Google and LG to Launch New OLED Display for VR Headsets in May
Google and LG Electronics are working together to fix a common problem with virtual reality (VR) headsets through a new 18-megapixel OLED display. The companies plan to unveil this new device in May.
Digital Trends was first to spot at the event's guide of Display Week 2018 that the two companies are heading an event called "An 18-megapixel, 4.3inch, 1,443 ppi, 120 Hz OLED display for wide field-of-view, high-acuity, head-mounted displays."
According to the media outlet, the 4.3-inch screen will most likely be manufactured by LG Display to target VR headsets. As a wide screen, it should be able to deliver a better field-of-view and eradicate the "screen door" issue that is common in many VR headsets.
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For comparison, the Oculus Rift is only 3.5 inches on the diagonal and sports a combined resolution of 2,160 x 1,200 pixels and 461 ppi.
A single 18-megapixel screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, meantime, could equal to around 5,657 x 3,182 pixels. This requires a high-powered computer to work as intended.
The screen will have a pixel-per-inch ratio of 1,443 pixels and will use OLED-on-glass display technology, making it the highest resolution VR headset at the time of its launch.
According to a listing for the display's presentation, the screen uses white OLED with color filter structure for high-density pixelization. Meantime, an n-type LTPS backplane was chosen to create higher electron mobility as compared to mobile phone displays.
"An A custom high bandwidth driver IC was fabricated. Foveated driving logic for VR and AR applications was implemented," the listing adds.
As per the title of the event, the state-of-the-art screen will support a 120 Hz refresh rate. Most other VR headsets use 90 Hz or 90 frames per second, the minimum specs required for VR. Anything lower than that will give players a vomit-inducing experience, as it may cause nausea due to the "skipping" environment.
The Society for Information Display's (SID) conference, or Display Week, happens May 20 to 25 in Los Angeles.
