Stabilising giant TVs

A piezo electric actuator available from Unimatic Engineers has resolved the issue of poor image quality on projection-type televisions and thus stands to open up substantial new markets in the domestic consumer, leisure and entertainment and public information sectors.

Projection TVs typically have a far larger screen than their traditional counterparts. But to date their uptake has been restricted because they tend to suffer from poor image resolution and unpleasant digital optical effects.

Developed in America, and soon to be available in Europe, the new rear projection TV is built on  the expertise of several companies. With Carl Zeiss providing its renowned optical components and Thomson the electronics, it was realised that the image degradation was caused by mechanical problems – the tiniest vibrations would desynchronise the beams that create the colour image on the screen.

Analysis of some prototype models showed that vibrations were microscopic and often very high frequency. These couldn’t be damped out, so a dynamic solution had to be identified.