rAVe Pro Edition, Volume 3, Issue 1
eNewsletter Volume 3, Issue 1 January 19, 2005
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News:
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Introduction
Happy New Year! To start off our third year of publishing rAVe Pro, we have Part 1 of my annual Krystal Ball article. Part 1 includes a review of last year's predictions and an assessment of how well I forecast the market for 2004. Next issue, we'll have my predictions for 2005. We also feature Dr. Raymond M. Soneira's continued excellent series about CRT, LCD and DLP display technologies, this time with Part IIId — plasma and DLP technology assessments. Enjoy! — Gary Kayye, CTS
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Feature Article Kayye’s Krystal Ball for 2005
It’s back. Welcome to my sixth annual Krystal Ball feature article about predictions for the upcoming year for Professional AV technology, trends and products. If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you know that each year I actually start by reviewing my predictions from last year’s column (Kayye’s Krystal Ball for 2004 ran in the December 22, 2003 issue of Sound & Communications magazine). Then, after the humbling experience of taking the time to rate how I did in predicting the trends of 2004, I will jump into my predictions for 2005. Let’s get started… A Review of 2004 The DLP systems projector and the shortage of LCD: Well, there wasn’t a shortage of LCD in the US, only in Europe and Asia. I predicted this shortage because of Sony’s announcement that they were only going to make raw LCD solely for their own company, but in mid-2004, they backed off that claim and production of LCDs continued for almost all their partners. Still, the DLP systems projectors are certainly a hit. Prior to 2004, the systems market was dominated by the 3-panel LCD projector, and it all started with Proxima’s original ProAV line. That continued with LCD products from NEC, InFocus, Sanyo and Christie. But, here come the DLPs. Virtually every projector manufacturer in the market either already has a systems projector using TI’s DLP technology or is readying one for introduction. The best ones out there right now are from HP (who, unfortunately and for the most part, is not selling via ProAV dealers), NEC, and InFocus, and this trend will continue. There is no question that the market share of LCD in the systems market will start to erode in 2005.
So, what does this all mean? Well, the message here is that the projector is no longer something that the ProAV systems integrator can hope to be the breadwinner. It’s done. It’s dead. The systems projector is now what the box-sales projector has always been – a commodity. But, not all is doom and gloom — the message is clear. They can sell them on the Internet, you can buy them on the Internet – but the Internet can’t hang them or connect them and certainly can’t control them. The bright 16:9 projector: Finally! I have been begging for years for a bright 16:9 aspect ratio projector for meeting rooms and home theaters, and 2004 was THE year for that. We started the year with a few 1100 ANSI lumen 16:9 meeting room projectors and we are ending it with almost 20 of them! And, for those of you who read the point I just made above, here’s the Holy Grail for projector integrators – these bright 16:9 projectors are all still chock full of margin. The average MSRP of these 16:9 projectors is well over $15,000 and there are viable, sellable reasons for integrating 16:9 projectors instead of 4:3 projectors in almost every meeting room application on earth – not the least of which is that every computer manufacturer has already said that their standard graphics outputs will be 16:9 within a few years. So, if you’re integrating what you think are future-proof systems today with 4:3 projectors, think again.
More integrated systems from projector manufacturers: 3M started this in 2003 with their WallDisplay technology that incorporates a projection system and whiteboard all in one. Dukane jumped in as well. Now, Dell with their self-anointed, prepackaged Educational Systems. As margins on projectors continue to erode, watch as many projector manufacturers jump on this in 2005. 50”+ LCD Monitors and LCD price reductions: Well, not only did LCD panel prices fall faster in one year than plasma did the first two years it shipped, but in 2004, we saw a handful of 50”+ LCDs introduced – and some larger ones were recently announced, too.
