LCoS Shoot-Out HDTV Manufacturers

 

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corp.

Copyright © 1990-2006 by DisplayMate Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This article, or any part thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated
into any other work without the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

Article Links:  Overview  Part A  Part B  Part C  Part D

LCoS HDTV Manufacturers Sidebar

Shoot-Out Hardware and Software Sidebar

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Brillian Corporation:

Brillian has been developing its proprietary LCoS technology since 1997. The company manufactures not only LCoS panels, but also complete Projection Light Engines in addition to a line of high-end HDTVs that are sold under its own brand name, as well as through other OEM manufacturers. Based in Tempe, Arizona they are currently the only HDTV manufacturer in the USA. In November of 2005 Brillian merged with Syntax Groups, a larger company with a broad line of retail LCD flat-panel HDTVs, the combined company should become a significant player in both LCoS and LCD technologies. In 2004, Syntax was the number 3 supplier of LCD TVs in North America under its Olevia brand, and is ranked in the top 10 worldwide. Brillian is a public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange as BRLC. See www.brilliancorp.com.

 

eLCOS Microdisplay Technology and JDS Uniphase:

The eLCOS-JDSU HDTV was produced by a consortium of four companies: eLCOS Microdisplay Technology Inc, which provided the LCoS panels and their drive electronics, JDS Uniphase, which provided the Projection Light Engine and overall assembly of the unit, DNP (Dai Nippon Printing www.dnp.co.jp), which provided the very fine 0.065 mm Film Lenticular Lens screen, and Silicon Optix, which provided the front-end signal processing via a prototype Niobe reference design video processor (see the Shoot-Out Hardware and Software Sidebar, Part B). JDSU manufacturers a very broad range of optical components and products for the communications and display industries, including color wheels, polarizers, contrast enhancers, light pipes, mirrors, and filters that are used in light engines for LCoS, LCD, and DLP projectors. See www.jdsu.com. eLCOS is a privately held company that develops and manufactures digital backplane LCoS panels and their associated digital controllers. HDTVs with their 1920×1080 panels are currently available only in Asia from CPT (Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Taiwan, www.cptt.com.tw ) and THTF (Tsinghua Tong Fang, China, www.thtf.com.cn). eLCOS plans to enter the US market in 2006. See www.elcos.com.

JVC Consumer Products:

This division produces the broad line of JVC products that consumers are most familiar with, including the digital D-VHS players that we used to record and play High Definition program material. There are currently 7 models of HD-ILA rear projection HDTVs that range in size from 52 to 70 inches, including 3 newly announced 1080 units that began shipping in October 2005. The suggested retail prices range from $3,800 to $6,000. The panels in the consumer units use a fully digital D-ILA backplane that was developed jointly with Aurora Systems Inc. The lower manufacturing cost of these panels makes it possible to offer D-ILA technology at a much lower cost than products from the Professional Division. See www.jvc.com.

 

JVC Professional Products:

The Professional Products Division of JVC was an early pioneer of LCoS and has been producing D-ILA front projectors since 1998. D-ILA stands for Direct-drive Image Light Amplifier. Before that they produced a related reflective Liquid Crystal technology called ILA that was driven with CRTs and their earliest work in this technology goes back to the early 1980s. In 1999 JVC helped pioneer Digital Cinema when it was selected to show Star Wars: Episode I via digital projection. They currently produce a Digital Cinema 4096×2160 LCoS D-ILA panel, which is the highest resolution display device available. The HRM1 includes a modified version of their HD2K projector with a special lens that provides an incredibly accurate screen geometry, with just a quarter pixel of geometric distortion. In addition to the HRM1 they offer a broad line of video, data, large venue and digital cinema projectors with suggested retail prices from $8,995 to $225,000. See www.jvc.com/pro. For advanced technical information on JVC Professional presentation products see www.jvcdig.com.

 

Article Links

Series Overview

Part A: Introduction to LCoS Technology

Part B: LCoS Color and Gray-Scale Accuracy

Part C: Test Pattern and Jury Panel Evaluations

Part D: Comparison with CRT, LCD, Plasma and DLP

 

Sidebar: LCoS HDTV Manufacturers

Sidebar: Shoot-Out Hardware and Software

 

Copyright © 1990-2006 by DisplayMate Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This article, or any part thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated
into any other work without the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation