I've got hold of some OSRAM DLO3416 Intelligent Display Modules (which i'm selling in my store - half price to OAS members)
This video shows an initial test I have done with one - http://www.vimeo.com/4181825
They area really easy to use. Basically you tell the unit which of the 4 characters you want to address, send the ASCII code of the character you want to go there and then send a write command. Once the characters are written to the units RAM you don't need to do anything else. The modules internal circuitry takes care of the multiplexing. Up to 4 of these can be daisy chained to give a 16 character wide display.