The Pocket Projector: Well, this one I missed, but not by a lot. The newest AV manufacturers: The Chinese and Koreans are not only manufacturing their own homegrown, projectors, they’re also making a host of US and Japanese brands, too. And pricing, as we all know, has plunged. Their manufacturing capabilities and competitiveness have enabled pricing wars to continue to levels where projectors are not unheard of in places like Sam’s Club and Costco. This will continue in 2005. Finally, growth: I predicted that 2004 would not only be a growth year but also a year we would climb out of the economic downturn. And it was. Growth is back and most manufacturers are seeing growth numbers that rival 2000. Although not back to the levels of 1998 and 1999, we are finally exiting a worldwide slump that held technology at bay and discouraged a lot of innovation. Next issue: The 2005 Predictions
Have a news tip? Send them to rAVe Editor-in-Chief Denise Harrison — dharrison@kayye.com
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Projection Barco Shipping New iCon Projector
The projector uses a display server specifically designed to handle the multiple windows and, operating it with a keyboard and mouse as opposed to a remote, you can change sources, resize and reposition the windows. At first glance, the H600 looks like an extension of Barco’s iQ family and in some ways, it is. It uses the same computer-within-projector paradigm. It can be operated by mouse and keyboard and it can open up multiple windows. What is different, however, is that the H600 does more of everything. The total of six on-screen windows is new, especially that they can display multiple HD videos. The 16:9 aspect ratio is new (and gives the presenter ample space for opening up all those windows), and new is the specified resolution of native 1920 x 1080 HDTV. Vertical and horizontal lens shift, two DVI connections and two Ethernet ports are new and, unlike iQ, they are suited for stacking to accommodate larger venues. And the H600 comes with Windows XP operating system and runs on a Pentium 4. The LCD-based projector is specified at 6,000 ANSI lumens and 800:1 contrast ratio. Barco expects the projector to be used for education, training, public displays, such as museums, and even videoconferencing. Collaborative meetings with real-time interaction among remote sites can be done by placing several iCons on a network, enabling multi-windowing to multi-site meetings. As a network device, the H600 can access files from any computer or other source on the network. It can also stream video, or frequently-used video or other files can be stored on the computer hard drive. This projector fits in with the whole “media server” concept that we expect to become popular within organizations. The idea of taking your source to a meeting when you could, instead, access files from the LAN, will soon seem archaic. The iCon H600 lists for $48,995, not including the lens. For more information, go to http://www.barco.com/corporate/en/pressreleases/show.asp?index=1423
These giant screens will no doubt be available to the ProAV channel before long, considering that HomeAV product manufacturers are the technology leaders right now and most either sell to or OEM to the ProAV channel. For more on CES, go to http://www.cesweb.org/default_flash.asp Samsung HLR5688W DLP — http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20050106_0000090605 Samsung HPR8072 plasma — http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20050105_0000089656 Sharp LCD — http://www.sharpusa.com/about/AboutPressKits/0,1108,475,00.html Integrator Solutions
FireWire signals are limited to 4.5m, or 14.75 feet. But Kramer says that interconnecting a pair of TP-300FW units allows extension of the FireWire range up to 100m, or 300 feet, and interconnecting three TP-300FW units allows extension of the FireWire range up to 200m, or 600 feet (and so on). This design ensures delivery of 100Mbs (DV) video). How it works: one TP-300FW converts a FireWire signal so it can be sent over the CAT 5 (in fact, inexpensive and unshielded CAT 5 cable) up to 300 feet to a second TP-300FW that converts the FireWire signal back to its native format. (The TP-300FW needs to be used in pairs for a basic end to end solution.) It’s designed to offer an alternative to using repeaters for extending FireWire signals since you’d need several repeaters and the distance would still be limited. The TP-300FWs support Plug and Play standards, hot swapping and both isochronous and asynchronous applications. Kramer points digital video production facilities, digital video editing suites and live digital video broadcasting applications as some markets that would benefit. For more information, go to http://www.kramerelectronics.com/indexes/desc.asp?p=tp-300fw Industry News
ActiveLight and Projector Wholesale Supply, both of Poulsbo, Wash., have combined forces and will both market under the ActiveLight brand name. ctiveLight was founded in 1986 and PWS was founded in 2003. Brad Gleeson will continue to operate as president of ActiveLight and Jill Miller, For more information about ActiveLight, go to http://www.activelight.com/ For more information about PWS, go to http://www.pws-sales.com/default.htm?X=5
NSCA Announces Audio Conference Activities
