High Resolution - Veritas et Visus

Table of Contents

Ortus Technology, p3 Dolby, p4 Wildfire, p21 Beaudot, p59 Letter from the publisher: Bertha…by Mark Fihn 2

High resolution news from around the world 3

TV Ecosystem Conference, August 18, 2010, San Jose, California 27

Display Signage Conference, August 17, 2010, San Jose, California 28

SIGGRAPH, July 25-29, 2010, Los Angeles, California 30

Korea Display Conference, July 8-9, 2010, Seoul, South Korea 39

EuroITV 2010 Conference on Interactive TV and Video, June 9-11, 2010, Tampere, Finland 41

The Future of Lighting and Backlighting Conference, May 26, 2010, Seattle, Washington 43

Apple + Light Peak = Early 2011, by Jin Kim 47

Keep taking the tablets…by Fluppeteer 49

Business must constantly look to, plan for tomorrow by Andy Marken 51

Understanding Resolution by Michael Reichmann 55

Apple “Retina Display” in iPhone 4: A vision science perspective by William H.A. Beaudot 59

Last Word: 960 Hertz and fermented bean paste, by Ken Werner 63

High Resolution is focused on bringing news and commentary about the developments associated with high performance displays and the human factors that create demand better display products. High Resolution is published electronically 10 times annually by Veritas et Visus, 3305 Chelsea Place, Temple, Texas, USA, 76502. Phone: +1 254 791 0603. http:/www.veritasetvisus.com

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Mark Fihn [email protected] Managing Editor Phillip Hill [email protected] Contributors: William Beaudot, Fluppeteer, Jin Kim, Andy Marken, Michael Reichmann,

and Ken Werner

Subscription rate: US$47.99 annually. Single issues: US$7.99 each. Hard copy subscriptions are available upon request, at a rate based on location and mailing method. Copyright 2010 by Veritas et Visus. All rights reserved. Veritas et Visus disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks or names of others.

High Resolution Veritas et Visus November 2010 Vol 5 No 5

Veritas et Visus High Resolution November 2010

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Bertha…

by Mark Fihn

It’s now more than a decade ago that I first set eyes on IBM’s “Big Bertha” – the stunning T221 LCD monitor that IBM developed for a world that sadly seems content with mediocrity. (Actually, I think the T221 solution was commercially released a couple of years after I first had the opportunity to see it, but that’s no matter)… It remains the most beautiful display solution I’ve ever seen. Forget all the intervening improvements in contrast ratio, color gamut, viewing angle, response time, etc., etc., the beauty came from its capacity to simultaneously show both lots of information and high quality images. The 22.2-inch monitor boasted 3840x2400 pixels (translating to more than 200 pixels/inch). I whole-heartedly agree with a review from PC Magazine:

“Talk about eye candy! The IBM T221, a 22.2-inch LCD monitor, offers such a stunning image that we feel we must warn

you: There is no going back”.

I’ve been patiently waiting for more than a decade now for the industry to reach a point where I could afford a monitor with the equal of the Bertha’s ability to support both high information content and image quality. When Bertha was first released, it was priced way out of my price range, (more the $25,000), and even a few years later, I couldn’t justify spending $5000… I suppose that’s a huge price drop, and I fully expect that continued development work would have resulted in further reductions – to the point that I’d certainly be able to afford this sort of performance by now… Even back in 2002, PC Magazine suggested:

Displays are way behind compared with today's powerful processors, graphics cards, and 5-megapixel digital cameras. When you order a computer online, the display is the last item you pick, yet it's the component you interface with most.

I was briefly excited back in 2007 when Toshiba announced they were going to productize a 22-inch monitor at 3840x2400 pixels, but sadly, this never came to pass, (nor has Toshiba ever provided an explanation for their reversal). Various 30-inch panels are now considered to be the premiere solutions available, but at 2560x1600 it’s less than half the pixel count of Bertha and at only 100 pixels/inch, such “high-end” solutions are just not as eye-popping as some of the marketing hype would have you believe.

So, I continue to live vicariously through those few people I know that did manage to justify the purchase of a T221. One of those is my high-resolution comrade-in-arms, Fluppeteer. His commentaries and insights about high resolution displays, display interfaces, aspect ratios, and the emergence of 3D are based on day-to-day experience.

The twenty articles in the upcoming compilation of Fluppeteer’s writings for the Veritas et Visus newsletters are a constant reminder to me of how needful this industry is for a next-generation “Bertha” – and this time round, I’ll somehow figure out a way to justify an acquisition. I can’t wait another decade…

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

This article introduces the upcoming MultiView compilation of Fluppeteer’s collected articles in the Veritas et Visus newsletters. His writings are truly insightful – a great mix of rant, tutorial, and history lesson. If you are interested in getting an advance copy, just send me a note and we’ll arrange… Mark Fihn


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High resolution news from around the world compiled by Phillip Hill and Mark Fihn

Ortus Technology brings out “world’s smallest” full HD display – 458ppi! Ortus Technology, a joint venture between Casio and Toppan Printing, has developed the world’s smallest full HD display at 4.8 inches. The panel has a resolution of 1920x1080 which is achieved by the company's HAST (Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT) micro-fabrication technology. To achieve the high resolution in such a small size the company has managed to squeeze in 458 pixels per inch, the iPhone 4’s Retina display comes in at 326 pixels. The display has a viewing angle of 160 degrees and supports 16 million colors. Its applications include HDTV equipment screen monitors and eventually cell phones and video games.

HAST was realized through the application of various original Ortus Technology technologies:

Ultra-high-definition TFT array processing technology Low-resistance fine wiring technology Super-narrow pitch COG bonding technology High-image-quality optics design technology

The HAST technology has achieved a 30% increase in the aperture ratio (at 2.4-inch 320x240) compared with conventional

technologies.

With further advances in HAST technology, a 2.0-inch QHD (960x540) display with 546 ppi, the highest definition in the industry, was successfully developed.

Currently under development at Ortus are OLED displays driven by an a-Si TFT substrate employing high uniformity and wide-area expandability. The OLED solution can also utilize the HAST pixel circuit technology and drive system to provide incomparably high image quality. Under development is a 6.5-inch High-Polymer OLED display at 960x540 pixels (169ppi). http://www.ortustech.net/

Intel develops new chips – combining CPU and GPU Intel gave new details of a forthcoming chip family that represents a sharp technology shift for the company and may require new marketing pitches to computer buyers. The products, known by the code name Sandy Bridge, combine the company’s traditional microprocessor technology with graphics, video processing and other features on a single piece of silicon. These features could help inspire software developers to come up with new applications to take advantage of what the company describes as “visibly smart” computing. The video processing technology in Sandy Bridge is likely to dramatically shorten the time needed to convert video from one format to another. Sandy Bridge also incorporates advanced vector instructions (AVX) to replace the need for digital signal processors that are sold for communication. Intel expects the graphics circuitry included in Sandy Bridge to reduce the need for consumers to buy GPUs in order to play high-end video games. Sandy Bridge is being designated as the second generation of the Intel Core product family. Intel said Sandy Bridge will go into high-volume production in the fourth quarter and be available in computers early in 2011. http://www.intel.com


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Hitachi Displays announces MEMS display from Pixtronix Hitachi Displays has prototyped a MEMS display by using Pixtronix technology. The display was prototyped on the 4.5-generation (the size of glass substrate: 730x920mm) production line for low-temperature polycrystalline silicon in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Compared with LCD displays, the power consumption of the new display is about half, and it can reproduce vivid colors. The company plans to release the display from the end of 2011 to the

beginning to 2012 for mobile phones, smart phones, tablet PCs, digital cameras and other mobile devices equipped with a 10-inch or smaller display. Pixtronix’s MEMS display consists of a MEMS shutter, a backlight unit using red, green and blue LEDs, driver elements (TFTs), a reflecting plate, etc. Color tones can be adjusted by opening and shutting the MEMS shutter at a high speed and changing the amounts of the light from the LED backlight unit and natural light. Pixtronix's display can be driven in three modes: the transparent mode, the reflectance mode and the semi-transmissive mode, which is a combination of the transparent mode and the reflectance mode. In the transparent mode, color display is realized by driving red, green and blue LEDs in sequence (field sequential method). In the reflectance mode and the semi-transmissive mode, which use natural light, only monochrome display is

possible. Unlike LCD displays, the new MEMS display developed by Hitachi Displays does not require a polarizing plate or a collar. In addition, when light is extracted, it is repeatedly reflected inside the panel, resulting in a high light use efficiency. The prototyped display has a screen size of 2.5 inches, a pixel count of 320x240, a pixel pitch of 163μm and a 120% color gamut on NTSC standards. http://www.hitachi-displays-eu.com

Dolby introduces reference monitor with RGB direct backlighting Dolby officially launched its new PRM-4200 pro reference monitor in North America. The 42-inch model boasts RGB LED backlighting and these LEDs (of which there are 4,500 chips in total or 1,500 for each color) are individually modulated on a frame-by-frame basis. Dolby claims that the device is the only LCD-based monitor that is able to display true black, as well as the full dynamic range of the latest digital cinema cameras. The firm has also said that the monitor supports the DCI/P3 (digital cinema) color gamut for ‘cinema color quality’ and added that image size and aspect ratio can be changed to suit a home viewing environment. The Dolby PRM-4200 is available now in North America for an MSRP of $54,950 and it will come to other markets in 2011.

Dolby's 42-inch PRM-4200 supports the DCI/P3 (digital cinema) color gamut

GEO Semiconductor announces advanced warp platform GEO Semiconductor announced the availability of its new eWARP platform demo board, code named Shasta, for display resolutions up to 2560x1600 (WQXGA). This platform employs two sxW2 ICs to enable seamless warp for a wide range of resolutions and also permits designers to achieve a higher level of corrections and rotation for


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standard displays with resolutions up to full HD (1920x1080). Capable of performing all standard optical corrections such as keystone, pin-cushion and barrel distortion correction along with rotation of images, the platform also enables advanced features such as de-warp of fish-eye lenses, edge-blending of high definition video streams for two display devices (projectors/LCD panels), image stitching for two camera sensors in order to create higher resolution cameras, and color and brightness uniformity correction for image sensors, projectors and LCD displays. http://www.geosemi.com

Sub-retinal electronic chip implants by Retina Implant improves vision for the blind Reutlingen, Germany-based Retina Implant AG has conducted clinical studies with three blind patients. The company’s sub-retinal electronic chip is 3mm in diameter, 50μm thick and packs 1520 micro-photodiodes in a 38x40 array with each pixel measuring 70x70μm. A recent study titled “Sub-retinal electronic chips allow blind patients to read letters and combine them to words” details the visual results achieved during Retina Implant’s first clinical trial. Patients involved in this trial were able to recognize foreign objects and read letters to form words.

This study concludes that the implantation of Retina Implant’s microchip was successful in restoring useful vision in patients previously blind due to retinitis pigmentosa. Retina Implant’s first clinical trial began in Germany and involved sub-retinally implanting 11 patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, one of the most common forms of inherited retinal degenerations affecting approximately 200,000 people in the world. http://www.retina-implant.de

ReVision Optics develops implantable lenses to replace reading glasses ReVision Optics (RVO) has applied to expand a clinical trial of tiny implants that treat presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision. RVO, a California-based company that is developing the lens technology, has filed for an expansion of the first phase of the trial. So far, RVO has completed enrollment and initial follow-up as part of the first phase of the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) trial. The next stage will see 400 people fitted with the implants in a three-year study. The company has developed the “Vue+” micro-lens as an alternative to the need for reading glasses. The device is similar to a contact lens, except that it is placed just below the surface of the eye, instead of on top of it. RVO says that the lens is made from a proprietary transparent, medical-grade hydrogel that is optically very similar to the natural cornea. At just 2mm in diameter and thinner than a human hair, the implant is much smaller than a conventional contact lens. The Vue+ is designed to add a microscopic change in the curvature of the cornea for increased focusing power. The short procedure for implanting the lens involves a laser, which is used to prepare the patient’s cornea. The lens is only implanted to one of the patient’s eyes. RVO explains that it is placed in the non-dominant eye, so that it does not interfere with distance vision in the patient’s dominant eye. http://www.revisionoptics.com/


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Mechdyne CAVE featured on Discovery Science Channel episode The CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment integrated by Mechdyne Corporation in March 2009 at Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey, featured in an episode of “Sci Fi Science—Physics of the Impossible” on the Discovery Science Channel in November. “The CAVE provides an immersive, interactive and navigable 3D simulation of any environment you desire,” explains Dr. Shreekanth Mandayam, professor and chair of Rowan’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department. “It is like the ‘Holodeck” from Star Trek.” The CAVE was installed as part of Rowan University’s Samuel H. Jones Innovation Center at the South Jersey Technology Park, in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. Rowan University students have used the CAVE designed and engineered by Mechdyne to conduct research for NASA, the US Navy, the city of Camden and more. In the program Dr. Mandayam explains how the Mechdyne CAVE helps students create “what if” scenarios for new product design and testing. By constructing virtual scenarios of real life entities like NASA rockets, researchers can find out what went wrong after the fact, give advice to correct design issues, or discover what may have lead to any problems in the original design. In addition to the research for NASA and the US Navy, Mandayam helps his students communicate with other colleges with virtual reality laboratories via holograms. He is also hopeful that the lab can be utilized by elementary and high school students to demonstrate scenarios like the potential effects of global warming happening right around their bodies, all in the “safety” of the virtual setting. At its completion, the Rowan University CAVE was the only university in New Jersey to have a room-sized CAVE automatic virtual environment.

Dr. Michio Kaku, host of “Sci Fi Science – Physics of the Impossible” program on the Discovery Science Channel works with the film crew shooting an episode about the CAVE automatic virtual environment installed by Mechdyne Corporation at Rowan University in New Jersey; Dr. Michio Kaku with Rowan University graduate student George

Lecakes, inside Rowan University’s CAVE which was designed, integrated and installed by Mechdyne

VSee announces free home telepresence VSee Labs announced that high-definition video calling is now available for free, directly challenging Cisco and Logitech’s recent announcements for paid home telepresence. VSee is in stark contrast to Cisco’s $600 set top device for home telepresence, the ūmi. The ūmi also requires a $25/month service charge. Unlike Cisco, Logitech, and Vidyo, VSee requires no special device, only VSee running on a PC and an off-the-shelf webcam. In addition to free telepresence, VSee’s offering also includes a full suite of collaboration tools, such as application sharing, movie sharing, and file transfers. By bringing cloud computing principles to live video calling rather than the traditional client/server model of Cisco, VSee can achieve higher performance by orders of magnitude without incurring additional costs, enabling VSee Labs to give it away for free for non-business use. http://www.VSee.com

Inlet Technologies demonstrates multi-screen adaptive bit rate solutions Inlet Technologies demonstrated its Spinnaker live streaming appliance as the cornerstone of ABR-TV. ABR-TV is a new deployment model that cost-effectively enables telco operators to deliver consistent, high-quality video services to any screen over managed and unmanaged networks, thereby enhancing value to existing customers, extending service to new customers, and creating more opportunities for advertising revenue. Inlet’s Spinnaker is a robust, reliable platform that can stream in multiple formats to any device, including PC, Mac, next generation set-top box, iPhone, iPad, feature phones, and smart phones. Spinnaker was the first solution to offer full support for


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adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming and Inlet continues to lead the market in this technology on all major platforms, including Microsoft IIS Smooth Streaming, Apple HTTP Adaptive Streaming and Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming. Spinnaker is also able to detect broadcast cue messages and translate critical ad metadata into new ad markers appropriate for the Flash and Silverlight platforms as well as iOS devices. ABR-TV enables telcos to physically reach more customers, including those that were previously unavailable due to last-mile limitations or out-of-net locations, and re-monetize the linear streams delivered to those subscribers. By automatically adapting the video to the available bandwidth and network conditions to support additional devices, telcos will be able to reach nearly all broadband-connected subscribers – even those with low or unreliable bandwidth – with video services, while simultaneously adding new advertising revenue streams. http://ow.ly/33Yol

University of Michigan develops nano LCD screens for heads-up displays Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a new breed of LCDs with pixels ten times smaller than the ones on standard computer monitors. The work was funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Dr Jay Guo and colleagues at Michigan have created a color filter for LEDs using specially etched nano-scale sheets of metal and an electrical insulator, which the team has named “plasmonic resonators”. The interaction between light passing through the slit on to the nano-sheets creates a tiny colored pixel – the color varying depending on the shape of the slit. As a result, Gou and his team have created a tiny LCD pixel that is very energy efficient. Traditional LCDs need polarizing layers, filter sheets, electrode-laced glass along with the liquid crystal layer to produce images. That means much of the backlight used to illuminate the LCD gets wasted. The US Air Force is now investigating how to incorporate the technology in to virtual displays integrated in to pilots’ windshields.

The gratings, sliced into metal-dielectric-metal stacks, act as resonators. They trap and transmit light of a particular color, or wavelength. Simply by changing the space between the slits, the researchers can generate different colors. Through nano-structuring, they can render white light any color. A paper on the research is published August 24 in Nature Communications. Guo’s team used this technique to make what they believes is the smallest color U-M logo at about 12x9 microns. Conventional LCDs, or liquid crystal displays, are inefficient and manufacturing intensive. Only about 5% of their backlight travels through them. They contain two layers of polarizers, a color filter sheet, and two layers of electrode-laced glass in addition to the liquid crystal layer. Chemical colorants for red, green and blue pixel components must be patterned in different regions on the screen in separate steps. Guo’s color filter acts as a polarizer simultaneously, eliminating the need for additional polarizer layers. The new color filters contain just three layers: two metal sheets sandwiching a dielectric. Red, green and blue pixel components could be made in one step by cutting arrays of slits in the stack. This structure is also more robust and can endure higher powered light. Red light emanates from slits set around 360nm apart; green from those about 270nm apart, and blue from those approximately 225nm apart. The differently spaced gratings essentially catch different wavelengths of light and resonantly transmit through the stacks. The pixels in the displays are about an order of magnitude smaller than those on a typical computer screen. They are about eight times smaller than the pixels on the iPhone 4 for example, which are about 78 microns.

