(21 May 2007 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Global consumer electronics firm JVC has announced its second generation Clear Motion Drive (CMD) high-speed LCD television technology that delivers crisp fast action images, typically a weakness in LCD performance.

JVC says that its new Clear Motion Drive II technology, like the original, features a refresh rate of 120 frames per second (120Hz), double the typical rate. But CMD II has been designed specifically for full HD (1920 x1080) displays and improves motion detection five-fold compared to the original high speed driver.

Three JVC full HD LCD TVs incorporating CMD II will be available in the US later this year as part of a new JVC High Speed 2 series. JVC was the first to introduce high speed LCD technology with its launch last year of a 37-inch set with a 120Hz refresh rate.

To reduce blurring of moving images, JVC's CMD II uses a frame doubling driver (120Hz) and motion interpolation. A JVC algorithm detects the movement in images and increases the frame rate to 120Hz to create an interpolated image that is displayed as two frames - the original plus the newly interpolated frame - in the same time it takes a conventional (60Hz) set to display a single frame. This delivers moving images without blurring or flickering.

And compared to other frame doubling technologies, inserting an interpolated frame maintains image brightness. JVC's original CMD technology was applied to a 720p LCD panel and detected only horizontal motion. In its new full HD incarnation, JVC's Clear Motion Drive detects image data from more than 8,000 surrounding dots in a frame to create a pixel and calculate movement from the current frame
to the next. This process is performed on all two million pixels (1920 x 1080) in a frame to interpolate for movement in all directions.

An indication of CMD's ability to deliver sharp images is the panel's motion picture response time (MPRT). Though liquid crystal response time has long been used as a measure of LCD TV performance, JVC considers MPRT, a relatively new measurement gaining wider use, to be a better performance indicator.

MPRT measures the rate of image blurring and is based on how the human eye perceives speed. A faster MPRT means less blurring. JVC research shows that for any given liquid crystal response time, the MPRT will be significantly better at 120Hz than at 60Hz. In addition, the improvement is more apparent at lower response times. A 120Hz-driven LCD panel with an eight millisecond liquid crystal response time will achieve an MPRT figure that's superior to what a 60Hz-driven panel with a zero millisecond liquid crystal response time can achieve. As a result, the 120Hz panel will have
less blurring of moving images.

To get the most out of the double-speed full HD panels, JVC will use its fifth generation D.I.S.T. (Digital Image Scaling Technology) engine on
the JVC-exclusive 32-bit Genessa chip. This optimizes processing for more natural shades of grey compared to an 8-bit panel. JVC's 10-bit panel with the Genessa chip also renders more than one billion colors for rich, natural color reproduction. Also, with a 10-bit panel the reproducible color gamut is 102 per cent based on the NTSC standard, displaying full
edge-to-edge color of an NTSC picture. And finally, the single-chip processing ensures superior detection, analysis and control of the signal in real time.

JVC will launch its new High Speed 2 line this fall, comprised of three sets featuring Clear Motion Drive II - the 47-inch LT-47X898, the 42-inch LT- 42X898 and the 37-inch LT-37X898. Each will offer three HDMI (1.3)
compatible inputs.