The Live Sound Workshop is created and produced by Fred Ampel, Technology Visions. NSCA will also host a reunion of Syn-Aud-Con graduates Thursday, March 10, 2005 in Orlando's Rosen Centre Hotel in a special evening set aside to honor the group's many graduates of premier audio education. A special presentation will be given by Syn-Aud-Con directors Pat and Brenda Brown along with a guest appearance of the founders of the training organization, Don and Carolyn Davis. Event registration is required. For more information about the many programs at NSCA, go to http://www.nscaexpo.org InfoComm 05 Offering Incentives for International Attendees
InfoComm International was selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce to take part in the International Buyer Program (IBP) for 2005 and 2006. International Buyer Program shows, like InfoComm, provide a venue for U.S. companies to expand their sales into the international market. InfoComm earned IBP affiliation because of the Show's export potential, international interest, U.S. exhibitor offerings, stature, exhibitor interest, logistics support and overseas marketing efforts. The Show is supported internationally by such leading companies as Barco, Bose, Canon, Christie Digital, Hitachi , HP, JBL, JVC, Meyer Sound , Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Polycom, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Shure, Sony, Tandberg, Telex and Yamaha according to ICIA. Registration for InfoComm 2005 opens in late January 2005 at http://www.infocommshow.org
Control Crestron Expands Isys Line, Adds New MediaManager Receiver
The new Isys is the TPS-4000L, a flush-mount touchpanel display or lectern or wall mount installs. It features a 10.4-inch, 640 x 480 display with full color graphic control supporting high-resolution graphics and scalable video. It accepts and scales any composite or S-Video source in any size window, including full screen, for full-motion video. The video preview window allows a user to preview movies in a home theater or, when used with the Crestron Video Intercom system, allows for location monitoring, such as a nursery, front door or gate. The touchscreen includes gamma correction and built-in time base correction for improving the color and removing image jitters. The TPS-4000L was designed with both the corporate and residential markets in mind. Users will use it for controlling AV, drapes, lights and climate. It also has five engravable hard-buttons for commonly-used functions. Crestron's exclusive Synapse Image Rendering Algorithm is designed so that programmers can quickly produce top-rate graphics. The TPS-4000L even has enhanced 3D effects so that programmers can include a little something different. For more information, go to http://www.crestron.com/news_room/show_releases.asp?press_release_id=1164
The QuickMedia transmits signals, including composite, component and S-video, computer signals and data, all over a single CAT5e or CAT6 cable. The QM-RX receives signals through the one cable, then separates and outputs the individual signals to the display. The QM-RX also provides the control interface to the display device, automatically switching the projector or plasma to the appropriate mode to receive the transmitted signal. This design gets rid of the usual truckload of coax and twisted pair cables and connectors. The QM Transport allows the integrator to run one CresCAT QM cable, which consists of a CAT5e or CAT6 and a Cresnet control cable, from a Crestron QM Wall Plate, FlipTop Box, or routing switcher to a QM receiver, such as the QM-RX at the display device. Also, and this is cool, the QM-RX receiver automatically detects and translates the source signals, isolates the distinct signals and routes them to the appropriate output to the display device. There is quite a bit more to the new product. For details, go to http://www.crestron.com/news_room/show_releases.asp?press_release_id=1163
Conferencing and Collaboration
Another new feature is the ability to open and save Flash files within SMART’s Notebook software. Flash files, developed with Macromedia’s Flash software, are increasingly used in education materials. The 9.0 software makes it far more convenient to take advantage of the many Flash files available. Also in the upgrade is a new feature called LinQ, which connects any networked computer, such as a wireless laptop, to a SMART interactive whiteboard. This feature obviously frees up the teacher to move about the room with a wireless laptop, but also lets the teacher share students’ desktops with the rest of the class. SMART also tweaked the user interface to make it more intuitive and flexible, and the software includes new drawing, highlighting and text-formatting tools. That includes a “conceal and reveal” function for hiding or showing information at will. The 9.0 software is a free for current users (SMART recently announced the company shipped their 250,000th interactive whiteboard!) and the new software ships with all SMART Board interactive whiteboards as well as Sympodium interactive pen displays. As we said earlier, the software is a major upgrade and the above describes only a few of the new features. For more information on SMART Board products, go to http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/
Presenter Tools Logitech Announces Wireless Presentation Controller With Built-in Timer
The Logitech Cordless 2.4 GHz Presenter lets users control the slides, including launch and end slide show, blackscreen and slide forward and backward, and they can control the volume. The wireless functionality works up to 50 feet away. For those occasions when time is tight, the controller also includes a built-in timer with an LCD screen that alerts the presenter with a vibration when five minutes and two minutes are left on the timer. Logitech says no software is required – it just plugs into a Windows-based PC or laptop. It also has an integrated laser pointer. For more information, go to http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2135,CONTENTID=9893 Feature Article
