Display market going flat

CTX Opto introduces one of the most inexpensive active-matrix LCD monitors into the marketplace.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor

Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.

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Brooke Crothers

Oct. 2, 1996 1:30 p.m. PT

CTX Opto has introduced one of the most inexpensive active-matrix LCD monitors yet into the marketplace.

The PanoView 600 LCD flat-panel monitor uses a 12.1-inch active-matrix screen and includes integrated speakers for a price of $2,995. A 12.1-inch LCD is roughly equivalent to a 15-inch CRT monitor in viewing area.

Active-matrix LCD monitors are slim, lightweight, and can be used in a myriad of applications where cathode-ray-tube monitors would be too heavy or inconvenient. However, flat-panel displays are typically more expensive than traditional CRT monitors as they are comparatively costly to manufacture. Prices for these displays are dropping, though, as active-matrix LCD production overhead continues to decline.

The PanoView monitor delivers 800-by-600 resolution and supports up to 16.7 million colors. It is available as a free-standing desktop unit or as a modular add-on for system integration.

The display is less than one-quarter the weight and one-tenth the thickness of conventional 14-inch CRT monitors, the company said.

The monitor has a direct RGB analog input allowing a typical CRT monitor cord connector to be plugged directly into the PanoView monitor, obviating the need for an add-on card.

A PanoView 300 is also available, based on an 11.3-inch dual-scan LCD and priced at $1,995.