WO2001078445A1

WO2001078445A1 - System and method for video display with electrostatic emitters

Info

Publication number: WO2001078445A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/022951
Authority: WO
Inventors: Elwood G. Norris; James J. Croft, Iii
Original assignee: American Technology Corp
Current assignee: Genasys Inc
Priority date: 1999-08-16
Filing date: 2000-08-16
Publication date: 2001-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 2002-02-16
Also published as: AU6794200A

Abstract

A video display device (10) which has a housing (14), and control circuitry within the housing for processing a display signal. A display surface (12), such as a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display, is mounted into the exterior of the housing so it is visible to a viewer. The display surface (12) is also coupled to the display signal so the signal can be viewed. At least one electrostatic speaker (16) sized to be smaller than the housing, is incorporated within the housing structure for audio output to the environment. Audio circuitry is also coupled to the electrostatic speaker (16) for providing an audio signal to the electrostatic speaker.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VIDEO DISPLAY WITH ELECTROSTATIC EMITTERS

This invention relates generally to the field of charged capacitive transducers known as electrostatic emitters, and more particularly electrostatic emitters or electrostatic speakers with a video display device.

BACKGROUND ART

Although the concept of electrostatic loudspeakers has been in development for about a hundred years, commercial applications were not realized until the late 1940's. Since then, a standard construction for electrostatic loudspeakers has dominated the state of the art. This standard utilizes two conductive, stationary, planar stators positioned such that they are in parallel, coaxial relationship with a specific displacement gap between them. A tensioned diaphragm, usually made of metalized polyester, is positioned between the stators in a non-contacting, suspended configuration. Two polarities of an AC audio signal are sent from the output of a step-up transformer to the two respective stators. A high voltage, low current DC bias voltage is concurrently applied to the diaphragm to enable vibration for an audio output.

Despite the advantages of electrostatic speakers, commercial acceptance over dynamic speaker systems has been nominal. Magnetically driven cones and related dynamic speakers have secured over 99% of the market share. This is due in part to the high cost of producing quality electrostatic systems, space requirements for obtaining low range frequency response, and the difficulty in obtaining structures which are suited for long term stability and dependable operation. The tensioning requirements for suspending the diaphragm in non-contacting condition between stators has severely limited the speaker shape and configuration. Accordingly, prior art electrostatic speakers have traditionally been expensive, flat, large in size, and generally unattractive.

Another problem with prior art electrostatic speakers is that they have been very sensitive to loading and reflections that come from any wall or enclosure which is near the speaker device. The result can be an undesirable increase in resonant frequency, reduced mid-band output, and poor frequency response. These factors have significantly limited speaker positioning within a home or commercial application and decreased customer satisfaction with electrostatic systems. As a result of these drawbacks, electrostatic speaker technology has not been used in electronic applications where compact, high-fidelity speakers were needed. For example, it has not been desirable to combine conventional electrostatic speakers with video displays (e.g. televisions) because conventional electrostatic speakers have been one to three feet in diameter. Conventional electrostatic speakers must be large enough to create a useable bass, but a speaker which is two feet in diameter is not practical in a television system or a computer monitor system. Conventional electrostatic speaker technology provides speakers which are as large or larger than the actual viewing area of a video display and its housing. Furthermore, it has not been practical to try to incorporate large electrostatic speakers into a video display housing because of their size and the expense involved. Currently, conventional dynamic speakers are available which are smaller and cheaper than conventional electrostatic technology.

Accordingly, it would be an improvement over the state of the art to provide a new method and apparatus for incorporating electrostatic speakers into or onto the housing of a video display device.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which incorporates electrostatic speakers into or onto a video display housing. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which incorporates electrostatic speakers in a video display device to reduce the vibration of the video display's shadow mask.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which incorporates electrostatic speakers into a video display device to avoid the picture distortion caused by conventional speaker magnets.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which combines electrostatic speakers into a video display device to conform to a variety of video display housing shapes and contours.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which incorporates electrostatic speakers into a video display device which are inexpensive and produce high-fidelity sound output. The presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is a video display device which has a housing, and control circuitry within the housing for processing a display signal. A display surface, such as a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display, is mounted into the exterior of the housing so it is visible to a viewer. The display surface is also coupled to the display signal so the signal can be viewed. At least one electrostatic speaker, sized to be smaller than the housing, is incorporated within the housing structure for audio output to the environment. Audio circuitry is also coupled to the electrostatic speaker for providing an audio signal to the speaker. These and other objects, features, advantages and alternative aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A shows a front elevation view of a video display device with electrostatic speakers mounted into the front as part of the housing; FIG. IB shows a top cross-section view of FIG1 A; FIG.2 shows a top cross-section view of a video display device with curved electrostatic speakers mounted inside the housing; FIG. 3 shows a top cross-section view of a video display device with flat electrostatic speakers mounted inside the housing;

