Display Standard - Veritas et Visus

Display Standard 

Veritas et Visus February 2009 Vol 3 No 10/Vol 4 No1 

Samsung SDI, p36 Eldim, p57 Purdue University, p81 

Letter from the publisher: The evolution of aspect ratios by Mark Fihn 2 

Display-related standards news 13 

Conference summaries 

� Meko/DisplaySearch Display Forum 2008, November 4-5, Düsseldorf, Germany 32 

� SID Mobile Displays Conference 2008, September 23-24, San Diego, California 35 

� DisplaySearch HDTV Conference, September 15-17, 2008, Los Angeles, California 40 

� Displaybank Korea Display Conference, July 2-4, 2008, Seoul, South Korea 42 

� SID Display Week 2008 Symposium, May 20-23, Los Angeles, California 46 

Interview with Nicole Helsberg from ESAC 53 

Viewing angle and spectral characterization of LCDs and their components by Pierre Boher 57 

Background information for the LCD shoot-out by Raymond Soneira 63 

Display metrology news 75 

Green electronics round-up compiled by Keith Baker with additional material by Phillip Hill 77 

IPC Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, July 16-17, Cambridge, Massachusetts 86 

Green technology in flat panel displays by David Hsieh 89 

The financial standard… by Mark Fihn and WitsView 92 

Innovation, partnership, and death: new economics of HDTV semiconductors by Christian Prusia 96 

Westinghouse and Vizio bemoan ATSC license fees by Aldo Cugnini 99 

Active Optical Cables Market Report 2009 by Tom Rossi 101 

BD – defining the definition of HighDef by Andy Marken 105 

Last Word: The other side of the recession by Norman Hairston 109 

Calendar of events 117 

The Display Standard is focused on bringing news and commentary about display-related standards and 

regulations. The Display Standard 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 mark@veritasetvisus.com 

Managing Editor Phillip Hill phill@veritasetvisus.com 

Contributors Keith Baker, Pierre Boher, Aldo Cugnini, Norman Hairston, David Hsieh, Andy Marken, 

Christian Prusia, Tom Rossi, Neil Schneider, Raymond Soneira, and WitsView 

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Veritas et Visus Display Standard February 2009 

De Divina Proportione 

The evolution of aspect ratios… 

2 

by Mark Fihn 

In the past 30 days, I’ve received four unrelated inquires about the current trend in the PC industry toward 16:9 

aspect ratios as opposed to 16:10 aspect ratios. Since I’ve spent an enormous amount of time and energy over the 

past few years studying display-related aspect ratios, and since I was personally involved in the creation of the 

16:10 aspect ratio, I decided to write a detailed article about much of what I’ve learned about aspect ratios. 

Aspect ratios before displays: Long before electronic displays, there was a long scientific inquiry into aspect 

ratios, (which simply is the width of an image divided by its height). Centuries of experimentation and scientific 

inquiry have come and gone to help identify the optimal sizes for many media – including paper sizes, newsprint, 

books, paintings, windows, etc. Different aspect ratios have emerged in different regions of the world for different 

needs, technologies, and usage environments. 

There is a long history of inquiry related to the optimal aspect ratio for the human visual system – trying to identify 

the best solutions for how we view images. Before we had TVs and computer monitors, visual artists spent 

hundreds, even thousands of years experimenting with solutions to most pleasantly put paint to canvas. 

Interestingly, there is a considerable amount of evidence which suggests the art world has long identified something 

very close to the current “wide” aspect ratio that is being largely used by both the PC and CE industry in today’s 

displays. 

The Golden Ratio: The golden ratio is often denoted by the Greek letter ϕ (phi). In simplest terms, the Golden 

Ratio occurs when point C divides the line in such a way that the ratio of AC to CB is equal to the ratio of AB to 

AC. The algebra (dating back to the time of Euclid and Pythagoras) shows that the ratio of AC to CB is equal to the 

irrational number 1.6180339887…(precisely half the sum of 1 and 

the square root of 5). Expressed algebraically, the equation has as 

its unique positive solution the algebraic irrational number: 

For at least 500 years now, physicists have suggested that the 

Golden Ratio translates to the most aesthetically beautiful 

appearance for the human visual system. A golden rectangle is a 

rectangle whose side lengths are in the golden ratio. A distinctive 

feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the 

remainder is another golden rectangle; that is, with the same 

proportions as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, 

in which case corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite 

sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic 

spiral with this property. 

According to astrophysicist and math popularizer Mario Livio, 

since the publication of Luca Pacioli's De Divina Proportione, 

when “with Pacioli's book, the Golden Ratio started to become 

available to artists in theoretical treatises that were not overly mathematical, that they could actually use”. Many 

artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the form of the golden rectangle, which has 

been considered aesthetically pleasing. The proportions of the golden rectangle have been observed in works 

predating Pacioli's publication. Beginning in the Renaissance, a body of literature on the aesthetics of the golden 

ratio has developed. As a result, architects, artists, book designers, and others have been encouraged to use the 

Golden Ratio in the dimensional relationships of their works.


The De Divina Proportione is a three-volume work published 500 years ago – in 1509. Pacioli, a Franciscan friar, 

was known mostly as a mathematician, but he was also trained and keenly interested in art. De Divina Proportione 

explored the mathematics of the Golden 

Ratio. Containing illustrations of regular 

solids by Leonardo Da Vinci, Pacioli's 

longtime friend and collaborator, De Divina 

Proportione was a major influence on 

generations of artists and architects alike. 

Whether Leonardo proportioned his 

paintings according to the golden ratio has 

been the subject of intense debate. Salvador 

Dalí, on the other hand, explicitly used the 

Golden Ratio in his masterpiece, The 

Sacrament of the Last Supper. The 

dimensions of the canvas are a golden 

rectangle. A huge dodecahedron, with edges 

in Golden Ratio to one another, is 

suspended above and behind Jesus and 

dominates the composition. 

Dali’s “The Sacrament of the Last Supper” uses the Golden Ratio 

“The Golden Ratio has been used in many great works of art to achieve what we might term “visual 

effectiveness”. One of the properties contributing to such effectiveness is proportion – the size relationships 

of parts to one another and to the whole. The history of art shows that in the long search for an elusive 

canon of “perfect” proportion, on that would somehow automatically confer aesthetically pleasing qualities 

on all works of art, the Golden Ratio has proven to be the most enduring”. 

-- Mario Livio 

De Divina Proportione discussed φ and its uses in architecture and art. Da Vinci studied Pacioli's text, and was 

fascinated by φ – it ended up taking a major role in many of this sketches and paintings. In particular, his infamous 

“Vitruvian Man” sketch is his illustration of how the human body supposedly embodies the divine proportion φ. Once 

Da Vinci embraced it, artists and architects all over Europe immediately jumped on the bandwagon, and it's pretty 

much continued to be used by artists and architects all the way to the present. The image in the right was used early 

on to promote the new ATSC 16:9 aspect ratio, borrowing from the images of both Da Vinci and Dali. 

3


Well, if indeed, the Golden Ratio is somehow aesthetically pleasing, it should come as no surprise that there have 

been numerous psychological experiments to identify if indeed there is an aesthetically pleasing proportion. The 

German physicist and psychologist Gustav Fechner conducted pioneering experiments in this field in the 1860s. 

Fechner's experiment was simple: ten rectangles varying in their length-to-width ratios were placed in front of a 

subject, who was asked to select the most pleasing one. The results showed that 76% of all choices centered on the 

three rectangles having ratios of 1.75, 1.62, and 1.50, with a peak at the “Golden Rectangle”. Fechner went further 

and measured the dimensions of thousands of rectangular-shaped objects (windows, picture frames in the museums, 

books in the library), and claimed to have found the average ratio to be almost identical to the Golden Ratio. Many 

psychologists have repeated similar experiments since then, and obtained similar results. In particular, British 

psychologist Chris McManus concluded in 1980 that: “There is moderately good evidence for the phenomenon 

which Fechner championed.” Note: these surveys have been disputed and whether the Golden Ratio is truly the 

most aesthetically pleasing aspect ratio is still in dispute. 

Origins of the 4:3 aspect ratio: With all of the history behind the “Golden 

Ratio”, one can’t help but wonder how the 4:3 aspect ratio came into being. 

Many historians date the origin of the motion picture industry’s 4:3 aspect 

ratio to Thomas Edison, sometime around 1889. In what may be more 

legend than fact, the story goes that one of Edison’s associates, William 

L.K. Dickson, was working with a new 70mm celluloid-based film stock 

supplied by photographic entrepreneur George Eastman. Edison reportedly 

thought that the 70mm format was too expensive and so he asked Dickson 

to cut it in half. The result was 35mm film, which translated to frames that 

were 33% wider than they were tall, (a 4:3 aspect ratio), and which was 

then used by Edison for his first movie-making efforts. 

Whatever the story may be, Edison’s 4:3 aspect ratio was officially adopted 

in 1917 by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers as their first 

engineering standard, and the film industry used it almost exclusively for 

the next 35 years. The 4:3 standard later became known as the Academy 

Aperture, and nearly every film made from 1917 to 1952 used this aspect 

ratio. Note that in 1931 the Academy Aperture was modified to 1.37:1 to 

accommodate sound. 

In the early 1950s, both European standards groups and the US’s National 

Television Standards Committee (NTSC) formally adopted the 4:3 aspect 

ratio for TV broadcasting. The standards groups wanted to be able to be 

compatible with the motion picture industry and existing camera lenses. 

