• 3M's Uniformity Tape Reduces "Stage Light" Effect On Cheap LCDs

    Devin Coldewey

    Devin Coldewey is a Seattle-based writer and photographer. He has written for the TechCrunch network since 2007. Some posts he’d like you to read: The Dangers of Externalizing Knowledge | Generation i | Surveillant Society | Choose Two | Frame Wars | The User’s Manifesto | Our Great Sin His personal website is coldewey.cc. → Learn More

    Wednesday, May 11th, 2011


    Have you got a cheap LCD monitor around? It’s okay, you can admit it. I do too. My second monitor, a $200 Dell otherwise perfectly good, gets the stage light effect when it’s all black. You know, the little spotlights that seem to shine from the bottom? It’s due to the spaces between LEDs getting uneven lighting, and 3M has just come up with a solution.

    And it’s a piece of tape. But not just any tape! This stuff is printed with a “micro-replicated optical pattern” that helps spread the light better, allowing for fewer LEDs and counteracting the stage light effect. They call it “headlighting” but I like mine better.

    Hopefully they’ll start using these in cheapo monitors soon. It’s not so bad on my Dell, but I’ve seen it get ugly.

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