Display Technology Shoot-Out Comparing CRT, LCD, Plasma and DLP Displays Dr. Raymond M. SoneiraPresident, DisplayMate Technologies Corp. Copyright © 2004 DisplayMate Technologies Corp Part IIId Plasma and DLP Technology AssessmentsIntroductionThis is Part IIId of an article series describing an in-depth comparison between CRT, LCD, Plasma and DLP display technologies in order to analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. In Part I we measured, analyzed and compared primary specs like Black-Level, Color Temperature, Peak Brightness, Dynamic Range, and Contrast for each display technology. In Part IIa we continued with Gray-Scale and Color Accuracy. In Part IIb we discussed the Color Gamut and Primary Chromaticities. In Part IIIa we examined the complex world of Display Artifacts and how they affect Image Quality. In Part IIIb we continued with Display Aging, Ambient Light, Viewing Angles and Direct-View versus Rear Projection. In Part IIIc we provided detailed CRT and LCD technology assessments, with breakdowns into many categories. Here, in Part IIId we’ll provide detailed Plasma and DLP technology assessments, and then tie together all of the results from Parts I to III. Display AssessmentsThe assessments for each individual display technology include highlights and summaries of the most important issues that have been discussed in Parts I to III. Please refer back to the appropriate sections and articles for details, discussions and background information. The assessment categories include Primary Specs and Measurements (from Parts I and II), Notable Variations (interesting technology from other manufacturers), Recent Developments (new technology announcements), Special Issues (topics and artifacts unique to the technology that have not been discussed elsewhere), Strongest Points, Weakest Points, Other Artifacts (not mentioned under Weakest Points, see Part IIIa), Future Trends, and Commentary. Note that many of the Primary Specs entries show a Rank of 1 to 4 for each technology based on the lab measurements. This specifies their pecking order, with 1 for the best performance and 4 for the lowest performance. When two Ranks are listed, it means that there was a range of values for one or more of the technologies that affected the ordering. Plasma AssessmentOur plasma selection was the 61 inch NEC 61XM2, which at the time of our testing was the world’s largest production plasma panel. This same panel is found in many other high-end plasma displays sold by other manufacturers. In fact, since it’s the only panel of this size being manufactured, all 61 inch plasma displays regardless of the brand name use this NEC panel. (The NEC factory was recently purchased by Pioneer and officially changed hands on October 1, 2004. NEC will continue selling the same plasma displays, only now they will be manufactured by Pioneer for NEC.) Most 61 inch panels also use the NEC/Pioneer panel electronics but some use their own proprietary implementations. The latest version of this NEC panel is 61XM3. Plasma Primary Specs and Measurements: Model NEC 61XM2 Native Resolution 1365 x 768p Screen Diagonal 61 inches Gamma 2.02 (too low) Primary Colors relatively close to the CRT standard except for green Black-level 0.42 cd/m2 – Rank 3 or 4 Peak Brightness 212 cd/m2 (5% APL) – Rank 3 133 cd/m2 (25% APL) – Rank 4 81 cd/m2 (50% APL) – Rank 4 53 cd/m2 (100% APL) – Rank 4 Dynamic Range 505 (5% APL) – Rank 4 126 (100% APL) – Rank 4 4×4 Contrast 475 (5% APL) – Rank 2 124 (High APL) – Rank 4 9×9 Contrast 449 (5% APL) – Rank 2 122 (High APL) – Rank 4
Plasma Notable Variations: A number of manufacturers (Fujitsu-Hitachi, Panasonic, Samsung) have panels with significantly darker black-levels than the NEC panel, resulting in a Dynamic Range (full-field Contrast) manufacturer’s spec of 3000:1 or more, but that applies only to the highest peak intensity at a very low 1 percent APL value. Although black-level is very important the NEC 61XM2 has fewer overall artifacts than other panels, which is why we chose it as the reference plasma display — Pioneer has a panel that runs at 72 Hz and provides 3:3 Pulldown, which eliminates the judder found in 3:2 Pulldown displays (see Motion Artifacts in Part III). Plasma Recent Developments: The largest shipping Plasma panel is 71 inches by LG with a resolution of 1920 x 1080p. The largest prototype is 80 inches by Samsung (also with 1920 x 1080p) — Many panels are now advertising a 60,000 hour phosphor lifetime (see Display Aging). Plasma Special issues: The Brightness spec listed for many Plasma displays is the peak brightness of the bare panel without the contrast enhancing light absorbing layer, which typically reduces the brightness by about 50 percent. It’s also measured for an Average Picture Level APL of only 1 percent, so the actual viewable peak brightness for typical video with 15 to 25 percent APL may be considerably less. Note that the values listed above under Primary Specs are the ones we measured for the display — The peak brightness listed for many Plasma displays (500 to 1000 cd/m2) is excessively bright for most subdued ambient light viewing conditions. If you turn down the peak brightness by a factor of 2 or 3 then the Dynamic Range (full field contrast) will be reduced by the same factor. Finding a display with a lower peak brightness should then deliver