Origins of the 5:4 aspect ratio: In the early days of television in the late 1930s, the original aspect ratio of the 

405-line television system was 5:4. The 5:4 aspect ratio was chosen in large part because it was technologically 

difficult at the time to build CRTs in anything much wider, and in fact the some of the very first CRTs were round. 

Obviously, changing TVs from 5:4 to 4:3 to accommodate the new NTSC standard could not be implemented 

immediately, as it would take some time for all the domestic receivers to be adjusted to the wider signals. In 

practice, however, the stability of the circuitry of that day meant that the height and width would vary considerably 

in a typical viewing session, so the precise aspect ratio didn’t really matter to most viewers. Interestingly, many 

TVs continued to be manufactured to the old 5:4 aspect ratio until the mid-1970s. Throughout the ‘60s and early 

‘70s, most TV sets had to be adjusted either to give the correct width and reduced height, or the correct height and 

excessive width. In order to avoid black bars appearing at the top and bottom of the screen, the latter approach was 

typically used. 

4 

Inventors George Eastman and 

Thomas Edison operate a motion 

picture camera together – at which 

time the 4:3 aspect ratio was defined.


Enter wide cinematographic aspect ratios… Meantime, as television's popularity increased during the early 

1950s, Hollywood began to see TV as a threat. In addition to trying smell-o-vision, 3D-glasses, and various audio 

and color technologies, Hollywood studios experimented with the aspect ratio. In September 1953, 20th Century 

Fox premiered The Robe using a “new” technique they called Cinemascope, which show an image at an aspect ratio 

of 2.55:1, (later revised to 2.35:1). 

The reasoning in Hollywood that led to 

wide-screen formats is simply that the 

wider view is closer to the human field of 

vision. Because the viewer is visually 

immersed into the action with widescreen, 

the enjoyment level is enhanced. 

And based on the success of The Robe, 

soon, most studios started making their 

own versions of 'Scope' films: 

WarnerScope, TechniScope, Panavision, 

PanaScope, and others, (see 

accompanying figure). By about 1955, 

virtually all movie production had shifted 

to one widescreen format or another to 

differentiate from the emerging TV 

market. Since the human visual system is 

based on two eyes, which are conditioned 

for peripheral views (and not well-trained 

for up-and-down views), Hollywood 

successfully differentiated their big-screen 

content with wide aspect ratios. 

Note that all cinematographic widescreen formats are wider than the 16:9 

aspect ratio adopted by the TV market – perpetuating the problem of 

“black bars” when viewing the original cut of movies at home. 

� The most common theatrical presentations today are 1.85:1 and 2.39:1, (which is frequently mistakenly 

called 2.35:1). Less commonly used, but still prevalent in Europe are 1.66:1 and 1.75:1. 

� 1.66:1, 1.75:1, and 1.85:1 are usually shot in a process called 35mm spherical, (also known as “flat”). 

To achieve a wide-screen image, the top and bottom portions of the frame are masked in the projector. 

Sometimes the same film is shown at 1.85:1 in North America and at 1.66:1 in Europe, which can lead 

to confusion as to which is creatively “correct”. 

� Most current films show at an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 are produced in one of two formats, (35mm 

anamorphic or Super 35). In the anamorphic process, (popularly called “scope”), the camera lens 

compresses images on a 35mm film. When projected, the image is expanded horizontally by the same 

factor. The Super 35 process uses spherically symmetrical lenses, which results in an undistorted image 

on the 35mm negative. These frames have a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is optically converted to an 

anamorphic image which is projected as if it were a “scope” film. 

� Another popular format is known today as “70mm”. This was once used commonly for big budget films, 

but fell out of favor in about 1970. This format 2.21:1. Most films projected since 1970 in 70mm format 

were actually blow-ups from 35mm anamorphic. 

Enter the PC… In 1981, IBM introduced its Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), which enabled 320x200 pixels in 4 

colors, (a 16:10 aspect ratio). IBM’s Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) emerged in 1984, at 640x350 pixels in 16 

colors, (a 1.83 aspect ratio). The Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) was introduced in 1987, which at 640x480 began 

the series of 4:3 graphics standards, thereby leveraging picture tubes used for the TV industry. SVGA (800x600) 

5


and XGA (1024x768) emerged in 1990. UXGA (1600x1200) emerged in 1996, and SXGA+ (1400x1050) emerged 

in 1998. The vast majority of the displays used in notebook PCs and PC monitors adopted the 4:3 aspect ratio for 

almost 20 years starting from the late-1980s. 

At the high end of the PC market, monitor makers implemented a 5:4 aspect ratio, for both CRTs and LCDs – at a 

1280x1024 pixel format. In the 1980s, high-end computer enthusiasts quickly recognized that for intensive graphics 

applications, 640x480 was simply inadequate – they needed displays at a higher resolution. So, monitor designers 

dusted off an advanced display developed in the early 1970s for the TV industry to showcase “high definition” – it 

was in the 5:4 aspect ratio that was common for TVs at the time with a pixel format of 1280x1024. From this 

legacy, the “high-end” 5:4 graphics format was created. 

The 16:9 aspect ratio for the TV market: The original HDTV aspect ratio of 15:9 was drawn up by NHK (Japan 

Broadcasting Corporation) in the late 1970's. NHK’s choice of 15:9 (1.67) was based on a series of perception tests 

they conducted, which tried to identify an optimum aspect ratio for the viewers watching small-screen TV sets. 

Starting in the mid-1980s, the TV industry in the US, through the Advanced Television Systems Committee 

(ATSC), proposed a transition to an all-digital television broadcasting system in a 16:9 aspect ratio (1.78). The U.S. 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally adopted the ATSC recommendation in December 1996, 

mandating the new broadcasting standard into law, to be fully implemented by 2006, (a timeline that has been 

delayed several times). In addition to the United States, as of January 2004, the governments of Canada, South 

Korea, Taiwan, and Argentina formally adopted 

the ATSC standard. Most other nations have 

since followed suit. 

Interestingly, when the 16:9 aspect ratio was 

established by the ATSC, there was not a single 

display in existence that was manufactured in a 

16:9 form factor and there was not a single 

camera in existence that capture movie or TV 

images at a 16:9 aspect ratio.. The ATSC 16:9 

format was simply a compromise solution, which 

was not being produced by anyone at the time – 

either in terms of displays or content. The 16:9 

compromise was developed by Kerns Powers, 

one of the ATSC members who identified a way 

to encompass all of the existing aspect ratios, 

(see graphic to the right). 

The Kerns Powers compromise solution of 16:9 enabled all 

existing film aspect ratios to fit and was adopted by the ATSC, 

even though no displays or devices existed at the time in this 

aspect ratio. 

Wide aspect ratios in the PC market: Several years ago, my job at Dell was to lead the company’s strategy 

related to the displays used in notebook PCs. One of my efforts was to shift Dell’s notebooks to wide aspect ratio 

displays. I personally spent literally hundreds of hours in meetings with LCD manufacturers to identify the best 

wide aspect ratio solution. The discussions included considerations about the human visual system, optimal sizes 

for notebook PC designs (especially considering the keyboard layout), optimization of PC software on widescreens, 

PC/TV convergence possibilities, driver and graphics card considerations, and substrate optimization. Unlike the 

Kerns Powers’ 16:9 compromise solution for the TV market, the 16:10 aspect ratio was developed based on a rather 

rigorous analysis of the pros and cons of various alternatives. 

Although Dell with three LCD makers to produce 15.4-inch panels in a 16:10 aspect ratio, and preliminary plans 

were put into place to shift Dell’s notebook offerings entirely from 15.0-inch in a 4:3 format to 15.4-inch in a 16:10 

format, ultimately Dell’s management decided not to proceed with the program, stating that “Dell’s customers were 

not asking for wide aspect ratios…” Well, about a year later, Apple came out with their first wide aspect ratio 

6


notebooks, to very popular acclaim, and less than a year after that, Dell’s customers were indeed asking for wide 

aspect ratios. But rather than leading the market to wide aspect ratios, Dell was one of the last major PC companies 

to introduce a notebook PC with a wide aspect ratio display. 

It should be noted that my efforts at Dell to popularize the notion of displays at a 16:10 aspect ratio were not 

entirely unique ideas. Other concurrent efforts included: 

� Apple’s 22.0-inch Studio Display was introduced as an extension of the SXGA (1280x1024) form 

factor, widened to 1600x1024 (a 1.56 aspect ratio). Apple also introduced a notebook using a 15-.2-inch 

display at a 15:10 aspect ratio, (3:2), in an effort to sustain the x-axis of a 14.1-inch display (4:3). Apple 

also claimed advantages with the 3:2 format since it is the same as DVDs (720x480). As the 16:10 

aspect ratio gained popularity, Apple switched over to a 16:10 solution for all of its notebooks and 

monitors by 2005 – becoming the first PC company to exclusively offer wide aspect ratio displays. 

For both their Studio Display and their PowerBook G4, Apple chose to keep the y-pixel count unchanged from that of 

a more typical aspect ratio. For their 22.0” Studio Display at 1600x1024, this meant widening the x-dimension from 

a 5:4 ratio, creating a unique 25:16 aspect ratio. For their 15.2” PowerBook G4 display, they chose to widen the xdimension 

from a 4:3 ratio to another unique solution, this time to 1152 pixels and a 15:10 aspect ratio. 

� In 2002, NEC introduced a notebook with a 15.3-inch display at 1280x768 pixels, (a 15:9 aspect ratio). 

In 2005, HP made a big push to introduce 14.0-inch panels at 1280x768 pixels. Both of these efforts 

were doomed to failure – NEC’s engineers were chartering new ground a lone effort that got little 

popular support; HP’s engineers simply made a gross mistake, as the 16:10 precedent was already 

obvious – with the 16:10 solution trumping the 15:9 solution in almost all scenarios. 

� Sony, Fujitsu, Sharp, and Toshiba all introduced “sub-notebooks” with wide aspect ratios in the early 2000s 

at a variety of panel sizes and aspect ratios. 

Sony’s 8.9-inch portable PC at 1024x480 pixels; Fujitsu’s 8.8-inch solution at 1024x512 pixels; Sharp’s 7.1inch 

screen at 800x480 pixels; Toshiba’s Libretto 1100 with a 7.1-inch display at 800x480 pixels; Toshiba’s 

Libretto L1 with 10.0-inch panel at 1280x600 pixels. These wide-aspect ratio – “sub-notebooks” were all 

introduced in the period from 2000 to 2002. 

� IBM introduced their 22.0-inch T221 display in 2001 at 3840x2400 pixels – the first commercially 

available display at a 16:10 aspect ratio. 

7


By 2004, the notebook PC market had adopted the 16:10 aspect ratio as a general standard – standardized early on 

through the efforts of the Standard Panels Working Group (SPWG) at 12.1-, 14.1-, 15.4-, and 17.0-inches, all at a 

16:10 aspect ratio, at a variety of pixel formats – 1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1440x900, and 1280x800. Until recently, 

the vast majority of all notebook PCs are sold with wide aspect ratio displays, and most all of them are at a 16:10 

aspect ratio. 

The notebook PC market transitioned from displays at a 4:3 aspect ratio to displays at a 16:10 aspect ratio – with 

experiments at various formats during the transition process. Interestingly, the geometry of the formats results in a 

situation where the smallest diagonal results in the largest total surface area. 

On October 21, 2008 Samsung announced plans to introduce LCD panels designed for notebook PCs at a 16:9 

aspect ratio. Samsung announced two versions, one at 16.0-inches and the other at 18.4-inches. According to the 

Samsung press release, “these new panels allow notebook users to optimally view high definition movies, digital 

TV and next-generation gaming, all of which were designed for a 16:9 aspect ratio”. 

16:10 vs. 16:9: Each of the primary LCD manufacturers has now introduced 16:9 panels for both the notebook PC 

and LCD monitor markets. The market research firm DisplaySearch has been actively predicting a rapid transition 

from 16:10 panels to 16:9 panels. The DisplaySearch analysis cites several “driving forces behind the fact that 16:9 

panels become more popular eventually”: 

� 16:9 provides better economic cut (panelization) in existing TFT LCD fabs. 

� 16:9 products provide higher resolution and wider aspect ratio. 

� The widespread adoption of high definition in the consumer entertainment sector will help end users 

readily adopt the new products with the wider aspect ratio. 

� The new 16:9 panels provide an opportunity for PC brands to further diversify their products. 

Based on these explanations, DisplaySearch has 

justified forecasts for a rapid transition to 16:9, 

as depicted in the transition charts to the right, 

(which DisplaySearch presented in late 2008). 

While I very much respect the market research 

conducted by DisplaySearch, I should point out 

that in the area of aspect ratios, the company 

does not have a good track record. In 2001, for 

example, DisplaySearch was predicting that 1/3 

of the LCD TV market would still be shipping 

at 4:3 aspect ratios. (By 2004, virtually 100% of 

the market was at 16:9). Less than two years 

ago, DisplaySearch was not predicting that 

notebook PCs or LCD monitors would be 

shifting to 16:9, and in fact they were 

comparatively bearish about the transition from 

4:3/5:4 to 16:10. (See charts from March 2007): 

DisplaySearch’s predictions about the transition from 4:3 and 

5:4 panels, to 16:10, to 16:9 panels – notebooks on the left; 

monitors on the right. 

8


DisplaySearch’s forecasts about wide aspect ratios have historically been well behind the actual transition – even 

though the arguments favoring wide solutions were quite compelling. Compare the above charts to those on the 

previous page… DisplaySearch is now being uncharacteristically bullish about the transition from 16:10 to 16:9 aspect 

ratios, despite the fact that the arguments favoring such a transition are rather weak. (On the left is DisplaySearch’s 

March 2009 forecast for notebook PCs by aspect ratio; on the right is the forecast for LCD monitors by aspect ratio). 

The two most compelling arguments favoring 16:9 over 16:10, according to DisplaySearch are related to substrate 

optimization and to the prevalence of 16:9 content. Let’s consider these two arguments for a moment: 

The argument about substrate optimization is interesting. If you consider the following optimization charts, it’s 

easy to conclude that 16:9 panels offer superior optimization. And of course if more panels can be cut from a 

single motherglass, the overall manufacturing costs will be reduced, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, this 

analysis forgets that the 16:9 panels are considerably smaller than 16:10 panels with the same diagonal 

measurement – 16:10 panels are more than 5% larger in total surface area. In other words, a 17.0-inch panel in a 

16:10 format is equal to a 17.434-inch panel in a 16:9 format. The optimization charts become much different if 

surface area is considered rather than diagonal size. 

Substrate optimization charts based on panel size forget the geometries associated with total surface area. 

9


Another uncertainty about whether 16:9 is optimized versus 16:10 is that the comparison assumes existing diagonal 

sizes for 16:10 panels versus newly optimized diagonal sizes for 16:9 panels. It’s entirely possible that larger 

substrate sizes and new manufacturing technologies will enable 16:10 solutions to enjoy better optimization at 

larger diagonal sizes. To be a fair comparison, the analysis should identify optimized substrate calculations for both 

16:10 and 16:9 solutions – rather than limiting the comparison to existing 16:10 panel sizes. 

The argument that 16:9 panels are optimal because of 16:9 content is accurate – but highly misleading. In fact, the 

fast majority of PC-content is better suited for 16:10 solutions. One purpose for going to wide aspect ratios, for 

example, is to conveniently enable two-page viewing of documents on a single screen. A 16:10 screen enables this 

quite well, while a 16:9 screen forces the images to shrink to a much smaller portion of the screen. The tradeoffs 

here are shown in the below image. Note that these tradeoffs are worsened if we shift from letter-size documents to 

A4-size documents. 

On the left is a 16:10 display with facing pages; on the right, you can see that the lower height of a 16:9 

panel shrinks the size of the pages, while adding unused space on the right and left. 

The advent of TV tuners in notebook PCs, software titles in HD formats, and the increasing availability of HD- 

DVD/Blu-ray titles, may be a more prevalent usage model for the notebook PC than is the need to optimally see 

two pages side-by-side in a Word document. 

But it stills seems presumptuous to suggest that 

the primary purpose of PC displays is to watch 

Blu-ray titles and HDTV shows. And even if a 

PC is to be used primarily as an entertainment 

device, it’s worth noting that DVD titles (3:2 

format), classic movies, (4:3 format), and 

SDTV titles (4:3 format), are more optimally 

viewed on a 16:10 panel than on a 16:9 panel. 

And even considering Blu-ray, it should be 

noted that most movie titles are not presented 

at a 16:9 aspect ratio – but rather at an even 

wider aspect ratio, such that the claimed 

optimization for Blu-ray is relegated primarily 

to made-for-TV shows, and not Hollywood 

releases. 

It seems highly unlikely that the introduction 

of 16:9 panels will be deterred at this point. It 

seems that the primary reason for this is that 

each of the LCD makers has decided to 

10 

The top image 

shows two side-by 

side pages in a 

Word format on a 

display with a 

16:10 aspect ratio. 

The bottom image 

shows how the loss 

of vertical height 

in a 16:9 aspect 

ratio reduces the 

size of the pages. 

It’s considerable 

and will certainly 

negatively impact 

the productivity 

gains afforded by 

wide aspect ratio 

solutions.


establish its own unique lineup of 16:9 solutions, (using both different diagonal sizes and even different pixel 

formats). There is a perception that such differences enable the LCD manufacturer to differentiate their products – 

and allow them to charge higher prices. Possibly, that differentiation can be extended to the PC brand – enabling 

them also to charge higher prices. I personally submit, however, that the difference between 16:9 and 16:10 are so 

minor as to not provide any meaningful ability to differentiate beyond that of simple specsmanship. 

Interestingly, 16:9 panels are currently being sold at premium prices as compared to 16:10 solutions, a fact that flies 

in the face of the initial claims that 16:9 panels enjoy better substrate optimization. There are at least three 

explanations for the premium prices: 

� 16:10 solutions still enjoy higher volumes and the subsequent advantages associated with economies of 

scale and lower component pricing. If the transition from 16:10 to 16:9 does occur, these costs will 

eventually inverse. 

� Because the new 16:9 panels do not enjoy industry-wide standardization, the “differentiation” that is 

touted as an advantage, also serves to keep pricing high – both because overall volumes are decreased, 

and because the opportunity to use interchangeable panels from multiple manufacturers negatively 

impacts pricing negotiations in favor of the LCD manufacturer. 

� Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it seems that the LCD makers are struggling a bit with their 

“optimized” solutions, suffering from lower yields than they’d initially expected. This might be due to 

the fact that utilizing larger substrates that were originally designed to manufacture large-area panels for 

LCD TVS are not so conducive for the production of smaller notebook and monitor panels. 