FIG. 4 shows a top cross-section view of a video display device with two pairs of flat electrostatic speakers;

FIG. 5 shows a top cross-section view of a video display device with a pair of electrostatic speakers and waveguides;

FIG. 6 shows a front view of a video display device with an electrostatic speaker above and below the display;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a video display device with a concave electrostatic speaker; FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a video display device with a convex electrostatic speaker; FIG.9 shows a curved speaker and the area of maximum dispersion on the speaker;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a conventional electrostatic speaker which receives its power from a step up high voltage transformer; FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an electrostatic speaker in a video display device which receives high voltage power directly from the video display power supply.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made to the drawings in which the various elements of the present invention will be given numerical designations and in which the invention will be discussed so as to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. It is to be understood that the following description only describes certain embodiments of the present invention, and should not be viewed as narrowing the claims which follow. FIG. 1 A shows a video display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) type of display (e.g. a television or projection type monitor). The screen 12 or display surface is supported by a housing 14 or some equivalent cabinet. The housing contains control circuitry to process a display signal which is received by conventional means and displayed on the screen 12. The screen is mounted in the housing so it is visible to a viewer. Combined into the video display housing are one or more electrostatic speakers 16 which are equal in size to the housing or smaller than the housing 14, so the speakers 16 can be mounted into or onto the housing structure 14 to output audible sounds to a viewer of the video display screen 12. Of course, the electrostatic speakers are also coupled to an audio signal which is received in a conventional manner. The speakers 16 of FIG. 1 A are shown as being equal in height to the display housing. The relatively tall (or long) nature of the electrostatic speakers shown in the figure gives much more directivity than created with a shorter conventional speaker. The directivity provided by a tall sound source also reduces the sound coloration. FIG. IB shows a cross section view of FIG. 1A in which the electrostatic speakers 16 are mounted into the video display housing 14. FIG. 2 shows a cross section view of a video display with curved electrostatic speakers 18 which are mounted inside the housing 14 behind an acoustically transparent covering or section of the housing 20. The acoustically transparent covering could be a mesh or strong fabric. Alternately, the housing could have holes or openings which would make it acoustically transparent. It should be noted at this point, that there are two unexpected elements in the construction shown in FIGS. 1 A, IB and 2. First, it has not previously been possible to incorporate electrostatic speakers 16, 18 into a video display housing 14 because conventional electrostatic speakers have been much too large to reasonably incorporate into a video display housing 14. Second, it has not previously been practical to use curved electrostatic speakers of conventional design in a video display device.

It has not previously been feasible or practical to include electrostatic speakers in a video display device, and there are several reasons for this previous impracticality. As mentioned, one major reason is electrostatic speakers have typically been very large in size. The larger size of the tensioned diaphragms has been required to produce acceptable bass sounds. To realize even minimally acceptable low frequency response, the prior art electrostatic speakers have been so large that they exceed the size of the video display housing. The size of the prior art speakers also increases their complexity which decreases their desirability as a solution to be used in audio/video systems. Furthermore, the expense of creating a reliable tensioned diaphragm system has also been difficult. As a result of these drawbacks with electrostatic speakers, the audio/video industry has not normally considered using electrostatic speakers in video display systems. In fact, electrostatic speakers are not even considered by those skilled in the art of manufacturing audio/video equipment as a possible solution because of the entrenched magnetic speaker technology.