better performance (less is more). One way to accomplish this would be with a darker absorbing layer. That would maintain the specified Dynamic Range and deliver a better black-level at the same time — The power consumption of a Plasma display depends on the Average Picture Level APL of the image because the average current drawn by a pixel depends on its brightness. For low APL the power consumption of a Plasma display can fall by more than 50 percent from its peak value at high APL, and may be less than a comparable size LCD panel (because its power consumption doesn't vary with APL). Plasma Strongest Points: Direct-view plasma displays produce exceptionally sharp, high contrast images, including fine text and graphics — Excellent color saturation — Widest viewing angle of all the flat panels — Some models have a very dark black-level — Very fast pixel response time — Largest direct-view display technology available — The thinnest displays available. Plasma Weakest Points: Peak brightness and Dynamic Range (full field contrast) decreases substantially with the Average Picture Level (Part I). Generally not an issue for video that has low APLs of 15 to 25 percent — Spatial and temporal dithering produce noise and false contouring in dark images. These artifacts were more noticeable on Plasma displays than on DLP displays — Pixelated image with Screen Door Effect due to noticeable gaps between pixels. Less noticeable at higher resolutions and greater viewing distances — Fixed native resolution. Rescaling required for other resolution formats — Fan Noise — Very heavy. Other Plasma Artifacts: Possibility of long-term uneven phosphor aging — Reflects more ambient light than other technologies — When viewed from an angle internal reflections within the panel can produce noticeable ghost images when there is a dark background — Temporary latent images may appear on some units due to charge build up, but disappear after a short time — Irregularities at the dark-end of the gray-scale due to insufficient bit-depth in signal processing. Plasma Future Trends and Commentary: With screen sizes up to 80 inches and aggressive pricing plasmas have captured a significant share of the non-CRT video market. Resolutions were until recently mostly below High Definition, but there are now many panels in the 1365 x 768 through 1920 x 1080 range. Plasmas are a type of digital CRT so it’s not surprising that they have the look and feel of a CRT. Performance has been steadily improving with size and brightness going up and black-levels and artifacts going down. The most important image quality issue is reducing image noise through improved spatial and temporal dithering algorithms and signal processing. The real question is how Plasma displays will hold up to the challenge from direct-view LCD panels. DLP AssessmentOur DLP selection was the Optoma RD50, which is the only one of the displays in our roundup that is marketed as a home theater display. This unit is based on the Texas Instruments HD2 DMD 1280 x 720 chip with a 6 segment color wheel. TI has since introduced an HD2+ chip that produces a darker black-level and can be used with a new 7 segment color wheel (see below). The new Optoma model with the HD2+ chip and 7 segment color wheel is called the RD50A, which Optoma says has 20% better contrast than the RD50 and includes our recommended Gamma of 2.20, which will improve its already outstanding image quality. A newly announced Sovereign series offers an even higher performance version of this display with enhanced factory tuning and ISFccc lockable presets for professional calibration.
DLP Primary Specs and Measurements: Model Optoma RD50 Native Resolution 1280 x 720p Screen Diagonal 50 inches Gamma 2.09 (ok, but a bit low) Primary Colors relatively close to the CRT standard Black-level 0.26 cd/m2 – Rank 2 Peak Brightness 359 cd/m2 – Rank 2 Dynamic Range 1,381 – Rank 2 4×4 Contrast 332 – Rank 2 or 3 9×9 Contrast 274 – Rank 2 or 3
DLP Notable Variations: Although this article has been examining direct-view and rear projection units most DLPs to date are actually in front projectors, however the fastest growth is now in rear projection — DLP implementations include single chip versions with a color wheel, which is compact and offers perfect color registration, and 3-chip versions, which are considerably more expensive and offer greater brightness, dynamic range and gray-scale bit-depth — TI has a special high resolution 2048 x 1080 DMD chip that is used in 3-chip digital cinema movie theater projectors — Color wheels come with a varying number of segments: 3 (RGB), 4 (RGB and White for maximizing brightness at the expense of some color saturation, for computer applications only), 6 (two sets of RGB) and 7 (two sets of RGB and dark green). The color wheels spin at 7,200 (called 4X), 9,600 (called 5X) and 10,800 RPM (called 6X). The faster the wheel and the greater the number of segments the less likely that rainbow artifacts will be seen (see below). DLP Recent Developments: TI recently introduced an enhanced version of their HD2 1280 x 720 chip, called HD2+, which produces a darker black-level, primarily by reducing the gap between mirrors and the dimple where each mirror is attached to its post. TI calls this enhancement DarkChip2™ — A new 7 segment color wheel adds a dark green segment that improves performance at the dark end of the gray-scale, reducing contouring and dithering noise by effectively providing a 10-bit intensity-scale at the dark-end — TI’s SmoothPicture™ technology uses a time-varying mirror actuator to shift the