What makes sense for me personally is for the PC industry to stay consistent with a 16:10 aspect ratio rather than 

adding yet another variable that will confuse the consumer and confound the supply chains. Given the broad range 

of 16:9 solutions already announced, it appears that the industry will go through another transition – this time one 

that is really quite meaningless. Already, panel manufacturers have started preparing no less than 20 different 

notebook panels and 19 different monitor panels in a 

16:9 aspect ratio in at least seven different pixel 

formats. In the notebook space, it’s remarkable that 

none of the pixel formats is even in the 1280x720 

format that is dominant in HDTV broadcasting – 

meaning there will be some level of upscaling and its 

resultant loss of quality. The many pixel formats also 

create problems for video controller manufacturers 

and will certainly result in consumer confusion as 

more and more resolution acronyms are invented to 

describe these slightly differentiated formats. Of 

particular note is that the proposed 31.5-inch panel at 

1920x1080 is only 70ppi, while the 32.0-inch panel at 

2048x1152 is only 73ppi. Such low pixel densities 

have not been seen in the PC space in more than a 

decade and simply cannot be considered a step 

forward. Clearly, such low resolutions are not being 

designed for desktop applications and as such should 

probably not be described as monitor alternatives. 

I personally believe that the claimed advantages of introducing 16:9 panels into the PC industry are largely 

unproved – and that numerous disadvantages of the 16:9 solutions are really to the detriment of the PC user. The 

16:10 aspect ratio was developed with the intent of best supporting the PC user. Alternatively, the 16:9 aspect ratio 

was originally designed as a compromise solution for the then-non-existent HDTV market. You pick. 

11 

16:9 Notebook Panels 16:9 Monitor Panels 

Size Resolution Size Resolution 

10.2 1024 x 600 15.0 1280 x 720 

11.1 1366 x 768 15.6 1366 x 768 

11.5 1366 x 768 17.0 1280 x 720 

13.3 1366 x 768 18.4 1366 x 768 

13.4 1366 x 768 18.5 1366 x 768 

14.0 1366 x 768 20.0 2048 x 1152 

14.1 1366 x 768 20.1 1600 x 900 

14.5 1366 x 768 21.5 1920 x 1080 

15.0 1366 x 768 23.0 1366 x 768 

15.4 1920 x 1080 23.0 1920 x 1080 

15.6 1366 x 768 23.0 2048 x 1152 

15.6 1920 x 1080 23.6 1920 x 1080 

16.0 1366 x 768 24.0 1920 x 1080 

16.0 1680 x 945 25.0 1920 x 1080 

16.0 1920 x 1080 25.6 1920 x 1080 

17.2 1600 x 900 27.0 1920 x 1080 

17.3 1920 x 1080 27.0 2048 x 1152 

18.4 1366 x 768 31.5 1920 x 1080 

18.4 1680 x 945 32.0 2048 x 1152 

18.4 1920 x 1080


What’s coming next? While I think that the battle between 16:10 and 16:9 panels is largely a sad case of 

specsmanship that adds no real value to the market, there are some recent market developments that provide some 

truly meaningful differentiation. 

Despite the suggestions that the Golden Ratio might be aesthetically pleasing, the fact is that in both cinema and on 

the desktop, there is ample evidence that wider, more immersive experiences are desirable. Since so many 

Hollywood titles are filmed at a 2.35/2.39 aspect ratio, there certainly is a justification for extra-wide panels in the 

home. With increased interest in multi-panel solutions and an insatiable desire to more information on the desktop, 

the PC market can certainly justify panels at ultra-wide aspect ratios – enabling multiple windows to be open 

simultaneously or for viewing of three of four full-page documents simultaneously. I for one would love to have a 

single monitor on my desktop that enabled me to view 4 or 5 pages of information at once. 

Philips is developing a new 56-inch, LCD TV that features a 21:9 aspect ratio, (2.33), designed to mimic the cinema 

experience. According to Philips, the panel will be shipping this spring in Germany, Belgium, the UK and France. 

Sony introduced the VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC designed to enable full-function web-surfing with an 8.0-inch, ultrawide 

LED-backlit screen, with a 1600x768 format, (2.08 aspect ratio). 

Such ultra-wide aspect ratios are intriguing and even predictable – offering truly differentiated viewing experiences 

that can enhance the visual solution. Perhaps there will be stepping-stone solutions, at least in portable PCs, 

examples of which have been recently showcased: 

On the left, is the Prime Gaming Laptop concept, designed by Kyle Cherry, features three collapsible screens that 

offer a wide viewing panel. When open, it has a 32:10 aspect ratio for better in-game visibility. It closes to the 

size of a 13-inch notebook and opens to a super wide aspect 26.0-inch notebook. On the right, is the 

LenovoW700ds which features a primary 17.0-inch panel at 1920x1200 pixels. The secondary screen is 10.6-in. 

vertical display about the size of a typical netbook display. 

12


Forty Favorites 

Favorite news stories, commentaries, tutorials and insights from the Veritas et Visus catalog of 

newsletters. Fascinating insights into the world of display technologies… 

Twenty Interviews 

Compilations of interviews conducted in various Veritas et Visus newsletters… These 

documents bring out some of the successes and challenges being faced by the people in 

technology and marketing as they develop new products and new visual solutions. 

http://www.veritasetvisus.com 

13


Display-related standards news 

compiled by Phillip Hill and Mark Fihn 

NEC Electronics America demonstrates USB 3.0 connectivity 

NEC Electronics America announced the industry’s first prototype devices based on the USB 3.0 specification, 

which was announced by the USB Implementers Forum last November. NEC Electronics’ USB 3.0 prototype 

devices will support data transfer speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 transfer speeds, and will also support 

backward compatibility in consumer electronic devices based on the current USB specification. Similar to its 

development activities with USB 2.0 and Wireless USB, NEC Electronics is evaluating a variety of standard USB 

3.0 products such as host and hub controllers, bridge chips and device IP. http://www.necel.com/usb/en/index.html 

Samsung monitors use new display technology to create seamless multi-display 

Samsung Electronics America launched a set of high-performance monitors that offer a seamless multi-display 

solution for optimal viewing. The monitors include a new 22-inch SyncMaster 2243QW, as well as the laptop 

companion monitors LD220 and LD190X. All three monitors incorporate Samsung’s UbiSync technology to help 

extend users’ visual workspace by connecting up to six displays to a PC via USB cable. UbiSync technology 

creates a multi-monitor system that can be operated from a single PC without a graphics card or complex software 

installations. The Samsung 2243QW has a resolution of 1680x1050, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 5ms response time 

ensuring smooth video performance on each networked display. In addition to a built-in USB hub, it features the 

traditional VGA (15-pin D-sub) and DVI-D connections. The monitor is compatible with both Mac and Windows 

systems, and it comes with a pivot function that allows it to operate in either portrait or landscape mode. The 

LD190X model uses UbiSync wireless technology that transmits video signals to the monitor from the host 

notebook and uses about 33% less energy than conventional 19-inch product. The UbiSync software allows the LDseries 

monitors to attain the same level of brightness on two screens, with one button, to help reduce eye fatigue, 

and an easy-to-adjust viewpoint. http://www.samsung.com 

Samsung to provide fully-integrated PC-over-IP LCD displays using Teradici technology 

Teradici Corporation announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics to provide Teradici’s PC-over-IP (PCoIP) 

technology directly integrated into the new SyncMaster 930ND 19-inch LCD display. The Samsung display 

incorporating PCoIP technology will deliver a rich graphical experience to desktop users in a fully-integrated 

display product with all host computing equipment located in a data center or any remote location. The SyncMaster 

930ND is the world’s first PCoIP display that fits conveniently on a desktop and allows users to take advantage of 

all the high-resolution graphics, HD media and interoperability enabled by PCoIP technology. It is a fully stateless 

client that supports any user type from task worker to extreme 3D workstation in a single desktop appliance - an 

innovative alternative that delivers greater scalability than traditional thin clients. The integrated PCoIP display 

features include: contrast ratio of 1000:1, resolution up to 1280x1024, four USB connectors, 2-way HD audio, 

DVI-out for a second display, and supports both PCoIP and RDP modes. http://www.teradici.com 

Hauppauge launches TV application for PCs 

Hauppauge Digital announced WinTV v7, a major new version of their WinTV application. WinTV v7 was 

designed to be used by the new generation of digital TV tuners for PCs and was designed to add support for new 

features found in North American over-the-air ATSC digital TV transmissions. Some of the new features in WinTV 

v7 for digital TV include: program information, close caption display and parental control. In addition to these 

features for digital TV programs, WinTV v7 supports mixed Hauppauge TV tuners in a PC system. For example, a 

user might have a Hauppauge TV tuner in their PC and wants to add a second Hauppauge USB attached TV tuner 

so that they can record two TV programs at once. WinTV v7 allows the mixing of different Hauppauge TV tuners. 

For European digital TV, WinTV v7 adds support for digital teletext and a free seven-day electronic program guide 

in addition to “now/next” program information. http://www.hauppauge.com 

14


LG adopts Xceive silicon tuner for 2009 LCD and plasma TVs 

Xceive announced that LG has selected the XC5000 silicon tuner for its new lines of high-end flat panel TVs. 

Xceive’s XC5000 is the first silicon TV tuner IC accepted into mainstream TV production for worldwide markets. 