Recently, a new electrostatic speaker has been developed which has a non- planar and non-tensioned diaphragm. This novel electrostatic speaker is described in more detail in Patent Application Serial No. 09/207,314 which is incorporated herein by reference. The attributes of this new speaker configuration allows an electrostatic speaker size to be reduced by at least half, with no significant reduction in speaker fidelity or sound reproduction. In addition, it is relatively inexpensive to manufacture this new electrostatic speaker and the speaker has excellent bass output. The incorporated patent application provides extensive discussion of unique configurations for stator and diaphragm design, which will aid one skilled in the art to practice the invention.

The current invention preferably uses electrostatic speakers with a non- tensioned, non-planar diaphragm in combination with a video display. In addition to the size benefits, there are other additional surprising benefits which flow from using such electrostatic speakers containing non-planar diaphragms with a video display housing.

The above mentioned non-planar diaphragm electrostatic speaker has enabled the use of electrostatic speakers with conventional video displays, despite the fact that audio/video engineers have not considered electrostatic speakers a viable solution for use with video displays. FIG.3 shows a cross section of a video display housing 14 where flat electrostatic speakers 22 have been installed within the housing 14. The flat electrostatic speakers 22 have been reduced to a size to enable them to be mounted within the housing 14 adjacent to the video display screen 12, so the audio output can pass through an acoustically transparent part of the housing 24. These small flat electrostatic speakers 22 are effective in the flat mounting area provided next to the video display screen 12.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of this invention is shown with two pairs of electrostatic speakers mounted within a video display housing. This first pair of smaller electrostatic speakers 22 produces high and mid- range sounds and the larger pair of electrostatic speakers 26 mounted in the side of the housing 14 produces bass sounds. The omni-directional character of the bass speakers complements the somewhat directional performance of the upper range emitters.

Referring again to FIG. 1 A, a housing 14 which has a substantially curved portion is shown. Curved electrostatic speakers 16 are mounted within the curved portion of the housing 15 and protected by acoustically transparent housing sections, such as a cover grid, a plastic housing with holes or a wooden housing with openings. The curved electrostatic speakers 16 could also be mounted flush with the housing 14 and covered with a protective, acoustically transparent covering. It should be apparent that flat or curved electrostatic speakers 16 can also be mounted onto the outside of the housing 14 so the speakers are roughly parallel to the sides of the housing 14 and do not protrude in an unsightly manner.

As mentioned, it has not previously been practical to use highly curved electrostatic speakers of a conventional design in a video display device. Conventional electrostatic speakers have used slightly curved designs but these designs suffered from the same problems as flat electrostatic speakers. Using an electrostatic speaker with a non-planar and non-tensioned diaphragm allows for the use of speakers which are highly curved. Curving the speakers increases the speaker surface area while requiring less area on the video display housing, and using a non- planar film diaphragm increases the diaphragm area which raises the output even more. Non-planar diaphragms which use corrugated electrostatic diagrams allow a speaker curvature which is a sharp as may be desired. In fact, a full circle can be created or some other highly curved shape. FIG. 9 shows the dispersion affecting an observer 62 when produced by a highly curved speaker with constant curvature 60. The dispersion is the greatest in the area denoted by the dotted line 64 because of the energy contribution of the adj cent sound producing areas to vectors 66 and 68. The sound vectors at 71 have less output than vectors 68 because they only have one half of contributing sound energy that vectors 68 have. The dispersion is full strength at about the midpoint between the speaker's mechanical end 72 and the observer's axis 66. Then the dispersion smoothly decreases through vectors 68, 70 and 71. This dispersion is especially important at higher sound frequencies because the dispersion narrows at higher frequencies while at low frequencies the dispersion is more uniform than FIG. 9.

