What this means

Basically what SED technology allows for is unparalleled image quality. One characteristic of this would be the result of the contrast ratio, meaning the black levels will be extremely high. Imagine being in a dark room watching a letterboxed movie and the only thing you can possibly see is the movie itself, not the black margins on the top and bottom of the screen.


Most importantly for gamers however will be the response time/refresh rate capabilities of SED technology. Imagine watching a real life re-enactment of Counter-Strike on de_dust2 being played simultaneously on an LCD screen, Plasma Display Panel (PDP), and SED screen right in front of you. You are watching the POV through a scoped sniper rifle from the offensive spawn when a defensive player crosses the gap between double doors. On the LCD screen, this character would probably appear very “sketchy”; exhibiting that ghosting effect we talked about earlier. On the plasma screen, the character would look much less “sketchy” but also not as define as you would be accustomed to on a CRT monitor. On the SED, the character would be so vividly portrayed that not only would you be able to easily distinguish him, but you could probably also tell whether or not he needs to pick his nose. It is something that is really hard to explain in words and must be experienced before drawing any personal conclusions.

The best part of the whole thing, surprisingly, might be the cost. Sure, when they come out, these monitors will cost a boat load of money. However, eventually they should be no more expensive, if not less expensive than CRT monitors. Similarly to the production of OLED materials, printers can be used very effectively in the production of SED materials. This means that large sheets of the SED “electron emitter” can be printed and added to the necessary circuitry (also produced in a printed fashion) to drastically reduce cost of production. This is all speculation of course; SED technology probably won’t be available from Canon and Toshiba for your Average Joe until early 2007.

With all the attention being paid to new video card and processor technologies these days, it would seem like monitors and display methods have all but dropped to an afterthought. However, with technology like SED on the horizon, our computing experience could be greatly enhanced from the monitor itself, especially gaming.