> > very small viewing area, even with a fairly large disk, why not
> > redesign it as a cylinder?
>
> A cylinder won't be more compact, because of the product of scanline
> length and
> number of scanlines remains the same. Managing a tape loop at this
> speed also
> sounds problematic.
Imagine an "endless loop" which was passed by an aperture the size
of the display. A tiny EL backlight (cheap and easy on this scale)
provides
a nice even light. (Is it possible to modulate an EL light? I've never
thought
about it much -- otherwise an LED backlight like a laptop would have)
> Good idea, though. You might be able to come up with a workable
> folded optical
> path, but that will also increase the pixel size. Hmm.
I may have to sketch this out.
The major problem I see is optical -- the disk provides a planar display,
but
of a strange shape (pie wedged) and requires a disk over twice as large
as the display itself. A display of only 1" vertical height would
require a disk
a minimum of 2" in diameter, and probably closer to 3" in reality. This,
on
an HMD, would either stick down onto my cheek, or up into the brim of my
baseball cap.
A cylinder, spun on a vertical axis, would provide a "true" rectangular
display
like we are used to, and I think it would be simple to manage. However,
the
display would be *curved* rather than planar -- this might be a problem
for
the optics -- the center of the screen would be in focus, and the edges
would
not be, unless an optical correction was implemented.
An endless loop *film* could be made, which cycled in a loop like a
cylinder,
but which was truly planar where it needs to be. (Take 2 rods, use them
like
pulleys -- one at each end --and stretch a loop of film around it --
simplicity
itself)
Again, the down side is complexity and possibly material failure -- the
film
would "rub" against the surface of the cylinders -- don't think it would
be a
major problem, but if done wrong it *could* be.
Thanks for the note, Rehmi. Maybe these ideas will turn into something
great!
-- Chuck Knight
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