The directivity of electrostatic speakers in a video display can be further controlled by varying the amount of curvature in the speaker. A large amount of curvature can spread the speaker output over a greater area and a smaller amount of curvature creates some dispersion of the sound but allows the desired amount of directivity. Conventional magnetically driven speakers disperse sound in all directions, but electrostatic speakers can be flat to minimize dispersion. For example, a long flat electrostatic speaker can be incorporated into a video display to establish high directivity. Directivity can be established using conventional magnetic speakers but multiple speakers are required to create that directivity. The type of dispersion or directivity control in this invention has not been available previously with either conventional magnetic speakers or conventional electrostatic speakers. This is a significant advantage of using electrostatic speakers in a video display system. It will be apparent that a combination of electrostatic and dynamic speakers can also be applied to develop a variety of audio responses.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention which uses electrostatic speakers 28 mounted in the rear portion 34 of the housing 14. Waveguides 30 are provided to channel the sound produced by the electrostatic speakers 28 through the housing 14 and out waveguide openings 32 in the front of the video display housing 14. Using a waveguide allows larger electrostatic speakers to be used with smaller openings 32 in the housing. This is particularly useful with the larger cavity space 35 around the rear portion 37 of a cathode ray tube. The use of magnetically driven dynamic speakers is impractical in such close proximity to the cathode ray emitter because of magnetic field distortion from the magnet of the speaker.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention where the electrostatic speakers can also be mounted above 36 or below 38 a video display screen 12. The electrostatic speakers are normally mounted behind an acoustically transparent protective covering as shown by the hatched areas in 36 and 38, for example, a screen, fabric or a plurality of openings in the housing 14. It should also be realized based on this disclosure that the display surface 12 shown could be a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), a projection display, plasma display, or a similar type of video display device.

FIG. 7 shows a magnified view of an electrostatic speaker 41 with a non- planar diaphragm 42 which is further shaped in a concave manner 40. The speaker 41 is shown as it would be mounted into or onto the video display housing 14. The non-planar diaphragm 42 in FIG. 7 shows that the diaphragm may be tensioned in one direction using non-planar clamps 44 at the opposing ends of the concave speaker. The tension in the diaphragm 42 of the speaker 41 runs in the direction shown by 46. It should be recognized that a clamp or tension is not required in the curved speaker but it is an additional desired embodiment. Such cross clamping techniques are fully disclosed in copending application Serial No.09/105,293 of the same inventors entitled "Electrostatic Speaker with Moveable Diaphragm Edges", filed concurrently herewith. This application is also incorporated herein by reference. FIG. 8 shows a magnified view of an electrostatic speaker 48 with a non- planar diaphragm 50 which is convex in shape. This speaker also has a non-planar clamp 54 to induce tension in the direction shown by arrow 52. The speaker 48 is mounted in the housing as shown by the dotted lines 56.

Using an electrostatic speaker in a video display housing provides the additional advantage that the diaphragm of the electrostatic speaker has a much smaller mass than the diaphragm components used in magnetic speakers. The reduced mass diaphragm decreases the vibrations generated by the speakers, which in turn decreases the effect of vibrations on the shadow mask of the cathode ray tubes (CRTs) used in many video display devices.

As mentioned above, a major benefit of using electrostatic speakers in the current invention is they do not have speaker magnets which can interfere with the operation of the CRT and its corresponding electron gun. Video displays which use speakers with speaker magnets must use shielding to avoid distorting the color and shape of a video display picture. In contrast to conventional magnetically driven speakers which require shielding, electrostatic speakers do not require magnetic shielding because they do not have magnets. Yet another advantage of using electrostatic speakers in a video display system is that electrostatic speakers require high voltages to operate the diaphragms properly, and video display systems (e.g. CRTs) already contain high voltage circuits which can be used by the electrostatic speakers. Referring now to FIG. 10. a schematic is shown of a conventional circuit for powering an electrostatic speaker outside a video display environment. First, the voltage must be transformed using a transformer (not shown) to the input voltage usable in the electrostatic speaker system. Then a step up transformer 74 must be used to step up the voltage to a high voltage for use with the electrostatic diaphragm and stators 76. The conventional process uses two relatively expensive transformers to provide high voltage to the electrostatic speaker. In contrast, when an electrostatic speaker is used in a video display, the speaker is hooked directly to the display's high voltage power supply. This avoids using the two transformers that are needed when producing a conventional electrostatic speaker system. In FIG. 11 , an AC source 80 is connected to a high voltage amplifier 80, where the amplifier is one that is well known to those skilled in the art. Then the high voltage signal is connected to the speaker stator 86 to drive the metalized diaphragm 88, and the other stator is connected to ground 90. Of course, the video display 84 is also drawing from the same high voltage power supply. In this way, a video display using a CRT and electrostatic speakers are complementary.

