I first heard of Quantum Dot Displays, or QDEF, a few months ago but wasn’t able to find out much information about how they magically improved the color of monitors.  The few photos were easily attributed to bad photography or unfair comparisons, but over at GraphicSpeak Jon Peddie gets into the details of how it works.

Quantum dot phosphors are larger than a water molecule, but smaller than a virus. Embedded in a sheet of plastic these tiny phosphors convert blue light from a standard GaN LED into different wavelengths based upon their size. Larger dots emit longer wavelengths (red), while smaller dots emit shorter wavelengths (green). Blending together a mix of dot colors allows Nanosys to engineer a new spectrum of light. This enables LCD manufacturers to accurately match their LED backlight to their LCD color filters to achieve the best possible color and efficiency. The result is professional photo and cinema level color performance found in high-end monitors from Dolby, HP, and NEC.

The first QDEF monitors and televisions should start hitting shelves next year.  Can’t wait to see them for myself.

via GraphicSpeak » Quantum dot filter displays are the next big thing.