An optical microscopy image of seven color filters illuminated by white microscope light; an optical microscopy image of a 12x9 micron U-M logo produced with this new color filter process


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The University of Michigan scientists have created pixels that will enable LED-projected and wearable displays to be more energy efficient with more light manipulation possible, all on a display that may eventually be as small as a postage stamp. The nano-structuring technology includes a new color filter made of nano-thin sheets of metal-dielectric-metal stack, which have perfectly-shaped slits that act as resonators. They trap and transmit light and transform the pixels into effective color filtering elements. The pixels created from this technology are ten times smaller than what are now on a computer monitor and eight times smaller than ones on a smart phone. They use

existing light more effectively and make it unnecessary to use polarizing layers for LCDs. Normally LCDs have two polarizing layers, a color filter sheet, two layers of electrode-laced glass and a liquid crystal layer, but only about 5% of the backlighting reaches the viewer. The research exploits nano-photonic devices using plasmonic structures. The US Air Force is considering the technology to be used as part of virtual displays integrated to pilots' windshields. In the future, the scientists are expecting to use nano-imprint lithography to begin making the next generation of color filters. http://www.umich.edu

Schematic of color filters made of plasmonic nano-resonators (see text for details) (L. Jay Guo/University of Michigan

Sumitomo Electric extends the reach of a 40GbE optical transceiver to 40km Sumitomo Electric Industries announced that it is expanding its optical transceiver portfolio with the introduction of a 40GbE optical transceiver for 40km reach. The optical transceiver complies with the CFP Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) hardware and software specification and is capable of supporting 40km link distance over standard single mode fiber. In order to alleviate future core network bandwidth shortage due to the rapid growth of the IP traffic volume, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has standardized 40Gigabit and 100Gigabit Ethernet under the 802.3ba Task Force. In parallel, Sumitomo Electric has been leading the CFP MSA for next generation form factor with three major optical component vendors. Sumitomo Electric has already released the 40GbE CFP optical transceiver for 10km reach and in addition, developed the world’s first 40GbE CFP for 40km reach by using a high speed 4-wavelength Corse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) laser diode for the optical transmitter and a high speed avalanche photo diode for the optical receiver. Maximum power consumption is compliant with CFP MSA power class 1 (8W max.) and it is the same value as the 40GbE CFP for 10km reach. Sumitomo Electric is planning to start shipping 40GbE CFP samples for 40km reach in the 1st quarter of 2011 and mass production is planned for the 4th quarter of 2011. http://global-sei.com

Conexant and Grain Media deliver design solution for high-density video surveillance applications Conexant Systems and Taiwan-based Grain Media announced the availability of a complete hardware and software reference design for 16-channel digital video recorders (DVRs) used in security and surveillance applications. The new reference design is based on Conexant’s multichannel video decoders and Grain Media’s advanced H.264 compression SoC solution. The new reference design allows manufacturers to develop optimized video surveillance DVRs that support 16-channel encoding, recording and playback, and have dual- or triple-display output capabilities. Additional features include support for embedded keypad and remote controller functionality, without the need for an external micro-controller, and a single crystal for full system operation.

The design platform is based on two Conexant CX25838 video decoders, which deliver the industry’s lowest power consumption and heat dissipation per channel. The decoders integrate eight industry-standard NTSC/PAL video decoders with 10-bit analog-to-digital converters and five-line comb-filtering to enable superior digital quality output while minimizing noise and facilitating low compression bit rates. The decoders also include eight high-quality mono analog-to-digital converters with integrated Inter-IC Sound (I2S) audio inputs. Additional features include programmable motion detection logic, and 48 general input/output (GPIO) pins to maximize design


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flexibility and product customization. The solution platform also includes Grain Media’s GM8186/GM8187 H.264 SoC with an embedded Linux operating system to enable high-quality video performance with low bit rates. The powerful SoC with 540MHz CPU and DDR2 up to 810MHz has been optimized for 16-channel DVR systems. The reference system platform also supports multiple peripheral interfaces, including SATA 2.0 port, USB OTG and host, key scan, remote controller, HDMI, VGA and NTSC/PAL display output. It also includes a PCI interface to support value added functions such as video analytics. http://www.conexant.com

Gefen DVI matrix supports ultra high resolution computers systems Digital connectivity solutions provider Gefen announced the availability of its 10x4 DVI DL Matrix, a new addition to the recently introduced GefenPRO product line. GefenPRO offers integrators and end users professional products with advanced 24/7 technical support for broadcast, rental/staging and post-production environments. With the 10x4 DVI DL Matrix, any ten computers can be switched to any four professional monitors with full cross-point routing. Users have the flexibility to create one or two extended desktops or send sources to individual displays. High resolutions are supported up to 3840x2400, accommodating both single and dual link DVI formats. Built-in EDID management ensures the stability of pre-settings throughout switching. RS-232 serial control and front panel buttons offer easy access and control. An internal power supply further strengthens performance, eliminating potential disconnects. The black metallic enclosure is rack mountable and rugged enough to withstand high performance environments. http://www.gefen.com

Sarnoff Corporation launches AdapTrac advanced target tracking Sarnoff Corporation announced the release of AdapTrac, a robust object and target tracking solution specifically designed to run entirely on Sarnoff’s Acadia II family of embedded video processors. AdapTrac adjusts to changes in scale, orientation and motion while tracking moving or static targets from air and ground vehicles as well as static surveillance platforms. The system’s ideal blend of size, weight, power, and low cost mean that customers can do much more video processing, from tracking to real-time contrast enhancement, from multi-sensor fusion to electronic stabilization, without having to purchase or redesign separate hardware for every new requirement. Unlike other standalone tracking solutions, Acadia II allows designers to implement an array of image processing applications using a choice of three hardware configurations. All configurations allow for image processing applications such as MTI, image stabilization, multi-sensor fusion, contrast enhancement and custom application development incorporated into a single SDK. Within the Acadia II are four ARM11 pipeline processors, available for system development on the SoC. Available now, AdapTrac and Acadia II are ideal for handheld and helmet vision systems, security and surveillance platforms, manned and unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, small arms, or remote weapon systems. http://www.sarnoff.com/acadia2

Jupiter Systems announces first shipments of Fusion Catalyst products to US, Western Europe, and Russia Jupiter Systems announced shipment of its new Fusion Catalyst products to installations in the US, Western Europe, and Russia. The first shipment was made to Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA), based at Camp Pendelton, California. Other systems from the new Fusion Catalyst product line have been shipped to commercial users in Europe and Russia. Fusion Catalyst processors deliver superior performance with up to 192Gbps of internal bandwidth that can carry a vast number and variety of video signals, and drive ultra-high resolution displays. It can handle up to 376 analog or streaming SD video inputs, up to 94 DVI/VGA or HD component video inputs, and up to 96 graphic outputs, all controlled by a powerful drag-and-drop user interface. Fusion Catalyst is the only processor to handle dual-link DVI (up to 2560x1600 resolution) on both input and output. http://www.jupiter.com


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Canon develops 120-megapixel CMOS sensor Canon announced that it has developed an APS-H-size (imaging screen size approximately 29.2x20.2mm) CMOS image sensor with a pixel count of about 120 million. It is the APS-H-size CMOS image sensor that has the world’s highest pixel count, the company said. The pixel count of the new CMOS image sensor is about 7.5 times larger than that of the APS-H-size CMOS image sensor with the previous largest pixel count. Also, the resolution of the new CMOS sensor is 2.4 times higher. When the pixel count of a CMOS sensor increases, parallel processing becomes necessary to read out many pixels at high speeds. But, when the number of signals processed in parallel increases, signal delay and even slightly inaccurate timing become problems. This time, Canon succeeded in reading out sensor signals at a high speed by making improvements to the method of controlling the timing for the readout circuitry. Specifically, it became possible to output images at a speed of up to 9.5fps and to continuously take super resolution images. The new CMOS sensor is capable of outputting full HD (1920x1080 pixel) movies. Any given area (whose size is about 1/60 that of the imaging screen) of the imaging screen can be output as a full-HD movie. Because of the high pixel count of about 120 million, it is possible to output a high-resolution and clear image even when part of an image is cut out (trimming) or electronically enlarged (electronic zoom), Canon said. It is also possible to choose an area after checking an entire still image and view the area as a full HD movie. http://www.canon.com

Canon’s new CMOS image sensor

Canon develops mammoth camera sensor A week after announcing its image sensor with 120 megapixels (see above), Canon revealed it has created a chip with a light-gathering area measuring a huge 202x205mm. The sensor is 40 times larger than Canon’s largest commercial image sensors, the full-frame chips measuring 36x24mm used in high-end SLRs. Notably, it employs new circuitry Canon had to develop to pump data off the processor fast enough to keep up with video. One reason to build larger sensors is to increase their light-gathering area. It can record 60-frame-per-second video with light

levels of 0.3 lux. Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behavior. Although film negatives can be that large and indeed larger, it’s rare that cameras and lenses are designed to cope with an image that large. Building an image sensor with a 300mm silicon wafer is also notable. Canon’s full-frame processors today are built with smaller 200mm wafers. http://www.canon.com

Canon’s 202x205mm image sensor, left, dwarfs even the full-frame 36x24mm sensor to the right, a large model by conventional industry standards

Samsung admits Galaxy Tab display issues with some Android apps Samsung acknowledged that some Android Market apps on the Samsung Galaxy Tab will run at a smaller resolution than the 7.0-inch screen allows. “If you download Android Market apps to the Galaxy Tab, you will find that many of those applications are fully scalable,” a Samsung spokeswoman said. “Those applications that are not scalable are framed in the display at 800x400 pixel resolution.” The full 7-inch screen offers a larger 1024x600 pixel resolution. The problem appears to be limited to apps downloaded from the Android Market. Samsung says that Google’s entire suite of mobile services, including Google Maps, are fully scalable to fit the Galaxy Tab’s 7.0-inch screen at 1024x600 resolution. http://www.samsung.com


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WitsView says smart TV is sparking new home digital concepts According to WitsView, a research division of TrendForce, the market scale of worldwide connected TV is estimated to reach 40 million units, or 20% penetration rate, this year. The market expansion of smart TV as well as the attraction of the open and interactive multimedia content are expected to boom the sales of connected TV. Its market scale is forecast to reach 0.2 billion units, or surpass 65% penetration rate, worldwide in 2015. Connected TV has been out there for several years. It has a built-in Internet access, which is able to connect peripheral hardware through Ethernet or Wi-Fi Internet devices. With the improvement of the global Internet connection speed and the upgrade of the peripheral hardware, Internet access is slowly becoming the standard equipment on mid- and high-end models among TV brand vendors. WitsView’s analyst Linda Lin points out that the primary problem of connected TV was that the content from individual providers had significant differences from one another. The integrated momentum must be formed among multimedia, software and hardware by TV brand vendors. First of all,

in terms of Google TV’s software, an Intel microprocessor, Android platform and Chrome browser have been added; in its hardware, Google has allied with top-tier vendors such as Sony and Logitech. Secondly, Apple iTV aims at Apple’s highly-entertaining multimedia content as well as its integration with other Apple products. The strong support of the supply system leads to the smart TV’s remarkable momentum recently. http://www.witsview.com

Connected TV take-up

IDC reports smart phone growth of 90% in third quarter The global smart phone market grew nearly 90% in the third quarter, with gains by Samsung and HTC, market research firm IDC reported. Vendors shipped 81 million smart phones, up 89.5% from the 42.8 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2009. For the first three quarters, vendors shipped 200.6 million smart phones, an increase of 67% over the 119.6 million shipped for the first three quarters of 2009. The smart phone market is over six times the size of the overall mobile phone market, as customers seek browsing and multimedia functions on their mobile devices and as carriers expand the range of smart phone brands, IDC said.

Nokia still leads with a 32.7% share of the market and 26.5 million smart phones shipped in the third quarter. Even with 61.6% year-over-year growth, Nokia’s market share is shrinking amid new competition. Nokia launched the C7 and its first Symbian 3 device, the N8, and has plans for a device using the MeeGo operating system in 2011. Apple’s iPhone boosted its rank to second place, with a 17.4% market share and 14.1 million phones shipped, a 90% increase from the prior year. A well-publicized problem with the iPhone 4 antenna didn’t dampen demand, since the company swiftly fixed the problem, IDC said. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion was third, with a 15.3% share and 12.4 million smart phones shipped, an increase of 45.9%. The number of shipments reached a record high, but RIM still fell from second place amid the competition. Most notably, RIM released a BlackBerry 6.0 operating system on the BlackBerry Torch 9800 with both a touch screen and a physical keyboard. Samsung came in fourth but posted the highest growth compared with a year ago, of 453.8%, with 7.2 million smart phones shipped. It launched the Galaxy S smart phone line, running Android, and will be one of the first to release a Windows Phone 7 device. HTC was in fifth place, with 176% growth and 5.8 million units shipped. It also sells Android smart phones globally and plans to ship five different WP7 phones this quarter. Android-based phones outsold iPhones in the US by nearly 2-to-1 in the third quarter. http://www.idc.com


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IMS Research says intelligent video will drive the artificial intelligence revolution A world in which machines and devices are visually aware and able to make decisions based upon what they see may not be far away, according to IMS Research whose analysts have been tracking the video analytics market for over seven years. “The innovative major corporations, such as Intel, IBM, Microsoft and Sony, are already making significant investment in intelligent video. This is encouraging many other companies to join the revolution. I think the momentum has already reached the point that these things will happen, the only question now is how quickly?” Intelligent video has already been used in the security industry for some years and many new applications are already under development. These include cars that are able to see road conditions and warning signs and react accordingly; consumer devices and game consoles that can be controlled by, and interact with, the user through gestures and facial expressions; medical scans that can be automatically compared to ones taken weeks or months prior, and digital displays that can show different content depending upon who is viewing it and how they react to what they see. Looking further ahead, continuing improvements in facial and object recognition coupled with spatial awareness will lead to more advanced intelligence. Before the end of the next decade, there is the very real possibility that many machines and robots will be able to see and interact with their environment, people and other visually intelligent devices. In an effort to bring industries together to understand the opportunities and challenges that intelligent video will bring, IMS will be hosting the Intelligent Video 2010: A Revolution in Visually Intelligent Applications Conference in Los Angeles, California on December 9th. http://www.imsresearch.com

DisplaySearch reports next gen smart phones driving demand for larger, higher-resolution displays Despite the high saturation and worldwide penetration of mobile phones, manufacturers are initializing the next growth cycle in order to increase ASPs and maintain revenues. According to the DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report, demand for larger screen sizes and higher resolution presents an opportunity for continued growth. “The strong mobile phone results in Q2’10 demonstrate the popularity of smart phones, which require higher resolution and larger displays to enable applications such as social networking, navigation, and web surfing,” noted Calvin Hsieh, mobile phone research director of DisplaySearch. “This successful performance drove mobile phone main display revenues for the quarter.” As a result of the growing iPhone success, in Q2’10, Apple overtook Sony Ericsson to become the #5 global mobile phone manufacturer on a shipment basis with a 3.1% share, up 127% Q/Q and 28% Y/Y from Q1’10. Nokia ranked first with a 31.3% share, followed by Samsung (17.5%), LG (7.1%) and RIM (4.1%). In terms of the rapidly growing Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Apple ranked #4 with a 10.4% market share. Revenue for main displays reached a remarkable $3B in Q2’10, up 14% Q/Q and 3% Y/Y. Shipments grew to 389.1 million, up 5% Q/Q and 8% Y/Y. Average selling prices for mobile phone displays grew 9% Y/Y to $7.72.

Average selling prices for mobile phone displays; display resolution market share


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In terms of resolution, QVGA (240x320) captured the largest market share in Q2’10, and is estimated to grow to a 24.4% share by the end of 2010. In addition, WVGA (480x800 and 480x864) grew from 2.6% in 2009 to 5.3% in Q2’10, up 62% Q/Q and 121% Y/Y. Additional report highlights include Si TFT LCD panel makers reported growth in shipments of larger sizes and higher resolutions of mobile phone displays in Q2’10, with Samsung Mobile leading on a shipment basis with a 26.7% share, followed by AUO (11.4%) and ChiMei Innolux (11.3%). Average mobile phone display diagonal size reached 2.3 inch in Q2’10, up 3% Q/Q and 8% Y/Y. LTPS-based panels (AMOLED and LTPS TFT LCD) grew 7% Q/Q and 15% Y/Y, respectively. On a shipment basis, a-Si TFT LCD captured more than a 60% share in Q2’10, up 2% Q/Q and 19% Y/Y, taking share from CSTN, as well as LTPS TFT LCD which declined from 22.8% in 2008 to 20.4% in 2009. The LTPS TFT LCD shipment share will likely drop to less than 20% in 2011. Despite this, the smart phone trend will be helpful for LTPS TFT LCD and should slow its decline. http://www.displaysearch.com

DisplaySearch reports TFT LCD shipments for automotive applications indicate strong rebound Shipments of TFT LCDs for portable navigation devices (PND) and automotive monitors (used in car navigation and in-console monitors) increased in the second half of 2009 and first half of 2010. This indicates that the automotive market has rebounded since the economic crisis of 2008. According to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report, TFT LCD shipments rebounded from Q3’09 as a result of automotive sales driven by government tax deductions and subsidies. In addition, demand for automotive displays has grown in China and emerging regions. In the first half of 2010, TFT LCD shipments for automotive monitor applications were more than twice the levels of the first half of 2009. Specifically, shipment growth was 143% Y/Y

from Q1’09 to Q1’10 and 125% Y/Y from Q2’09 to Q2’10. TFT LCD shipments for portable navigation devices also experienced a strong rebound in the first half of 2010, up 72% Y/Y from Q1’09 and 96% Y/Y in Q2’10. Strong growth is forecast for the second half of 2010 in both segments.

TFT LCD shipments for automotive monitor and

portable navigation devices (2009-2010)

According to DisplaySearch results, 70% of TFT LCD automotive monitors are produced by Japanese LCD manufacturers, while 60% of TFT LCD portable navigation devices are from Taiwan LCD manufacturers. The demand for automotive displays has had a positive effect on manufacturers in these regions. For example, Japanese manufacturers of automotive displays have been operating at full capacity in 2010, and some car navigation products have been delayed due to the tight supply of automotive TFT LCDs. http://www.displaysearch.com

TFT LCD manufacturers market share by region for automotive monitor and portable navigation devices (1H’10)


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DisplaySearch indicates LCD TV panel makers targeting 40% LED penetration by Q4’10 The continuing transition to LED backlights is motivating LCD TV panel manufacturers to develop their supply chains in order to reduce the cost of LED-backlit panels. According to the latest Quarterly LED Backlight Panel Shipment and Forecast Report from DisplaySearch, 9.5 million, or 18.5%, of the LCD TV panels that shipped in Q2’10 had LED backlights, which was 110% growth Q/Q. LCD TV panel makers are targeting aggressive growth for LED panel shipments, with plans to reach 40% LED penetration in Q4’10, and to exceed 50% in Q2’11. Penetration is highest among leading LCD TV panel makers, including Samsung, LG Display, AUO, Sharp, and ChiMei Innolux. Notably, Samsung and Sharp aim to ship more LED LCD TVs than CCFL panels in Q4’10 (see table). Among these players, Sharp is the only one focusing on direct-type LED backlights, as opposed to the more common edge-lit structure.

After the tight supply in Q2’10, the LED backlight supply chain ramped up to meet panel makers’ production schedules. Furthermore, panel makers are investing vast resources to develop lower cost LED backlights with enhanced performance. Some of the technology development efforts include “single-sided two light bars” edge-lit LED backlights, the use of alternative optical films for higher brightness and lower cost, as well as enlargement of LED chip packages for better luminous efficiency. These technologies will pave the way for another wave of LED penetration.

