Patent ID: 8212966

Claim:
A display, comprising: an LCD panel; a plurality of point light sources interspersed and spaced apart in conjunction with a reflector in between the point light sources, the point light sources and reflector configured to illuminate the LCD panel; driving circuits configured to individually modulate the point light sources; wherein: the driving circuits configured to receive image data and drive the point light sources to modulate a comparatively low-resolution version of an image to be displayed; the plurality of point light sources are configured such that light from the point light sources mix together to form the low-resolution version of the image as a smoothly varying low resolution version of the image on the LCD panel; the LCD panel is configured to modulate the smoothly varying low resolution version of the image to provide a comparatively high resolution image for perception by an observer; the display further comprising a planar optical structure between the plurality of point light sources and the LCD panel, the planar structure comprising a light diffuser configured to diffuse light which passes into the structure from the point light sources, the light diffuser comprising a plurality of layers of a thin weakly light-scattering sheet material and has an anisotropic scattering coefficient such that light rays from the point light sources which are directed into the planar optical structure normal to a surface of the planar optical structure and light rays traveling in the planar optical structure that are substantially parallel thereto are scattered more intensely than light rays traveling in other directions in the planar optical structure.