Big-Screen Monthly Snapshot

We recently shipped the April edition of Projection Monthly with Flat Panel Coverage to our subscribers. As we like to keep you informed, below is a summary of a few of the highlights of the 103-page newsletter, which focuses on big-screen displays.

First, this month marks the debut of a new series of editorials, which we call Company Deep Dives. These editorials are designed to look beyond the headlines for a deeper understanding of what's driving the news and provide readers with a look at how each company applies its tactics and strategies as part of a grander scheme. This month, we take a look at the Japanese CE giant and PDP manufacturing leader, Matsushita.

In this piece, analyst Steve Sechrist looks at a number of Matsushita's new strategic moves, where the moves are leading, and some of the possible consequences of these moves. For example, he describes how Matsushita will measure its success based on return on shareholder equity (ROE) in fiscal 2009, rather than the more traditional operating profit margin (operating income / total revenue). This rather simple change in philosophy is having a profound effect on how the company does business, however. Assets that do not produce high enough ROE will be shed or restructured. The pending sale of subsidiary JVC is a prime example.

Other reforms include changes in distribution strategy, an aggressive approach to PDP fab investment and cutting edge product introductions. Matsushita is trying to turn a big ship, but we like the approach and think the moves will create some big ripples in the industry. This one needs to be watched.

Turning to energy consumption in displays, we had a very strong response to the editorial we ran on this subject in Display Daily. Consequently, the key comments from readers were compiled and republished with the original article. There are some really insightful comments from people who have been thinking about this, but clearly felt the need to vent a little. The message: reducing power consumption in displays is something almost everyone wants, and there are many forces pulling in this direction right now, but there is also a vacuum in leadership to make it happen and to trumpet results. There is a big opportunity here.

We also ran a story on a new type of microdisplay for projection applications. The technology features a Magneto Photonic Crystal (MPC) to rotate polarized light, much like an LCD display, but rotation is controlled by a magnetic field instead of a voltage. It is an old technology that has been recycled for a new purpose - to drive digital cinema projectors. The technology is still in the early stages of development, but once again, an interesting approach to watch.

Speaking of digital cinema, the segment remains red hot. Barco, Sony and NEC have all introduced new digital cinema projectors and Texas Instruments has a smaller sized (0.98") DLP cinema chip set to support digital cinema projectors for small to medium-sized screens. Rollouts continue to mount with announcements for 200 screens here and 700 screens there. If you have been sleeping - WAKE UP - the digital cinema transition is in full swing and coming to a theater near you.

And guess what else is coming to a theater near you? Stereoscopic 3D. That's right, this, too, is going mainstream with probably over 1000 theaters set to be stereoscopic 3D-ready by the end of the year.

Some serious money is involved. RealD, the leader in this segment, just got a $50M investment and bought its main supplier, Colorlink. Dolby Labs has announced it is getting in too with a different approach based on the Infitec technology, which uses tri-band color filters instead of polarization to create the left and right eye images.

As usual, we have lots of coverage of LEDs, lasers and LCD backlights in this month's edition. In electronics, an investment by Motorola in Amimon has caught our eye. Amimon has developed wireless technology that can transmit high quality HD video and appears to be ahead of everyone else. Commercialization of this technology will create some big opportunities for those in the game, so watch this one carefully.

Another area of focus this month is on the LCD CAPEX environment. This has been in the doldrums for two years as fab investment has shrunk dramatically. What equipment suppliers, and their customers want to know, however, is when will investments return. Based on a very nice presentation that Displaybank gave at a local event, we have summarized their arguments in the current issue. The bottom line: if Displaybank's forecasts for LCD demand are correct - and that's a big if, then LCD fab CAPEX will come roaring back with investment exceeding the last peak.

And, there's a lot more, so take a look at the April Table of Contents.

Remember, Projection Monthly with Flat Panel Coverage includes news and analysis of the entire display industry. It is written to help you track technology, applications, markets, products and competition. But just as importantly, we write it to provide you with new insight into exciting opportunities for business development, to stimulate your strategic and tactical thinking and to help you find new suppliers, partners and customers. This is our goal and we will continue to strive to meet this goal by offering solid news, analysis, interviews, case studies and deep dives.

Want to take a look at an issue of Projection Monthly with Flat Panel Coverage? Request a sample by clicking HERE.

Until next time...

Chris Chinnock, President, Insight Media

About Insight Media

Insight Media (www.insightmedia.info) is a leading publishing and consulting firm focused on the display industry. With its core team of world-class display experts, Insight Media tracks the technology, components, products, markets, applications, manufacturing and business aspects of consumer and professional display markets. The company publishes daily and monthly news and analysis as well as in-depth annual technology/market reports. It also hosts industry conferences, provides strategic and tactical consulting services and offers industry education via webinars and on-site seminars.

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