By Evan Ackerman
Woehburk, a German company (retailers for the heliodisplay, incidentally) have developed an 91% transparent rear-projection screen that looks like a sheet of glass, creating a pseudo-holographic effect of an image displayed in midair. The screen is made of sheets of acrylic or glass with a material between them that turns reflective when activated by a laser, meaning that the screen is only opaque when it’s in use. As with other projectors, the advantages of the medium are that unlike LCD or plasma screens, the CrystalLine can display whatever resolution the projector puts out (going way beyond HD if your projector has the capability), and you can easily increase the image size by moving the projector backwards and stacking more screens together.
Although the screen is scheduled for release in the near future and will be available in sizes up to 135″, some basic information about the CrystalLine isn’t yet available, such as what sort of brightness and contrast you can expect. Woehburk does say that screen was designed to meet “aesthetic requirements,” with a “discrete however impressively bright picture.” Based on that scanty information, I would guess that the CrystalLine would be more appropriate for the novelty factor and low-budget Sci-Fi production rather than hardcore movie watching.
[ Woehburk CristalLine (In German) ] VIA [ Gizmag ]