Xceive’s XC5000 will be embedded in LG’s LCD and plasma screens ranging from 22 to 60 inches. The addition 

of the XC5000’s smart tuner architecture on board will help reduce engineering costs across multiple regional 

products and reduce return rate due to tight production tolerances, protecting customers from product variances 

susceptible in CAN-based TVs. Additionally, the XC5000’s extremely small size (7x7mm) and footprint allows LG 

to deliver slimmer TV designs with a lower BOM. The XC5000 is the only global hybrid TV tuner with an onboard 

DSP controller and architecture to deliver tuner performance for all major analog and digital broadcast 

television standards worldwide. LG’s production TVs with the XC5000 has been field-tested over many months 

under worst-case scenarios. Even in the most challenging real world conditions, the DSP-enabled XC5000 never 

requires silicon changes as rapid corrections in firmware enable fast time to market. LG will adopt the XC5000 into 

performance TVs for mainstream markets immediately. The initial rollout will begin in Europe, Australia and New 

Zealand, followed by US, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. http://www.xceive.com 

Valens Semiconductor’s HDBaseT enables in-home high definition connectivity 

Valens Semiconductor introducing its HDBaseT technology, enabling a single LAN cable to replace multiple 

cables and connectors. HDBaseT is optimized for video application and can connect all the entertainment devices at 

home by providing the 5Play convergence of 8Gbps of uncompressed full HD digital video, audio, 100BaseT 

Ethernet, power over cable and various control signals. In addition to reducing the number of cables required, 

HDBaseT uses low-cost single standard Cat-5e/6 cable. HDBaseT also connects equipment that is up to 100m/328ft 

apart and uses the existing RJ-45 connector that is widely available. Valens’ HDBaseT is the first technology to 

enable 5Play convergence that consists of: 

� Full HD Uncompressed Video 

� Audio 

� 100BaseT Ethernet 

� Power Over Cable 

� Various Control Signals 

At the center of every multimedia distribution system, from basic point-to-point connectivity to a multisource/display 

system, is the ability to send control signals. Different types of control signals have different 

purposes, starting from CEC that operates basic functionality such as power-on, power-off and play/stop with a 

press of a button, to RS232/USB and IR that operate remote equipment even when it is located in a different room. 

http://www.valens-semi.com 

Panasonic and Comcast to collaborate on bringing HDMI-CEC to set-top boxes 

On the heels of the retail launch of the first tru2way-ready VIERA HDTV, Panasonic and Comcast Corporation 

announced that they are collaborating to bring HDMI-CEC technology to the latest generation of digital cable settop 

boxes. HDMI-CEC is the technology underlying Panasonic's VIERA Link technology, which enables single 

remote operation of Panasonic VIERA HDTVs and connected home entertainment components, such as Blu-ray 

disc players and home theater systems. Panasonic and Comcast are working to integrate HDMI-CEC technology 

with tru2way enabled set-top boxes that will enable non-tru2way HDTVs and other consumer electronics devices to 

interact with the set-top boxes via the use of a single TV remote control and a single user interface. Integrating the 

HDMI-CEC protocol with Comcast's on-screen program guide will allow set-top boxes to automatically configure 

connected home theater devices for optimal viewing and audio experiences and will enable intelligent interactive 

features, including auto input select and auto power on/off of all components. HDMI-CEC is already standard in all 

2009 Panasonic VIERA HDTVs and select Comcast set-top boxes. The companies are now working with 

CableLabs to standardize HDMI-CEC for next generation digital set-top boxes. http://www.panasonic.com 

15


In-Stat says HDMI moving beyond HDTVs to set top boxes, DVDs, and mobile PCs 

As adoption of HDMI ports approaches 100% in digital televisions, the interface is now moving into set top boxes, 

DVD equipment and mobile PCs, reports In-Stat. Overall, HDMI-enabled product shipments will increase at an 

annual rate of 23% between 2007 and 2012. A range of device segments spanning consumer electronics, computers 

and computer peripherals are seeing increased adoption of HDMI as well. In the near future, portable electronic 

devices, such as camcorders, digital still cameras, and portable media players (PMPs) will be among the emerging 

categories. http://www.in-stat.com Recent research by In-Stat found the following: 

� HDMI adoption in mobile computers is estimated at nearly a quarter of all machines shipped in 2008. 

� IPTV set top boxes will see the highest adoption among pay TV set top boxes, growing to 85% 

penetration and 17.6 million boxes by 2012. 

� HDMI penetration in portable media players will approach 10% by 2012. 

� Rising adoption of HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces will negatively impact DVI adoption. DVI-enabled 

product shipments will decline at an annual rate of 30% through 2012. 

Silicon Image introduces industry’s first silicon 40nm HDMI 1.3 transmitter analog IP core 

Silicon Image announced that it has begun testing the industry’s first 40-nm HDMI version 1.3 transmitter analog 

silicon targeting ultra low-power and performance driven system-on-chip (SoC) applications. The new solution 

offers dual-mode functionality by supporting both HDMI technology and MHL, a high-definition (HD) video and 

audio connectivity solution introduced by Silicon Image that specifically focuses on the requirements of mobile 

devices. Silicon Image demonstrated the delivery of HD digital content from a mobile phone to a large-screen 

digital TV using MHL. According to Brian O'Rourke, principal analyst at market research firm In-Stat, the installed 

base of HDMI-enabled devices exceeded 600 million at the end of 2008, and should exceed 1.5 billion by the end 

of 2010. Silicon Image is the leading supplier of HDMI semiconductors and IP cores having helped establish this 

market. As mobile device developers begin incorporating HD video and audio capabilities into phones, cameras, 

digital camcorders and portable multi-media players, digital TV interconnect standards such as the HDMI and 

MHL technologies are expected to play significant roles. Silicon Image’s 40nm designs are ideally suited to meet 

the needs of this growing HD-enabled mobile market. http://www.siliconimage.com 

Gefen introduces HDMI v1.3 splitter for multi-display applications 

For home theaters using both a mounted flat panel and drop down screen, or any multiple display application, the 

Gefen 1:2 Splitter for HDMI v1.3 offers an easy method of viewing the same HD source on two displays or a 

display/projector combination. The unit supplies one HDMI input that supports all versions of the HDMI interface. 

Two HDMI outputs connect direct to the two displays or projectors for a flawless delivery of high definition video 

with deep color and support for DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. Resolutions up to 1080p full HD with 

HDCP compliance may be viewed on both displays simultaneously, and the Gefen splitter works with all of today’s 

Blu-ray players, gaming systems and set-top boxes using the HDMI format. For optimal performance, both displays 

should be set to the same high definition resolutions. To distribute both audio and video to more than two displays, 

Gefen’s 1:2 Splitter for HDMI v1.3 can be cascaded to create larger distributions. Gefen also supplies a 1:3 splitter 

for HDMI 1.3, a 1:5 HDMI 1.3 splitter, and a 1:10 HDMI v1.3 distribution amplifier. http://www.gefen.com 

Simplay Labs launches new self-testing program 

Simplay Labs announced that, along with expanding its partnerships and adding to the number of Simplay HD 

certified high-performance products, it is now formally launching the Simplay Self-Testing program. Having 

completed the successful Self-Testing pilot program at the facilities of Samsung Electronics, the program is now 

ready for widespread adoption. Simplay Labs is also launching its new consumer electronics control (CEC) solution 

suite featuring the industry’s first fully comprehensive offering of CEC technologies, development and test tools, 

testing services and consulting design services. The self-testing program includes on-site Simplay testing 

equipment installation, technician training and certification, quality control, and collaborative test specification 

reviews. http://www.simplaylabs.com 

16


Silicon Image and Analogix settle HDMI-related patent dispute 

Silicon Image and Analogix Semiconductor have reached a settlement agreement in their HDMI-related disputes 

and have agreed to dismiss two outstanding litigation issues between the two companies. Under the terms of the 

settlement, Analogix has agreed not to market or sell HDMI semiconductors world-wide that are pin or registercompatible 

with SI’s HDMI-enabled products. The company has also undertaken not to enter into any licenses to 

provide HDMI technology for semiconductors that are, or are claimed to be, pin or register-compatible with SI’s 

HDMI-enabled products, except as necessary to fulfill certain existing customer obligations. Going forward, Silicon 

Image has agreed to grant Analogix a license for selected HDMI-related patents and other technology on 

undisclosed terms. Analogix has also dropped with prejudice its antitrust suit against HDMI Licensing and Simplay 

Labs. SI filed suit against Analogix in February 2007 alleging copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade 

secrets and unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices. In response, Analogix filed a suit against SI in June 

this year and its wholly owned subsidiaries, HDMI Licensing and Simplay Labs, in connection with their alleged 

control over the HDMI standard and testing facilities. http://www.analogix.com 

DVIGear introduces HDMI long reach coaxial extender based on Gennum technology 

DVIGear and Gennum Corporation announced that DVIGear has deployed a new high-definition multimedia 

interface (HDMI) coaxial extender based on Gennum’s ActiveConnect technology. Fully compatible with the latest 

HDMI v1.3 standard, DVIGear’s new DVI-7510a Coax Extender supports HDMI v1.3 data rates of up to 10.2Gbps 

at distances up to 100 meters (330 feet) with no loss of audio or video quality. Using auto-adaptive technology that 

automatically adjusts for varying cable lengths, this extender enables easy plug-and-play installation into any 

environment and provides instant support for today’s high-definition 1080p displays. Furthermore, the extender 

offers performance headroom to spare for higher resolutions such as 1440p, and more sophisticated features like 

deep color and fast 120Hz refresh rates. DVIGear’s DVI-7510a HDMI Active Connect Coax Extender is a set of 

two products: DVI-7511a is an HDMI Active Connect Coax Transmitter that accepts an HDMI v1.3 input signal 

and converts it to four (4) coaxial signals for transmission over cable runs up to 300ft. DVI-7512a is an HDMI 