Backlight Type

AUO ChiMei Innolux

CPT IPS AlphaLG

DisplaySamsung Sharp

LED 26.9% 26.9% 18.0% 6.5% 38.1% 58.3% 65.5% CCFL/Others 73.1% 73.1% 82.0% 93.5% 61.9% 41.7% 34.5%

Panel makers’ plans for Q4’10: LCD TV panel shipments by backlight type

In Q2’10, the leading size of LED TV panel shipments was 40 inch, with a 23% share among all LED LCD TV panels shipped. This was followed by 32 inch with 21% share, 46 inch with 15%, and 42 inch with 11%. Shipments of 37-inch LED panels grew the fastest – 642% from Q1’10 to Q2’10. In terms of LED panel manufacturing, Samsung and Sharp each shipped 2.8 million LED LCD TV panels in Q2’10, with 29% market share each. LG Display followed slightly behind with 2.4 million units and a 25% share, while AUO shipped 1.2 million units with 13% share. As a result, the leading four companies accounted for 96% of the total shipment of LCD TV panels with LED backlights. DisplaySearch also found that many system integrators or brands that have their own LCD module assemblies are also buying LCD cells from panel makers such as ChiMei Innolux and AUO, and then assembling the LED backlight with their own design. The backlight, module, and system integration business models of leading manufacturers are helping to drive rapid LED penetration. The Quarterly LED Backlight Panel Shipment and Forecast Report also examined LED panel shipment and penetration in desktop monitor and notebook PC panels. LED penetration for desktop monitor panels shipped in Q2’10 was 13.1%, and panel makers have set targets to exceed 30% by the end of the year. LG Display, AUO, and ChiMei Innolux are leading in LED monitor panel shipments. In terms of notebook PCs, LED penetration soared to 92% in Q2’10. http://www.displaysearch.com.cn/

Nielsen survey puts RIM and Apple vying for smart phone lead Research In Motion and Apple are fighting it out for the top spot in the US smart phone market, according to the “Global Smart Phone Report” released by Nielsen. Among the 13,243 smart phone owners polled by Nielsen, Apple’s share has grown steadily over the past year, with the iPhone grabbing 28% in the third quarter. RIM has seen its share for the BlackBerry drop to 30% for the same period. The difference in demand between the two platforms also breaks down by age, according to Nielsen’s numbers. Apple has the highest number of smart phone users under 44, while RIM has captured the most customers 45 and older. In terms of momentum, Android is the one attacking the market. Though still in third place, Google's mobile OS has grown from a 4% share in the fourth quarter of 2009 to a 19% percent share in the quarter just ended. Among customers who picked up a smart phone over the last six months, Android took the top spot during the quarter, said Nielsen, with BlackBerry and the iPhone battling for second place. Another Nielsen report, from early October, found that 32% of the smart phones


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purchased from January to August were powered by Android, compared with 25% for Apple and 26% for RIM. And more reports from NPD Group and Canalys showed that among people who bought smart phones in the third quarter, around 44% opted for an Android device, leaving Apple and RIM with figures hovering in the mid-20 percent range. Among other mobile operating systems, Microsoft's Windows Mobile has declined in demand over the past year and is now hanging onto a 15% slice of the market. The company is hoping to recapture some of that lost share with its new Windows Phone 7. The Palm OS, now owned by HP, has also shed share over the past year. And Nokia’s Symbian OS, though still the worldwide smart phone leader, has failed to take hold in the US with the same small share of the US market since last year. Smart phones in general continued to carve out a bigger chunk of the mobile phone market. As of the third quarter, 28% of all US mobile phone subscribers own smart phones. Among consumers who bought a new mobile phone over the past six months, 41% chose a smart phone over a standard feature phone, up from 35% in the second quarter. http://www.nielsen.com

Christie launches new range of 4K cinema projectors Christie launched of its new premium 4K DLP Cinema Solaria series projectors. They are based on the enhanced 4K DLP Cinema chip from Texas Instruments. The latest Christie Solaria CP4230 and CP4220 projectors feature the Christie 4K+4 advantage which includes optimum performance for 3D utilizing more pixels than other competing technologies; Christie Pixel Track technology to streamline pixel alignment for optimum image quality; simple maintenance procedures that comply with the latest DCI and SMPTE specifications for content security; and the lowest cost of ownership of any digital cinema projector on the market. The latest Christie Solaria series 4K projectors are built on the proven design concepts of the Christie CP2000 platform and are designed to be compliant with the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) specification. Orders for the 4K models are taking place now with shipments expected to begin in early 2011. Development of Christie 4K solutions for markets beyond cinema will be based on market demand. http://www.christiedigital.com

NEC Display Solutions announces its first 4K DLP digital cinema projector NEC Display Solutions of America announced the availability of the NC3240S, its first 4K DLP digital cinema projector, which joins the digital cinema projector series models NC1200C, NC2000C and NC3200S. Equipped with the new 1.38-inch 4K DLP Cinema chip from Texas Instruments, the NC3240S is fully Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) compliant. The projector provides a brightness of 31,000 ANSI lumens and offers exceptionally bright images on screens sized up to 105 feet wide. The NC3240 projector provides users with a modular design that simplifies servicing and minimizes downtime. It’s clear electronic layout and wiring, easy prism replacement and custom DMD shielding gaskets with patented reflector design help reduce maintenance costs and enable quick parts replacement. The NC3240S offers the following features: newly designed cooling system, which creates


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positive air pressure internally to prevent contaminates from entering the main chassis; 4kW variant for smaller screens; custom DMD shielding, which protects the projector from dust and oil, thereby providing optimal picture quality; one-touch operation and memory functions, which store eight projector configurations such as lens shift position, zoom and focus, and lamp power settings; auto lamp brightness control, which continuously monitors the lamp’s brightness and maintains a consistent level by adjusting the lamp power as it ages; trouble-free lamp replacement, which allows maintenance personnel to replace lamps from the back of the projector; intuitive keypad; 3D capabilities with special 3D control connector and optional automatic turret to mount polarizers in front of the lens; and optional 2K/4K integrated media block (IMB) and local storage server, making NEC the only manufacturer in the market to offer a DLP cinema projector/server solution developed completely in-house. The IMB’s internal design allows for content management, screen management and higher security. The powerful 7kW version of the cinema projector will be available from the beginning of 2011 together with the 4kW variant for smaller screens. NEC will also be offering a convenient 4K upgrade option for its current NC3200S 2K model. http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/SubClass/?subclass=Projectors

TI ships next gen DLP Cinema 4K chips Texas Instruments has started shipping DLP Cinema Enhanced 4K chips to its licensees, Barco, Christie Digital and NEC for use in large movie theater venues. Projectors with the DLP Cinema 4K chip are expected to be installed in Q1 2011. All projectors utilizing the new 4K chip will be designed to meet the Digital Cinema System Specifications developed by DCI for established image quality, energy efficiency and security. Parameters include precise DCI-compliant colors, superior contrast ratios including greater than 2500:1 and light output necessary to illuminate the largest auditoriums. Exhibitors can install the DLP Cinema 4K solution in theater screens as wide as 100 feet and 3Di screens as wide as 75 feet. http://www.ti.com

Canon introduces 7000-lumen installation projector Canon U.S.A., Inc. announced the high-performance XGA-resolution LV-7590 multimedia projector. Delivering 7000 lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 1800:1, this new projector offers five optional lenses that enable it to be customized to a variety of front or rear projection applications. This flexibility makes the LV-7590 multimedia projector ideal for installation in large venues such as houses of worship, school auditoriums, showrooms, large conference rooms, art galleries, museums and small theaters. The LV-7590 multimedia projector also employs a color control device, an advanced technology that helps to deliver exceptional image clarity and precise color. Five optional lenses enable installers to customize Canon’s new LV-7590 multimedia projector for a variety of applications. The five optional lenses include an ultra wide-angle lens (LV-IL01); wide-angle zoom lens (LV-IL02); long-focus zoom lens (LV-IL03); ultra long-focus zoom lens (LV-IL04); and a 1.3x zoom lens (LV-IL05). Further enhancing the convenience of the projector is its powered lens-shift function, which can be operated in both the vertical and horizontal directions by up to 40% and 20%, respectively (lens zoom and focus are also motorized). User-adjustable vertical and horizontal digital keystone correction is also included.

The precise color reproduction of Canon’s new LV-7590 multimedia projector is driven by its color control device which adds yellow to the traditional red, green and blue color panels of LCD projectors. The color control device independently controls yellow components, adjusting the quantity of yellow light and automatically selecting for brightness of color reproduction. An associated color management feature provides manual control for fine-tuning specific hues in the projected image. Up to eight different alterations can be stored at once. The new model also features automatic gamma adjustment, a picture-control function that monitors average brightness on a frame-by-frame basis and adjusts gamma levels accordingly for greater emphasis of black tones, added clarity and sharper text. Users can select from two levels of adjustment as well. Images projected are further enhanced by the unit’s 10-bit digital video processing, 3D digital noise reduction, and intelligent sharpness control for smoother gradations and faithful color renditions. Four separate user-selectable image modes also optimize display, depending on the content being projected: standard, presentation, cinema (video), and custom (computer/video). Users can also display content in either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. http://www.usa.canon.com/projectors


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Light Blue Optics raises $13 million to fund new applications for Light Touch Light Blue Optics (LBO) announced it has raised $13 million in funding. The money will enable LBO to continue building out market opportunities for its Gen 1 products – Light Touch and Light Work – and accelerate its Gen 2 product development roadmap for embedded interactive projection devices. This funding follows the company’s previous Series “A” extension of $15 million in July 2009. The round was led by DFJ Esprit. Existing investors Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, Earlybird Venture Capital, Capital-E and NESTA also participated and were joined by new investors Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc. and WhiteGold Fund Management. Light Touch is an interactive projector that instantly transforms any flat surface into a 10-inch touch screen, allowing users to interact with multimedia content in new and exciting ways. It brings a consumer electronics experience to completely new environments, enabling dynamic applications including multimedia ordering systems for restaurants, bars and hotels; wipe-clean, pathogen-resistant interactive displays for healthcare environments; and spill-proof virtual touch screens in the kitchen. Light Touch has LBO’s proprietary holographic laser projection technology (HLP) inside, creating bright, high-quality WVGA resolution video images that are always in focus. Light Touch has its own media processor and operating system. Onboard wireless networking enables Light Touch to connect directly to the Internet or electronic point of sale systems, opening up applications such as social networking, location-based services and electronic ordering. http://lightblueoptics.com

3LCD expands technology offering to include 3LCD reflective HTPS LC chip 3LCD announced that projectors featuring the world’s first reflective high-temperature polysilicon liquid crystal chip for 3LCD will soon be available in major markets worldwide. The new reflective chip, measuring 0.74 inches on the diagonal, supports full high-definition content (1920x1080) and provides increased contrast ratios. With the recent increase in popularity of HD content, there is also new demand for convenient, large-screen home viewing options that deliver stunning visual images. The new reflective HTPS chip provides fully optimized high-contrast ratios for the deepest blacks and brightest whites, and color and white light output are perfectly equal for optimum visual experiences. These advantages are particularly beneficial in home theaters, as the reproduction of natural-looking colors and deep blacks is critical to the viewing experience. The new reflective liquid crystal chip provides contrast ratios of 100,000:1 or higher and has the ability to reproduce bright, natural-looking images and deliver rich gradations. The main structural difference in the reflective chip is a reflective electrode instead of a transparent electrode, and the technology that enabled high-contrast ratios in the transmissive HTPS chip has been optimized for the new reflective HTPS chip. http://www.3LCD.com

InFocus introduces projector upgrade with increased zoom InFocus announced the release of its IN5110 LCD projector. The WUXGA projector (1920x1200) allows users to view high-definition images and full high-definition 1080p video in their native formats without scaling or compression at a lower cost than most WUXGA projectors and features that allow for quick swaps with legacy installations. The IN5110 high-definition projector offers the maximum amount of image area to display complex data. Working with multiple users and information sources is simplified with the ability to project two sources simultaneously perfect for web meetings, video conferencing, 3D modeling, design visualization and group collaboration. With 4,200 lumens, the IN5110 displays crisp images even in high ambient light, while the latest LCD and HDMI technology ensures sharp images, deep black levels and smooth motion. The IN5110 uses the same universal ceiling mount as other InFocus projectors, which means upgrading a conference room is as simple as unplugging one and plugging-in the new model. It’s also the perfect upgrade for 95% percent of the projectors installed today, the company says. Features including horizontal and vertical lens shift, 70% greater zoom than the competition and a 1.5-3:1 (distance/width) throw ratio enable the IN5110 to use the same location as existing projectors and still produce the precisely sized and aligned images. Assignable audio inputs, RS232 and RJ45 network control and AMX Device Discovery offer additional installation flexibility. A single-lamp design and easily accessible lamp door make the IN5110 easy and economical to maintain, while a 3,000-hour lamp life and the latest inorganic LCD technology offer years of operation. http://www.infocus.com


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InFocus unveils HD projectors for large venues InFocus unveiled its latest premium HD projector models, the IN5533 and IN5535. The newest additions to the IN5500 series of large venue projectors lead the category with an incredible balance of color, performance and flexibility to ease integration into any room, regardless of size or dimensions, the company says. The IN5533 and IN5535 enable professional AV installers to choose between five lens options from short throw to ultra-long throw. Combined with motorized horizontal and vertical lens shift and automatic sensors to eliminate optical distortions commonly encountered with other projectors, the IN5500 series offers great flexibility to fit a large variety of applications and environments including legacy installations. The IN5533 and IN5535 respectively offer WXGA (1280x800) and WUXGA (1920x1200) native resolution for wider space to project high resolution images for current and future computer operating systems and for full high definition 1080p video. Plus, the IN5500 series’ six-segment color wheel delivers a wide range of rich, true-to-life colors and smooth color gradations. Both IN5500 models come with dual lamps for high brightness of 6,000 lumens and fail-safe backup protection. They also utilize the latest DLP DarkChip technology and InFocus BrilliantColor implementation for crisp, seamless, film-like images even in rooms with high ambient light. The IN5500 series features full analog and digital connectivity, including HD15, HDMI 1.3, VGA, USB, BNC and component inputs, and is engineered to be Wireless-Ready with LiteShow III for wireless transmission of audio, video, and data content. Organizations can use the InFocus SplitScreen technology in the IN5500 series to project two sources simultaneously and in a variety of configurations, ideal for videoconferencing and distance learning where multiple presentations or video feeds must be viewed side-by-side. The IN5500 series also includes embedded networking and RS232 control for full projector management and room control system integration. http://www.infocus.com

The IN5500 series illuminates Spitball Media’s collaboration with DomeGuys International

Maplesoft announces MapleSim 4.5 for fast simulation Maplesoft announced the release of MapleSim 4.5, the latest version of the high-performance physical modeling and simulation tool. Based on advanced symbolic computation technology, MapleSim is an advanced engineering software tool for design, modeling, and high-performance simulation, including real-time and hardware-in-the-loop applications. Unlike traditional, numeric-based modeling tools, the unique symbolic approach of MapleSim exposes and provides access to the model equations. The latest release includes enhanced support for Modelica, an open standard for describing physical models and components that forms the basis of many components in MapleSim. With MapleSim 4.5, engineers can now access new collections of components using the Modelica import feature, seamlessly including third-party Modelica libraries and their own custom Modelica components in their MapleSim models. Libraries, components, and models based on the electrical, 1-D mechanical, signals, and thermal heat flow domains from the Modelica 3.1 Standard Library can be easily imported into MapleSim and included with standard MapleSim components and models. Other enhancements include the ability to convert older MapleSim models to use Modelica 3.1, the latest version of the Modelica Standard Library, so that these models can take advantage of the latest improvements. MapleSim 4.5 includes an improved simulation engine that can readily simulate continuous models with discrete events. The enhanced engine handles a much larger class of these systems than earlier versions, and shows significant performance improvements for existing hybrid discrete/continuous models. With the improved engine, MapleSim can now handle models that include hundreds of events. Models with discrete events will often run 10 times faster than in MapleSim 4, with some models running over 100 times faster. The improved simulation engine also results in reduced formulation times for large continuous models, shortening the time the engine requires to prepare the model for simulation. http://www.maplesoft.com


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Vu launches telepresence videoconferencing system for the SMB market Vu TelePresence announced the availability of its TelePresence systems customized for the needs of SMBs, and the opening of Vu TelePoints, remote access conference suites available by the hour, to conduct high quality videoconferencing with the Vu system. Vu TelePresence enables entrepreneurial businesses to gain the convenience and efficiency of conducting remote meetings, reviews, and interviews from the office or boardroom – with the realism of higher-end systems costing 3-5 times the price, the company says. About as easy to use as instant messaging, Vu Telepresence operates across low bandwidth environments. It’s available for multiple room size options, while maintaining HD quality images and sound. Using lower bandwidth requirements, Vu TelePresence provides top line audio and video with HD picture quality (i.e., 1,047 billion colors), as well as multi-party conferencing, desktop screen-sharing capability, and 3,000 hours of video recording creating affordable, high quality communications. The system comes complete with Vu Master control unit, Vu pan-tilt zoom camera with a 3.8 optical zoom and a 65-degree field of vision, speakers, and microphone. Vu TelePresence is available in two models: Vu TelePresence Pro for private conversations between five locations is suited for individual practices, employee conferences, remote workers, employee offices and even the CEO’s suite. Vu Telepresence Premier is designed for a larger audience in settings such as boardrooms, meeting rooms and classroom environments. The Vu TelePresence Pro is currently available for lease at $49.99 per month (without display unit). The complete system can be purchased for $1499. http://www.vutelepresence.com

Arecont Vision introduces new panoramic day/night cameras Arecont Vision introduced its next generation of day/night 8-megapixel panoramic cameras, AV8185DN and AV8365DN. Each new camera incorporates surface-mount and in-ceiling mounting options and an IP66-rated environmental chassis needing no external housing. Model AV8185DN provides a 180-degree panoramic view, using four 2-megapixel sensors which can be switched between day and night manually or automatically. The

AV8365DN panoramic camera provides a 360-degree day/night panoramic view, using four 2-megapixel sensors for a total image of 6400x1200 pixels. Combining surface-mount and in-ceiling configurations into a single model simplifies installation and reduces the requirement for multiple models. Both the AV8185DN and the AV8365DN have a two-axis gimbal, providing X-Y (pan-tilt) adjustment as well as180 degree tilt and 360 degree pan rotation for easy alignment. An integrated heater and blower are provided with the AV8185DN-HB and AV8365DN-HB models. Model AV8365DN provides simplified installation with a plus-or-minus 10-degree (20 degree total) individual mechanical adjustment for each sensor, enabling removal of the video “dead spot” at the dome bottom or at the horizon. Mounting options include all 1.5-in. NPT threaded pipe, wall mount (SV-WMT) or pendant mount (SV-CMT), with availability of pole mount (MD-PMA) and corner

mount (MD-CRMA) adapters that are also used with Arecont Vision's MegaDome line. The new panoramic models begin production late in the fourth quarter. The new cameras will be immediately compatible with existing VMS platforms that already integrate with the AV8185 and AV8365 Arecont Vision cameras. Active control of the new day/night feature and electronic vertical alignment will require further integration. http://www.arecontvision.com

LifeSize brings out modular video conferencing with HD quality Whether new to video conferencing or seeking a more flexible way to deploy it, organizations have a new option in the LifeSize Bridge 2200, announced by LifeSize, a division of Logitech. This 16-port product enables organizations to take a building block approach, scaling video conferencing deployments as needed while providing the best high definition experience available. Based on a modular Full HD architecture, the approximately $4,000 per port LifeSize Bridge empowers enterprises to purchase the appropriate number of bridges to accommodate their current video conferencing equipment needs and easily add capacity as the demand for HD video conferencing grows. Traditional solutions require IT decision-makers to predict their capacity needs far into the future, a counterintuitive process that can be difficult to defend when resources are limited and may result in unused