Using electrostatic speakers in a video display housing provides further benefits because the video display housing acts as baffle for certain unwanted sounds from the electrostatic speaker. Sounds are generated out both sides of an electrostatic speaker, thus some sounds emanate from the opposite side of the electrostatic speakers away from the target source (i.e. a listener). If this opposing sound source is reflected off an object behind the speaker, such as a wall, or if the wavelength is long enough to wrap around the speaker there may be interference or cancellation which is especially apparent with bass frequencies. The open backed baffling provided in a video display housing extends the rear wave path length to the listener and minimizes the cancellation of bass frequencies that could occur if the sounds were to bounce off a wall behind the video display. Therefore, the rear portion of an electrostatic speaker does not need to be sealed or separately baffled to minimize the bass cancellation. Avoiding sealing the rear portion of the electrostatic speakers also avoids loading the low mass diaphragm which results in better electrostatic speaker sound.

When an electrostatic speaker is installed in a video display cabinet or housing it reduces the number of speakers that are required. A single electrostatic speaker can be used for each audio channel in a video display. In contrast, multiple magnetic speakers are required for each audio channel to cover the dynamic audio range required by hi-fidelity audio/video systems. For example, magnetic speaker technology uses a woofer for lower sounds, a mid-range speaker, and a high range tweeter. One electrostatic speaker can cover the area previously covered by multiple magnetic speakers and produce the same or greater fidelity output range. Using fewer speakers decreases the overall cost of the audio/video system. A related advantage is that audio/video systems normally increase the number of magnetic speakers when an output increase is desired. In the case of electrostatic speakers, the overall speaker area can be enlarged to boost the sound output without increasing the number of speakers required. It should be apparent based on this disclosure, that reducing the number of speakers required also reduces the number of wires, contacts, and circuitry required to drive multiple speakers, which in turn reduces the overall cost of the audio/video system.

The video display housing forms a protective covering for the electrostatic speakers. Electrostatic speakers contained within a video display housing do not require significant structural strength because they are already protected inside the housing. Because the housing is strong enough to protect the electrostatic speakers, paper stators can be used which are metalized or coated with a conductor. This feature is also addressed in copending application Serial No.09/207,314 to the same inventors entitled "Electrostatic Transducer with Nonplanar Configured Diaphragm", which is incorporated herein by reference. The cost of paper or other low cost stator material reduces the cost of the speakers because the material used for the speakers is hidden within the video display housing and it cannot be seen by the video display viewer. Since these lower cost materials are contained within the video housing, the elements used do not need to be finished which further reduces the cost of using electrostatic speakers in the housing. It should also be pointed out that while the stators may be paper, they may be made of other materials such as cardboard, wood, plastic, metal, composites or other suitable stator materials which are sufficiently stiff and can be metalized. Paper stators can be used within the video display housing because the structurally weaker paper is protected from damage by the rigid housing. A further advantage of having the speakers within a video display's existing housing is that no protective coatings are needed for the electrostatic speakers. Further, the electrostatic speakers of the current invention are contained within the video display housing and the users are not able to access them, so no special protective structures are required.

Normally, electrostatic speakers need special shielding to protect users from being accidentally shocked by the high voltage used. The high voltage components are already shielded when electrostatic speakers are used within the video display housing, so no additional high voltage shielding is needed. When conventional standalone electrostatic speakers are manufactured, they require special housings and other secondary engineering designs to protect users from being shocked by the high voltages used. Of course special housings are more expensive than magnetic speaker housing, and avoiding the use of special housings is cheaper. Rigid clamps can also be attached across the diaphragm of the electrostatic speaker to divide the diaphragm into several separate diaphragms which operate effectively at different frequencies. The clamped divisions allow the creation of diaphragm sections that have smaller high frequency areas and larger lower frequency areas. The clamps can be arranged to provide different frequency tunings so an optimal resonant frequency can be developed for a specific video display housing. This feature is discussed in further detail in the previously referenced copending application entitled "Electrostatic Speaker with Moveable Diaphragm Edges" (see page 11).

Although using electrostatic speakers with CRT display technology has the greatest benefits, electrostatic speakers also accrue benefits when combined with other types of display technology. Electrostatic speakers can be incorporated into liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, console projection type displays, or any other type of suitable similar display. Using electrostatic speakers in these types of applications is a benefit because they are light weight and very thin. The reduced weight of electrostatic speakers is also a benefit for any portable video screen type of application.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the applications of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements maybe devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements.