Active Connect Coax Receiver that accepts these four coaxial signals and converts them back to an HDMI v1.3 

compliant output signal without any of the conversion artifacts often found in low-cost CAT-X extenders. Both 

units may be powered independently using two external 12VDC power supplies included with the product. For 

retrofit applications, a fifth coaxial connection is supplied on both units; this extra connection allows power to be 

applied only on the transmitter side. The DVI-7510a Coax Extender is based on Gennum’s GV8500 and GV8501 

transmit and receive chipset, which delivers the longest reach and highest performance HDMI connectivity 

solutions for high-bandwidth digital video applications. Gennum’s ActiveConnect solutions consist of transmitters 

and receivers that enable the streaming of uncompressed HDMI content at distances up to 330ft. They support 

current and legacy versions of HDMI, enabling backward compatibility with existing equipment. They also exceed 

the performance requirements of HDMI 1.3 by more than two times, providing “future-proofed” solutions to 

support next-generation applications. http://www.gennum.com/activeconnect 

HDMI announces new version for first half 2009 

HDMI Licensing announced an overview of the capabilities and features of the next version of the HDMI 

specification, which will be launched in the first half of 2009. “HDMI has reached an installed base of more than 

600 million devices and now touches almost every consumer device that plays HD content. We want to give the 

industry a preview of where the HDMI specification is headed as we continue to innovate and meet the needs of 

this dynamic marketplace,” said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing. The goal is to address five key 

industry trends in the coming spec: networking; consolidation of HD video; HD audio and now high-speed data 

with the addition of Ethernet in the HDMI cable; audio return channel; elimination of a S/PDIF cable by allowing a 

TV to send audio streams upstream to an A/V receiver for processing and playback over the HDMI cable. 4kx2k 

and 3D are high performance features to be met by increasing the upper limit of the HDMI link including HD in a 

car. http://www.hdmi.org 

17


Gefen brings out three wireless extensions 

Ideal for hard to reach locations where cable runs are unwanted, Gefen’s wireless extension solutions support the 

delivery of high definition video with audio up to various lengths, depending on the technology used. Each system 

allows home entertainment system installers to place high definition displays in hard to reach locations, such as on 

the ceiling, outdoors, and over the fireplace, to name a few, with no extension cables needed. http://www.gefen.com 

� It uses TZero Technologies ultra wideband to deliver resolutions to 1080p (30fps) with digital audio 7.1 

surround sound and two-channel analog audio up to approximately 30 feet in distance. Blu-ray players, 

set top boxes and DVRs can connect to the two HDMI and one component video with L/R audio inputs. 

All three inputs deliver video in the HDMI v1.2 format with compatibility for HDMI v1.3 sources and 

displays. The Gefen Wireless for HDMI UWB Extender performs auto switching, giving access to all 

three sources from the same display or projector. Sources can also be accessed by IR back channel or by 

local selection on the sender unit. With CEC (Consumer Electronic Control) support, WiMedia Alliance 

compliance, HDMI Forum compliance, DCP certification and FCC certification, the Gefen Wireless for 

HDMI UWB Extender is a high performance solution perfect for eliminating wiring in small venues and 

single rooms. 

� Using Amimon’s 5Ghz wireless HDTV technology, the GefenTV Wireless for HDMI 5Ghz Extender is 

capable of delivering high definition resolutions to 1080p (30fps), supporting 5.1 digital audio and twochannel 

analog audio up to approximately 100 feet in distance. This makes it ideally suited for most 

larger homes and venues. It uses small sender and receiver units that connect Blu-ray players, gaming 

consuls and set-top boxes to an HDTV display with no cables required to deliver video and audio. 

Uncompressed high-definition transmission ensures crisp, vivid resolutions on the receiving end, while 

HDCP compliance and HDMI v1.3 forward compatibility ensures it will work with protected content 

and all HDMI formats. 

� The GefenTV Wireless for HDMI 60Ghz Extender relies on WirelessHD technology from SiBEAM to 

deliver HDMI at 1080p full HD, sending uncompressed video from a source to the display with no 

cables required. The GefenTV Wireless for HDMI 60Ghz Extender is able to extend high definition 

video with audio in the HDMI format up to approximately 30 feet in distance. Uncompressed video is 

delivered from the source to the display with audio in digital S/PDIF format, ideal for connecting an AV 

receiver for surround sound applications. 

Accell launches new locking HDMI cable 

Accell announced the debut of their patent pending locking HDMI cable. This design was created for anyone 

purchasing an HDMI cable that wants to ensure a trouble free installation. Due to the lack of a substantial locking 

mechanism in the original HDMI connector specification, HDMI cables can come loose or fall out. Accell’s 

locking HDMI connector has a hold on the HDMI port many times greater than a conventional HDMI connector. 

Able to lock into any HDMI device, it ensures that the HDMI cable stays put for a trouble free audio and video 

experience. http://www.accellcables.com 

PPC announces its first locking HDMI cable for HDTV 

PPC announced that it debuted the first HDMI locking cable available on the market, the PPC Locking HDMI 

Cable. The PPC Locking HDMI Cable is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface, 

providing a connection between any audio/video source (set-top box, DVD player, A/V receiver, DTV, etc.) over a 

single cable. The PPC locking HDMI cable features exclusive patented technology to hold it onto a port with a 

strength that is three times greater than found in conventional connectors. The PPC cable minimizes loosening and 

fall-out, thereby providing the most reliable, highest quality, pure HDTV video resolution and digital audio quality, 

the company says. With Category 2 cable status, PPC’s locking HDMI cable delivers 1080p. Priced start at $48.99. 

http://www.connect2ppc.com 

18


Celeno and Cavium Networks collaborate to offer whole-home 1080p HDMI connectivity over Wi-Fi 

Celeno Communications announced a collaboration with Cavium Networks. The joint reference design meets the 

demand for in-room HDMI cable replacement applications as well as whole-home full-HD video content sharing, 

using standards-based Wi-Fi networking technology. The solution enables consumer electronics manufacturers to 

develop products that support various digital home connectivity use cases. Examples include: eliminating the need 

for unattractive audio/video HDMI cables to connect thin full-HD TV panels; watching DVR recordings anywhere 

in the home; and using gaming applications in any room regardless of the console’s location. The combination of 

Celeno's OptimizAIR Wi-Fi HD home networking technology with Cavium’s Super Low Latency H.264 codec 

technology meets the demanding capacity, reach and latency requirements for whole-home full-HD uncompressed 

video content streaming. In contrast to proprietary short distance wireless solutions, the joint standards-based 

solution enables easy interoperability between any digital media server device and any digital media player device, 

helping to create a seamless DLNA-connected home environment. The joint reference design is based on the 

Cavium PureVu Video Processor CNW3602 and the Celeno CL1300 HD-grade Wi-Fi System-on-Chip (SoC). It 

delivers compressed 480p/720p/1080p60 video over long distances while achieving sub-frame latency and 

perceptual lossless video quality. http://www.celeno.com 

Silicon Image introduces LiquidHD technology 

Silicon Image introduced LiquidHD, a new personal entertainment technology designed to quickly and easily 

connect TVs, consumer electronics (CE) devices, personal computers (PCs), portable media devices (PMDs) and 

home theaters into a seamless network where consumers can enjoy digital content from any source device on any 

LiquidHD-enabled display in the home. Today, consumers can only enjoy their multi-media content on the TV to 

which the digital video recorder (DVR), set-top box (STB), DVD/Blu-ray Disc player or game console is directly 

connected. With LiquidHD technology consumers can flexibly enjoy their content throughout their home by 

pausing a movie, television program or video game on the TV in the living room and then resume it on a different 

TV or laptop with a single press of a button on the remote control. LiquidHD technology is a suite of protocols that 

runs over commodity IP networks such as Ethernet, Coax like MoCA, powerline like HomePlug and wireless like 

WiFi (802.11n). http://www.siliconimage.com 

Hollywood studio endorses Silicon Image’s LiquidPlay content protection technology 

Silicon Image announced that the Fox Group has endorsed LiquidPlay, a new digital security technology introduced 

by Silicon Image. As a key feature of Silicon Image’s new LiquidHD personal entertainment technology, 

LiquidPlay content protection allows consumers to enjoy their purchased or rented digital multi-media content on 

any of their LiquidHD-enabled consumer electronics devices, in the home or on the go. The LiquidPlay architecture 

is based on advanced encryption technology, including AES and Elliptic Curve, to provide an unprecedented level 

of content protection. All content entering a LiquidHD-enabled domain is encrypted with 128-bit AES encryption 

and keys are securely kept in hardware, preventing software access that has compromised content protection 

technologies in the past. http://www.siliconimage.com 

Apple’s Mini DisplayPort to DL DVI encounters problems 

Gizmodo reports that the Apple-branded Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter that its staff members 

received creates visual distortion on a Dell 3007WFP, rendering it unusable for periods of time. Occasionally 

(somewhere between a few minutes and an hour), the screen will look like it’s missing half its display information, 

like one of its dual links has failed. This can only be fixed by unplugging and plugging in ether the Mini 

DisplayPort connector to a MacBook Pro, or the USB connection. The testers found two additional Apple support 

threads with plenty of users claiming to have similar problems. The adapter, which costs $99 from the Apple Store, 

would be a saving grace for purchasers of the MacBook or MacBook Pro who want to use a large dual link display 

if the adapter worked right. Currently, Apple only offers a 24-inch monitor that is natively compatible with the 

updated laptops. 