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capacity. LifeSize Bridge eliminates the need for a large upfront investment, enabling businesses of every size to allocate resources only where needed to reduce the risk associated with guessing future capacity. In addition, the new bridge or multipoint control unit (MCU) allows IT administrators to take advantage of existing network architectures and put the bridge anywhere they have extra capacity, minimizing the need to make large bandwidth or other network infrastructure investments to fit their video conferencing needs. The product supports any codec, speed, resolution, layout or port without losing capacity or HD video quality, making it easy to support multiple conferences. LifeSize has developed a new MCU architecture utilizing flat capacity that enables all users to have the same rich HD experience with minimal IT oversight and effort required. The LifeSize Bridge symmetric approach to both 720p60 and 1080p30 receives a high-quality video stream in and transmits the same high-quality resolution without distortion. LifeSize Bridge supports more than 200 resolutions and also features sustained frame rates, a customized screen layout per participant, and up to four Mbps throughput. http://www.lifesize.com

Pioneer’s prototype HUD mixes lasers and Android Pioneer has brought out a laser-based prototype HUD, unveiled and demonstrated at Ceatec 2010 in Japan. Pioneer’s HUD uses lasers to project full-color animated maps and images onto a transparent panel, but Pioneer predicts that one day the system could be used to throw maps and turn-by-turn directions onto a vehicle’s windshield. The prototype system connects to an Android OS smart phone for connection to the Internet, to access information such as traffic, weather, or POI data from the cloud and possibly map data. http://www.pioneer.eu

Pioneer’s prototype HUD could make it to the market as an aftermarket product or an OEM option Credit: IDG/YouTube

Acme Packet and Glowpoint market business-to-business telepresence and video conferencing Glowpoint and Acme Packet announced an on-demand video conferencing solution that leverages Acme Packet’s Net-Net Session Director (SD) session border controller (SBC), which will be deployed in Glowpoint’s Open Video platform for business-to-business (B2B) video communications. Glowpoint’s Open Video, the next generation of Telepresence interExchange Network (TEN) and hosted cloud-based infrastructure, will be commercially available in early 2011 and will offer telepresence, video and unified communications users a seamless way to meet and communicate across a broad range of systems, on differing carrier networks, without compromising security policies. Combined with its managed service offerings, Glowpoint’s Open Video platform will offer options for seamless point-to-point video dialing, ad-hoc (reservation-less) multi-point conferences for mixed SIP and H.323 environments and fully managed conferences and video devices. Acme Packet’s Net-Net SD will be a core component in Glowpoint Open Video’s cloud-based infrastructure, initially offering two distinct benefits. With the Net-Net SD, Glowpoint can offer on-demand video conferencing based on SIP-SIP, SIP arbitrage, H.323-H.323 or SIP-H.323 interworked signaling. The Net-Net SD also resolves any signaling inconsistencies between endpoints, enhancing Glowpoint’s ability to accommodate disparate video conferencing endpoints with a centralized provisioning model that reduces costs by eliminating the need for Glowpoint to customize individual customer endpoints. Acme Packet’s Net-SAFE creates clearly defined security borders, offering a comprehensive mix of security functions including: Layer 2-7 Denial of Service (DoS) attack detection and prevention; topology hiding; VPN separation and interworking; and dynamic access control lists (ACLs). The Net-Net SD also prevents fraudulent use or theft of Glowpoint’s services. As part of the pre-launch of Open Video, Glowpoint and Acme Packet are offering one of the world’s first, true multi-protocol services, called Virtual Video Room (VVR), which offers a dial-in “meet me” room for ad-hoc multi-point meetings. VVR delivers B2B meetings to SIP, H.323 and ISDN-based video, as well as audio-only, participants without having to re-configure customer owned MCUs and without having to establish carrier interconnects for private MPLS networks. http://www.glowpoint.com


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Wildfire supplies ultraviolet touch to Santa Monica’s nighttime “glow” event Wildfire Inc., a market leader in UV effects for theater, themed entertainment and special events, supplied 16 long-throw flood black light fixtures (LT-400F) to Glow, the all-night art event that took place September 25 on Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach. Glow is a free, dusk-to-dawn phenomenon featuring international, national and local artists and including black light performances by acrobats, jugglers, dancers and martial artists. Santa Monica joins Paris, Toronto, Rome, Madrid, Chicago, New York and other cities around the globe whose communities produce nuit blanche (white night) events. Energy efficiency, quiet operation and even distribution make the Wildfire 400W long-throw floods an ideal outdoor lighting choice for Glow’s nighttime beach setting. http://www.wildfirefx.com

Stanford University deploys SGI solutions to accelerate research on solar variability SGI announced that the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory Solar Observatories Group at Stanford University has selected SGI server and storage infrastructure to support the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) group’s critical research on the origin of solar variability. The SDO strives to understand the characteristics of the Sun’s interior and the components of its magnetic activity to help forecast space weather, and relies on SGI’s technology to receive, process and archive massive amounts of data. Every day an SDO satellite transmits 1.4 terabytes (TB) of raw data back to Earth for processing into high-definition images for study. SDO has developed and deployed a hybrid Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) system, which selectively archives key data for future retrieval and use. This hybrid HSM greatly reduces the sets of tapes needed to mount and restore a specific event, like a solar flare, recorded as part of this project’s research. To manage this daily data influx, SDO’s hybrid HSM utilizes SGI high performance computing (HPC) server and storage products, including SGI Altix XE 340 server cluster, SGI InfiniteStorage NAS 4550, SGI InfiniteStorage 10000 and Spectra Logic T950 tape library. Together, these products provide three petabytes (PB) of total online and near-line storage, and are able to consolidate, process and quickly access satellite data to enable accurate predictions of space weather from solar activity. SDO provides a daily torrent of new information and spectacular images of the Sun for interpretation, and the SDO mission will operate for at least five years, resulting in approximately 1PB of data stored per year. Scientists are able to measure, characterize and process data based on solar variations using SGI technology solutions and powerful NASA instrumentation. Stanford’s Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) measures the Sun’s surface to allow study of activity under the surface. In tandem, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument obtains eight high-resolution images every 10 seconds and transmits the data back to Earth. http://www.sgi.com

AMD announces expanded ecosystem for ATI Eyefinity technology AMD announced that a number of technology partners soon plan to release an inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter. The addition of the adapter to the burgeoning ATI Eyefinity ecosystem comes on the heels of the recently announced increase in AMD-powered discrete graphics options for the Apple iMac and Mac Pro, as well as AMD’s return to market share leadership in discrete graphics. “In just six months, we delivered to customers an entire DirectX 11 product stack, with industry-leading image quality and technologies such as ATI Eyefinity and ATI Stream. In turn, customers shifted discrete GPU market share to AMD,” the company said. The industry’s only complete, top-to-bottom line of graphics products offering Microsoft DirectX 11 support helped drive the company’s strong discrete graphics sales in the second quarter. In fact, in just nine months AMD had shipped more than 16 million DirectX 11-capable GPUs. The availability of the inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter, with a suggested retail price of $30, expands the ATI Eyefinity ecosystem to include the massive number of LCD monitors with DVI connectors and resolutions up to 1920x1200. This encompasses the vast majority of monitors sold today, with many models available for well under $200 each. Now, ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor solutions are within reach of virtually everyone, from die-hard gaming enthusiasts to individuals wanting more screen real estate to improve workflow. http://www.amd.com


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Aptina unveils 8-megapixel complete camera solution Aptina announced the availability of its new feature-rich 8MP CCS8140 imaging solution. Leveraging the company’s pixel, processing and packaging innovations, the CCS8140 solution combines a high-quality MT9E013 8MP CMOS image sensor with an Aptina MT9E311 imaging co-processor while maintaining speeds similar to a standalone image processor. The fully tuned, Aptina CCS8140 complete camera solution offers best-in-class image quality while requiring only minimal tuning and sensor adjustments to complete the final product design. The solution affords mobile handset OEMs and camera module integrators not only shorter design time and improved performance advantages, but also lower development and overall systems costs. Traditionally, camera module integrators and mobile handset OEMs have had to source their 8MP sensor and co-processing solution from two different sources, and then spend considerable time and resources in tuning for image quality, the company said.

Aptina’s CCS8140 solution offers digital still camera (DSC) image quality and advanced functionality, such as face and scene detection, and enabling new applications such as visual search. The CCS8140 solution offers up to 250MP/second throughput processing, enabling low latency, low shutter lag, and fast 1080p/30fps high-definition (HD) video recording. Aptina’s CCS8140 complete camera solution supports two-lane MIPI output for easy integration with downstream processors. Sampling now, Aptina’s CCS8140 solution is available as bare die or as packaged parts. Mass production is scheduled for Q4 2010. http://www.aptina.com

Samsung announces two multi-function monitor lines Samsung has announced two new lines of multi-function monitors that can flip between different functions. Ranging in size from 21.5 to 24 inches, the 30 and 90 model displays will allow viewers to switch easily from work to play with enhanced picture quality. Both the 30 and 90 series monitors can be used as a small TV with full HD resolution and also feature picture-in-picture (PiP) so multi-tasking users can simultaneously use their computer and watch TV without the need for a second monitor or additional connections. The monitors come equipped with two HDMI inputs and a Connectshare feature that enables even more multi-media capabilities, allowing users to instantly view and listen to music, movies and photos on the monitor from a memory stick, portable media player or digital camera through a plug-and-play USB connection. The 30 and 90 series monitors use Samsung’s Magicangle, which allows full brightness and color range from off center viewing angles. http://www.samsung.com

ViewSonic moves entire display line to LED ViewSonic announced that all of the company’s PC display products will feature LED technology by early 2011. This is to offer its customers significant energy cost savings and improved performance and contrast from any ViewSonic solution. This announcement comes just a few months after the company’s May unveiling of the VX2250wm-LED, a 22-inch LED monitor. ViewSonic will continue to announce innovative, energy-efficient display products that use LED lighting in the coming months, including 3D LED displays. ViewSonic says it remains committed to commercial partners who have standardized on specific CCFL displays, and will continue to produce those until the demand for them subsides. http://www.viewsonic.com

Qualcomm planning $2 billion display plant investment Qualcomm MEMS Technologies is reported to be planning a $2 billion investment in Taiwan to set up a production facility for its Mirasol displays. Citing unnamed market sources, DigiTimes said that equipment installation is scheduled to begin in October 2011 and volume production at the beginning of 2012 mainly for 5.7-inch color applications. Qualcomm has already delivered samples of 5.7-inch Mirasol displays for validation by clients, and a major client has already started the design-in process. Qualcomm is said to be the sole investor in the plant, but aims to expand the Mirasol product market through licensing deals. Mirasol is the Qualcomm brand name for an interferometric modulator (iMoD) based display screen that can create various colors through the interference of reflected light. The color is selected with an electrically switched light modulator comprising a microscopic cavity that is switched on and off using driver integrated circuits similar to those used to address LCD displays. An iMoD based reflective flat panel display can include hundreds of thousands of individually addressable iMoD elements. When not being addressed, an iMoD display consumes very little power. http://www.qualcomm.com


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Christie plays central role at National World War II Museum The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, presents the riveting sights and thundering sounds of war in “Beyond all Boundaries”, a 45-minute 4D film. The performance – using nine Christie DLP projectors – takes audiences on a memorable journey through World War II from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the D-Day invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima and the final victories in Europe and the Pacific. With Tom Hanks serving as narrator and executive producer of “Beyond all Boundaries”, theater seats shake as tanks rumble across Europe and Africa, snow cascades down during the epic Battle of the Bulge, and B-17 bombers scream seemingly inches away in a mesmerizing display of technology. Entering the theater, visitors are greeted by massive stage curtains covering a nearly 180 degree field of view, that when parted, reveal an enormous 120x36ft transparent screen (scrim), with black curtains behind it. Three Christie Roadster S+20K DLP projectors with edge-blending and image warping capabilities combine to create an enormous, wrap-around, seamless image on the scrim. Thirty feet behind the scrim is a secondary, 115x26ft screen that is illuminated by five Christie DS+10K-M projectors. Also between the two screens are various objects, such as tank traps, which can be illuminated. The overall effect creates great depth and complexity – the audience is aware of a “3D” effect without being made aware of how it is achieved. “For the back screen, which had a short throw distance and steep 35 degree angle, we needed to get the images as large as possible,” Calver explained. “The Christie DS+10K-M projectors permit us to do this while maintaining tight alignment among the projectors - so it appears as a single, unified image. The projectors also have fixed lenses and we rely on their edge-blending and warping module.” Adding to the realism, gun turrets, a radio set and a 25ft German guard tower emerge from a pit in front of the main scrim. A Christie Roadster HD10K-M with HD (1920x1080) aspect ratio, mounted on the catwalk high above, projects supporting images and captions being masked onto three small panels that rise up out of the pit in front of the scrim. http://www.christiedigital.com

Barco supplies OverView 80-inch videowall systems to China’s electric power distribution company

To achieve flexibility and performance in intelligence control, SGCC needed a visualization system that could simplify and improve the quality of the decision-making process. The new control center is connected to local control centers around the country, ensuring efficient collaboration and a perfect overview of the situation.

Samsung receives VMware Ready 4.5 certification for PC-over-IP monitors

Samsung Electronics America Inc. announced that it’s NC190 and NC240 monitors are now VMware 4.5 certified. The integrated PCoIP monitors allow secure access to remote servers and data centers, and this new certification supports common access card (CAC) technologies, which are mandatory for

United States government agencies. The NC190 and NC240, 19.0-inch and 23.6-inch zero-client displays provide an alternative to desktop PCs, enabling highly secure access to any PC-over-IP (PCoIP)-enabled remote host. Users can connect to centralized servers, without the need for individual workstations at desks. The Samsung NC190 and NC240 each offer a high definition picture ideal for CAD/CAM, graphic design and 3D rendering environments. Additional features designed to support user experience are the inclusion of four USB ports for easily added peripherals, a compact design maximizing desktop space, HD-ready video viewing and ultra fast response rates. No data leaves the remote host or data center, ensuring that individual workstations cannot be hacked or infected with viruses or spyware. All images transmitted to the displays are encrypted, providing a highly secure connection.


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With VMware 4.5 certification, the monitors support CAC technology, particularly important for government organizations. Additionally, USB authentication ensures that no unauthorized devices can be attached to the system. This makes them ideal for use in environments such as finance, government and military.

The Samsung NC190 and NC240 are true zero-client displays, allowing connections direct from the desktop display to a central host. The fanless screens contain no OS, drivers or hard drives. They provide a low-power alternative to traditional desktop computers while integrating seamlessly into existing systems that use PCoIP-enabled rack workstations, towers or blade PCs. This reduces maintenance costs as all software installed on the server automatically extends to each user’s desktop. The Samsung NC190 and NC240 are available now with a MSRP of $698 and $815, respectively. http://www.samsung.com

MRV’s interface receives US patent for HD-SDI video over fiber transport MRV Communications announced that its line of digital video small form-factor pluggable (SFP) interfaces used for transporting serial digital interface (SDI) and high-definition serial digital interface (HD-SDI) video over any fiber-optic network, has been granted United States patent No. 7,688,231. Analysts estimate fiber-based broadcast video transport will nearly double to reach $440 million in 2014 and this SFP allows companies to use their standard optical transport equipment for these data, resulting in dramatically reduced costs for carrying HD video on a fiber network. MRV used an encoding algorithm based on the EG-34 industry standard in its SFP interfaces, which allow transmission of digital video SDI or HD-SDI over fiber, employing standard, off-the-shelf optical transport equipment. Previously, this type of video data was primarily transmitted on copper coaxial cables, with transmission distances limited to several hundred yards. For longer distances, a dedicated network with separate fiber-optic cables and specialized transmission equipment needed to be built. That’s because the data-scrambling algorithm of SDI and HD-SDI video is incompatible with standard optical systems. MRV’s digital video SFP allows this data to be transmitted over fiber using standard optical transport equipment, reducing costs and increasing network flexibility. MRV’s digital-video SFPs are available for the SDI (270 Mbps) standard, and both the PAL/SECAM (1.485 Gbps) and NTSC (1.4835 Gbps) standards of HD-SDI. In addition, MRV provides coax SFPs for DVB-ASI (270Mbps). The digital video SFPs can be installed in fiber-optic systems conforming to the multi-source agreement (MSA) transceiver standard including fiber optic cross connects and wave division multiplexers. Teamed with MRV’s Fiber Driver, LambdaDriver, Media Cross Connect or TereScope, the digital video SFP allows MRV to offer a powerful range of HD networking systems. http://www.mrv.com

Results from OKI “Color Lab” experiment show color images increase retention and recall OKI Data Americas, which markets its products under the OKI Printing Solutions brand, conducted an informal “Color Lab” experiment at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to test the theory that color visuals help increase learning and retention. The interactive presentation proved the theory to be true, as 100% of the experiments showed participants scored better with questions that pertained to the color images versus the black and white images. Twenty-one “Color Lab” experiments were conducted over the three-day tradeshow. 290 show attendees participated, ranging from teachers, administrators, IT practitioners and other education professionals. Three sets of color and black and white images were presented to each group followed by multiple choice questions pertaining to each image. Each group received printed results from their experiment, emphasizing the positive impact color had on their learning retention. The experiment results align with past formal industry research that supports the theory that color images help increase learning and retention to help enhance student education. The impact color has in the classroom is evident; however the perception that color printing is too expensive for schools to afford is misleading. Understanding the hesitancy schools have with adopting color printing, OKI Printing Solutions provides cost efficient solutions that help better manage print fleets and affordably bring color into the classroom. With Color Access Policy Manager (CAPM), schools can monitor their print usage and manage costs by placing controls on classroom devices to manage the color capabilities and oversee printing costs. This solution removes the fear of open access and uncontrolled running costs for schools interested in adopting color printing. http://www.okidata.com


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Strathclyde University spins out micro LED company Strathclyde University secured a £150,000 spin-out deal to form a company called mLED. The firm will commercialize micro LED arrays based on gallium nitride that could find applications neuroscience, microscopy

and communications. Unlike other micro-display technologies, micro LEDs are pattern-programmable and do not require external components, such as optics and switching matrices, to modulate the light pattern, making them compact and efficient. A demonstrator kit includes a 64x64 matrix-addressable array, or an 8x8 individually addressable array. mLED can offer AlInGaN micro LEDs with a broad spectrum ranging from the UV right through to green. Yellow and red devices will also be available shortly. The university has already demonstrated a 128x96 array and emission wavelengths down to 370nm. Other performance characteristics include typical emission apertures of 20 microns and sub-500 picosecond switching speeds. http://www.strath.ac.uk

Microvision integrates first direct green lasers into pico projector prototypes Microvision announced it has successfully integrated the first “direct green” laser samples from two leading manufacturers into pico projector benchtop prototypes. This achievement represents an important first step toward the commercialization of PicoP display engines using direct green lasers. The PicoP display engine utilizing a direct green laser is expected to offer significant commercial advantages in price, size, power, and performance. Microvision’s current pico projection engine uses red and blue laser diodes and a frequency-doubled “synthetic” green laser to create a full color image. Synthetic green lasers are infrared lasers that are manipulated to reduce their wavelength to produce a green light. This conversion process creates a complex system of multiple components held to tight tolerances making manufacturing more challenging. Direct green lasers are capable of producing green light natively, greatly simplifying laser design and manufacturing processes. Direct green lasers are expected to be manufactured in a manner similar to red and blue lasers available today, facilitating lower cost and rapid scalability to commercial quantities. The combination of smaller size, lower power, and lower cost make direct green lasers an attractive alternative to synthetic green lasers for Microvision’s mobile display solutions. Historically, availability of synthetic green lasers has been constrained due to their complexity and the existence of only two manufacturers. Today, there are at least five companies worldwide that have announced they are developing direct green lasers for late 2011 to mid 2012 commercial introduction. Industry researcher Yole Development forecasts that the direct green laser market size will reach about $500 million by 2016. http://www.microvision.com

