Sony's new technology will speed up LCD TV's response time

Consumer Reports News: December 08, 2010 12:01 PM

Sony's Hybrid FPA technology maintains
the pre-tilt on just one side of the substrate
alignment layer (click to enlarge)
Graphic courtesy of Sony

In an effort to address some key LCD shortcomings, most noticeably motion blur, Sony is developing a new LCD technology that will speed up a TV's response time: how long it takes for the liquid crystals in the TV panel to "twist" to either block light or to let it pass.

The technology, called hybrid field-induced photo-reactive alignment, or Hybrid FPA for short, is quite complex, but it involves a new way of aligning the liquid crystals and effecting a "pre-tilt" of the liquid crystals to speed up response times. Sony says the technique will offer notable improvements in picture quality, including 3D and high frame-rate images, and can also help TVs last longer.

To date, the most common way to help reduce motion blur is to speed up the TV's frame rate using 120Hz or 240Hz technology. Plasma TVs already have fast response time—and don't require a backlight—so most have negligible motion blur on fast-moving scenes.

Sony hasn't announced when it expects the first TVs using the hybrid FPA technology to be introduced, but we'll be keeping an eye out for any prototypes when we visit Sony's booth at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show next month.

—James K. Willcox