Chapter 299 Second Generation LCD Panel
After going over the situation of the 8-bit chip with Masayoshi Shima and others, Shirakawa Kaede asked Nakajima Heitaro to send some finished products to the HAL Research Institute.
He plans to put the first application platform of this chip on his home game console.
At the beginning, in order to improve performance, we planned to directly use an 8-bit enhanced chip.
But the cost of more than twenty dollars is still too high.
After all, game consoles are electronic toys for children, and the overlap between their audience and that of portable players is not very high.
Among the student population, gaming consoles are likely to be very popular.
But office workers may not like it, especially as they get older, the audience becomes narrower.
If an 8-bit enhanced version of the chip is used, its cost alone will be more than 6,000 yen, and the overall selling price is likely to exceed 20,000 yen.
This price is very unfriendly to students, after all, only a minority can afford this expense.
Therefore, for cost considerations and to lower the selling price, the cost of an 8-bit chip of more than 2,000 yen is much more affordable.
As for whether the performance of 8-bit chips is reliable, there is no need to worry about it at all.
Many arcade machines still use a large number of 8-bit chips. As pocket-sized arcade models, home game consoles have lower chip requirements.
So there is absolutely no problem in developing a home game console using 8-bit chips.
New finished products from SIC will be sent directly to Iwata and his colleagues so that they can become familiar with the performance and characteristics of the chip as quickly as possible.
Game development involves programming and logical operations, which are directly related to the chip architecture.
Different chips on the market have different architectures, and the effects of using them to develop games are also different.
This requires time to get familiar with and adjust, and Baichuan Feng can only wait patiently for good news from HAL.
In addition, Shirakawa Kaede also has great ambitions regarding the research and development of a new generation of handheld game consoles.
To be honest, the current configuration of one machine and one software is a bit too shabby.
There is no such a frugal game console in the whole world, and only ordinary people would do it this way.
What’s strange is that this kind of configuration is actually very popular in Japan. Shirakawa Kaede once again witnessed the “refinement” and “petty-mindedness” of Japan.
Although the handheld Game Boy is still selling well, the market has not declined significantly.
But disposable game consoles cannot represent the future after all. With the natural development of technology, they will be eliminated by the market in a few years.
Now that there are chips with better computing power, Baichuan Feng is also preparing to develop the next generation of handheld game consoles in advance.
Regarding the design goals of the next generation of handheld game consoles, if nothing else, at least it cannot be a disposable game console.
Shirakawa Kaede wanted to build the handheld game console into a platform, and then develop and sell game cartridges based on this platform.
This will not only attract a large number of game developers, but also make the word "Baichuan" more popular.
Cultivating the market and building the brand are what Shirakawa Game Machine will do next.
However, although the chip is now in place, the LCD display, another core component of the handheld game console, has not yet been perfected.
If a handheld game console is to truly become a game development platform, it must at least ensure that its hardware configuration will not be outdated within 1-3 years.
The TN-LCD screens currently used in handheld game consoles obviously cannot meet this requirement. They have too many shortcomings and are even showing signs of being eliminated.
The most obvious problem is that the picture is delayed. Many complex compositions need to be pre-drawn on the screen and are displayed as black graphics after power-on.
Such a design must leave enough feedback time for the circuit to respond, so high latency is one of its major characteristics.
If future handheld game consoles want to last for two or three years in terms of hardware, the screen problem must be improved.
But now, let alone the new screen technology, even the TN-LCD that Shirakawa Electric is stuck with has not been completely solved.
Although an agreement has been reached with Stanley and Nitto Electric to build an LCD factory, not to mention the products, even the factory has not been built in such a short time.
However, in order to improve the supply situation of LCDs as soon as possible, we temporarily plan to use the workshop originally reserved for handheld game consoles to build an LCD production line.
All things are difficult at the beginning. Take the first step first, solve the problem from scratch, and then proceed step by step.
Besides, each LCD is two to three hundred yen more expensive than before the price increase. If we lose that much profit on one handheld game console, it would be a huge profit when we add up millions of units.
Although it is the profits that are reduced, making less money means losing money.
Shirakawa Kaede requires that in the first quarter of this year, its own LCDs must be rolled off the production line and that at least 30% of the production capacity of Shirakawa Electric's handheld game console screens must be replaced.
He won't favor Suwa Seiko and Sharp. If they don't sell me their stuff, I can just play with it myself.
You are still trying to raise the price because there is a fire. Believe it or not, I will make a real fire happen in your factory.
Of course, Baichuan Feng was just talking nonsense.
Now Shirakawa Electric is a well-known company after all, and he has begun to cherish his reputation.
In order to get back his face, he prefers to act with integrity and have a head-on fight to see who will have the last laugh.
So how can we get back on track, or how can we solve the screen problem of the next generation of handheld game consoles?
This is another purpose of Shirakawa Feng’s visit to SIC today.
SIC, third floor.
"Professor Hosono, Professor Shirakawa, is it possible to further improve the current TN-LCD display? Or what is the next development trend of LCD?"
Shirakawa Feng knew that the prospects for LCD screens were definitely more than that, but he was not quite sure how it would develop in detail.
In order to improve the display effect of LCD and develop the next generation of screen technology, he once again invested heavily in research.
The two people in front of us are the material science experts invited by SIC at a high price. They also have academic backgrounds from Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Among them, Hideo Hosono was originally hired by SIC to develop an extended format of CD technology. He was mainly responsible for the research of CD surface coating materials.