Microvision signs $60M equity for commercialization of pico projector displays Microvision has agreed a $60 million equity financing scheme that it believes will help it to transition prototype products to full commercialization. Under the terms of the deal, Azimuth Opportunity – an investment company based in the British Virgin Islands – will be issued with up to 17.7 million shares in the Redmond, Washington, firm over a 24-month period. Microvision has developed a novel, laser-based display technology that is compact enough to be used in conjunction with mobile handsets. However, the development of its technology platform has proved to be very expensive and the company has run up losses over the past few years. One of the difficulties that Microvision has encountered concerns the availability of the green lasers that are crucial to the pico projector design, but which are also the most technologically complex because they rely on frequency-doubled infrared emitters. Direct green laser diode emitters have only been developed very recently and remain very costly. The company has recently developed a 15 lumen prototype, which produces brighter images than previous generations. http://www.microvision.com


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Syndiant technology featured in Philips PicoPix pocket projectors by Sagemcom Syndiant announced that its SYL2041 with patented all-digital smart panel VueG8 technology was implemented in Philips PicoPix pocket projectors, which were recently unveiled at IFA 2010 in Berlin. This new range of three products has been created by Sagemcom, a French high-technology group, which operates on an international scale and is Philips' licensee for this product category. The three Philips PicoPix projectors are: Philips Notebook pocket projector PPX 1020, which offers up to 20 lumens of brightness, and can be easily connected to a PC via USB port; Philips Pocket projector PPX 1230 offers up to 30 lumens of brightness and can easily be connected to a wide range of handheld devices, such as digital cameras, mobile and smart phones, iPod/ iPad/ iPhone, etc.; Philips Pocket

projector PPX 1430 offers up to 30 lumens of brightness, and in addition to easily connecting to a wide range of mobile devices includes an integrated MP4 player. This pocket projector can also be used as a standalone device, which retrieves its content from the internal 2GB memory or one of various different types of memory cards. http://www.sagemcom.com

Philips Notebook pocket projector, the PPX 1020 by Sagemcom, features Syndiant’s patented all-digital smart panel VueG8 technology

Micron launches sub-$30 pico projection engine Micron Technology announced the V100 pico projection engine for integration in smart phones with price expected to drop under $30. It is scheduled to begin volume production at the end of 2010, and Micron noted that it is in talks with more than one handset vendor and expects both embedded and externally connected versions to hit the market in mid-2011. The V100 is based on liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS), which in the past were applied mostly in China's whitebox handsets while most first-tier handset vendors chose digital light processing (DLP) for their devices, Micron said. However, DLP’s higher cost and power consumption have prevented widespread adoption. Price of the V100 will drop under $30 with volume versus about US$60 for competing DLP solutions. The V100 comes in a 8.5cc package and incorporated a proprietary ferroelectric LCoS technology, which offers better color fidelity, lower power consumption, integrated image processing functions and advanced thermal solutions, according to Micron. http://www.micron.com

Aiptek equips their pocket DV with a projector Aiptek has combined a pocket DV with a mini projector. The Z20 can record images at 720p resolution and can take pictures at 8M pixels resolution. It can project a 65-inch picture at 2 meters. The battery can last for 2 hours. It has built-in 2GB memory and take a MicroSD card. The Z20 also has a 2.4-inch screen and a remoter. The user can connect the Z20 with almost all the common digital devices through the HDMI, AV jack, USB, etc. It costs about €349 or NTD 15,200. http://www.aiptek.com


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TV Ecosystem Conference August 18, 2010, San Jose, California

Phillip Hill covers this DisplaySearch conference with presentations from Philips Lumileds Lighting, and In-Stat

Digital Entertainment: The Landscape is Changing Norm Bogen, In-Stat, Scottsdale, Arizona

In-Stat is a 28-year-old research company with a focus on digital entertainment and mobile Internet. It became independent on April 1, 2010. The NPD Group and In-Stat have a strategic relationship. DisplaySearch, an NPD Group company, and In-Stat are now starting to work together.

Broadband households are rapidly adopting Internet TV. Over 50% of adults under 40 years of age are frequent viewers of Internet TV. In total, 44% of consumers view Internet TV more than once per week. Only 25% of BB HHs indicate they never view Internet TV. There is a high growth of web-enabled CE devices. US shipments of web-enabled CE devices will grow from 16 million in 2010 to over 87 million in 2014. By 2013, there will be over 140 million web-enabled CE devices owned by 92 million US BB HHs. The movie studio revenue mix is changing.

Blu-ray disc sales are not compensating for declining DVD disc revenue. DECE is launching an ultraviolet digital rights locker platform to support electronic sell-through. Studios have a lot riding on consumer adoption of electronic sell-through. Total hybrid STBs in use will grow from 3.2M in 2010 to 33.4M in 2014. Western Europe accounts for 75% of total hybrid STBs in 2010 and will be 50% in 2014.

How the movie studio revenue mix is changing (blue line shows DVD sales dropping; yellow line shows digital electronics sales; red line shows Blu-ray sales; and green line shows disc rentals – top black line shows total).

Lessons Learned From Using High Power LEDs in Edgelit Backlights Willem Sillevis Smitt, Philips Lumileds Lighting, San Jose, California

Smitt looked at why an LED high volume supply is important. The why is that large investments have been made throughout the value chain, and smooth supply and quick ramps can be translated into market share. The how is to build partnerships to balance supply and demand; keep capacity investment just ahead of the curve; have full utilization across the supply chain; and focus on high yields across the supply chain. In terms of LED reliability and long-term stability, the why is to minimize cost of non-quality; have confidence about performance and customer


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satisfaction; have uninterrupted supply; and act as a driver for high yields. The how is to use reliability data based on extreme test conditions (with increased severity in environmental and load conditions, high acceleration factors can be achieved); and this should be confirmed with large sample sizes and ongoing testing; finally, LEDs and processes designed for quality and robustness. There is a need for strong system engineering. The why is to make full utilization of every LED produced; a shortened introduction time; LED counts can be minimized; sharp specifications throughout the supply chain for best yield and material flow; and optimized system performance for best uniformity, power consumption and output. The how is system specific LED specification; kit level support; and characterization of interaction of the LED with system components based on an experienced engineering team with strong measurement and analysis tools.

Display Signage Conference August 17, 2010, San Jose, California

Phillip Hill covers this DisplaySearch conference with a presentation from Samsung Electronics

Digital Signage: Bigger and Brighter Future Benedict Ahn, Samsung Electronics, Seoul, South Korea

The first tiled display was a 2x2 at Minnesota University in 1994. A tiled display is a requirement of high resolution displays using multiple screens. High resolution areas of application are satellite, aerial photography, astronomy, medical imaging, atmospheric modeling, and geographic information systems. Ahn put forward the argument for LCD as a tiled display. DLP and LCD have their own drawbacks: thickness in the case of DLP vs. bezel width in the case of LCD. The hurdles to overcome to adopt LCD technology are discontinuity and hidden pixels. Samsung is jumping the hurdle with a super narrow bezel LCD down from 7.3mm in 2009 to 5.7mm in 2010. Ahn discussed panoramic displays. Around 2/3 of digital signage applications are more suitable with a typical panoramic display, such as menu boards, timetables, digital wall art, and panoramic photo galleries. Samsung is continuously developing DID panel solutions that are the best fit for the digital signage business. New DID panels such as SNB, panoramic, large (70-inch/82-inch) sizes are available for video wall, 1xN panoramic, education boards, etc. Digital signage business players should work together to create new business areas such as tiled TV (multi TV) and conference room displays, Ahn said. From 2014, conference room will be the second largest area in the DID LCD market (in revenue).

DLP and LCD have their own drawbacks: thickness (DLP) vs. bezel width (LCD)


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SIGGRAPH July 25-29, 2010, Los Angeles, California

In the first of three reports, Phillip Hill covers papers from Nvidia Research/Weta Digital, MPI Informatik, TU-Darmstadt, LucasArts, Kanazawa University, Sharp Corporation, MIT Media Lab/Delft University of

Technology/Keio University/JST ERATO, The University of Tokyo/Keio University, Weta Digital, HP Labs, Columbia University, and University of British Columbia/ETH Zurich

Apparent Display Resolution Enhancement for Moving Images Piotr Didyk, Elmar Eisemann, Tobias Ritschel, Karol Myszkowski, and Hans-Peter Seidel MPI Informatik, Saarbrücken, Germany

Limited spatial resolution of current displays makes the depiction of very fine spatial details difficult. This work proposes a novel method applied to moving images that takes into account the human visual system and leads to an improved perception of such details. To this end, the researchers display images rapidly varying over time along a given trajectory on a high refresh rate display. Due to the retinal integration time the information is fused and yields apparent super-resolution pixels on a conventional-resolution display. The paper discusses how to find optimal temporal pixel variations based on linear eye-movement and image content, and extend the solution to arbitrary trajectories. This step involves an efficient method to predict and successfully treat potentially visible flickering. Finally, they evaluate the resolution enhancement in a perceptual study that shows that significant improvements can be achieved both for computer generated images and photographs.

Depicting fine details such as hair (left), sparkling car paint (middle), or small text (right) on a typical display is challenging and often fails if the display resolution is insufficient. In this work, the researchers show that smooth and

continuous subpixel image motion can be used to increase the perceived resolution. By sequentially displaying varying intermediate images at the display resolution (as depicted in the bottom insets), subpixel details can be

resolved at the retina in the region of interest due to fixational eye tracking of this region.

PantaRay: Fast Ray-traced Occlusion Caching of Massive Scenes Jacopo Pantaleoni, and Timo Aila, Nvidia Research, Santa Clara, California Luca Fascione, and Martin Hill, Weta Digital, Wellington, New Zealand

This paper describes the architecture of a novel system for precomputing sparse directional occlusion caches. These caches are used for accelerating a fast cinematic lighting pipeline that works in the spherical harmonics domain. The system was used as a primary lighting technology in the movie “Avatar”, and is able to efficiently handle massive scenes of unprecedented complexity through the use of a flexible, stream-based geometry processing


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architecture, a novel out-of-core algorithm for creating efficient ray tracing acceleration structures, and a novel out-of-core GPU ray tracing algorithm for the computation of directional occlusion and spherical integrals at arbitrary points. The movie “Avatar” featured unprecedented geometric complexity, with production shots containing anywhere from ten million to over one billion polygons. To make the rendering of such complex scenes manageable while satisfying the need to provide fast lighting iterations for lighting artists and the director, modern relighting methods based on spherical harmonics (SH) and image-based lighting were used. These methods can speed up the lighting iterations significantly, but unfortunately require an extremely compute and resource intensive precomputation of directional occlusion information. Directional occlusion encodes the visibility term used for lighting modulation as a function of direction, and is typically computed using ray tracing.

The paper describes PantaRay, a system designed to make this precomputation practical by leveraging the development of modern ray tracing algorithms for massively parallel GPU architectures and combining them with new out-of-core and level of detail rendering techniques. The PantaRay engine is an out-of-core, massively parallel ray tracer designed to handle scenes that are roughly an order of magnitude bigger than available system memory, and that require baking spherical harmonics-encoded directional occlusion (SH occlusion) and indirect lighting information for billions of points with highly varying spatial density. The system has been integrated into the production pipeline of Weta Digital and is showcased in the movie “Avatar”, but the algorithmic contributions and design decisions discussed in this paper could be usefully applied in other domains, such as large-scale scientific visualization, which would benefit from rich lighting of extremely complex geometric datasets.

The geometric complexity of scenes rendered in the movie Avatar often exceeds a billion polygons and varies widely: distant rocks and vegetation are tessellated to a level of meters and centimeters, while the faces of even distant

characters are modeled to over 40,000 polygons from forehead to chin. The spatial resolution of occlusion caches precomputed by the system also spans several orders of magnitude. Left: Final render. The results correspond to computing SH occlusion for everything except for the far away background. Right: Close-up from an SH render,

illustrating that full resolution characters are traced even for background elements.

Left: Final render. The results correspond to computing SH occlusion for the environment without characters, creatures or waterfall. Right: SH render of the portion of the set that was used in the test. Characters and creatures

were later traced as an occluder element for the final frame.


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A Full HDR Pipeline from Acquisition to Projection Pedro Santos, Thomas Gierlinger, Rafael Huff, and Martin Ritz, Fraunhofer-IGD, Frankfurt am Main André Stork, TU-Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

In the real world, the ratio between full brightness of the sun and complete darkness is in the range of 2,000,000,000:1. However today’s projection display technology is limited to contrast ratios of approximately 10,000:1. This hinders a convincing simulation and presentation of lighting effects in professional markets such as car styling, architecture and industrial design. At the same time, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) has been developed as a new field of research resulting in breakthroughs in image based lighting. What is missing today are interactive visualization systems that fully support HDR material and light information from the acquisition stage right through the processing stage to the display stage. Current software systems do exist to simulate the effect of light sources in virtual scenes. However, they require specialist training, they are complex to use, they cannot operate in real-time, often requiring modification and recalibration. Current systems also do not support HDRI. This means that not only do they lack the ability to simulate real lighting conditions, e.g. the position and intensity of the sun, and cloud cover, but also the behavior of materials in various light conditions. In this publication the researchers present one of the first full HDR visualization systems starting with HDR material and light acquisition, providing a HDR light simulation and rendering pipeline and finally displaying maximum fidelity image quality with color gamut enhanced HDR projection technology to bring the total dynamic range to over 5,000,000:1. They demonstrate these capabilities in the fields of car design and architecture.

PRT only; raytracing only; hybrid PRT + raytracing

Real-time Frame Rate Up-conversion for Video Games Dmitry Andreev, LucasArts, San Francisco, California

Currently in the video game industry, the Holy Grail of rendering is achieving ultra realistic visual quality while maintaining a consistent 60 frames per second. However, the cost of doing so means having half the time to construct an image when compared to simply running at 30fps. Video games that run at 30fps suffer from very noticeable motion “flickering” artifacts due to fast movements of objects and/or the camera. One common technique to help remedy this flickering artifact is to introduce motion blur. Running an application at 60fps on a 60Hz display eliminates multiple expositions of a single frame to the eye, reducing “flickering” artifacts and increasing sharpness of the moving objects under the eye tracking conditions. Motion blur only needs to be added to compensate for motions in the image that move faster then the eye can track. The photos show the difference in motion from a 30fps rendering image, 30fps with motion blur, and the 60fps respectively on a 60 Hz display.

The proposed solution is a novel technique that combines the best of both high quality rendering at 30fps with the natural motion of objects refreshing at 60fps, introducing very minimal overhead in terms of memory and performance. The basic concept is to approximate the middle frame between what has previously rendered and what is currently being constructed and present it as the new “predicted” image exactly in the middle of rendering at a 30fps rate, thus empowering a product to still “feel” as if it is refreshing at 60fps. Televisions use a similar trick to achieve refresh rates near 120Hz. However, for video games, more information is present regarding the frames


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construction, such as depth and velocity, and creating the predicted frame can be significantly simplified. This proposed technique is useful for all real-time user interactive applications to help guarantee that a very high quality of rendering is achieved, by allowing more time to construct a frame, but still refresh at a higher rate such as 60 frames per second.

Observations of eye tracking object movement on a 60Hz display. (a) 30 fps rendering, (b) 30 fps rendering with motion blur, (c) the new method.

Matrix LED Unit with Pattern Drawing and Extensive Connection Junichi Akita, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

A matrix LED unit, an array of small LEDs, is widely used for display systems, such as an indicator in public transportation vehicles and toys. In these cases, the patterns displayed on the matrix LED unit are stored in the memory card or the host computer systems, and it is impossible for the user to draw the patterns on the matrix LED displays. It is known that an LED can also be used as a photo sensor. This paper describes a matrix LED unit system for pattern display and interaction with users. The user can draw patterns by using a light source, such as laser pointer, which is implemented by using LED arrays both for displaying and light sensing. Each unit has a

communication channel for a connected neighboring unit, which enables the system to extend to larger display areas by connecting the units as desired. The drawn pattern is morphed by user’s interaction, which is enabled by the tilt sensor equipped in each unit. The pattern morphing is also performed by scrolling patterns across the connected units or so-called “life game” pattern transition.

The developed matrix LED unit, named as “LED Tile”

QuintPixel: Multi-Primary Color Display Systems Kazunari Tomizawa, Akiko Yoshida, Kohzoh Nakamura, and Yasuhiro Yoshida Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan

This paper introduces a multi-primary color (MPC) display system QuintPixel, which employs yellow and cyan sub-pixels besides RGB. This achieves over 99% coverage against Pointer’s dataset. As seen in the diagram (left), large numbers of colors in yellow and cyan regions are missing in an RGB primary system. QuintPixel introduces additional yellow and cyan sub-pixels but does not enlarge the area of the overall pixel. By decreasing the area per one subpixel, the researchers balance high luminance reproduction with real-surface color reproduction. QuintPixel also consists of two red sub-pixels for compensating its low luminance reproduction. Additionally, the most preferable layout of six sub-pixels are computed by using spatio-chromatic Fourier analysis. Finally, QuintPixel leads to over 99% in the coverage ratio against Pointer’s dataset (see figure right). It can reproduce the colors of sunflower’s yellow, the golden mask of Tutankhamen’s mummy, an emerald green sea, and pigment colors. Such colors are located out of the color gamut of conventional display devices.


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The photo shows a screenshot of the QuintPixel emerging technology prototype in 60-inch size with the resolution of 1920x1080 pixels with its comparable conventional display. Note that QuintPixel reproduces much deeper yellow than the conventional LCD. An input signal is given in xvYCC format for both displays. Then, if some colors are located out of a display’s color gamut, those colors are clipped onto a display’s gamut for both. QuintPixel may take not only xvYCC but also a conventional RGB format.

Left: Color gamut comparison of sRGB, DCI, and the QuintPixel against Pointer’s dataset in the xy chromaticity diagram. Right: Coverage ratios against Pointer’s dataset at every 10 degrees of hue angle (µ). The outermost circle

represents 100% coverage.

QuintPixel display (left) and its comparable conventional LCD (right). Note much deeper reproduction of yellow.

Photochromic Canvas: Drawing with Patterned Light Tomoko Hashida, and Takeshi Naemura, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Yasuaki Kakehi, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

Drawing tools using digital technology can stimulate creativity in people. For example, the Wacky Brush tool in KidPix can produce effects (such as a line of dripping paint or a line of shapes) that cannot be obtained using ordinary paper and brushes [Hickman 1991]. This feature makes it easy for people to draw pictures having a combination of patterns. Such software, however, has so far been used only with electronic displays such as LCDs and PDPs. In this paper, the researchers propose a mechanism that would allow the user to draw such pictures while using paper as a canvas instead of electronic displays. With this mechanism, a variety of patterns can be made to appear along lines traced out by the user by moving an electronic paint brush over paper. The advantages of using paper in this way include a high degree of freedom in shape and size as well as portability.

