Seoul (Korea) – Samsung has developed two new notebook displays that have been manufactured in a 16:9 aspect ratio, instead of the currently popular 16:10 widescreen form factor. The company also unveiled an LCD using a white LED backlight that promises to consume 40% less power than a regular LCD.

Driven by the increasing popularity of entertainment center applications, widescreen LCDs have become much faster the dominant display format that many would have anticipated. So it shouldn’t come entirely as a surprise that display companies are taking the trend one step further and prepare for a move from a 16:10 aspect ratio to 16:9.

Samsung will show two such displays at the FPD tradeshow in Yokohama, Japan, which takes place from October 24 to 26. The company plans to display a 16” and an 18.4” display which will support display resolution we are used to from HD TVs. The 16” version runs at 768p or 1366x768 pixels, while the 18.2” version displays 1080p or 1920x1080 pixels.

Samsung said the 16” screen provides a 114% better screen efficiency than a current 15.4” version, while the 18.4” model shows a 124% improvement over a 17” LCD – and about the same efficiency as a 19” screen. Compared to today’s widescreen LCDs, the 16:9 also offer greater color saturation 60% for the 16” screen and 90% for the larger display. Current notebook LCDs achieve saturation levels of between 40 and 50%, Samsung said.

However, when put next to a LCD TV, these new displays do not quite reach the viewing angles of the larger displays. Samsung indicates that the viewing angles of the 16” and 18.4” LCD are 135 and 140 degrees (horizontally, vertically). Both new displays are rated at a contrast ratio of 800:1 and a response time of 8 ms.

Road warriors may be more interested in the third display Samsung says will be on display. The company has developed a 16:10 15.4” LED backlit device with a resolution of 1440x900 pixels.

According to the manufacturer, backlit units (BLUs) illuminate the screen “selectively”. Light areas project varying degrees of light, while dark areas are turned off. As a result, power consumption can be reduced substantially : The savings are about 40%, according to Samsung. For example, the display will consume just about 2.0 watts during the playback of a video.

At the same time, the contrast ratio of this screen skyrockets to 10,000:1, which is at least ten times the contrast ratio seen in most notebooks on the market today. Overall color saturation of the BLU display is rated at 45%, the viewing angle is 120 degrees.

Samsung did not say when these new displays will be commercially available.