A Wider Net

It’s hip to be square. Actually, it’s hip to be square on the same planet where it’s hip to be called “Huey”. And when it comes to video we’re bored with square. Granted, regular standard definition TV isn’t technically square. It’s a nearly square rectangle- a “squectangle”. High Def TV is w-i-d-e, which is another adjective that isn’t exactly hip. But w-i-d-e-screen is still square(ish). B-O-R-I-N-G!

Take a trip to Circuit City and bask in the Squectangular jungle of TV’s and Computer Monitors. Everywhere you look - nothing but clean right angles and super-huge images of Nemo the clownfish. Maybe that’s why plasma screens have so little impact on exhibits. They get bigger, brighter, and cheaper every year, and they get less and less impressive. It’s hard enough to be “eye-catching” in a trade show booth, but if your video display is similar to, or even smaller-than, your typical attendee’s living room sets, then you may find them looking elsewhere for visual stimulation.

Custom shaped screens have been around for years, and typically involve cutting a sheet of grey diffusive acrylic into a simple shape like a circle. Small versions of this on a simple stand have been called “Lollipop screens”. Not every exhibitor is comfortable specifying technology called a lollipop, but when it comes to visual appeal, circle takes the square.

3M has changed everything with their new Vikuiti rear-projection film. Vikuiti (vigh-cue-it-ee) Film is a dark grey material that can be applied easily to glass or acrylic. It can be cut with scissors. It can also be applied to curved surfaces. What makes this material really special is its unique ability to produce very bright high contrast images in high ambient light situations. That’s right - a great picture in a trade show booth.

The demonstrations I saw at Infocomm were fun and diverse. A large circle screen was the simplest example, looking bright and bold compared to acrylic circles I’ve seen in the past. Then they had a cool display cut in the shape of a soda bottle that kept filling and bubbling and spelling out messages. And as if that wasn’t enough to sell the story, they had a person cutting out shapes of fish from a large sheet in front of us. A projection of a lively underwater scene created an impossible-to-ignore display. As you’ll see in the attached image, it’s not just the shape but also the (complete lack of) thickness and the way it floats in mid-air when applied to a large sheet of glass.

It’s a compelling look. It’s easily shaped into a logo or product. It’s bright, and fine in high ambient light. It’s thin - making flat panel displays downright pudgy. It will be at Innovation Day. And it’s not square.