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Survey of Alternative Displays
  • Survey of Alternative Displays - 2024 Update Notes
  • 2022 Update Notes
  • Introduction
  • Outline
  • Standard Displays
    • Standard Displays Overview
    • LED
    • Projector
  • Alternative Displays
    • Overview
    • Transparent
    • Volumetric Displays
    • Modified Polarizers
    • Electronic Paper/E-Ink
    • Flexible Displays
    • Lasers and Laser Projectors
    • Lenticular and Multiview Displays
    • Light-field Displays
    • Head Mounted Displays
    • Circular and Non Rectangular
  • Techniques
    • Overview
    • Pepper's Ghost
    • Projection on Static Transparent Material
    • Volumetric Projection
    • Projection on Water or Fog
    • Diffusion and Distortion Techniques
  • Experimental/Other
    • Overview
    • Physical/Mechanical Displays
    • Switchable Glass
    • Drone Displays
    • Ultrasonic Atomization of Water
    • Electrochromic Paint
    • Light activated and other Reactive Surfaces and Materials
    • Scanning Fiber Optics
    • Acoustic Levitation Display
    • Plasma Combustion
    • High Refresh Rate Displays
    • Other Experiments
  • Legacy
    • Overview
    • Cathode Ray Tube
    • Eggcrate and other Numeric Displays
    • Glasses-enabled 3D
    • Pyrotechnics and Other Curiosities
  • Closing Notes
  • Appendix
    • Holograms and the Ideal Display
    • Misleading Terms
    • Notes about Touch Screens
    • Virtual Production and XR
    • LCD Polarizer Removal
    • DIY Transparent Screens
    • Acknowledgements and Additional References
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Closing Notes

PreviousPyrotechnics and Other CuriositiesNextHolograms and the Ideal Display

Last updated 11 months ago

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The topics covered are just a few of the possible options for display types and techniques of working with light. Once you find a research paper on one, there are a million other paths in the references of that paper. I hope this gave you a good idea of the range of amazing technologies out there — from the DIY $5 option to the theoretical and fanciful. There are other effects we didn’t explore in detail like displays for home 3D movie viewing, effects and many more. There are also a lot of technologies that never took off, either for reasons of cost, complexity, or ownership. Things like CamFPD’s , or (similar to e-ink) were ones that had great commercial potential only 10 years ago, but never ended up taking off for one reason or the other. Some techniques are quite old and were never acquired as intellectual property and will eventually be available in the public domain. There are whole devoted to advancements in display technology, but much of it never reaches the general public or the artistic community. Lots of great options, ripe for use or modification. The more we experiment and use these technologies, the sooner we’ll get to advance the ones on the fringe. If interest in these alternative displays increases, they will become more normalized and costs will come down, opening the door for even more experimentation.

We’ll be seeing a lot more display developments in the next few decades, so keep your eyes open and see which ones might be a good fit for your artistic vision.

Image: Adam Diston — Cutting a Sunbeam 1886
stereoscopic
lenticular
wedge display
Electrowetting displays
conventions