Sony ceases FED development due to lack of funding
updated 03:55 pm EDT, Thu March 26, 2009
Sony quits on FED tech
Sony officially abandoned plans to purchase a plant and equipment to develop its Field Emission Display (FED) technology in February because it couldn't locate funding for the equipment. Sony owned 37.8 percent of FE Technologies, a company that was devoted to developing and releasing a commercial 26-inch TV by the end of 2009. Sony has already began liquidating its remaining assets related to the technology.
Sony entered into the joint venture to create EF Technologies in December 2006. FED was said to improve the viewing angle and motion handling over LCD TVs. The technology relied on a fluorescent material being passed in front of electrons, which emitted light in similar fashion to that of a cathode ray tube. The FED TVs would also be better able to reproduce black levels and did not require backlighting, offering possible gains in energy efficiency. A prototype was developed and demonstrated in the winter of last year that included a 19-inch display running Gran Turismo 5: Prologue at 240fps thanks to the use of four PlayStation 3 gaming consoles. [via Impress]