Claims

What is claimed is: l.A video display device comprising: a housing; control circuitry within the housing for processing a display signal; a display surface mounted as part of the housing to be visible to a viewer and coupled to the control circuitry for receiving and displaying said signal; at least one electrostatic speaker sized to be smaller than the housing and mounted as part of the housing structure to provide external exposure for emission of audio output to an environment; and audio circuitry coupled to the electrostatic speaker for providing an audio signal to said speaker which produces audio output according to said audio signal.

2. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing includes a substantially flat faced portion, and the electrostatic speaker is substantially flat faced and mounted within said flat faced portion of the housing.

3. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing includes a substantially contoured portion and the electrostatic speaker is substantially contoured and mounted within said contoured portion of the housing.

4.A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing further comprises at least one waveguide within the housing having a first end opening extending through the housing and a second end, wherein the electrostatic speaker is mounted at the second end of the wave guide to produce an audio output through the wave guide to the environment.

5. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing has a plurality of faces where at least one electrostatic speaker is mounted on the same face of the housing as the display surface.

6. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing has an area above the display surface where at least one electrostatic speaker is mounted.

7.A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing has an area below the display surface where at least one speaker is mounted.

8. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing has a plurality of faces and the at least one electrostatic speaker is mounted on a face of the housing that does not contain the display surface.

9. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the housing has a plurality of faces and the at least one electrostatic speaker is mounted behind a face of the housing which contains an acoustically transparent area.

10. A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the display surface is selected from the group consisting of a cathode ray tube display, a liquid crystal display, a projection display, and a plasma display.

11.A video display device as in claim 1 wherein the electrostatic speaker is configured with a non-planar diaphragm.

12.A video display device as in claim 11 wherein the electrostatic speaker further comprises: a first rigid stator having an interior surface; a second rigid stator having an interior displaced and juxtaposed from the interior surface of the first stator; at least one flexible diaphragm having a conductive layer and being operable as an electrostatic emitter, said diaphragm being configured as a non- planar film characterized by a continuous array of peaks and valleys as viewed from each respective side of the diaphragm, said peaks on each side of the diaphragm being positioned adjacent but substantially unattached to the respective interior surfaces of the first and second stators; and means for applying voltages to the first and second stators and the diaphragm to drive the diaphragm with an applied audio signal.

13. A method as in claim 12 wherein the elecfrostatic speaker with a non-planar diaphragm is further shaped in a concave manner having a first curved edge and a second opposing curved edge which have non-planar clamps to create tension in the speaker diaphragm between the first and second curved edges.

14. A method as in claim 12 wherein the electrostatic speaker with a non-planar diaphragm is further shaped in a convex manner having a first curved edge and a second opposing curved edge which have non-planar clamps to create tension in the speaker diaphragm between the first and second curved edges.

15. A method for producing audio output with respect to a video display device, comprising the steps of:

(a) constructing a housing;

(b) mounting a display surface in the housing to be visible to a viewer;; (c) supplying a display signal to the display surface;

(d) incorporating at least one electrostatic speaker as part of the housing structure, sized to be smaller than the housing, and arranged for external emission of audio output to an environment; and

(e) coupling audio circuitry to said electrostatic speaker for providing an audio signal to said speaker to thereby produce audio output to the environment.

16.The method of claim 15 wherein the step of incorporating at least one electrostatic speaker within the housing further comprises the step of forming a curved electrostatic speaker for positioning into the housing.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of incorporating at least one electrostatic speaker within the housing structure further comprises the step of forming a flat electrostatic speaker for positioning into the housing.

18.A video display device comprising: a housing; control circuitry within the housing for processing a display signal; 17

(b) incorporating at least one electrostatic speaker as part of the housing structure, sized to be smaller than the housing, and arranged for external emission of audio output to an environment; and

(c) coupling audio circuitry to said electrostatic speaker for providing an audio signal bias to said speaker to thereby produce audio output to the environment; and

(d) delivering a high voltage directly to bias said speaker and produce audible sound, wherein said bias is supplied directly from the video display device's high voltage supply.