To achieve these objectives, they focused their attention on photochromic material in which the appearance and disappearance of color can be controlled by light. In this regard, KAMI CHAT has been proposed as a means of controlling the generation of color by placing paper coated with photochromic material over an array of LEDs [Osada et al.2008]. Here they adopt photochromic material that can maintain a color-forming state and propose a system that does not place limitations on where the paper is placed. In this system, moving a handheld projector like a paint brush over paper coated with this photochromic material results in a reaction between the material and


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the projected light and a change in paper color. Effects like those of Wacky Brush can be obtained by projecting patterned light from the handheld projector. They call their system “Photochromic Canvas”.

Left: Writing with light. Center: Effects of patterned light. Right: Effects of periodic light.

Slow Display Kevin Chiu, Tyler Hutchison, Biyeun M. Buczyk, and Ramesh Raskar, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts Daniel Saakes, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands Naoya Koizumi, and Masahiko Inami, Keio University/JST ERATO, Tokyo, Japan

The researchers introduce a display that is high resolution but updates at a low frame rate, a "slow display”. They use lasers and monostable light-reactive materials to provide programmable space-time resolution. This refreshable, high-resolution display exploits the time decay of monostable materials, making it attractive in terms of cost and power requirements. Their effort to repurpose these materials involves solving underlying problems in color reproduction, day/night visibility, and optimal time sequences for updating content. The slow display consists of a low power near UV laser (11mW, 405nm) and a laser projector that scans over a surface painted with commercially available monostable light-reactive materials. The resolution of the slow display is limited by laser scanner movements and laser spot properties, but is not dependent on the particle size of the light-sensitive material.

With a programmable trade-off between resolution and refresh rate, the slow display can achieve an array of effects. Monostable materials reduce the requirement for power and allow practical emissive/reflective viewable, high-

resolution displays. The display is visible both in direct sunlight and darkness (left), is deployable on 3D surfaces (middle), and provides up to 16 megapixels of resolution (right).

An Accurate Method for Acquiring High Resolution Skin Displacement Maps Gino Acevedo, Sergei Nevshupov, Jess Cowely, and Kevin Norris, Weta Digital, Wellington, New Zealand

The paper focuses on a fast, affordable, validated method for acquiring very high-resolution, high-quality displacement detail using alginate, plaster, silicone, a flat-bed scanner and digital image processing techniques. The researchers reliably achieve facial and hand displacement maps at a resolution and accuracy that surpasses that of expensive capture/scanning systems. The process was inspired by previous experience applying silicone for creating realistic synthetic prosthetics and puppets in the physical effects world. Silicone has a unique ability to capture the required meso-structure in a very thin, easily to manipulate layer, and also is translucent and flexible, enabling a simple, high-resolution capture technique using a flat bed scanner. The entire process involves three


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casting steps followed by a scanning step and an image processing step. An initial cast is first made with a material that sets quickly and can be safely removed from the face or hands. Plaster is used to create a second cast from the first onto which the silicone can then be cured (a 12 hour process). Thin silicone layers can then be easily scanned, and a final data processing step generates the displacement data from the scanned images.

From left to right: alginate application, plaster bandages applied, negative cast, positive plaster cast

High Resolution Passive Facial Performance Capture Derek Bradley, Wolfgang Heidrich, Alla Sheffer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Tiberiu Popa, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

The paper introduces a purely passive facial capture approach that uses only an array of video cameras, but requires no template facial geometry, no special makeup or markers, and no active lighting. The system obtains initial geometry using multi-view stereo, and then uses a novel approach for automatically tracking texture detail across the frames. As a result, it obtains a high-resolution sequence of compatibly triangulated and parameterized meshes. The resulting sequence can be rendered with dynamically captured textures, while also consistently applying texture changes such as virtual makeup.

High-resolution passive facial performance capture. From left to right: Acquisition setup; one reference frame; the reconstructed geometry (1 million polygons); final textured result; and two different frames.

Diffusion Coded Photography for Extended Depth of Field Oliver Cossairt, Changyin Zhouy, and Shree Nayarz, Columbia University, New York, New York

In recent years, several cameras have been introduced which extend depth of field (DOF) by producing a depth-invariant point spread function (PSF). These cameras extend DOF by deblurring a captured image with a single spatially-invariant PSF. For these cameras, the quality of recovered images depends both on the magnitude of the PSF spectrum (MTF) of the camera, and the similarity between PSFs at different depths. While researchers have compared the MTFs of different extended DOF cameras, relatively little attention has been paid to evaluating their depth invariances.

In this paper, the researchers compare the depth invariance of several cameras, and introduce a new camera that improves in this regard over existing designs, while still maintaining a good MTF. The technique utilizes a novel optical element placed in the pupil plane of an imaging system. Whereas previous approaches use optical elements characterized by their amplitude or phase profile, this approach utilizes one whose behavior is characterized by its


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scattering properties. Such an element is commonly referred to as an optical diffuser, and thus the researchers refer to this new approach as “diffusion coding”. They show that diffusion coding can be analyzed in a simple and intuitive way by modeling the effect of a diffuser as a kernel in light field space. They provide detailed analysis of diffusion coded cameras and show results from an implementation using a custom designed diffuser.

Extending depth of field with diffusion coding for a scene consisting of three stuffed animals placed at different depths. (a) An image captured with a 50mm F/1.8 Canon lens. The foreground and background objects exhibit severe defocus blur. (d) The diffusion coded image after deblurring. The image was captured with the diffuser from placed in

the lens aperture. (b-c) Magnified regions from (a) and (d) that show that diffusion coding preserves details in foreground and background objects.

A Laser-Based System for Through-the-Screen Collaboration Ian Robinson, Kar Han Tan, Ramin Samadani, Bruce Culbertson, and John Apostolopoulos HP Labs, Palo Alto, California

The paper describes a novel system for supporting remote collaboration over shared media. The system is based on the “ClearBoard” idea of [Ishii and Kobayashi 1992] where the shared media is presented as though on a sheet of glass between local and remote participants. The approach is to exploit wavelength multiplexing in conjunction with a laser-based projection display. The only filter used in the system is a notch filter just before the camera, which is used to remove the three laser frequencies (red, green and blue). As these notches can be very narrow, roughly 80% or more of the visible spectrum is available to the camera. No filters are used with the projector so 100% or its output is used. To test this approach they used a Mitsubishi LaserVue L65-A90 as a convenient source of an off-the-shelf laser rear-projection system that happened to roughly correspond to the acceptance angles of an available holographic diffusing screen (a 55deg HOPS Glass screen from Sax3D). The TV was dismantled, its screen removed and replaced with the holographic screen, and its electronics relocated to allow a camera a clear line of sight through the screen from behind. An off-the-shelf triple notch filter was attached to the camera to block the laser wavelengths. The resulting system was enclosed to prevent stray light from entering the reconfigured rear-projection system.

Left: Prototype system with part of enclosure removed. Middle: Captured image showing interference from backscattered projected image. Right: System in use with notch filter on the camera (inset shows captured image,

mirrored, and sent to remote user).


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Korea Display Conference July 8-9, 2010, Seoul, South Korea

Phillip Hill covers presentations from LG Display, Samsung Cheil Industries, and LG Chem

The Display Begins to Make People Excited LG Display, Seoul, South Korea

Part of the presentation covered the “Retina” display. Retina display means that it has a sufficiently high resolution (300ppi) to be beyond what the human retina can discern at the viewing distances (30cm) typical of normal use. Retina display is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution phone screen ever, the company says. Thanks to the Retina display, everything you see and do on iPhone 4 looks amazing. Text in books, web pages, and e-mail is crisp at any size. Images in movies and photos are stunning at almost any angle. That’s because the Retina display’s pixel density is so high, your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels. Steve Jobs said: “There's a magic number around 300dpi, if you hold something about 10-12 inches (25-30cm) away from your eye, it’s the limit of the human retina to distinguish pixels.” The iPhone 4 Retina display uses LG Display’s LED-backlit in-plane switching (IPS) display technology to achieve a wider viewing angle than TN. Which means you can hold iPhone 4 almost any way you want and still get a brilliant picture. In addition, the Retina display offers four times the contrast ratio of previous models, so whites are brighter, and blacks are darker.

Steve Jobs went wild for IPS technology on the iPad: “The high-resolution, 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS display on iPad is remarkably crisp and vivid. Which makes it perfect for web browsing, watching movies, or viewing photos. With iPad, there is no up or down. It’s designed to show off your content in portrait or landscape orientation with every turn. And because it uses a display technology called IPS, it has a wide, 178° viewing angle. So you can hold it almost any way you want and still get a brilliant picture, with excellent color and contrast.”

The difference between two generations of iPhone

Current Trend of LCD Parts and Materials Technology Kyuha Chung, Samsung Cheil Industries, Seoul, South Korea

Part of Chung’s presentation covered key parts and materials for high transmittance displays, and light paths for LED BLUs. A high transmittance display depends on the polarizer, the color filter, and high brightness optical films. Polarizing efficiency depends on single transmittance. This can be achieved by a high stretching ratio and by


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optimizing dying. A high polarizing efficiency gives high luminance and contrast ratio. For the color filter, Samsung uses a high aperture ratio structure: color filter on array (COA) structure. RGBW offers up to 100% more brightness due to the combined effects of increased aperture and white sub pixels. Optical films for LCD BLUs use a prism film to increase brightness by focusing light, and a diffuser film for uniform distribution of incident light from the LGP and DP, masking the dot pattern and surface defects on the LGP, and broadening the viewing angle. A reflective polarizer (DBEF) recycles light with several hundred layers – additional light is up to 40%.

Color filters use a four-color structure

Polarizer for TFT LCD: Technological Issues and Advances Kyunil Rah, LG Chem, Seoul. South Korea

As a polarizer’s cross transmittance Tc halves [doubles], contrast ratio is estimated to increase [decrease] approximately by 10% for a cell with an effective retardation Re of 3.8nm, 20% for Re pf 2.8nm, and 35% for Re of

1.8nm. As a polarizer’s (single) transmittance Ts increases by 1% (e.g. 42.0 to 43.0) to enhance brightness Lw by about 5%, the contrast ratio can drop by roughly 20% for a cell with Re of 2.8nm and more for less Re values, unless there is a sizable improvement in the cross transmittance of the polarizer, which constitutes a great challenge to polarizer makers. To meet the increasing demands on high durability of LCDs, LG Chem has improved durability properties of iodine-based polarizers, such as heat resistance for CNS and LED-BLU, low light leakage for TN monitors, high moisture/water (thermal shock) resistance, and so on.

Panel CR depends highly on the degree of depolarization by the cell

Veritas et Visus (Truth and Vision) publishes a family of specialty newsletters about the displays industry:

Flexible Substrate Display Standard 3rd Dimension High Resolution Touch Panel

http://www.veritasetvisus.com


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EuroITV 2010 Conference on Interactive TV and Video June 9-11, 2010, Tampere, Finland

Phillip Hill covers papers from Institute for Infocomm Research, and MIT Media Lab

Newstream: A Multi-Device, Cross-Medium, and Socially Aware Approach to News Content Martin Reed, and Henry Holtzman, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts

News content extends well beyond the scope of a single medium: video, audio, text, interactive experiences, and social sharing all contribute to an individual’s understanding and experience of content. While some content that exists across media can supplement other forms, such as an interactive feature accompanying a text-based article, other content might replicate information and therefore be redundant to a consumer. This paper introduces Newstream, a novel approach to navigating news-based content across a variety of media sources. Building on prior work, neXtream, Newstream can craft specialized experiences that both facilitate common dialogs within social networks and allow users to dynamically move across various mediums, controlling levels of depth based on interest while avoiding repetition. Newstream integrates multiple devices and networks to maintain unified back-end knowledge about each user.

There are three primary elements of the Newstream user experience: the mobile device, the TV, and the website. Each device has its own capabilities and integrated interfaces across multiple devices. This allows Newstream to take advantage of the right device for the moment and the task. The mobile device is able to act as a standalone interface, a remote for the television (or computer), and an integrated device within a proximate ecosystem. As a standalone interface, the mobile device can deliver a video, audio, or text-based stream, depending on which the user prefers at any given moment in time. This allows a user to access their Newstream on-the-go anywhere they have access to the Internet. When the mobile device detects a television connected via Newstream, the device can also be used as an intelligent remote: as a user scrolls through clips and streams, the elements are simultaneously mirrored on the television and the iPhone (see figure). This simultaneous replication on both interfaces compensates for a touch-screen device that contains little to no haptic feedback. Constantly looking at the remote to perform functions distracts the TV viewer and disrupts the immersive nature of TV. Finally, the mobile device can act as an integrated device, sharing its knowledge with nearby devices while acting asynchronously. For example, if a user is

reading a news article on the mobile device, the television can cycle through images related to the article or even play a related video. In addition, the mobile device can be used as a method to interact with a social network or look up related information while watching news content on the TV.

Newstream user interface across multiple devices, showcasing the stream in various different forms

(text and video)


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Enhancing IPTV Personalization Wei-Yun Yau, Jiangang Wang, Zujun Hou, and Fon-Lin Lai, Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore

In this paper, the researchers describe an enhanced IPTV personalization system. It uses the attribute of the viewers instead of relying on only the hardware identifier number of the set-top box. It also does not require the user to do a login and using the identity provided in the login information that exactly identifies the user but does not provide information of the other viewers who are with him. Architecture of the system is proposed with an addition of the

lighting normalization module that is shown to improve the attribute recognition performance in the case of lighting variation, which is common when watching TV at home.

They implemented the proposed system and compute the performance of the attribute recognition. The imaging sensor used is a normal webcam under home lighting conditions. The results from lighting normalization are shown in the photos. The lighting normalization indeed improves the image to a more consistent intensity distribution when the lighting is not even. They also evaluated the gender recognition performance. They collected a total of 2900 male and 2700 female samples. They used half of the images in the database for Adaboost training and the remainder for testing. A two-fold cross validation was performed. The accuracy achieved is about 91% when there is no lighting variation. When there is strong lighting variation, the recognition performance is reduced to an average of 51% without the use of lighting normalization. With lighting normalization turned on, the performance improved to 80%. For images without any lighting variation, there is no significant change in the recognition performance with and without the lighting normalization.

Original face image (a) and the enhanced images by other methods such as Gamma intensity correction (b), adaptive histogram equalization (c),

homomorphic filtering (d), wavelet filtering (e) and the proposed approach of relative gradient reconstruction without contrast compensation (f) and

with contrast compensation (g) respectively. In (f) and (g) it is clearly recognizable as Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, the English cricketer, we think.

62 fascinating pages about optical illusions



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The Future of Lighting and Backlighting Conference May 26, 2010, Seattle, Washington

In this second of two reports, Phillip Hill covers this IMS/SID organized event with presentations from Rambus Inc., OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Cree, and Philips

Accelerating the Advance of LED Backlighting and Lighting Solutions Marc McConnaughey, Rambus Inc., Los Altos, California

Rambus holds fundamental patents and technology enabling the thinnest, brightest, and most cost-effective LED-based edge-lit displays and lighting applications. At the time of the conference, it had 84 issued patents with 55+ pending applications. Innovations cover three key areas: LED edge-lit wave guides for LCDs; “MicroLens” patterning technology; and low-cost, high-volume LGP and multifunction film manufacturing processes.

Worldwide TV penetration grew from 45% to 60% of households from 1995 to 2005, according to Charles Kenny “TV Will Save the World”. Developing economies are driving strong growth in TV. More and more people are watching TV, not less. China and India will add 105M new TV households in the next five years. One in five had a TV in Afghanistan in 2005, yet only one in seven have electricity, which suggests that people are using batteries or generators. In India, a judge ruled that a husband was cruel to his wife by not allowing her to watch soap operas.

In backlight technology, the LED advantages are brighter, thinner form factors, wider color gamut, lower power, longer life, green illumination (no mercury), and a solid-state light source. The struggle is how to harness all the advantages of LEDs. In light management, how to deal with higher ANSI contrast, greater white field uniformity, lower power, better color, improved viewing angle, less complexity in implementation, less complexity in the supply chain, and lower material costs. McConnaughey covered optimizing LED backlighting: direct versus edge. Direct lit benefits are high contrast, and local dimming, but the challenges are panel thickness, high cost, and power and heat. Edge-lit benefits are thinner, fewer LEDs, more efficient/lower power, and more cost-effective. The challenges are uniformity of brightness, and it requires a light guide panel (LGP). He also compared MicroLens technology with other methods. Printed and etched dot patterning technology produces diffuse reflection and a low yield rate. Laser-etched patterning technology is less diffuse, but manufacturing is expensive and slow. MicroLens optical technology advantages are fewer LEDs are needed by optimizing light delivery; greater control of the viewing angle; and inexpensive and repeatable manufacturing processes.

Optimizing LED backlighting: direct versus edge


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The Transformation of the Lighting Industry Jim Anderson, Philips, Amsterdam, Holland

The presentation covered an overview of Philips; current and emerging application options; initiatives encouraging SSL; and a number of case studies. LEDs are the lighting source for tomorrow, the company says. The benefits of LED lighting are ultra long source life; low power consumption; low maintenance; no moving parts; no UV radiation; cool beam of light; digitally controllable; and sustainability.

One case study was outdoor white LED lighting at the Custom House Tower, Boston, Massachusetts in October 2008. The customer was very pleased with quality of light/aesthetics. LED long-life/reduced maintenance benefits are key in outdoor installations. The financial impact was to cut energy consumption by 67% vs. the former halogen lighting system. Reduced waste with an LED system projected to last 20 years at six hours of use per day with TCO savings of over $600 per fixture. It leveraged the existing building management system to turn the LED system on/off at any preselected time eliminating wasteful light and energy use. The products used were LED “Floodlight”, and LED “Graze Light”.

Another was an interior system at Old North Church, Boston, in February 2008. “By incorporating warm white LED lighting, we can better showcase the charm of the architectural details of this classic structure,” said Lana Nathe of Light Insight. “We were able to achieve precisely the right visual impact while creating an energy-efficient and sustainable design for the future. We did not have to sacrifice on quality of light to conserve energy.” The financial impact was to cut energy consumption by 85% vs. the former linear incandescent lighting system. It reduces maintenance, and the lack of UV and IR in light output helps to preserve the historical building. Products used were Philips eW Cove Powercore LED Cove.

An example of outdoor color LED lighting is Con Edison Building, New York, in September 2008. LED systems provide both energy savings and vibrant dynamic color changing effects. The financial impact was to cut energy consumption by 63% vs. the former HID lighting system. Reduced waste with an LED system projected to last 15 years. Further reduced waste and maintenance by eliminating the need for colored filters to enable dynamic effects. Products used were Philips ColorBlast Powercore LED Floodlight.

