December 1999

NEWS & ANALYSIS
Front Projector Market Poised to Take Off
After reviewing the new front projection announcements from the recent COMDEX show, it now appears evident that the front projector market is about to get a lot more exciting. Prices are coming down - dramatically in some cases, while performance is going up and the infrastructure to propel sales is maturing. All of these factors add up to what is likely to be a rapid increase in unit sales and an accelerating pace of change.

Some of the signposts include the recent introduction of sub-6 pound personal or microportable products powered by single-chip DLP engines. Now, competitive products from Sony, Epson and Mitsubishi are arriving based upon 3-panel poly-silicon technology. Sony and ViewSonic are offering category-opening prices for a couple of new products, Toshiba and Lightware have struck up notebook bundling deals, while Compaq and IBM have entered the PC channel with new projector products. Meanwhile, Proxima is pushing the video conference bundle, and InFocus Systems is going to make the conference room projector as simple to use as a network printer. HDTV is starting to be accepted, home theater is all the rage, and digital cinema is on the horizon.

Add it all up and we are at an inflection point in the evolution of the front projection market. Home entertainment, road warrior presenters, conference rooms and high-end venues will all be transformed by new projection technology in the next few years. It is going to be exciting.

Samsung Set to Debut HDTV with Displaytech Panels
After a considerable delay, Samsung Electronics says they have finally set a date for introduction of two new rear-projection HDTV-ready sets. Both 43-inch and 50-inch models are planned for an April and May, 2000 debut. The sets will feature a 1280 x 720 pixel reflective ferroelectric liquid crystal display (FLCD) from Displaytech. Additional rear-projection DTVs are also set to debut based upon single-panel TFT engines.

DigiLens Demos Solid State Color Wheel
Following on the heels of last month's introduction of their ASIL (Application Specific Integrated Lens) technology (see November, 1999 Microdisplay Report), DigiLens used COMDEX to showcase some of their recent progress. Shown for the first time was a solid state color wheel projection demonstration, a twin-screen monitor concept, and a head-mounted display device.

MicroDisplay Corporation Announces Funding Sources
The MicroDisplay Corporation has announced the sources of two early funding rounds in the company. The company is making the announcements now in anticipation of more news to come shortly. Apparently, they have been working on several projects that are now close to bearing fruit.

OLEDs Coming Sooner or Later
Organic Light Emitting Devices (OLEDs), sometimes called organic electroluminescent (OEL) displays, are now poised for very rapid growth, says a new report from Stanford Resources Inc. Sales will grow from $3M in 1999 to an incredible $717M in 2005. "But some of our customers actually think that estimate is low," says SRI Vice President David Mentley.

CRL Expands Distribution
Central Research Labs has announced they have added three new distributors for international sales and service. Added to the list are International Promotional Services (I.P.S.) in Italy, DLK in France and Scientific Solutions in India. They join CRL's existing group of representatives in Germany, Israel and Taiwan.

Texas Instruments Ships 250,000th DLP Subsystem
In early November, Texas Instruments reached a milestone with their DLP (Digital Light Processing) products: they shipped their 250,000th DLP subsystem. The honor went to Digital Projection Ltd. , one of TI's earliest development partners. Digital Projection, which makes high-end projection systems, was recently sold to IMAX (see October, 1999, Microdisplay Report).

Direct Deposition Moisture Barrier Developed
One of the big hurdles toward developing flexible, conformable and plastic substrate displays, has been preventing water moisture from penetrating through the plastic and degrading display performance. Now, after considerable research in this area, Battelle Memorial Institute has announced they have established a wholly owned subsidiary to be called Vitex Systems.

PenTile Offers New Pixel Arrangement
A small California start-up called PenTile, reports that they have patents pending on a new pixel arrangement called the PenTile Matrix. The configuration can lower the cost of all displays by reducing the number of drivers - all without compromising on discernable image quality.

Applications
Front Projectors
Wrap-up of new product introductions and announcements from COMDEX. Companies mentioned include: ViewSonic, Sony Electronics, Pacific Media, Epson America, Mitsubishi, InFocus Systems, IBM, Kodak, Davis, CTX Opto, LG Electronics, Philips, Sanyo, Proxima, Acer, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Lightware, NEC Technologies, Plus Corporation, Sharp Electronics Corporation, Epoque, Delta Electronics, Sarif, and SIM2 Multimedia

Wearables
A wrap up of news from IBM, Olympus Optical Company, Ltd., Xybernaut Corporation, DynCorp, Hammacher Schlemmer & Company, Academic Distributing, Inc., D&H Distributors, Call-In GmbH, Voxware, and Via.

Market Intelligence
Digital TV Transition Will Cost Billions
Digital Camera Sales Up 49% in Japan
Growth Seen for European Cable and Satellite Services
CRT Monitor Market to Reach $23.5 billion in 2005

Bottom Line
Kopin Q3 Revenues Up 24%
Microvision Losses Mount in Q3
Three-Five Systems Implements Stock Split
Spatialight Reports $1.5M Q3 Loss
Digilens Secures $15.7M in Venture Capital
Xybernaut Q3 Revenues, Losses Rise
Zenith Completes Chapter 11 Restructuring
Electrohome Sells Projection Systems Business

Movers & Shakers
Fakespace Systems has hired Steven Fine.