image by half a pixel in order to give the image a smoother appearance — TI’s new HD3 chip has a 640 x 720 matrix of mirrors that works with TI’s SmoothPicture mirror actuator to produce 1280 x 720 addressable pixels onscreen. The mirrors are oriented at 45 degrees in a diamond configuration in order to work with SmoothPicture to eliminate all visible pixel structure without sacrificing resolution. Its Dynamic Range (full field contrast) is lower than the HD2+ because of its smaller size — TI also has a new 1400 x 1050 DMD chip, which has a 4:3 aspect ratio and is designed primarily for the computer display market. DLP Special issues: Most DLP projectors use only a single DMD chip together with a high-speed rotating color wheel in order to sequentially generate the primary colors needed to produce a full color picture. A similar color wheel concept was used for the first color television broadcasts in 1951 and for the color television broadcasts from the Moon in 1971. The color wheel offers a number of major advantages: much lower projector cost and size and perfect color registration. The color wheel also has some disadvantages: lower light efficiency because only one primary color is in use at a time so light for the other two are wasted, a reduced number of digital gray-scale levels because the Pulse Width Modulation cycle is time-shared by all three primary colors, and the most curious effect of all are rainbow artifacts that are occasionally seen by some people. The rainbows arise because the red, green and blue primary color images are drawn in sequence at slightly different times. If there is any rapid eye or head motion the color sequences will appear in slightly different locations on the retina. That produces a temporarily mis-registered triple image, which is ordinarily not very noticeable in most photographic style images. However, when the image contains bright-white compact objects on a dark background it then appears as a red, green and blue triplet that looks like a prism or rainbow image of the object. Most people generally aren’t aware of these rainbow artifacts, but I believe that most people will see them under the circumstances mentioned above when viewing the screen up close in a completely dark room, which seems to increase the incidence of rapid eye movements because there aren’t any visual points of reference in the dark. I see rainbows almost constantly when I’m working with test patterns up close to the screen and in the dark, but I see them only rarely when I’m viewing normal video content nine feet back in a dimly lit room. Spacecraft scenes in science fiction movies (like 2001: A Space Odyssey) are the “best” place to determine if you may be sensitive to rainbows. If you are, try a DLP projector with the highest speed color wheel available, which is currently 10,800 RPM. DLP Strongest Points: Darkest black-level and highest Dynamic Range of all the flat-panels — Closest match to CRT Gamma and primary colors — Perfect color registration for units with a color wheel — High pixel fill factor of 90 percent produces a smooth yet sharp image with no apparent pixelation except close up to the screen — Pixel intensities generated by the digital DMD chip are digitally precise, stable and reproducible — Very fast pixel response times and few motion artifacts — Native ATSC Mode 1280 x 720 for the HD2 chips means some HD content doesn’t require rescaling and also allows scaling by other video components that can generate 1280 x 720 — Very little aging effects other than lamp dimming and replacement. DLP Weakest Points: Spatial and temporal dithering produce some noise and false contouring in dark images — Color wheel rainbow artifacts — Possible visual fatigue due to temporal dithering and rainbow artifacts. Some people report significant discomfort but most people don't appear to be affected — Direct-view not available – projection only — Fixed native resolution. Rescaling required for other resolution formats — Noise from the color wheel and cooling fans. Other DLP Artifacts: Pixels are a bit softer than direct-view displays due to the rear projection optics and screen — Irregularities and dithering noise at the dark-end of the gray-scale due to insufficient bit-depth in signal processing — Intentional variation in brightness with viewing angle produced by the rear projection screen so as to maximize the luminance at normal viewing angles. DLP Future Trends: The new DLP 1920 x 1080p high resolution rear projection displays should begin appearing in early 2005. They use TI’s new xHD3 chip, which has a 960 x 1080 matrix of mirrors that works together with TI’s SmoothPicture moving mirror actuator to produce 1920 x 1080 addressable pixels onscreen. The mirrors are oriented at 45 degrees in a diamond configuration in order to work with SmoothPicture to eliminate all visible pixel structure without sacrificing resolution. (The xHD3 is simply a higher resolution version of the existing 640 x 720 HD3 chip mentioned above.) Note that the xHD3 chips will be available only for rear projection units because they represent a much higher volume market than front projectors, so TI has concentrated its system engineering and development efforts for that market. Hopefully sometime soon TI will announce a 1920 x 1080p product for front projection — Faster 7 and 8 segment color wheels will be available — New optics and electronics configurations will result in less expensive 3-chip DLP projectors — TI’s soon to be introduced DynamicBlack™ technology will improve the darkest black-levels and the Dynamic Range (peak full field contrast) by as much as a factor of 5 by modulating the output light intensity on a frame-by-frame basis after analyzing the scene content — A scrolling color wheel made up of red, green and blue Archimedes spirals could significantly reduce rainbow artifacts and improve light efficiency because red, green and blue segments are always active simultaneously. This technology has been around for a while but has yet to be implemented in a consumer product. DLP Commentary: In a span of 8 years since its commercial introduction, DLP has steadily improved performance to the point where it has now become a dominant player in projection technology for both computers and video. High Definition Television is the “killer application” for DLP and the 1280 x 720 chips have already captured a major share of the high-end home theater market by delivering outstanding picture quality. The long and eagerly awaited DLP 1920 x 1080 displays will begin arriving in stores in early 2005, the last of the major technologies to introduce a consumer product at this optimum HD native resolution. This higher resolution will significantly increase sharpness and detail while reducing the visibility of spatial and temporal dithering artifacts. However, the big issue for DLP is not further reducing black-levels or artifacts or the price of 3-chip configurations, but rather packaging the DLP units so they have a form factor and footprint closer to the direct-view LCD and Plasma units. The InFocus Light Engine is a gigantic and exciting step in that direction. ClosingIn this series we have analyzed and compared the major display technologies that are currently available as either direct-view or rear projection units. Competition between the technologies has always been strong but it has been intensifying with the anticipated high demand for High Definition Television displays. All of the high-end displays that we examined produced excellent image quality. There was no across-the-board single display technology winner because these are complex multi-parameter devices and there are a wide range of applications and personal preferences. Price is also a major factor and there are considerable price differences between the display technologies. If you can live with a bulky unit and a 40 inch or smaller screen size then the CRT is the clear image quality winner. For thin direct-view displays the Plasma is currently better for video but the LCD is better for (non-gaming) computer applications. (For computer gaming stick with a CRT.) For large screen image quality the DLP currently produces the best overall image quality, however, there are new challengers in JVC's HD-ILA, Sony's SXRD and Brillian’s LCoS. LCDs are rapidly approaching a 60 inch screen size in a major challenge to Plasma technology. Rear projection units are also trying to become almost as thin as the direct-view LCD and Plasma units so that they too can be placed almost anywhere, including a wall (a major selling point). The most impressive such technology to date is the Infocus Light Engine, which can produce a 61 inch screen size in a cabinet that is a mere 6.5 inches deep, and it can be hung up on a wall. The battle between direct-view and rear-projection units will be the most interesting of all mainstream developments. At the high-end front projection is in a class by itself, but it shares its technology and future with the high-volume rear projection units. Another big question is how well CRT front projectors will weather the competition over time. The current renaissance in display technology is likely to continue into the near future. In the last few years we’ve seen the introduction of several new display technologies and also major improvements in display performance. For example, by early 2005 all of the major display technologies will have displays or projectors that run at 1920 x 1080 or above, and we’re starting to see prototypes for as high as 4096 x 2160. 1920 x 1080 is an important benchmark, because it’s the threshold for very high quality home cinema. Black-levels, contrast ratios, resolution and screen sizes are all improving rapidly as well. In fact, lately they’re improving even faster than Moore’s Law for semiconductors, which is a doubling of performance every two years. (Use total pixels and screen area rather than linear pixels and size in the comparisons.) But this renaissance can’t go on forever: development costs are sky rocketing, limiting the number of new players that can afford to launch new display technologies that can challenge the already high image quality of the existing technologies. So enjoy the ride and excitement while it lasts… AcknowledgementsMany manufacturers provided technical information on their technologies: special thanks to Bruce I. Berkoff (LG.Philips LCD), Wing Chung (Optoma Technology), Todd M. Fender (NEC/Mitsubishi), Peter F. van Kessel (Texas Instruments), Tom Kwon (Konica Minolta), Masaaki Nishio (NEC Plasma Display Corp, now with Pioneer), Craig Verbeck (Pixelworks) and Dr. Larry F. Weber (plasma technology). Special thanks to the Konica Minolta Instrument Systems Division for providing editorial loaner instruments whenever and wherever they have been needed and for providing the CS-1000 Spectroradiometer on a long-term loan for this project. About the Author Dr. Raymond Soneira is President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire. He is a research scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any comments or questions about the article you can contact him at dtso@displaymate.com.