19


InFocus and DisplayLink enable “plug and play” projection for Mac users 

Hardware and software manufacturers are now creating Mac versions for what used to be a Windows dominated 

marketplace. In an effort to support this growing demand for Mac applications, InFocus Corporation announced the 

availability of the InFocus DisplayLink support for Mac, a display driver that allows Intel-based Apple computers 

to transmit audio and video content over a standard USB connection for instant set up with DisplayLink enabled 

InFocus projectors. By using the DisplayLink feature, Mac-based presenters can enjoy “plug and project” 

convenience by simply connecting a standard USB 2.0 cable to the projector. The InFocus DisplayLink Mac driver 

is immediately detected by the computer and will configure with the DisplayLink enabled InFocus projector 

settings within seconds, resulting in zero set up time and instant screen switching so users can start using the 

projector instantly. It makes it possible to project up to four projectors simultaneously from just one computer. This 

feature also allows users to create video walls, and presentation of multiple contents during meetings, making it an 

ideal solution for videoconferences and collaborative meetings where two or more live broadcasts need to be shown 

simultaneously. http://www.infocus.com 

DisplayLink boosts notebook productivity in HP’s new USB dock 

DisplayLink USB graphics technology is featured in the new HP USB 2.0 Docking Station. A universal solution, 

the HP dock enables people to use a convenient USB cable to quickly connect netbooks and notebooks, including 

the new HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC. The HP USB 2.0 Docking Station uses universal USB technology to pass 

through critical signals such as audio, LAN, peripheral connectivity – and video images thanks to the simplicity of 

DisplayLink’s USB graphics connection hardware and software. As a result, the dock is perfect for notebooks that 

don’t have an integrated docking connector; workers can just plug the dock into their computer’s USB port and a 

power outlet and get to work, rather than worrying about finding a “matching” dock solution. http://www.hp.com 

http://www.displaylink.com/shop 

DisplayLink boosts laptop and netbook visual workspace on Samsung SyncMaster D190S 

Two new Samsung monitors will include an integrated USB graphics technology from DisplayLink. The new 

SyncMaster D190SU and D220SU monitors are designed to easily multiply visual workspace for notebook and 

netbook users. DisplayLink's USB graphics hardware and software make it possible for people to connect their 

portable computer to the Samsung display with the simple snap of a USB connection. http://www.displaylink.com 

DiiVA Consortium demonstrates interface technology 

The Digital Interactive Interface for Video & Audio (DiiVA) Consortium demonstrated its new interface 

technology, which enables a new home-networking infrastructure that can carry uncompressed video, bi-directional 

audio and high-speed data through standard cables such as CAT6. Consortium officials report that its DiiVA 

standard is poised to deliver HD content and data throughout the home, allowing CE devices to be networked in a 

way that is simple to set up and easy to use. Specifically, by merging multimedia and data communications into a 

single cost-effective interface, DiiVA is a solution for bridging CE, personal computers, and mobile devices within 

a single home network. With a maximum bandwidth of 13.5Gbps link speed for video, uncompressed video can be 

sent through the network from any DiiVA-enabled source to any DiiVA-enabled display. The bi-directional data 

channel is capable of simultaneously sending multiple protocols such as high-definition audio, USB, and Gigabit 

Ethernet. The DiiVA specification includes error correction mechanisms for the data channels – ensuring that data 

packets are reliably transferred. Consumers can benefit from the simultaneous transmissions of multimedia and data 

on their digital TVs by running myriad applications. DiiVA will be deployed using cost-effective transmitters on 

source devices such as DVD players, PCs and mobile phones. Display devices will incorporate DiiVA receivers. 

DiiVA switches can be integrated into AV receivers or source devices to enable DiiVA to work in a daisy chain 

configuration. With its bi-directional data channel, DiiVA is a complementary technology to emerging wireless 

video/data standards such as Wireless High Definition Interface (WHDI) which the DiiVA promoters plan to 

collaborate with in order to bring consumers seamless interoperability between the standards. http://www.diiva.org 

20


More than 18,000 Apple users petition against Apple’s elimination of FireWire from new MacBooks 

In October of 2008, Apple introduced the latest entries in its MacBook line of portable computers. While the 

MacBook Pro continues to offer users a FireWire 800 port, two of the less expensive MacBooks have no FireWire 

ports whatsoever. This choice left many users wondering why Apple would leave off the connection for so many of 

the applications that drew them to the Mac in the first place. FireWire's widespread availability in 

desktop computers, laptop PCs, peripherals, storage devices, and home theater components 

indicates that many consumers and professionals find FireWire's unique attributes a useful – and 

even necessary – part of their electronic experience. Additionally, FireWire's adoption as the 

connection of choice for industrial applications and its growing use in automotive networks and 

many other markets further demonstrates its many unique attributes. Online petition: 

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?MB1394 

Oregan Networks unveils Onyx browser application for connected TVs 

Oregan Networks, an embedded software and solutions company, announced availability of Oregan Media Browser 

4.0 for connected DTVs, branded as Onyx, which also comes in a set top box edition for network operators. Onyx 

delivers to consumers simplified accessibility to multiple sources of trusted Internet and personal content on TVs 

through a single resident TV application that requires minimal set up and can be easily “called up” in the form of a 

widget and dismissed without leaving regular broadcast channels or switching TV inputs. Onyx can work in 

conjunction with the existing DVB, ATSC, True2Way and other types of programming, facilitating immediate 

access to a variety of related or relevant web video services and digitally stored content, whilst the TV is tuned into 

one of the available broadcast channels. Onyx functionalities are accessible through a single user interface that 

integrates seamlessly with the traditional TV viewing experience, whilst offering extended media browsing and 

search options via elegant graphical icons, with an intuitive navigational flow throughout. Onyx can be controlled 

via a traditional remote control or with a motion sensing remote control. http://www.oregan.net 

CEA’s updated forecast projects a $1.1 billion decline in 2009 

The consumer electronics industry is projected to generate $171 billion in U.S. shipment revenues in 2009, 

according to the semi-annual industry forecast released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The 

primary revenue driver for the industry continues to be digital TV displays, representing 15 percent of total industry 

shipment dollars. As the transition to digital television nears, unit shipments of DTVs will approach 35 million in 

2009, an increase of nearly 6% over 2008 

shipments. LCD displays remain the top 

choice among consumers, representing 77% 

of total DTV units. With the format war now 

settled, Blu-ray players are expected to see 

major growth in 2009. With more content, 

new products and lower prices, Blu-Ray 

revenues are projected to surpass $1.2 billion. 

The gaming category also remains a bright 

spot in the CE industry and an increasing 

component of consumer spending. The overall 

video game market should grow 11%, 

generating nearly $22 billion in revenue this 

year, a new high mark for the category. 

Software continues to drive the gaming 

market, helped by a growing installed base of next-generation consoles. Gaming software revenues are expected to 

grow 18% to nearly $15 billion. The bright spots in two CEA forecast reports fall in the “Anywhere Technologies” 

and the “CE Enhancement” categories. Both show increases. The “In Vehicle Technologies” and the “In Home 

Technologies” lag behind estimated 2008 levels. http://www.ce.org 

21


Displaybank reports big falls in LCD shipments 

According to Displaybank publication “Monthly TFT-LCD Panel Shipment Result Data”, December 2008 largearea 

TFT-LCD panel shipments (over 10-inch) indicated 7.2% decrease M/M at 27.2 million units. December 

shipment indicated the lowest number since March 2007 and it also recorded a 22.5% decrease Y/Y. Revenue for 

the month recorded US$2.9 billion which is the lowest since March, 2005 and it is a 24.7% decrease M/M and a 

59.7% decrease Y/Y. Overall 2008 results were also disappointing as LCD industry had to also face the economic 

recession. Compared to traditional proportion of 1H to 2H in the LCD market with 40:60 respectively, 2008 

showed 52:48 (1H:2H) trend that indicates largely declined second half demand. The overall 2008 shipments were 

438.6 million, an increase of 11.3% Y/Y, but the number is disappointing as the industry had shown annual growth 

of 35% and 41% since 2006. Also the rapid decline of panel price during 2H, 2008 led the overall 2008 revenue to 

only increase 0.4% at $72.7 billion. On an area basis, 2008 shipments were at 63 million m 2 an increase of 19.7% 

Y/Y. On a revenue basis, Korean makers’ market share was about 46% that increased – a gap with Taiwan makers 

at 40%. Samsung Electronics continued to maintain its first position for three consecutive years with 25% market 

share. On a shipment basis, 43% market share of Taiwan makers led Korean makers’ market share of 42% and 

Samsung was ahead of LG Display with 22% market share. http://www.displaybank.com 

45.0 

40.0 

35.0 

30.0 

25.0 

20.0 

15.0 

10.0 

5.0 

0.0 

49.2% 

43.7% 

36.7% 37.6% 

31.4% 

25.5% 

Dec'07 

-6.5% 

Jan'08 

2.1% -1.5% 

Feb 

12.2% 

Mar 

-1.1% 

Apr 

5.9% 

May 

13.1% 

4.5% 

-9.1% -5.6% 

Jun 

Jul 

Monthly large-area TFT-LCD panel shipment trend (Dec 07~Dec 08, unit: million) 

(Source: Displaybank, “Monthly TFT-LCD Panel Shipment Result Data) 

