display screen to get for outdoor use

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

William Andersen wrote:
> What kind of display screen can be viewed outdoors?
> I can't see the screen of my ComPaq Presario 1200 when I'm outdoors. I'm
> thinking of getting a newer laptop and want a display that can be easily
> viewed when outdoors.
>

All my laptops look great outdoors. The problem is the bright light
that sometimes happens there.
Most laptop displays are transmissive and backlit. The intensity of the
display has to be greater than all the reflections from the surface.
The sun is a gazillion times more intense than the laptop, so ANY %
reflection from the surface is too much. The antireflective coating has
to be on the surface, so it attracts fingerprints like a camera lens.
And it reduces the brightness and may cause moire patterns depending on
the technology used.
So the display looks worse inside and nobody, except maybe you and me,
would buy one.
You're not likely to find what you want until you get into the high-end
industrial or military market. And you wouldn't want to pay what it costs.

There are some nice looking transreflective PDA displays that look
excellent in bright sunlight. The old Palm m505 is very readable
outside. It's color, but the color range would be unacceptable for a
general purpose desktop application. Haven't seen any laptop-sized
transreflective displays yet. Again, the market won't support high
volumes, so they probably won't ever be available at competitive prices
until they can match TFT quality inside.

If you only need a minor improvement, there are some contrast
enhancement things you can do with polarizers and filters...but you
still need that pesky AR coating.

But do report if you find something.
Might want to ask in the gps or satellite navigation groups.
mike



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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

William Andersen wrote:

> What kind of display screen can be viewed outdoors?
> I can't see the screen of my ComPaq Presario 1200 when I'm outdoors. I'm
> thinking of getting a newer laptop and want a display that can be easily
> viewed when outdoors.

They're expensive, but take a look at <http://www.elecrovaya.com>--you can
order some of their models with an extra-cost screen that they claim is
outdoor viewable.

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