Custom House Tower, Boston; Old North Church, Boston; Con Edison Building, New York


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SSL –The Future of Lighting Jovani Torres, Cree, Durham, North Carolina

Torres outlined the basic advantages of LED light. LEDs are very energy efficient: >130LPW (near-term roadmap to >160LPW); they are directional – no wasted light, any pattern possible; they have very long lifetime: >50,000 hours to 70% lumen maintenance (L70); they are inherently rugged with no filament to break; they start instantly in nanoseconds vs. >10 minutes re-strike (HID); they are infinitely dimmable, and controllable; they are environmentally sound – no mercury, lead, heavy metals; and they love cold temperatures so no cold starting issues. The LED chip determines raw brightness and efficacy. The phosphor system determines the color point and color point stability. The package protects the chip and phosphor, helps with light and heat extraction, and is primary in determining LED lifetime. In an LED lamp, the heat sink is the linchpin of the entire system. If this is poorly designed, all the other components can be compromised. With the driver there has been much improvement in reliability and performance. LED lamps practically never fail and degrade only very slowly in a well-designed system. LED lamps practically never fail; degrade very slowly in a well-designed system. Optical components can rarely yellow over time and lose light; this is a system design choice.

Some examples of replacing conventional lighting with LED solutions: Red Robin restaurant; Walmart; and the “Birds’ Nest Stadium”, Beijing

The Future of LEDs in Solid State Lighting Ulrich Steegmüller, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Regensburg, Germany

The presentation covered the lighting picture today, application fields, energy savings, life cycle assessment, LED performance improvements and limits, and the challenges for solid-state lighting. Street lighting with LED technology can produce 25–50% energy saving potential and better control of the lit area. There is significant cost reduction and less maintenance, and the transition to LED street lighting offers attractive payback times. Lighting accounts for19% of global electricity consumption. Nearly 70% of electricity is used by lamps for which a better alternative is available. Today replacing the existing installations with the best available alternatives would save 30% of the energy going to lighting. In the future, combining LEDs, sensors and embedded software in ambient intelligent lighting networks have the potential to save an additional 40%.

Osram’s high CRI warm white phosphor solution (CRI >90) involved the development of two optimized phosphors (greenish-yellow garnet, and red nitride). It is the best compromise between CRI and luminous efficiency, taking into account chip and package interactions. LEDs are in transition to the SSL volume market. There is an enormous energy saving potential (2030 – 1300TWh). Life cycle assessment of LEDs shows an attractive cumulated energy demand (CED). There have been significant improvements in chip, phosphor and package development. The efficiency limit in practice for cold white is about 180lm.

Street lighting with LED technology


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http://www.electronic-displays.de


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Apple + Light Peak = Early 2011

by Jin Kim

Jin Kim is the founder and president at DisplayBlog, bringing together news, information and analysis from the high-tech display industry to help, educate and entertain. By combining the experiences and knowledge gained serving as senior marketing manager at LG Display and as director of TFT LCD Market Research at DisplaySearch, Kim brings a fresh look at the display industry and products such as LCD TVs, LCD monitors and notebook PCs. Kim received a BA at UC Berkeley and an MBA at from Claremont Graduate University. http://www.displayblog.com

CNET reports: Light Peak is now on track to appear in products in the first half of 2011–and likely earlier in the year than later, according to an industry source familiar with the progress of the technology. Light Peak is significantly faster than even USB 3.0, carrying data at 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously.

10Gbps. Now that’s fast. So how fast is USB 3.0? 4.8Gbps. And USB 2.0? 480Mbps. Simply put Light Peak is about double the speed of USB 3.0 and more than twenty times faster than USB 2.0. Why would we need some-thing so fast? Current maximum network speeds normal folks have access to is 1Gbps, or Gigabit Ethernet. In enterprise settings 10 Gigabit Ethernet is being implemented. Is 10GE coming to consumers in 2011? Probably. And if Apple brings out Light Peak-equipped Macs that can make 100% use of that fat Ethernet connection… now that would be very elegant, wouldn’t it? Let me explain.

Let’s say you just recorded a 1080/30p HD wedding video with your latest and greatest HD-enabled digital camera. Let’s also assume that its 12.5GB (gigabyte) and your digital camera as well as your Apple computer are Light Peak-equipped. Let’s figure out how fast we can transfer that 12.5GB video using Light Peak to your Mac. The speed of Light Peak is 10Gbps (gigabit per second) and in bytes (8 bits in 1 byte) that comes out to (10 divided by 8) 1.25GB per second. So to transfer 12.5GB to your Mac it only takes 10 seconds.*

With a 10 Gigabit Ethernet network, transferring to your multimedia server or storage device that same video would also take just 10 seconds. But here’s an interesting thought: if Light Peak and 10 Gigabit Ethernet were to become stan-dard, there would be no difference in speed between stuff that’s stored locally (external hard drive) and on the local network. If we got to 1Gbps Internet con-nections there would be no difference between local storage, network storage or cloud storage.

.

* This is assuming internal storage in the Mac can handle 1.25GB per sec-ond. This is not possible today on a typical Mac with even the fastest SSDs, which are limited to about 300MB per second. PCI-Express SSD speeds also top out around 750MB per second. We would need to move away from these interconnects; maybe the answer is Light Peak.


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http://www.abinfo.com.br/ld2010/


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Keep taking the tablets… by Fluppeteer

Fluppeteer is contributing to Veritas et Visus based on a long background working as a computer graphics programmer, and a similarly long background torturing his display hardware to within an inch of its life. He uses an IBM T221 display (3840x2400 pixels) and multi-monitor setups, the attempts to extract the best out of which have given him some insight into the issues specific to high-resolution displays. Fluppeteer holds an MA from the University of Cambridge (England) and an MSc in Advanced Computing from King’s College London. His efforts to squeeze the most from monitors stretch from ASCII art to ray tracing. Laser surgery left him most comfortable 1-2 feet away from the monitor, making high-resolution a necessity. He is currently ranked 21st in the word at tiddlywinks.

One of the current big things in the consumer electronics space is the tablet. At least, the iPad is. There's no doubt that the iPad is less functional than the netbooks that it outsells, but still it makes for a compelling user experience for a limited subset of tasks (particularly, content viewing rather than content creation). Despite a lot of criticism of the iPad's limitations, a number of platforms have tried to jump on the bandwagon.

However, the iPad is not much easier to carry around than a netbook, much less portable than the Nokia early attempts at tablet computers (n770, n800), and less capable than full laptops with rotating screens or many smart phones; it's also quite expensive. Why, then, does the iPad succeed? It's not just that iOS is relatively slick – the competition, especially Android, has been catching up in this area, and in some cases has an advantage. Some of the difference is the hardware.

What's different? The iPad is an odd mixture of low and relatively high resolution. The interface to a fully-fledged computer is dependent on a pixel-accurate input method (usually a mouse). This is a consequence of the functionality of a general-purpose computer – it would not be possible to use paint or drawing packages or 3D design without this accuracy, and WYSIWYG design in general would be impractical. Since most computers have such input devices, the whole user interface is designed around them. Windows have narrow borders; icons are small; menus have lots of options and use multiple mouse buttons.

The move to capacitive touchscreens has made a big difference to touch-panel functionality. In addition to multi-touch functionality, the consensus is that capacitive panels are much more responsive and convenient for use by hand; the displays are also typically more robust, since they do not need to be designed to flex. Capacitive displays no longer need a stylus to provide enough spot pressure to register. Indeed, with the exception of a few custom devices, a stylus will not work with a capacitive display.

Therein lies the problem: you can have a display that works well with finger pressure, or you can have a stylus-driven display. The latter is pixel-accurate, and can run a conventional computer interface – this is effectively what Windows-based tablet PCs, Windows Mobile phones and the n770/n800 do. The former is more user-friendly and amenable to quick interaction with a device, which is what the market has shown that many people want from their tablets - but even if the input is accurate to a pixel, no user will be so accurate with a finger obstructing the display. Therefore a tablet with a capacitive screen must be designed to work without pixel-accurate interaction from the user; this is why an iOS-based tablet provides an acceptable user experience for a large number of users, and a Windows laptop with a touch screen does not.

As iOS has shown, a modern cell phone operating system – designed for finger-based interaction on a touchscreen – is then perhaps the way to go. A lot of manufacturers are releasing Android tablets, certainly. However, while I can only report what friends and the media are saying, the interest in any tablet other than the iPad seems relatively limited. I can think of two reasons for this, and they're both resolution.


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The more obvious difference is that most of the Android tables announced so far are WVGA devices. There's a reason for that, which I'll come to in a minute, but the result is that there's no more detail on an Android tablet than on the screen of an Android phone. If you want to surf the web or view video or photos, major uses of a tablet, having more pixels makes a difference. The XGA screen on the iPad doesn't have much extra over the iPhone 4 (which means it can run scaled iPhone apps without too much of a border), but it's significantly ahead of WVGA Android devices.

Why aren't there higher-resolution Android tablets? Well, there will be (allegedly), come Gingerbread. With the current OS revisions, there's nothing to stop you using a panel with more pixels, but getting a high resolution tablet certified for the Android Market is a problem; without third-party applications, such a device is much less useful. The Android devices that break the WVGA limit immediately get panned by the press for being incompatible, because some application developers still can't get the hang of writing resolution-independent interfaces, even if the usual failure mode is just to fail to fill the screen. I'd be glad to petition that Android device emulators should default to a random resolution, to encourage application developers to pay attention to graceful scaling; it's bad enough that, with PenTile arrangements, you can't even rely on a pixel actually being a pixel any more (depending on what color it is).

In the meantime, we have Android tablets that provide negligible benefits over an Android phone, yet are less portable and more expensive. There's no surprise that the market hasn't leapt on them. Windows Phone 7 has just launched, but is still only considering WVGA screens; MeeGo is still crawling to market and BlackBerry don't seem inclined to add many pixels to their devices, so there is little competition from these directions.

Perfection, then? Does all this mean that Apple has got it right? I really don't think so. I was unconvinced by the iPad when I first heard of it, and I still think it's an odd mix. XGA is an unusual pixel format by modern standards – a bit low for surfing, certainly low for viewing photographs, although it at least has the right aspect ratio for many compact camera images. It's a very poor fit for video content, which surely should be a priority for a device that resembles a television on your lap.

To me, the obvious starting resolution for a tablet is 1280x720 – this suits widescreen media content and allows much more room for modern web page designs (I'd actually sooner see a squarer resolution, with some pixels reserved for a video interface). Android's Gingerbread release is rumored to add “support” for (up to) 1366x768 screens. If many appear with that resolution then I'll smack my head against my desk – long-term readers may remember my despair at the number of 1366x768 HDTVs that ruined their 720p signal by rescaling it – but I'm at least in favor of upping the resolution limit. The more pixels the merrier, for web browsing and image viewing (my – low resolution, by modern standards – 12 megapixel camera is a bit wasted even so).

As a fan of pixel density, I'd actually still rather have this in a more portable form factor. Rumors suggest that 1280x760 (760? really?) is the minimum for 4-inch Android devices, and a 4-inch screen is still well within the limits for a phone. Indeed, I'm sure I'd find a way to fit the new Casio full-HD 4.8-inch panel in my pocket, if someone made a phone using it. I'm holding on to replace my phone until there's a non-iOS variant with more than WVGA available. However, I still want companies to launch tablets with decent screens – whether or not I buy one (and I really might, if it actually provides a comparable surfing experience to a laptop), it still means that the application developers start writing software that would work on my shiny new phone.

I've been waiting for years for high resolution computer displays. Here's hoping that tablets might finally provide them, rather than just growing – at least I can't see too many 27-inch tablets appearing any time soon.


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Business must constantly look to, plan for tomorrow

by Andy Marken

Andy Marken is president of Marken Communications in Santa Clara, California. He has been involved in the video/illustration content and storage industry for more than 20 years. Years ago, he was instrumental in helping Philips introduce CD technology to the US. He has helped launch and educate the market regarding DVD-R and DVD-RAM. Today he is working to launch the blue laser technologies – Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Andy has also been instrumental in supporting a wide range of video and content firms including Sigma Designs, Dazzle, Pinnacle Systems, FAST, InterVideo, Ulead, and other firms in the software and hardware industries. He can be reached at http://www.markencom.com.

Even though a few companies have sold 10M +/- tablets and phones in the US and are slowly, painfully rolling them out in other wealthy consumer markets (Japan, North America, Europe), that’s only a drop in the proverbial consumer population bucket. There are 300 million potential consumers in the US and a whopping six billion plus around the globe. Today, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the wealthy countries is modest (at best), and the outlook for the next 10 years isn’t overly aggressive.

The “buy low, sell high” approach – buying components, manufacturing “somewhere” at the lowest possible price and selling them for optimum profit to folks in the wealthy areas is becoming more challenging. That’s why businesses are becoming more serious about reaching, influencing emerging economy consumers. Almost any senior executive worth his/her huge paycheck knows it’s “the place to be,” but according to McKinsey & Company research, less than one-third of the firms have taken any steps to get involved. Some have taken the “bold move” of developing new, lower-cost products or services for the fast-growing, middle-income consumers in countries such as China and India. These organizations identify themselves as global firms, but aren’t quite certain how to leverage their opportunities in the economic activities between and within regions.

The solution? A completely new strategy is needed that specifically targets sales in the emerging countries where there are more potential customers. There are a number of sound reasons for the urgency of the effort, according to McKinsey:

Retail sales in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are growing 10-15 fold and middle-class is not a short-lived phenomenon

The population of industrialized countries is aging.

Asian populations comprise more than half of the people on the planet with China, India (lands of 1 billion–plus consumers)

The economies of Asia’s big four -- China, India, Malaysia and Singapore – are the epicenters of the PC/CE/communications world.

Because they are opening up with relatively few restrictions, these consumer markets represent the largest “niche play” opportunity in the history of world commerce.


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Product Market Freedom Matrix – While emerging countries have a wide range of restrictions and free

operations, the opportunities in the PC/CE/content/communications industries are

relatively open for companies. The challenge is always a consistent policy.

Source: Edward Tse, The China Strategy

So why are these emerging markets so important – to all of us? Executives across the business spectrum agree that technological innovation, consumer goods, IT are the driving forces for your business and home life.

It used to be that if you wanted to sell high-end (read expensive) goods you sold them to the Japanese. But the world’s second largest consumer market is now acting like its Western peers:

They were hit hard by the economic downturn and their economy has been weak for about two decades.

They are anxious, nervous about the future and have changed their buying/saving habits. The kids (in their 20s) never knew the good times and have been nicknamed hodo-hodo zuko (so-so

folks) shunning corporate life and more material possessions They are less inclined to pay for convenience: to “spend time to save money,” rather than “spend money

to save time.” They are shunning department stores for outlets that satisfy their needs beyond shopping (big-box

discounters like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and large-format retailers like Costco, IKEA).

Source: McKinsey & Company


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Source: IDC Source: Internetworldstats.com

Shop for Tomorrow: As with almost everyone on the planet, they are online and they’re...shopping! No big deal you say? English-language television, music, film, print, social media English is presently the lingual franca. About two billion speak it – half as a second language.

Most of the “new market” consumers (their number is expected to double in the next two years) don’t speak English. The English-speaking Internet/Web is about saturated (like you didn’t notice?) so these countries represent most of the future online growth (Google, Facebook, others may have to start suckin’ up!). You and we both know ecommerce is language-based. According to a Common Sense Advisory survey:

52% will only buy from Web sites in their language. 64% would pay more to get product information in their language (Cripes, so would we!). The majority of people will shun localized Anglo-centric sites for ones that accommodate their

language, writing systems, conventions.

Ask Web folks and they’ll tell you that ain’t easy. It requires:

Smarter data intake processes, record storage, linkages in addition to IT expertise they need cultural, linguistic expertise software, systems that adapt quickly, easily for a non-English user base.

A foothold and expansion in the emerging markets is important because they have a growing middle class and more disposable income. As in the more mature areas, they lust for Internet, Web-enabled devices and applications. While there is tremendous concern over the protection of IP (intellectual property), companies are proceeding – albeit cautiously – in the fertile emerging markets.

Source: McKinsey & Company


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To do it, management has to:

retool existing business models reconfigure price/value equations (often localizing even within countries) closely monitor market volatility and have plans/options in place to respond to conditions, risks combine the best, smartest local resources with access to the company’s overall knowledge base maintain close, continual, open communications between the headquarters and the local company

New Challenges: The key for every player in the market is people. That means innovative approaches to sourcing talented employees, either from the global labor markets or optimizing the use of older workers. Technology will help organizations materially reshape consumer awareness, choice. Organizations that do the best job of tapping that technology will significantly improve their competitive advantage.

The truth is, the worst is behind us and the world is moving again. Now companies can shift their strategic planning from crisis mode to a consideration of short-term profitability and long-term strategic issues.

If this orb we’re on isn’t going to stand still, we might as well plug away opening new markets, new opportunities around the globe.

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Understanding Resolution

by Michael Reichmann

Michael Reichmann has been a professional photographer for some 45 years and operates a fine-art photography gallery located in Toronto, Canada. His works have appeared in numerous magazines and books in six countries. For the past 15 years he’s instructed photography at the college level and he teaches photographic workshops and seminars throughout the world. He’s also author of more than 300 articles on photographic technique as well as equipment reviews. He serves as a consultant to numerous companies with regard to product design and marketing. He is founder, publisher, and primary author of the Luminous Landscape and the Luminous Landscape Video Journal, in which this article first appeared. http://www.luminous-landscape.com

The traditional analog world was easy to understand. Negatives and prints were continuous tone and one simply made an enlargement from the negative or transparency to the size needed. Today, in the digital environment, many newcomers get-tripped up by the concepts of input and output resolution and terribly confused as to what settings to use, and when.

To understand these issues clearly one needs to start with an acceptance of certain physical limitations of the human eye. Our vision is incapable of discriminating detail below a certain level. This varies from individual to individual and even by the same individual on different days, but more or less this point is at about 200 dots per inch (80 dots / centimeter. See Understanding Sharpness). http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/sharpness.shtml

When an image is composed of dots smaller than this they appear to the eye as continuous tone. This has been relied upon by the printing trade for a couple of hundred years. Every photograph and every image that you see in every book, magazine, calendar and art reproduction is comprised of dots of ink, at resolutions typically ranging from 70 to 300+ dots per inch.

Come The Resolution (Bad pun – sorry but I couldn't resist): Digital images, whether derived directly from a digital camera or from a film scanner, obey the same laws. If the resolution used to make a print is too low we will “see the dots”, just as you sometimes do in a photograph reproduced on low quality newsprint.

What you end up seeing are the pixels. These are the discrete elements used to capture the image created by the camera or scanner lens system on the device's imaging chip. They are in effect the equivalent of the grain found in silver-based films or the dye clouds found in color negative and transparency films. The problem comes when trying to understand the relationship between what is captured and what ends up on a print.

Agathla Peak, Arizona


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This box to the right shows the Image Size dialog box in Photoshop for the photograph of Agathla Peak (above photo). It was photographed with a Canon digital SLR, the D30. (The same issues described below would apply to a scanned image. The principals discussed are the same).

This information at the top of the box tells us that the camera took an image that is 2160 pixels wide by 1440 pixels wide. The size of the image is 8.9 Megabytes. The section of the box below this shows that the current setting is for an image that is 9 inches wide by 6 inches high and that the resolution of this image will be 240 pixels per inch. Please note that the Resample Image box is unchecked.

The ins and outs of input and output resolution: If you were to now change any one of the values for Width, Height or Resolution you would simultaneously change the other two. If for example you changed the Height to 6 inches then the Width would become 4 inches and the Resolution would become 360 ppi, as seen to the right.

