Gyeonggi-do Develops World's First 270-Inch Translucent Sound LED Through Industry-Academic Cooperation

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A research institute supported by Gyeonggi Province has succeeded in developing the world's first ultra-large display that allows sound to pass through.

On the 23rd, Gyeonggi Province announced that the Korea Aerospace University 'Video-Audio Space Convergence Technology Research Center,' a regional cooperation research center (GRRC), developed the 'Sound-Permeable (透音) LED Display Module' in 2018 and recently succeeded in developing a 270-inch sound-permeable display using this technology.

This small theater display, which has densely packed holes about 1mm in diameter to allow sound to pass through, consists of square modules each 32cm on one side. The modules are connected 20 horizontally (length 6.4m) and 8 vertically (length 2.56m), totaling 160 modules, and have been delivered to Incheon Technopark.

LG Display, CGV, Gyeonggi Arts Center, and the Next Generation Convergence Technology Institute held a development demonstration meeting together with audio and video experts.

The province stated that although the cost of the developed small theater display is still somewhat high, it expects that the price can be further reduced through technological development and cost reduction.

They anticipate that once price competitiveness is secured, demand can expand to e-sports stadiums, performance halls, exhibition centers, and more.

Currently, in movie theaters, projectors project images onto screens, and multiple speakers installed inside the theater deliver sound to the audience. The actors' voices, excluding background music and sound effects, are delivered through speakers installed behind the screen.

For accurate voice delivery, the screen has densely packed holes about 1mm in diameter. The newly developed sound-permeable LED display module uses patented technology to form holes on the display substrate, allowing sound output from speakers behind the display to be transmitted forward, enabling three-dimensional sound delivery.

Also, because modules can be connected in the required quantity to achieve the necessary resolution, video playback at UHD (4K) level quality is possible.

Another advantage is that, due to the characteristics of LED displays, movies can be screened by simply connecting digital devices such as computers without a projector.

A provincial official said, "Since 2017, we have supported the Video-Audio Space Convergence Technology Research Center with a budget of 3.1 billion KRW over six years," adding, "We will focus on the commercialization and market development of the sound-permeable LED display technology."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.