MicroTiles

Key takeaways

MicroTiles belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MicroTiles to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MicroTiles from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MicroTiles are discontinued modular rear projection cube units designed, developed and marketed by Christie Digital. The building-block nature of the system made the configuration of the overall screen area and shape flexible. This allowed for simple traditional rectangular displays, and more complex non-standard shapes. MicroTile units had sensors to detect whether there is another unit next to it, allowing the display controller to automatically determine the tile layout and the size and magnification of the video picture to be displayed across the screen area. The successor of MicroTiles, MicroTiles LED is an advanced cabinet-free LED display technology also designed, developed, and marketed by Christie Digital. MicroTiles LED allow for flexible display options, with no limit on the number of tiles in a display. MicroTiles LED creates a virtually seamless canvas and can create curves and unique geometric configurations. The 90-degree corner of the MicroTiles LED make complex configurations possible and the tiles automatically recognize each tile in a design to maintain uniformity in color and brightness across a whole display.

History MicroTiles were born from a conversation between Christie Digital's Bob Rushby (CTO) and Mike Perkins (senior product developer) at a Tokyo hotel bar, during a business trip in 2005. The system was in development for two years before Christie first introduced the first MicroTiles display cubes in 2009. The official North American launch was in New York, on December 9, 2009. The launch in Europe was at the ISE tradeshow in Amsterdam, February 2-4, 2010. The system was later launched in Japan on April 22, 2010. Notable installations featuring MicroTiles include the 2010 redesign of the television set of the US show The Colbert Report, a display featuring 252 MicroTiles in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a 121 million pixel wall at the L’Oreal headquarters in Paris. Another notable installation is at the Cleveland Museum of Art where a 40ft long MicroTiles wall is equipped to allow users to interact with the wall and open as many as 20 separate interfaces to explore the museum’s collection. MicroTiles were discontinued in 2019 following the introduction of MicroTiles LED at ISE 2019 in Amsterdam.

Original System Design The original MicroTiles display cubes used a projector light engine and a TI DLP digital micromirror device to create a short throw lens rear projection of images onto a removable tile screen. Each tile has microprocessor control to communicate with neighboring tiles to auto-adjust and balance both the color and brightness across all the tiles in the display. The building-block nature of the system made the configuration of the overall screen area and shape flexible and allowed users to design displays in simple traditional rectangular displays or more complex non-standard shapes.

Color reproduction and resolution The system is capable of exceeding the NTSC specification for colour gamut by 115%. Because the LED light engine has a saturated color output, the image appears to be about 25% brighter than a similar lamp-based projector with the same lumen output. This is due to the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect. According to Mike Perkins, the subjective effect of this is that the purer colors from MicroTiles are punchier, more vivid, and more engaging. Each tile is 16" × 12" (408 mm × 306 mm) and has a native resolution of 720 × 540 with a pixel pitch of 0.57 mm. The total resolution of the display can be a maximum of the sum of the native resolutions of each tile. Lower input resolutions are automatically up-scaled to fill the display area, which effectively increases the pixel pitch of the image displayed.

Self-configuring Each tile has microprocessor control to communicate with neighboring tiles to auto-adjust and balance both the color and brightness across all the tiles in the display. An electronic control unit (ECU) talks to each tile and creates an internal map of each tile position, and scales the video input across the whole display. This eliminates the need for calibrating the display manually.

Maintenance The servicing of a MicroTile unit in a display has also been a primary design consideration. Servicing is done from the front, and all major components, including the light engine, can be replaced in 15 minutes or less. This can be carried out without shutting down or dismantling the rest of the display. The LED light source is rated at 65,000 hours lifespan to 50% brightness. This is the equivalent of the system running continuously for seven years.

Cabinet design

The 10.2" (260 mm) depth tile chassis is equipped with precision fittings allowing tiles to be mated to each other side by side both horizontally and vertically, allowing displays of various shapes and sizes to be built. The screen is a matte-finished polycarbonate material mounted on a metal frame which is held onto the front of the tile cabinet magnetically. The frame is designed so that the seams visible in the picture between each tile in a screen array are kept to a minimum of about 1 mm. The power and signal connectors are on the rear of the cabinet, and once installed, there is no further need to access the rear panel for adjustments or maintenance. All mechanical maintenance is carried out from the front of the unit, with access gained by detaching the magnetically held screen with a suction grip tool.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MicroTiles

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MicroTiles claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MicroTiles before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MicroTiles ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MicroTiles

In research: MicroTiles appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MicroTiles in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MicroTiles is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Display technology, Television technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MicroTiles outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study MicroTiles in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MicroTiles means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MicroTiles out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MicroTiles in simple terms?

MicroTiles are discontinued modular rear projection cube units designed, developed and marketed by Christie Digital. The building-block nature of the system made the configuration of the overall screen area and shape flexible.

Why does MicroTiles matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MicroTiles?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MicroTiles.