington, is at +1-425-882-8080, or at http://www.microsoft.com/.