Transparency
On a general basis, displays tend to be a palette for images, video, text, and live action but a subset of displays does something different, they allow you to not only see the image on the display but also to see what is behind the display. These transparent displays have been around for over a dozen years, based on a number of technologies, primarily LCD and OLED, and have a number of uses, primarily in the retail genre as digital signage that allows the user to see through the display to the products behind it. While the transparency of the display is a function of how the pixel structure is arranged, transparent displays tend to be a trade off against display quality, which makes them less than perfect for applications where image quality is of the essence.
Applications for transparent displays outside of retail are few, and while HUD (Heads Up Displays) are often mentioned, projectors are often used as an alternative to physically transparent displays. As OLED displays are made of extremely thin layers of materials, some of which are transparent, much has been said as to their ability to be used to produce transparent displays, particularly large transparent displays, and LG Display , the only commercial producer of large panel OLED displays, has been promoting the idea of transparent OLED displays for a number of years and recently they have tried to exemplify the concept by installing 38 55” transparent OLED displays at what is called a ‘futuristic’ new bakery in South Korea.
With displays at the entrance to the store, on the walls, and between the baking areas, the installation is said to be the largest use of transparent OLED displays to date and creates a ‘futuristic’ look while allowing customers a view of new products. We are not sure how necessary it is to customers to see videos and messages about the products being produced while looking directly at the bakers producing them, or why it is necessary to use a transparent display when it is mounted against a wall, but we understand that the promotional value of the store is more likely the goal, rather than the practicality of the system.
There are a number of uses for transparent displays, such as AR, where a small transparent display could act as the ‘glasses’ in a headset while images are added to the user’s visual field, but we see the sacrifice in quality from the transparency a stumbling block to such a use, especially when micro-projectors are able to put a video image directly on the eye of the user. However the ideal application for transparency would be for lighting, where not only would a large transparent window panel would allow light to enter a room during daylight hours but could become a source of light during the night. In such an application cost would be the mitigating factor, but such an application strikes us as far more practical as the transparent TV screens we have seen demoed, which seem to be a technology looking for an application.
All in, the idea of transparent displays certainly has technical merit, but we see little value in such splashy displays to promote the concept. There are certainly public display applications where a transparent display would be less obtrusive than a non-transparent one, but installations such as the one in the images below, or those we have seen as a replacement for subway car windows seem to be a major stretch and just overkill in a world where overkill in advertising is a way of life.
Applications for transparent displays outside of retail are few, and while HUD (Heads Up Displays) are often mentioned, projectors are often used as an alternative to physically transparent displays. As OLED displays are made of extremely thin layers of materials, some of which are transparent, much has been said as to their ability to be used to produce transparent displays, particularly large transparent displays, and LG Display , the only commercial producer of large panel OLED displays, has been promoting the idea of transparent OLED displays for a number of years and recently they have tried to exemplify the concept by installing 38 55” transparent OLED displays at what is called a ‘futuristic’ new bakery in South Korea.
With displays at the entrance to the store, on the walls, and between the baking areas, the installation is said to be the largest use of transparent OLED displays to date and creates a ‘futuristic’ look while allowing customers a view of new products. We are not sure how necessary it is to customers to see videos and messages about the products being produced while looking directly at the bakers producing them, or why it is necessary to use a transparent display when it is mounted against a wall, but we understand that the promotional value of the store is more likely the goal, rather than the practicality of the system.
There are a number of uses for transparent displays, such as AR, where a small transparent display could act as the ‘glasses’ in a headset while images are added to the user’s visual field, but we see the sacrifice in quality from the transparency a stumbling block to such a use, especially when micro-projectors are able to put a video image directly on the eye of the user. However the ideal application for transparency would be for lighting, where not only would a large transparent window panel would allow light to enter a room during daylight hours but could become a source of light during the night. In such an application cost would be the mitigating factor, but such an application strikes us as far more practical as the transparent TV screens we have seen demoed, which seem to be a technology looking for an application.
All in, the idea of transparent displays certainly has technical merit, but we see little value in such splashy displays to promote the concept. There are certainly public display applications where a transparent display would be less obtrusive than a non-transparent one, but installations such as the one in the images below, or those we have seen as a replacement for subway car windows seem to be a major stretch and just overkill in a world where overkill in advertising is a way of life.
Transparent Displays at Paris Baguetter in Pangyo - Source (all): LG Display
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