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Well, that's it for this edition of rAVe! Thank you for spending time with me as we muse the industry's happenings. To continue getting my newsletter, or to sign up a friend, click the link below. To send me feedback and news tips, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gkayye@kayye.com [forward-Click here to forward Gary Kayye's rAVe to a friend] [subscribe-Click here to subscribe] A little about me: Gary Kayye, CTS, founder of Kayye Consulting. Gary Kayye, an audiovisual veteran and columnist, began the widely-read KNews, a premier industry newsletter, in the late 1990s, and created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which later became InfoComm IQ. Kayye Consulting is a company that is committed to furthering the interests and success of dealers, manufacturers, and other companies within the professional audiovisual industry. Gary Kayye's rAVe was launched in February 2003. The new rAVe Home Edition co-sponsored by CEDIA launched in February, 2004. To read more about my background, our staff, and what we do, go to http://www.kayye.com Copyright 2005 – Kayye Consulting – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact Kayye Consulting, 400 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 425 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email dharrison@kayye.com Gary Kayye's rAVe contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors.
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The $1,500, 2000 ANSI lumen projector: 2004 brought us a plethora of sub-$1000 projectors, but more importantly, the sub-$1,500, 2000+ ANSI lumen projector made its debut – Dell. In fact, Dell is currently rated as one of the world’s top projector manufacturers/resellers by most of the market analysts. But that’s not all. In fact, although the MSRP is in the $1,700-$1,800 range for more than 15 models of 2000+ lumen projectors out there, the real selling price is averaging less than $1,400. So, Dell’s not alone in this. InFocus, Boxlight, Canon, HP, Megapower, Toshiba and ViewSonic all have 2000-2300 ANSI lumen projectors that sell for well less that $1,500. 
More lens-less projectors: NEC introduced the industry’s first, and still the only, lens-less projector back in late 2003. What’s the big deal? It can project a 100” diagonal image sitting less than 24-inches away from the screen! It didn’t ship until 2004 and maybe that’s the reason that no one else has emulated it yet, but I am truly dumbfounded by this one. Sure, there are a host of rear-screen enclosures with shallow-depth projection systems – the best known being InFocus’ 61” diagonal projection system that’s less than 7” deep. But, why no front screen? Well, in checking with all the projector companies out there, three admit they are working on them and expected to have them in 2005. But, seven companies said they are working on large-format, thin rear-screen systems. 
Wireless DVD-quality video: Every projector manufacturer has a wireless projection system – the best being Epson’s new technology integrated into their new PowerLite 745c LCD projector that integrates WiFi-G, 802.11g wireless networking technology. And, it does video as well as computer projection, wirelessly! 
Barco is now shipping its new iCon H600 projector, a new model and the beginning of a new product series that gives the projector some capabilities not seen before. Namely, you can open up six windows for display within the 16:9, high-definition projection – four from external sources with any combo of video and data, and two windows from the projector’s hard drive. We got a demo of this at InfoComm and it’s a powerhouse.
There are so many companies offering so many TVs these days that one of the only ways of differentiating display products is size. Some companies broke the size barriers with new products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month, and they’re impressive. Samsung introduced a 67-inch DLP and an 80-inch plasma. LG Electronics had a 71-inch plasma and Sharp introduced a 65-inch LCD.
Kramer Electronics introduced a FireWire range extender, the TP-300FW, that vastly extends the range of FireWire signals. This new addition to Kramer’s TOOLS product line makes it rather easy to extend FireWire signals since it uses a standard CAT 5 cable.
ActiveLight, PWS Merge
NSCA, coming up in March and celebrating its 25th anniversary, announced that the show will feature a Live Sound Showcase and Workshop, and will host a reunion of the Syn-Aud-Con grads. The Live Sound Showcase & Workshop will be held March 8-9 and will focus on the advanced beginner audio professional with test and measurement of sound reinforcement systems and loudspeaker performance analysis.
InfoComm, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce International Buyer Program, is offering special incentives for international attendees. Aside from the many seminars and education sessions as well as tours of local Las Vegas AV installations, benefits include complimentary show registration and seminars, inclusion in the International Reception and special AV facility tours, travel assistance, complimentary airport-ground transportation, a VIP IBP registration badge and more.
Crestron announced a new version of its Isys line of touchpanels and also announced a low-cost receiver for the company’s MediaManager product line.
The other new product from Crestron is the QM-RX, a small, low-cost QuickMedia Receiver for the MediaManager product line. This addition is designed to facilitate larger and more complex presentation systems, such as multi-room, multi-projector systems.
SMART Technologies announced SMART Board software 9.0, which includes additional content, new kinds of content and new content management tools. One change that teachers and other users will applaud is the new “take-home privileges,” giving users access to SMART Board software features outside the classroom, so the user doesn’t have to be tied to the classroom to create lessons.
Logitech showed a new presentation controller at CES. It’s a very simple hand-held product but should work well for presentations that only require the presenter to go forward or backward among slides.