(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)
LOS ANGELES—We’ve heard of 1Hz laptop screens to save on battery life. But Chinese display manufacturer TCL CSOT is going 100x further with a 0.01Hz laptop panel.
At SID Display Week here, the company showed off the technology in a 14-inch laptop with a 1,920-by-1,200-resolution screen. The display stands out by featuring a refresh rate that can hit one frame per 100 seconds, rather than the usual one frame per second of an 1HZ panel.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)Since PCs often display static browser windows and programs, reducing the refresh rate has been seen as a way to cut down on energy consumption. TCL CSOT’s technology goes even further by using 12 zones across the screen that can jump from 0.01Hz to a regular 120Hz. This means a user could view a video in one part of the screen at normal refresh rates, but the rest of the display would remain at 0.01Hz, thus saving energy.
TCL CSOT estimates that the lower refresh rate can extend video playback time on a laptop by over an hour. The screen is an LCD that uses the company’s own backplane technology, known as “Oxide TFT.” LG has been developing a similar concept, but it doesn't appear to feature the region-level variable refresh rate across parts of the screen.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)When we tried the laptop, we noticed the screen immediately jumped to 120Hz across the entire display. But then, as our mouse cursor slowed down and homed in on the select program or window, much of the rest of the screen dropped to 0.01Hz.
TCL CSOT, a subsidiary under TCL Technology Group, told us the technology is production-ready. But the company needs to work with software and chip vendors, including Microsoft, Intel, and AMD, to fully enable the refresh rate switching. So it's not clear if we'll see the technology in a laptop anytime soon.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)At Display Week, TCL CSOT also showed off a portable monitor that unfolds into three sections for a total of 28 inches. The monitor is also thin, like a tablet, especially when folded. The company plans to mass-produce the trifold monitor next year, though pricing remains unclear.
Although it's overkill, the company also improved on its 8K 1,000Hz ultra-wide gaming monitor, which debuted at last year’s Display Week. The monitor can now hit a refresh rate of 1,200Hz.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note the technology comes from TCL CSOT, rather than TCL, the consumer-facing brand.