Screen of Screams By Darryl Wilkinson July 10, 2006 — Authentic Ltd says their new ASS-60AK Speaker Screen can produce high-quality sound directly from the screen itself - and do it without causing any degradation in picture quality.

The new screen uses an implementation of NXT's Distributed Mode Loudspeaker (DML) technology called SoundVu. NXT says SoundVu products "display a changeable, electronically generated image in which either a bending wave panel displays the image directly or the image is visible through a bending wave panel." SoundVu is closely related to NXT's SurfaceSound, a flat-panel speaker technology found in a number of systems such as Kensington's SX2000 iPod speaker system or KEF's KIT-100 home theater system.

Authentic Ltd's screen is made from Teonex, a fabric able to produce high frequencies that most other fabrics would absorb. The SoundVu technology utilizes an "exciter" that causes the surface of the screen to vibrate and project sound into the room. The vibrations are said to be invisible to the naked eye and do not affect image quality.

The ASS-60AK includes an audio input jack that can be used to connect any audio source to the screen. The screen is flexible and can be rolled up for transportation or storage when needed.

SoundVu technology has already been used in a variety of devices, and NXT says the technology can be incorporated into other products ranging from mobile phone screens to 60-inch plasma TVs. Depending on the size of the screen, more than one exciter can be used to produce stereo or multichannel sound from a single panel.

The ASS-60AK Speaker Screen will be available in Japan beginning July 21 for around 59,800 yen.