This is because a digital image has no absolute size or resolution. All it has are a certain number of pixels in each dimension. Obviously the resolution changes as the image size changes because the number of pixels that make up the image are being spread over a greater or lesser area. Therefore the resolution changes accordingly.

Now, let's say you want to make a larger print – say one that was 14 inches wide. You would then end up with an image that was about 9.3 inches wide but more importantly one that would only have a resolution of 155 pixels / inch. This is not enough output resolution for a high quality print, as we'll see below.

Ressing up: While there is no free lunch, it is possible to create extra resolution when needed ‹ but within certain limits. You'll likely have noticed that the Photoshop dialog has a selection box at the bottom called Resample Image. If you check this box it decouples the locked relationship between Width and Height and Resolution and allows you to set them separately. If you turn this box on by checking it you can make the image any size at any resolution you like.

In the example to the right, I have made the image 11X16.5" at 360 PPI. But, as can be seen at the top of the box I will be increasing the size of the file to more than 67 Megabytes from an original of under 9 Megabytes.


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Where did that resolution and all those bits come from? They were invented by Photoshop. This is the same as when one sets a scanner to a resolution higher than the scanner's true Optical Resolution. These are empty pixels. In other words, there is no new data there, the program has just used the data available to invent new pixels.

"Well", you might say, "That's pretty useless. What's the point"? Actually, if done in moderation this technique can allow you to make prints larger than your original image would normally allow. The reason for this is that a large print is viewed from a greater distance than is a small one and therefore the effect is masked.

As I said, the key word is moderation. One alternative is to use a stand-alone program called Genuine Fractals. This uses a different mathematical algorithm than does Photoshop and in my opinion does a much better job of ressing up. It's important to note though that in either case, the higher the quality and the larger the size of the original image, the better the ressed-up image will be.

Finally, you would also use this to res-down an image. If you're preparing a photograph for use on the web you want to have it at 72 ppi. You would turn on Resample Image, set the value to 72 ppi, and then set the Width and Height to whatever you needed. Photoshop will then throw away the unneeded pixels and create an appropriately sized file.

What resolution do I need? The final question is – how big is big enough? The answer depends on the device that your image will appear or be printed on. For example, images on-screen typically need a maximum of 72 PPI. If a file has higher resolution than that it simply looks no different on screen. The only real difference will be that the file will be bigger and will therefore be slower to download. All images on this site are at 72 ppi, regardless of their size. High-end lab printers need different resolutions. The LightJet 5000, the most popular wet-process digital printer, needs a file of exactly 304.8 PPI. Check with your lab for the resolution that they need for their particular printer.

Inkjets: Most photographers do their printing these days with a desktop inkjet printer and the Epson Photo printers are the most popular so I'll use them by way of example. These printers, such as the models 870/1270/2000P are (somewhat misleadingly) listed as 1440 dpi printers. This means that they are capable of laying down that many dots per inch. But, to create a color image they need to use 6 different inks, so any particular pixel reproduced on a print will be composed of some dithered composite of colored dots using some or all of these inks. That's why you need more dots from your printer than you have pixels in your image.

If you divide 1440 by 6 you end up with 240. This is the true minimum resolution needed to get a high quality photo-realistic prints from a 1440 dpi Epson printer. Many users, myself included, believe that a 360 ppi output file can produce a somewhat better print. If my original scan is big enough to allow this I'll do so but I don't bother ressing up a file to more than 240 ppi when making large prints.

PPI and DPI: PPI (Pixels per Inch) and DPI (Dots per Inch) are frequently used interchangeably in this industry, by pros and amateurs alike. While wrong, this isn't a huge problem since we usually know what we're talking about. To be absolutely correct it's worth noting that scanners, digital cameras and screens are all measured in PPI while printers are measured in DPI. Just so you know the difference.

A closing thought: This is a subject that is easier to understand by playing with your imaging software than by reading about it. Do so until this all makes sense, otherwise your days ahead in the digital darkroom will prove to be frustrating. Finally, when you save your files make sure that you save them with the original image's resolution intact. Only when a file has been safely saved should you start changing resolution. Also, if you haven't done so yet have a look at my tutorial Instant Photoshop http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/instant_photoshop.shtml for some recommendations on how best to work with your files, and what file formats to use for particular applications.


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59

Apple “Retina Display” in iPhone 4 A vision science perspective

by William H.A. Beaudot

William Beaudot is a vision scientist at KyberVision. He did a Ph.D. thesis on the modeling of the vertebrate retina in the early 90s, then worked for a few years in the field of bio-inspired sensory systems in the electronics and micro-technology industry (VLSI silicon retinas for computer vision and prosthetics applications). Over the last decade he has been investigating the human visual system in the fields of visual psychophysics and computational neuroscience first at McGill University as a post-doc and research associate, and then more recently at KyberVision, based in Montreal, Canada.

Our take on the controversy surrounding Apple “Retina Display” in the iPhone 4... I have closely followed the recent controversy around Apple's “Retina Display” following the announcement of the iPhone 4 and I would like to share my opinion as a vision scientist (I have to say that I have not seen it yet in person and I'm looking forward to). Hopefully this

will clear things up a bit and provides a more balanced and fairer evaluation of Apple new “Retina Display” to the public . This controversy started with the Wired article “Apple's Retina Display Claims Are False Marketing”, )http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/iphone-4-retina/) with which I disagree on 2 points:

1) its title, that "Apple's Retina Display Claims Are False Marketing" 2) its expert's conclusion that the “Retina Display” is a misleading marketing term.

What are Apple's claims about its "Retina Display" and are they false marketing? Apple's official marketing claim is that “the Retina display’s pixel density is so high, your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels”. In his keynote, Steve Jobs elaborated a bit more by referring to a magic number for the pixel density (around 300 pixels per inch or ppi) of a display hold about 10 to 12 inches away as the limit of the human retina to differentiate the pixels. Though Steve Jobs does not say explicitly, this magic number is in fact closely related to the standard visual acuity (20/20): a visual acuity of 20/20 means that a normal human eye can discriminate two points separated by 1 arc minute (1/60 deg) which is equivalent to an angular resolution of 30 cycles per degree (cpd). Seen from a distance of 1 foot (12 inches or 30 cm), a visual angle of 1 arc minute corresponds to a dot size of about 89 micrometers, that is a pixel density of 286.5 ppi (11.3 pixels per mm).

So, the Apple “Retina Display” with its 326 ppi has a pixel density 14% better than the 286 ppi required to deliver a resolution compatible with a 20/20 visual acuity from a distance of 1 foot. More specifically, the Apple “Retina Display” can deliver a visual resolution equivalent to a 20/17 acuity at a distance of 12 inches, or for the sake of clarity to a 20/20 acuity at 10 inches. In these conditions, refuting Apple's marketing claim would be unfair and misleading. In my opinion, Apple's claim is not just marketing, it is actually quite accurate based on a 20/20 visual acuity. However it is also important to note that the maximum acuity of a healthy human eye is approximately 20/16 to 20/12, so it would be inaccurate to refer to 20/20 visual acuity as “perfect” vision (despite the popular belief). The significance of the 20/20 standard can be best thought of as the lower limit of the normal visual acuity.


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So what about Dr. Raymond Soneira's claim in the Wired article that Apple “Retina Display” is a misleading marketing term?

First let's look at Dr. Soneira's argument: he correctly states that the eye has an angular resolution of 50 cpd, which would require a pixel density of 477 ppi at a viewing distance of 1 foot. But what Dr. Soneira omits to say is that 50 cpd is the maximum resolution of the human eye, which is equivalent to a 20/12 acuity, the maximum acuity noted above (see note 1). On the contrary, a 20/20 acuity is equivalent to a resolution of 30 cpd and corresponds to the lower limit in normal acuity. Then, the question is whether this distinction between the lower and higher limits in normal visual acuity is critical enough to refute Apple's claims for its “Retina Display”.

Now, Steve Jobs referred in his keynote to a viewing distance of 10 to 12 inches when claiming that the limit of the human retina is reached for a 300 ppi display. Why? Likely because 10 inches is the distance that corresponds to a 20/20 visual acuity when holding the “Retina Display”. However I think that this viewing distance is too short from a practical point of view: personally, the most comfortable distance between my eyes and my iPhone 3G is about 18 inches (45 cm) and not 10 or 12 inches, and guess what? At this comfort distance, the Apple “Retina Display” would provide exactly the higher limit in angular resolution argued by Dr. Soneira (50 cpd)! I believe that for most people a reasonable viewing distance when reading a book or using a mobile device is between 10 and 20 inches (see note 2). Under this normal range of viewing conditions, the Apple “Retina Display” would have the capacity to span the full range of normal visual acuity, from 20/20 at 10 inches to 20/12 at 18 inches, further justifying Apple's claims. That would be my first take-home message in this ongoing controversy.

What about the “Retina” term? The maximum visual resolution is known to be limited by the photoreceptor spacing in the retina (in particular in its center, the fovea, where the cone photoreceptors are densely packed): cone spacing at the fovea is approximately 28 seconds of arc (about 0.5 arc minute), and a maximum theoretical resolution of about 60 cpd is possible based on this cone spacing (see note 3). This limitation partially results from the well-known Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem that states that the sampling frequency of the retina by its individual photoreceptors (120 cpd) must be more than twice the frequency of the smallest discriminable input signal (explaining why 60 cpd would be the theoretical maximum resolution). How is this pertaining to the “Retina” qualification of the iPhone 4 display by Apple? Well, since this display can deliver a visual input to the retina with a spatial frequency up to 50 cpd when viewed from a distance of 18 inches, it almost matches the retina resolution according to the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem (see note 4). As such, my second take-home message is that Apple’s new display can be called without dispute a “Retina” display. Could it get better? Sure, but so far Apple’s "Retina Display" is the closest thing ever done in display technology for the consumer market that matches the human retina resolution at these short distances (see notes 5, 6).

Sorry for this long and a bit technical blog entry, but as a scientist I think facts need to be explained, not just stated.

Notes:

1. Dr. Phil Plait, an astronomer, also points out this on his Discover blog “Resolving the iPhone resolution”. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/06/10/resolving-the-iphone-resolution/

2. This AppleInsider article “Apple's iPhone 4 "Retina" display claims spark controversy” seems to disagree with me as it states that 18 inches is much farther than standard use for a mobile handset. I don't know what their sources are for such a claim, but common sense tells me that the most comfortable viewing distance for near reading should vary from person to person and may depend on several factors: visual acuity, display size (in terms of visual angle), and clarity of the content (which is limited by the pixel size) among others. My guess is that the latter will be much less a factor in the determination of this optimal viewing distance. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/11/apples_iphone_4_retina_display_claims_spark_controversy.html

3. The chromatic organization of the “Retina Display” in terms of its red, green and blue sub-pixels has not been considered yet: Apple uses in its displays the RGB stripes layout commonly found in LCD panels (it is worth noting that alternative layouts have been recently proposed, see this AppleInsider article


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http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/05/29/czech_report_says_iphone_4g_will_sport_dense_960x640_ips_display.html and the PenTile technology). http://www.nouvoyance.com/ The human retina is also composed of 3 types of cones layered, however, in a much less regular fashion as illustrated by the human retina mosaic shown below. Moreover, the cone spacing reported above (28 arcsec) applies irrespective of the cones type which suggests that Apple's “Retina Display” has a higher resolution than the human retina in terms of its chromatic components. To demonstrate this, we can compare below “microscopic” screenshots of the chromatic mosaic of some Apple displays with the human retina mosaic when shown at the same scale (when viewed from a distance of 10 inches): note how small the sub-pixels already are compared to the cones in the human mosaic!

Human Retina Mosaic Apple Displays

Chromatic Mosaic of the Human Retina: False color image showing the arrangement of the 'red', 'green' and 'blue' cones in the human retina at a location 1 deg nasal from the central fovea. The scale bar represents 5 arcmin of visual angle. Each cone can be as small as 28 arcsec. Adapted from Roorda Lab. http://vision.berkeley.edu/roordalab/

iPod touch 4G (326 ppi): Pixel size: 78 x 78 µm 1 arcmin/pixel at 10 inches iPhone 3G (165 ppi): Pixel size: 155 x 155 µm 2 arcmin/pixel at 10 inches

iPod touch 2G (165 ppi): Pixel size: 155 x 155 µm 2 arcmin/pixel at 10 inches iPad (132 ppi): Pixel size: 192 x 192 µm 2.6 arcmin/pixel at 10 inches

Some higher resolution screenshots have been since posted on Bryan Jones' blog, however the size reported for the scale bar on his pictures appears to be quite wrong... The pixel size should be those depicted in the pixel structure shown above). http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina-display/

4. The slight discrepancy between the maximum theoretical resolution of 60 cpd and the best visual acuity of 50 cpd appears to be due to the imperfect optics of the eye. This was demonstrated in particular by Drs. Rossi & Roorda in a recent publication, http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v13/n2/abs/nn.2465.htmlas


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emphasized by this Popular Mechanics article (“Does the iPhone 4's Retina Display Ignore the Science of Optics?”). http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/reviews/iphone-4-retinal-display-optics

5. As shown by the Wiki page "List of displays by pixel density", Apple "Retina Display" has the highest pixel density and the largest number of pixels (960 x 640) in its device category. Another phone with a slightly higher pixel density (333 ppi) appears to have been released for the Korean market only about 1 year ago: the LG-LU1400 with a WVGA resolution (800 x 480) and a 2.8-inch diagonal, however limited to 262K color (i.e. 2% better in pixel density, but 60% worse in pixel number).

6. Apple’s “Retina Display” is a high quality 3.5-inch TFT-LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) with a resolution of 960×640 and a contrast ratio of 800:1. Apple stated that this display uses the IPS technology (In-Plane Switching) known to provide wide viewing angles and good color reproduction. It is also likely to use a LTPS TFT LCD technology (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) often used in displays requiring higher TFT performance and low power consumption. Using this technology, much higher pixel densities have been already obtained: for example, LG Philips LCD has demonstrated in 2005 2-inch LTPS VGA LCD prototypes with IPS up to 403 ppi, and Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation demonstrated LTPS LCD up to 500 ppi in 2006. What pixel density should have the perfect "Retina Display"? Assuming that 10" is the minimum distance at which a 20/12 visual acuity (50 cpd) should be delivered, a pixel density of 573 ppi would then be required, above which the human vision would not gain any benefit from the display resolution per see. However a higher resolution would be still desirable for autostereoscopic displays that use, for example, lenticular lens to provide glass-free 3D.

Demystifying 3D: The Complete Guide to Autostereoscopic 3D Display Technology

3D Workshops at Digital Signage Expo 2011 February 22, 2011, Las Vegas

Insight Media University will be presenting the "Demystifying 3D: The Complete Guide to Autostereoscopic 3D Display Technology" workshop series as part of the upcoming Digital Signage Expo. The workshop series will be held on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, just prior to the opening of Digital Signage Expo. Digital Signage Expo will be held February 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

There is a lot to know about 3D technology, including the displays, creation of the content, configuring and integrating the entire solution and understanding which applications and venues are best suited for this opportunity. This workshop offers a comprehensive presentation of all the aspects of successful AS-3D solutions. The workshop is organized into four 90-minute modules. You can attend 1, 2, 3 or all of them, depending on your focus and interest level. The modules are:

Autostereoscopic and Advanced 3D Displays Content Creation for Stereoscopic & Autostereoscopic Displays System Integration for Autostereoscopic Display Solutions Autostereoscopic Market Opportunity

Attendees will gain the skills to understand the technology behind AS-3D, the methods to assemble a successful solution and the business opportunities that should be addressed: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=320


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Last Word: 960 Hertz and fermented bean paste by Ken Werner

Ken Werner currently serves as a senior analyst and editor at Insight Media. He founded Nutmeg Consultants, a display-industry consulting firm in 1986 and is recognized as an authority on the display industry. He served as Editor of Information Display, SID’s technical magazine from 1987 to 2005 and regularly addresses technical and trade organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and frequently serves as a consultant to brokers, analysts, members of the international press corps, and companies entering or repositioning themselves in the industry. Werner has a BA in Physics from Rutgers University and an MS in Solid-state Physics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This article combines two pieces from the Display Daily, published by Insight Media on November 3, 2010. http://www.displaydaily.com

On a recent Saturday evening, following the CVCE 2010, Sungkyoo Lim and I were entertaining ourselves in Seoul’s upscale Shinseghae department store. Sungkyoo is the CVCE 2010 Conference Chair, a professor at Dankook University, and a consultant to lighting developer GLDTEK. Dinner was great, but we had a surprise for dessert. Read on.

Sungkyoo’s mission on Saturday evening was not a technical one. We were in the fabulous basement food mart at Shinseghae, where free samples are given, well, freely. Lim’s goal was to feed me as many samples of traditional Korean food as he could in 45 minutes. He was good-humoredly interested in my reactions. As best I could tell, among hundreds of people I was the only non-Korean in the market, and the friendly sales people at the various booths seemed to catch Sungkyoo’s mood and my enthusiasm for the project. I’ll mention in passing that many Korean foods are based on fermented and dried ingredients, the cultural result of a lack of refrigeration throughout most of the country’s history. Their pungent flavors are not appreciated by all non-Koreans, hence the good-humored curiosity about my reactions. (I won’t even mention the staggering variety of kimchi. I’m very fond of kimchi, but I realized last week that I have barely touched – or tasted – the surface of this rich subject).

On our way out, to meet colleagues for dinner, we couldn’t resist walking through the TV section – and we were both surprised when we saw two very high-end Samsung 3DTVs in thin, elegant cabinets. The surprise was that each of these sets featured 960-Hz frame rate, which Samsung calls CMR (Clear Motion Rate). The smaller – but

not small – set (photo right) was selling for KRW 9,900,000 (about US$8,975). The 65-inch version (Model UN65C8000XF) was selling for KRW 11,100,000 – a bit over US$10,000. The 3D performance was as good as I’ve seen o n an LCD, but the content was slow-moving, which certainly didn’t challenge the CMR.

I should note that it was not clear whether these 960-Hz sets were truly 960 or 480 with backlight scanning for an effective 960 frames per second. We’ll find out. Either way, there are two main reasons for increasing the speed of the LCD – to reduce motion blur and to increase brightness in 3D mode.

Motion blur is reduced by inserting motion-compensated frames in between the original frames of the video, which are appearing at 60-Hz. When large-screen 60-, 120-, and 240-Hz sets are compared side-by-side, there is a significant reduction in motion blur when going from 60 to 120, and a noticeable but much less striking difference when going from 120 to 240. I’ve yet to see 240- and 480-Hz sets side-by-side. Is the difference significant? The advantage of faster speeds for 3D is the ability to address the panel quickly, enabling the shutter glasses to stay open longer, allowing more light to the eyes. By going to a 480-Hz or 960-Hz refresh rate, designers now have more options. They can choose to go for maximum 3D brightness with no motion blur reduction, or add some brightness with some motion blur reduction. Either way, there is no end of surprises in the display business, even when you think you’re only sampling fermented bean paste.


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Alfred Poor, volume 12: 20 articles, 44 pages


Veritas et Visus

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David Barnes, volume 13: 20 articles, 60 pages

High Resolution - Veritas et Visus

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