Projection Monthly - November 2005

Table of Contents

Selected Excerpts from the November Issue of Projection Monthly

Blue Laser Breakthrough from UCSB Team

Shuji Nakamura, a material engineering professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Isla Vista, CA) (www.materials.ucsb.edu/ ), and his research team have produced gallium nitride (GaN) in a bulk crystal form that can be used in semiconductor devices for blue lasers and high-intensity blue LEDs. Bulk single-crystal GaN substrates would lead to large improvements in GaN-based device performance, such as LEDs and lasers with higher brightness and efficiency. Full story in Projection Monthly

Alternative Display Materials Benefit LCD Backlights

Although much research regarding display materials is aimed at alternatives to liquid crystal displays, the results of that research are generally serving to improve LCDs, rather than replace them. This was evidenced by recent news from Japan where two research efforts, originally envisioned as new display materials, are now more likely to be used to improve LCDs. Full story in Projection Monthly

Alps Electric Makes Tiny Digital/Analog TV Tuner Chip

Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) (www.alps.co.jp) announced the TDQ-series tuner, which the company is calling the industry's smallest of its kind. The device can receive both land-based digital and analog broadcasting formats, allowing Alps customers to design more compact products. Full story in Projection Monthly

Hitachi Shelves LCOS RPTV For Now

From CEDIA came news that Hitachi America (Brisbane, CA) (www.hitachi.us.com) has reportedly told its US dealers that it has postponed delivery of the new line of LCOS-based rear-projection HDTV sets. The company said greater-than-expected price reductions on flat-panel displays - considered the primary competitors to the projection TV models - played a factor in the decision. Full story in Projection Monthly

CMO Intros QFHD Panel

Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) (Taipei, Taiwan) (www.cmo.com.tw) says it has developed a quad full high-definition (QFHD) 56-inch LCD-TV panel with 3840 x 2160 resolution, which it expects to volume produce in the third quarter of next year. Full story in Projection Monthly

Idemitsu Kosan Improves Lifetime of OLED Materials

Idemitsu Kosan (Tokyo, Japan) (www.idemitsu.co.jp) has announced that it has developed more durable materials for organic electroluminescence displays, paving the way for the use of OEL displays on products such as mobile phones and car navigation systems. The company succeeded in extending the operating life of luminescence materials by changing their molecular structures. The life of blue luminescence material has been expanded to 23K hours, and that for green material to 100K hours. Each figure is double that of the equivalent existing material. Full story in Projection Monthly

Sanyo Poses Projector with LED Illumination

In a late-news paper delivered at EuroDisplay in Edinburgh on September 22, Yoshitaka Kurosaka and a team from Sanyo Electric Co. presented the results of a projection development effort aimed at using LED illumination and a single LCD panel. The solution has been embodied in a prototype projector that is part of the "Sanyo Evolution Project" to "fill a category that does not yet have suitable systems." The prototype provides some interesting insights into the thinking at Sanyo, and also indicates areas in which that thinking may have to be adjusted. Full story in Projection Monthly

Digital Video Over Coax Advances

Convenient and reliable delivery of digital video throughout the home is garnering the attention of many companies, as it is a key infrastructure need in the proliferation of digital home media products. But a Cat5 or wireless LAN is not the only emerging topology. For the past couple of years, companies have been working on schemes to utilize existing coax wiring in the home, widely used for analog video, to deliver digital video content and data. Full story in Projection Monthly

Circuit City Continues Reorg - Results Surprise Analysts

Circuit City (Richmond, VA) (www.circuitcity.com) surprised Wall Street by posting a profit in its fiscal second quarter on strong TV sales, according to the San Jose Mercury News . The retailer earned $1.4M, or 1 cent a share, in the quarter ended August 31, compared with a loss of ($11.9M), or (6 cents) a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected the company to lose 3 cents a share in the quarter. Full story in Projection Monthly

Hitachi Moves PDPs to China

Hitachi (Tokyo, Japan) (www.hitachi.co.jp) moved PDP operations to Hitachi Fujian Digital Media, its subsidiary in Fuzhou, southern China, and put them into production in October. The company will open an R&D center in the province as well. The use of Chinese parts and components is expected to reduce costs. Full story in Projection Monthly

Projection Monthly Table of Contents

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