However, with the addition of two CD technical veterans, Heitaro Nakajima and Hiroshi Ogawa, this part of the work was basically taken over by them.
Moreover, the development of the new CD format was nearing completion, so Hideo Hosono was tasked with conducting research and development work in the LCD field.
Strictly speaking, the area in which Hideo Hosono was truly good at was the development and application of new materials such as optoelectronic materials, photosensitive materials, and crystalline glass.
Letting him be in charge of LCD research and development is a good match for his profession, and he is also quite happy about it.
After all, Baichuan Feng promised him that he would provide sufficient funds and purchase the most advanced analytical instruments.
He had never fought such a lucrative battle in school, so after getting Baichuan Feng's promise, he immediately transferred to the LCD R&D department.
As for the other professor, Shirakawa Hideki, well, he has the same surname as Shirakawa Kaede, but I don’t know if their ancestors are connected.
Professor Shirakawa graduated from the Department of Chemistry of Tokyo Institute of Technology, but currently teaches at the University of Tsukuba.
Because of his expertise in polymer research, conductive plastics, and electroluminescent polymers, he was introduced to SIC by Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The research areas that these two professors are good at are basically concentrated in the fields of materials science related to optics and electricity.
This is closely related to the working principle and manufacturing of liquid crystals, making it a very suitable choice for them to develop the next generation of LCD technology.
When faced with Shirakawa Kaede's questions, Shirakawa Hideki and Hosono Hideo had obviously studied them in depth, and their answers were extremely professional.
"TN-LCD is the first generation of liquid crystal display screens. There is no doubt that as a new material, its development is far from mature."
In order to make the explanation more intuitive, Hideki Shirakawa directly found a schematic diagram of the working principle of LCD.
"Mr. Shirakawa, please see that the biggest feature of TN-LCD is the "twisted nematic" property. The arrangement direction of its liquid crystal molecules from the top layer to the bottom layer is exactly a 90-degree 3D spiral."
In the middle of the two transparent glasses in the chart, the filled liquid crystal molecules can be clearly seen arranged in a rotated state.
“Through the polarization refraction of light, what is finally presented on the screen is the image we see.
However, due to the limited viewing angle, the screen can only display black and white. And as the screen size increases, the contrast ratio will drop significantly. "
Baichuan Feng has a deep understanding of this point. Nowadays, LCDs are mostly used in small-screen electronic products such as watches and calculators.
When the screen of Shirakawa Electric's handheld game console is slightly larger, the display quality begins to decline.
In good weather or under the scorching sun in summer, sometimes you can't even see the pattern on the screen clearly.
This shortcoming has been criticized and complained by many consumers, but not only Shirakawa Electric, but Nintendo's screens also have the same problem.
After all, the process is the same, everyone uses the same things, and there will be all the problems that are expected.
“So, is this problem going to be solved by the development of the next generation of LCD screen technology?”
Baichuan Feng looked at the schematic diagram in front of him and asked subconsciously.
"Of course," Shirakawa Hideki nodded without hesitation, "In theory, the greater the twist angle of the liquid crystal molecules, the better the final display effect will be."
As he spoke, he found another concept drawing, which was the concept he and Hideo Hosono had come up with for the next generation of LCD screen technology.
"If the twist angle of the liquid crystal molecules reaches 180 to 270 degrees, the display effect of the screen will be greatly improved.
The viewing angle, screen contrast, response speed, display quality, etc. will all surpass TN-LCD screens.
Even in terms of color, in addition to black and white, some other colors can be displayed.
This matrix-driven liquid crystal arrangement is called super twisted nematic, or STN-LCD."
Baichuan Feng's eyes lit up when he heard this. It sounded a bit like a display screen from later generations.
"The improved STN-LCD screen can display color animation?"
"Uh" Shirakawa Hideki and Hosono Hideo were stunned for a moment, then quickly explained.
“It is difficult to display full colors, and only some colors can be displayed simultaneously.
In addition, the STN-LCD screen delay can be as short as 150ms, and fast switching can initially achieve animation effects.
But it can’t be compared to TV images. If you look closely, you’ll see a noticeable blur.”
Seeing that Baichuan Feng misunderstood what they meant, the two professors quickly explained the difference between the two.
If their boss gets carried away and asks for a screen that has a display effect similar to that of a TV, then the two of them won't be able to produce it.
After listening to their explanation, Shirakawa Feng was a little bit enlightened. It turned out to be a lower-grade screen, but it seemed to be a great improvement over the current TN-LCD.
With a delay of 150ms, theoretically, a display of 7 frames per second can be achieved.
It cannot be compared with the 24 frames per second of a TV, but 7 frames per second already has the rudiments of animation in the eyes of the human eye.
Moreover, this delay is much better than the 1-second delay of TN-LCD.
"However, if we want to achieve the animation effect that you mentioned, Mr. Shirakawa, the liquid crystal molecules must be twisted at an angle of at least 360 degrees.
Of course, it is still difficult given the current technical conditions.
This may be an issue that needs to be considered when designing the next generation of LCD display screens.”
Seeing that Shirakawa looked thoughtful, Shirakawa Hideki thought he was dissatisfied and continued to explain.
Technological breakthroughs must be achieved step by step; it is impossible to achieve success overnight.
Baichuan Feng understood this principle, so he was more concerned about the development progress of STN-LCD screen technology, which was easier to implement.
"So, professors, given the current situation, can we develop technology smoothly?"
