May 1999

TI Lands Hitachi, Mitsubishi in DLP-HDTV Deals

In back-to-back agreements, Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) has agreed to work with both Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. (MDEA, Irvine, CA) to bring rear-projection HDTV products to market in the latter half of 2000.  The companies will commercialize the single-panel, Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine discussed in the April issue of the Microdisplay Report. Deals In back-to-back agreements, Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) has agreed to work with both Hitachi, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. (MDEA, Irvine, CA) to bring rear-projection HDTV products to market in the latter half of 2000.  The companies will commercialize the single-panel, Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine discussed in the April issue of the Microdisplay Report.

PDPs Show Progress

Performance of plasma display panels (PDP) is improving rapidly, but their high cost remains an issue for penetration beyond boardrooms and advertising venues.  Now, in an effort to move the industry a bit faster, market leader Fujitsu Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) has formed a new company in a joint venture with Hitachi Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan).
Meanwhile, NEC Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has improved the brightness of their latest 42-inch model by 60% and boosted the contrast by 33%.  The company is now selling the product as a module (NP4203MF02), a CosmoPlasma monitor (PX-42M5) and a PLASMA X television set (PX-42V5).

SpatiaLight Joins with Ilixco, Snags Navy Contract

SpatiaLight (Novato, CA) has announced a joint development agreement with ILIXCO, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA).  The agreement is aimed at developing a single-chip color system that combines SpatiaLight's color LCOS microdisplay with ILIXCO's image doubling technology, which is used today in digital cameras. Once the single-chip color system is developed, SpatiaLight and ILIXCO will both be able to distribute the devices to manufacturers of high definition televisions, desktop monitors, projectors and head-mounted displays.

A New Projection CRT With High Efficiency

Quantum Vision, Inc. (Mountain View, CA), a 1995 start-up, is now readying samples of a new technology they call Resonant Microcavity Anode (RMA).  The technology, if it proves commercially viable, has the potential to boost the luminous efficacy of projection CRTs from the current 1 lm/W range to perhaps 8 lm/W.  The company thinks this will allow RMA CRTs to be almost 1000 times as bright, making them attractive devices for projection products.

inViso Shows New Product

Siliscape (Sunnyvale, CA) has changed their name to inViso to reflect a change in direction.  Going forward, inViso will continue to supply Optiscape display modules, but will place much more emphasis upon offering an end product incorporating their digital LCOS microdisplay.

GXGA Display Under Development

Under the MOSAREL (Monocrystalline Silicon Active Matrix Reflective Light Valve) program, a high resolution liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplay is being developed.  The goal is to develop a GXGA device with a 2560 x 2048 pixel format by February, 2000.  Funding is being provided by ESPRIT IV, a cooperative program between European industry and Universities.

MEMS Merger Creates New Company

Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC, Hauppauge, NY) has announced a merger with Inertia Optical Technology Applications, Inc. (IOTA, Newark, NJ).  The deal, which is expected to close in June, will create a new company to be called Standard MEMS, Inc.

In Brief

News from Photran Corporation, SpatiaLight, MicroOptical, Microvision, S-Vision, Sanyo Electric Company.

APPLICATIONS

LCD TVs (with Table)

Technology and product news from Samsung Electronics, Hitachi, and Toshiba.

Headsets

Technology and product news from Kaiser Electro-Optics, Kaiser Electronics, FLIR Systems, n-Vision, MicroOptical Corporation, The National Research Council of Canada, and Microvision.

Wearables

Application news from Siemens ElectroCom, Siemens Automation & Drives Division, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, and NASA's Johnson Space Center. Company news from Interactive Solutions, Inc., Xybernaut Corporation, and British Telecom.

Digital Still Cameras

Technology and product news from Sound Vision, Kopin, Seiko Epson, Olympus, Fuji Photo Film, Eastman Kodak, Casio, Konica, Sony Electronics, and Canon.

Automotive HUDs

HUD system from Raytheon Systems Company and Visteon Automotive Systems.

Multimedia Projectors (with Table)

Product news from Viewsonic, Hitachi America, Polaroid, Proxima, and ASK.

Market studies and intelligence form McLaughlin Consulting Group, Stanford Resources, DisplaySearch, Opto-Electronics and Systems Laboratories, and Frost & Sullivan.

BOTTOM LINE

Financial news from SpatiaLight, Microvision, Kopin, Three-Five Systems, Planar Systems, Xybernaut, n-Vision, and Laser Power Corporation.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Personnel changes at Displaytech, MicroOptical, and Three-Five Systems