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Samsung to use Sub-Pixel VGA Screens

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-thats-something-isn't-it dept.

pdawerks writes "Samsung Electronics has developed a new graphics chip that will allow half VGA screens to produce VGA resolution. The novelty is specially aimed at future mobiles with VGA screens that will be less than 2.4 inches. It generates color using an entirely new driving method called sub-pixel unit driving methodology." Not sure if I think it is exactly new or not, but it's nifty.

7 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'm Confused by ivan256 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't it about time we depricated the use of those silly acronyms we've bastardized to not mean what they originally meant anymore anyway? Wasn't VGA 640x480 at a mere 256 colors? And didn't it imply a particular ISA bus interface as well? Plus, who can keep track of what WUXGA and QWVGA and UHDWMRXGA all mean? Was somebody just leaning on the keyboard, or did they mean to say something anybody could understand like "1600x1200"? Tell us the resolution in a way that doesn't require a lookup in a massive acronym table please. That way it will be easy to compare displays to each other.

  2. READ THE DAMN ARTICLE by boomgopher · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Quote:
    By composing a new pixel with the sub-pixel on the adjacent scanning line, 480*640 VGA resolution can be attained from a 240*640 half-VGA panel.

    Drop all the "MacOS does this", "ClearType does this", etc. shit please.


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  3. Is this really something new? by gotr00t · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I have seen this methodology used in many applications where the screen was just too small to accomodate a purpose. Take Tezxas, for example, a ZX Spectrum emulator for the TI-89 (and 92+, but that dosn't apply here). Since the ZX spectrum's screen is roughly twice the dimensions of the 89's screen, 4 pixels had to be represented by one. There are also some applications for the PocketPC that use a very similar sounding method to bring full VGA resolution to half-VGA sized screens.

    My question is, is this something new because its more clear? or because it's a hardware implementation?

  4. No substitute for physical resolution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Samsung's press release about "sub-pixel unit driving methodology" is total hype and bull in my opinion. This technique provides better color and smoothing but no higher resolution by any means. They should be honest and call is what it is - color contrast and sharness enhancing technology - and not suggest that it provides a higher resolution for a given and fixed physical resolution.

  5. Actually... by WARM3CH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... VGA has only 16 colors in 640x480. It could only show 256 colors in the 320x200. Comparing it to what most PDAs do now, it seems that getting 64K colors in 320x200 is already beyound what VGA did!

  6. Applicable to LCDs? by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm sure Samsung won't want to cannibalise their own panel business, but if they make some sort of inline attachment that we can connect to existing LCDs to boast their resolution, wow... its gonna be so cool!

    I'm sure everyone will buy one!

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  7. blast from the past by Tumbleweed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ahh, the venerable Apple ][, inspiring people even today!