Display Technology

As optical interfaces between technology and humans, display devices play an all-encompassing role in TV production. The increasing prevalence of flatscreens in recent years has led to radical changes in display technology. Nowadays, a number of manufacturers offer flatscreens for professional applications; high-end consumer devices also appeal to professionals. Moreover, the emerging interest among consumers in large-format flatscreens (e.g. plasma TVs) will, in the long term, result in more advanced technical requirements in regard to programme quality.

IRT tracks developments in the display-device market and conducts various tests on playback devices (colorimetric measurements and evaluating the quality of playback devices for television, resolution measurements, noise-emission measurements). These data enable our staff to determine whether products which claim to be “HD-ready” truly are.

IRT provides public broadcasters with specific advice on using modern display technology in their studios. IRT specialists examine, in particular, the suitability of flatscreens in a production environment (e.g. as reference monitors, test monitors or observation monitors), and study the benefits and drawbacks of flatscreens in contrast to CRT devices, which remain more common for the time being.