Santa Ana Company’s Technology Combines PC and Big-Screen TV

Is it time to take the home computer out of the closet--or bedroom or den, wherever you park it--and put it proudly in the middle of the family room? Are we entering the era of couch potato computing?

Darwin Chang believes so. And as vice president and chief visionary at Santa Ana’s Princeton Graphic Systems, he’s in a position to do something about it.

Chang holds key patents for the merging of personal computer monitor and television receiver technologies that has led to development of Princeton’s new line of big-screen “home monitors.”

The PC monitor maker’s new Arcadia Home Monitors--one measuring 27 inches diagonally, the other 31 inches--combine the rich color of the best commercial television set with the sharp text, full image and flicker-free resolution of a high-grade computer monitor.

Unlike combination PC-TV monitors that convert the PC signal to television quality, usually resulting in fuzzy text and soft images, the Princeton monitors convert the television signal into a PC-quality image.

Princeton, which is negotiating for shelf space with major consumer electronics retailers, says suggested retail price for the monitors ranges from $799 to $1,399, about 20% to 30% more than similarly sized big-screen televisions.

The Arcadia, expected to be in retail stores within the month, will come in two versions. The basic units must be connected to a personal computer, with the television signal and outside sources such as video cameras, laser disc players, VCRs and video games jacked in through the computer. The higher-priced AV models can accept most any commercial audio or video device--including Web TV controllers--directly, without being connected to a PC.

Chang says that with an Arcadia, mom and dad can surf the Internet or do a bit of work without abandoning the family and retreating to the den and that the kids can play games or yak online in sociable groups rather than holing up alone in their rooms with the PC.

John O’Dell covers major Orange County corporations and manufacturing for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at [email protected]