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AU Optronics' First Mobile LTPS Panel with PenTile RGBW™ Technology Dramatically Improves Power Efficiency in High-Resolution Displays

2.8-inch VGA Panel with Clairvoyante Technology is Twice as Bright; Uses 50 Percent Less Power

Yokohama, JAPAN—October 19, 2005—AU Optronics ( TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) and Clairvoyante have teamed up to develop power-efficient mobile liquid crystal displays with the introduction of the first Low Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) panel integrated with PenTile RGBW™ technology from Clairvoyante. AUO's 2.8-inch high-resolution VGA panel improves light throughput by more than 100 percent and enables a 50 percent power reduction over LTPS-only. Panels enhanced with PenTile RGBW™ technology can offer either twice the brightness or some combination of improved power and brightness.

AUO, which manufactures a wide range of display products for the mobile market, is the first LCD provider to integrate LTPS with PenTile RGBW™ technology for handheld applications. Both companies will demonstrate the new VGA panel this week at FPD International in Yokohama, Japan. The LTPS with PenTile RGBW™ panel will be displayed next to a similar LTPS module without PenTile RGBW™ technology.

LTPS technology has already proven to be an excellent manufacturing process for high-resolution, high-brightness panels. Its high level of integration and use of small transistors enables an exceptional aperture ratio and brightness for high-resolution displays. However, in data-centric applications it uses a large number of backlights that need to be on for extended periods, increasing power consumption and cost and inhibiting its full potential in power-hungry, feature-rich handsets.

Clairvoyante's patent-pending PenTile RGBW™ technology, which is based on extensive research on the human visual system, offers substantial power savings without impacting brightness or other performance. Coupling PenTile RGBW™ and LTPS technology enables the industry's most transmissive high-resolution displays.

Substantial Power Savings

Expectations for power consumption are straining the capabilities of existing technology, while the convergence of feature-rich handsets requires higher performance displays along with even more power-depleting processing. PenTile RGBW™ technology offers dramatic power savings over RGB Stripe and positions AUO's VGA panel as the best low-power technology capable of meeting a high standard of resolution. Clairvoyante's technology adds a white subpixel and utilizes fewer required pixels, reducing the number of drivers by one-third over RGB Stripe without compromising visual resolution. This improvement also provides for more space to integrate components, such as the LCD power supply, onto the glass. PenTile RGBW™ technology also allows the number of backlight LEDs to be dramatically reduced—without compromising brightness. These factors enable a 50 percent power reduction over LTPS-only.

According to Clairvoyante president and chief executive officer Joel Pollack, "In order to meet the increasing power demands set by the rising number of data-centric mobile applications, makers of baseband processors and graphics chips are applying considerable time and financial resources to save tens of microwatts . Using PenTile RGBW™ technology in a VGA display can save up to 250 milliwatts of power, or 100 milliwatts in a qVGA display."

Further Increase to Brightness

LTPS with PenTile RGBW™ technology achieves high brightness without taxing the power supply, which is critical in mobile environments. LTPS uses narrower metal lines in the fabrication, resulting in smaller transistors, improving brightness by increasing aperture ratio. PenTile RGBW™ technology adds a white subpixel to the traditional arrangement of red, green, and blue subpixels, increasing transmissivity and brightness. Nearly twice the white brightness can be achieved with no power increase, due to the larger aperture ratio of the bigger subpixels, and utilization of white (clear color filter) subpixels.

"Power-hungry multimedia applications are forcing manufacturers to carefully balance power consumption, brightness and cost in order to react to the market's need for high-resolution displays," said Dr. C.S. Yang, director of the audio-video display business unit for AUO's LTPS division. " Being able to apply the ultra-high transmittance of PenTile RGBW™ technology to both our LTPS and amorphous silicon processes will help us better manage the cost of materials while allowing us to produce a range of products that meet increasingly high consumer expectations."

Mobile Applications

LTPS + PenTile RGBW™ technology is particularly ideal for mobile products such as cellular phones, PDAs and other mobile devices demanding high-resolution displays, where video and text must be crisp and bright and battery life is critical. AU Optronics already offers a wide selection of panel sizes and technology for mobile phone displays; this product further extends their leadership in the mobile products space.

Estimated Power Reduction for 2.8-inch VGA

This week at FPD International, both companies will exhibit the LTPS with PenTile RGBW™ panel alongside an identically-specified LTPS panel built without PenTile RGBW™ technology. When compared to an RGB stripe design of equivalent size and resolution, a 2.8-inch VGA LTPS panel with PenTile RGBW™ technology uses 50 percent less power without affecting brightness. The table below compares these panels:

	2.8-inch PenTile RGBW LTPS	2.8-inch RGB Stripe LTPS
Visual Resolution	480 x 640 (VGA)	480 x 640 (VGA)
Effective DPI	287 DPI	287 DPI
Source Drivers	960	1,440
Gate Drivers	640	640
Contrast	350	300
Transmittance	10.5%	5.2%
BL Display Power	233 mW	475 mW
Estimated Brightness	175 cd/m 2	175 cd/m 2
NTSC Ratio	69%	69%

Source drivers are lowered from 1,440 to 960, lowering clock frequency and, therefore, power consumption. Even more significantly, by reducing the number of backlight LEDs from eight to five, power is nearly halved, brightness is maintained, and cost is also reduced.

Availability

Prototypes will be exhibited alongside an LTPS-only version through Friday at FPD International at Pacifico Yokohama, in Booths 781 and 680. AUO expects mass production of the 2.8-inch VGA panel by the second quarter of next year; the panels are targeted at the 3G mobile phone market.

About Clairvoyante

Clairvoyante, Inc. develops and licenses unique pixel architectures and algorithms to the flat-panel display industry. The company's proprietary subpixel rendering technology optimizes the performance of next-generation LCD displays in terms of brightness, resolution and power consumption. Founded in July 2000, Clairvoyante maintains offices in Sebastopol and Cupertino, Calif. The company's investors include American River Ventures, Intel Capital, Pacifica Fund, Rocket Ventures, Selby Venture Partners, The Angels' Forum and Yasuda Capital. For more information, visit www.clairvoyante.com.

About AUO

AU Optronics Corporation ("AUO") is the world's third largest manufacturer* of large-size thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD), with about 24,000 employees, dominating approximately 14%* of global market share and generated net income of NT$168.1Billion (US$5.3 bn) in 2004. Targeted for 40-inch+ sized LCD TV panels, AUO's next generation (7.5-generation) fabrication facility production is scheduled for mass production in 4Q 2006. The Company currently operates one 6th-generation, one 5th-generation, one 4th-generation, and three 3.5-generation TFT- LCD fabs, in addition to four module assembly facilities and a R&D fab specializing in low temperature poly silicon TFT and organic LED. Currently the most widely used flat panel display technology, AUO is one of few top-tier TFT-LCD manufacturer globally able to offer a wide range of small to large sized (1.5''-46'') TFT-LCD display panels, which puts it in a unique position to service clients of diversified product applications.

*As shown on DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report dated June 6, 2005. The data is used as reference only and AUO does not make any endorsement or representation in connection therewith.

Logo, Clairvoyante, and PenTile RGBW are trademarks/service marks of Clairvoyante, Inc. PenTile is a registered trademark of Clairvoyante, Inc.