December, 1998

NEWS & ANALYSIS

HP and Displaytech Tie the Knot

Displaytech, Inc. (Longmont, CO) and the Hewlett-Packard Company (Palo Alto, CA) have inked an agreement whereby they will jointly design, manufacture, market and distribute reflective microdisplay components and subsystems. New high-volume components are expected to be available late next year, and will be sold under the combined HP and Displaytech brands.

Tweaking TI’s DLP Toward SXGA

Texas Instruments’ (Dallas, TX) Digital Light Processor (DLP) engine has become a hit in both the ultraportable (under 10 pounds) and large venue projection segments. SVGA Digital Micromirror Devices (DMD) are popular in the ultraportable segment, while XGA DMDs have been preferred for the high-brightness, large venue segment.

Taiwan Gears Up to Make LCD Projectors

Taiwan manufacturers are now poised to enter the crowded LCD projection field. Using the Opto-Electronics and Systems Laboratories (OES) of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to develop optical engines, the technology is now being transferred to industrial partners for further commercialization.

MicroDisplay’s VGA Device Optimized for Field Sequential Operation

The MicroDisplay Corporation (San Pablo, CA) has announced the availability of a second generation VGA microdisplay, designated MD640G3. The device is backwards compatible with the MD640G1, but has been optimized for field sequential operation. The 0.5-inch, reflective microdisplay does not include the analog and digital NTSC and VGA decoding circuitry used on the MTV640G1 model, however.

Suspended Particle Displays Go For Video

Research Frontiers (Woodbury, NY) has spent a number of years working on suspended particle displays (SPD) - and with some success. But currently under development is a new polymer-based process that would allow the display to be applied to plastic or glass substrates as a film layer. Hopefully, it would also have the color gamut and speed necessary for video applications.

Kopin Readies VGA Microdisplays

Kopin Corporation (Taunton, MA) has been selling their QVGA CyberDisplay since mid 1997 with monochrome versions said to cost under $25 in volume and color versions running under $30 in volume. Now, the company is gearing to launch monochrome and color versions of a VGA microdisplay, skipping a planned half-VGA product.

Another Virtual Display Contest

Virtual Vision (Redmond, WA), a subsidiary of FED Corporation (Hopewell Junction, NY), has come up independently with the idea of sponsoring a design contest for virtual display based products. The same idea was put forth by the Kopin (Taunton, MA) and Motorola (Tempe, AZ) teams not long ago.

Sony Gets The Blue

Sony Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has announced the development of a blue organic electroluminescent (EL) device.

Coventry University Wins Grant

A consortium of British Universities headed by Coventry University (Coventry, UK), has won a research contract.

APPLICATIONS

Front Projection

Wrap-up of COMDEX introductions with table

Smart Pens

Novel new concept with a Kopin display

Automotive HUDs

Microdisplays are being investigated for use in automobile systems

Wearable Computers

News from Toshiba and Xybernaut

Digital Still Cameras

Wrap-up of recent introductions

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Market news from McLaughlin Consulting Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, USDC, Strategy Analytics, Nikkei Market Access, Motorola, Allied Business Intelligence, and Baskerville Communications.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Financial news from Microvision, Universal Display, and Planar Systems.

MOVERS & SHAKERS