AUO demos 16:9 ratio, 24-inch HD monitor

Taiwan display maker AU Optronics today revealed what it says is the world's first truly wide-aspect, full HD 24-inch flat-panel display. The LCD adopts the same 16:9 ratio of many HDTVs and is capable of a native 1080p resolution. While shorter than the 1920x1200 resolution of existing 24-inch computer screens, the wider display makes it better-suited to widescreen movies with the image filling more of the available space. The new design is also half as thick as the taller displays: where a conventional display would measure 1.38 inches deep, the new implementation is just 0.55 inches. Combined with a narrow bezel, this allows a same-size display in a much smaller space.

The new 24-inch example continues to be lit by cold-cathode fluorescent light (CCFL) rather than the more efficient LED but consumes roughly half the power of other screens in the class without sacrificing its 1,000:1 contrast ratio or 300-nit brightness, both of which put it on par with other recent 24-inch LCDs.

AUO currently plans to produce the panel for both computers and HDTVs and will begin mass production during the spring, with shipping products likely following afterwards. A 16:9 15-inch panel is already in production while 18.5-inch, 21.5-inch, and 32-inch screens should appear in the spring. A 27-inch LCD is also due in late 2008. The company hasn't yet named its customers.