Earlier this week, the Oculus Rift 1080p prototype was shown at E3. Oculus says that they can’t reveal the name of the panel manufacturer, but we think we may have tracked it down to a 5.5-inch LG display.

Hat tip to our pal Kevin Williams of the DNA Association who tracked down what could very well be the Oculus Rift 1080p prototype display.

We’re looking at a 5.5-inch 1080p display from LG. From photos of the unit, we can clearly see that the Oculus Rift 1080p prototype uses a smaller display than the current developer kit (Dk1), which uses a 7-inch screen. Here are the specs of the display in question (data from Panelook.com):

  • Brand: LG Display

    oculus rift dk1 display
    The current Oculus Rift developer kit (DK1) 7-inch display. Photo credit – David Hodson | iFixit (Creative Commons BY-NC-SA)
  • Model: LG550WF1-SD01
  • Type: LTPS TFT-LCD
  • Size: 5.5 inch
  • Resolution: 1920×1080
  • Weight: 20.23g
  • Display Mode: IPS, Normally Black, Transmissive
  • Brightness: 450 cd/m²
  • Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
  • Display Colors: 16.7M (8-bit)
  • Response Time: 17/18ms (Tr/Td)
  • Viewing Angle: 80/80/80/80 (L/R/U/D)
  • Frequency: 60Hz
  • Lamp Type: WLED
  • Signal Interface: MIPI (4 data lanes)
  • Input Voltage: 5.0V
  • Surface: Antireflection

So what makes me think that this is the one? Aside from the resolution and size, the 60Hz frequency gives us a clue.

Engadget’s hands-on with the Oculus Rift 1080p prototype notes that, “After looking around a snowy mountain stronghold inhabited by a fire lord in low res, we switched to the exact same demo running at 60 fps on the HD prototype device…” (my emphasis).

To me, it doesn’t sound like the author of that piece just instinctively knew that the demo was running at 60 FPS. Rather, it was probably a talking point from Oculus during the demo. This coincides nicely with the panel having a 60Hz frequency.

We also know that the colors have been improved, which may be from the new display using IPS — which is indeed a feature of the LG panel.

Furthermore, Oculus’ VP of Product, Nate Mitchell, confirms that the panel is LCD in an interview with Tested.com, another match for the LG panel (the potential alternative being an OLED display).

And while I’d love to say that you could pop this display into your DK1, Mitchell confirms in the same interview that Oculus is using a custom display driver; even if you could get your hands on the display, you wouldn’t be able to use it!

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • inscothen

    Norm from Tested said he could see the sides of the display so it might actually be a smaller panel. The DevKit lenses were chosen for the original prototype’s 5.6″ 16:10 panel. At a 16:9 aspect ratio, the new panel would probably be 5.4″ diagonal or smaller.

    I would hope Oculus went with Sharp’s 5″ panel in hopes that they might build up a relationship and maybe go for a IGZO panel for the consumer Rift.

  • kevin williams

    We all seem to be getting a crash course in LCD panel fabrication – and corporate level negotiation skills for establishing manufacturing agreements!

    Never though my research would have to get so intricate!

    Have bad memories of Sharp panels the last go round with VR – am a LG fan at the moment.

  • hughJ

    “This coincides nicely with the panel having a 60Hz frequency.”

    Show me a mobile panel that’s not 60hz.

    “We also know that the colors have been improved, which may be from the new display using IPS — which is indeed a feature of the LG panel.”

    The current devkit uses an IPS panel also.

  • Psuedonymous

    If that IS the panel being used in the 1080 prototype, then the real news is that Oculus have one of the few DVI -> MIPI interfaces on the planet outside of a panel testing & QC lab. That opens up a massive number of mobile device panels that were previously unavailable due to the limitation of only LVDS controllers being commercially available. If a MIPI interface makes it’s way into the commercial version, I can see a few people buying a Rift just to pull the controller board.