MIC says world PC shipments may increase by 7.1% in 2009 

Global PC shipments will grow by 7.1% in 2009, with netbook computers providing the main momentum, Taiwan 

research organization Market Intelligence Center (MIC) said in a report released late last year. Shipments in 2009 

will increase to 300 million units from 270 million units in 2008, according to MIC, an organization partially 

funded by the Taiwan government. MIC defines notebook PCs as products with display sizes of 10.4 inches and 

larger and netbook PCs as products with display sizes between 7.0 inches and 10.2 inches. In 2009, for the first 

time in the nearly 30-year history of the personal computer, shipments of notebook computers will exceed desktop 

computers as unit sales of netbooks double, MIC said. “Although netbook PC shipments will see significant growth 

rates, this product type is only in the early stages of development,” MIC analyst Nicole Huang said in a November 

25 report. “The global notebook PC industry is about to enter maturity. This development towards maturity will be 

further pushed by the weakness of the overall economy.” Global notebook shipments next year will increase by 

11.3% to about 138 million units from 124 million units in 2008, according to MIC. Netbook shipments next year 

will more than double to 22.6 million units from 11.2 million in 2008. http://www.taiwantrade.org.tw 

22 

9.0% 10.1% 

10.9% 

-5.1% 

3.5% 

Aug 

Sep 

-7.2% 

-10% 

-9.5% -21.9% 

-20% 

-20.7% -22.5% 

-30% 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

60% 

50% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

Others 

LCD TV 

Notebook 

LCD Monitor 

YoY 

MoM


DisplaySearch reports large-area TFT LCD shipments down to $72B 

Results of DisplaySearch’s large-area (10-inch and larger) TFT LCD survey for Q4'08, as reported in its “Quarterly 

Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report”, indicate that shipments reached 93.5 million units, a decline of 19% Q/Q 

and 17% Y/Y. Due to drastic cuts in panel prices, large-area TFT LCD revenues fell 33% Q/Q and 48% Y/Y, to 

$12 billion. Slow market demand in Q4’08 led to reductions in capacity utilization as shown in Table 1. 

Original 

Specification 

Application 

Q3’08 

Shipments 

Q4’08 

Shipments 

Q/Q 

Growth 

Y/Y 

Growth 

LCD Monitor 

LCD Monitor 

LCD TV 

43.4 

2.5 

33.8 

1.7 

-22% 

-32% 

-27% 

-43% 

Notebook PC Notebook PC 38.5 30.7 -20% -5% 

LCD TV LCD TV 28.4 24.8 -12% -12% 

Others Others 3.2 2.4 -24% -29% 

Total 116.1 93.5 -19% -17% 

Table 1: Q4’08 large-area TFT LCD shipments by original specification and application (millions) 

DisplaySearch also revealed details of market performance for 2008 as a whole. Total shipments of large-area TFT 

LCD panels reached 439 million in 2008, 11% growth from 2007. Shipments of panels for notebook PCs grew by 

22% Y/Y, and shipments of TV panels grew by 20% Y/Y. If LCD monitor panels


DisplaySearch reports Q4’08 North America TV results 

As the US economy deteriorated in Q4’08, shipments of TV sets in North America fell 7% to 10.7M units 

according to preliminary results from DisplaySearch. Retailers were careful to avoid an inventory hangover, so they 

reduced orders to manufacturers in anticipation of weaker demand. As expected, shipments of LCD TVs, the most 

popular TV technology, fell on a Y/Y basis for the first time ever, from 8.9M units in Q4’07 to 8.7M in Q4’08. In 

contrast, shipments of plasma TVs, which are typically cheaper than similarly-sized LCD TVs, increased by 28% 

Q/Q and 10% Y/Y. The PDP shipment total of 1.3M units was a shipment record. http://www.displaysearch.com 

Rank Brand 

Q3'08 

Unit Share 

Q4'08 

Unit Share 

Q/Q 

Growth 

Y/Y 

Growth 

1 Samsung 19.3% 20.4% 17% 38% 

2 Sony 11.1% 14.2% 29% 22% 

3 Vizio 9.0% 12.3% 53% 19% 

4 LGE 6.7% 8.1% 35% 26% 

5 Toshiba 7.2% 7.9% 21% 98% 

Other 45.4% 37.2% -9% -39% 

Total 100.0% 100.0% 11% -7% 

Table 1: Preliminary Q3’08-Q4’08 NA flat panel TV unit share and growth 

Rank Brand 

Q3'08 

Unit Share 

Q4'08 

Unit Share 

Q/Q 

Growth 

Y/Y 

Growth 

1 Samsung 18.8% 19.2% 12% 50% 

2 Sony 13.9% 16.3% 29% 22% 

3 Vizio 8.4% 12.8% 67% 14% 

4 LGE 7.6% 9.4% 35% 33% 

5 Toshiba 8.2% 9.1% 21% 98% 

Other 43.1% 33.2% -16% -37% 

Total 100.0% 100.0% 9% -2% 

Table 2: Preliminary Q3’08-Q4’08 NA LCD TV unit share and growth 

Rank Brand 

Q3'08 

Unit Share 

Q4'08 

Unit Share 

Q/Q 

Growth 

Y/Y 

Growth 

1 Panasonic 39.0% 46.9% 54% 34% 

2 Samsung 24.0% 27.8% 49% 50% 

3 Vizio 13.4% 9.1% -13% 76% 

4 LGE 11.2% 7.0% -20% -43% 

5 Pioneer 3.5% 2.6% -4% -9% 

Other 8.8% 6.4% -6% -62% 

Total 100.0% 100.0% 28% 10% 

Table 3: Preliminary Q3’08-Q4’08 NA plasma TV unit share and growth 

LCD TV component demand exceeding supply, say IC distributors 

LCD TV panel makers have placed a significant level of new orders with IC distributors in January because 

demand during the year-end holiday season was better than expected, according to IC distributors. Both upstream 

and downstream companies in the whole electronics industry were clearing inventories in the fourth quarter of 2008 

in response to the economic crisis, but some companies may have controlled too far, said the IC distributors. Since 

LCD TV makers cut orders in December, related driver IC companies saw an at least 30-40% sales decline for the 

month. However, demand has been stronger than market expectations, and so LCD TV makers are now 

aggressively rebuilding their inventories, while IC distributors are hurrying to place orders with component makers. 

24


FCC authorizes fix for DTV signal range problems 

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized a fix that it hopes will resolve 

a potentially big DTV transition glitch: television stations whose digital broadcast area 

will be smaller or different than their analog contours. The solution is called a 

“distributed transmission system” (DTS), essentially an array of digital transmitters 

spread out over the signal area as opposed to a single tower. But Ars Technica reports that the Order doesn’t require 

any TV station to use the system. And this rule-making comes pretty late in the DTV day, shy of February 17, when 

all full power stations must switch to digital. Plus, the Commission worries that DTS might lead to broadcaster 

practices that, under certain circumstances, could make things worse. The biggest problem that came up during the 

FCC’s trial run test of the digital transition in Wilmington, North Carolina in September was that some viewers of 

television station WECT lost service, even though they had installed set-top box converters for their analog 

receivers. In fact, one third of the help calls that public service agencies got on DTV Day in Wilmington related to 

that snafu. WECT’s digital broadcast area is smaller than its old analog contour. http://www.fcc.gov 

Golden Signals brings out TV/PC fix 

DisplayShare from Golden Signals introduces a use for bringing a PC display to an HDTV, and for listening to PC 

music through a home audio system. DisplayShare allows on TV or HDTV an entire PC display, stored pictures 

and video, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), any document, such as Microsoft Word & PowerPoint, and Web 

pages. DisplayShare allows you to use home audio speakers to play stored music and Internet radio. DisplayShare 

software is now available to support PlayStation 3. http://www.goldensignals.com 

ITU releases new standard to wire up the digital home 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released a new standard that will enable communications over 

phone, power and coaxial cables in the home at up to 700Mbps for the delivery of bandwidth intensive multimedia 

content. The new standard ITU-T Recommendation G.9960 is the first in the ITU-T’s G.hn family of standards. It 

will enable chip manufacturers to build transceivers that can be incorporated into set-top boxes, residential 

gateways, home computers, home audio systems, DVD players, TVs or any other device that might be connected to 

a network now or in the future. According to the ITU, products incorporating these chips could be on the market as 

early as 2010. It quotes Joyce Putscher, principal analyst at market research firm In-Stat, saying: “Service operators 

have been looking for an international standard that encompasses multiple existing-wire mediums for video 

distribution. G.hn meets that requirement and it seems clear that with significant industry backing from service 

providers, semiconductor and equipment vendors, and the fast rate at which the process is moving to achieve a 

standard, we will see first equipment by 2010.” G.9960 focuses on the physical or PHY layer of the 

communication. In step with ITU guidelines on new standards development, several power saving modes have been 

incorporated. Work is continuing to develop the media access control layer. http://www.itu.int 

SiBEAM delivers high-performance WirelessHD chipsets in production 

SiBEAM announced that its line of WirelessHD chipsets has entered volume production. 

SiBEAM has provided sample wireless chipsets to select customers since the first 

quarter of 2008 and is now preparing to broadly expand partners’ product development 

activity. Previous technology demonstrations of SiBEAM’s chipsets have focused exclusively on wireless video 

area networks (WVANs) and audio/video transmission for home entertainment centers. SiBEAM highlighted the 

viability of applying the technology for CE applications as well as PC virtual docking applications in the future. 

SiBEAM’s chipsets with OmniLink60 technology operate in the 60GHz band and represent the world’s first 60 

GHz chipsets to be developed and produced in CMOS. The SB9120 WirelessHD HRTX Transmit Network 

Processor and SB9121 WirelessHD HRRX Receive Network Processor have recently entered mass production and 

support uncompressed and lossless wireless delivery of 1080p/60 Full HD deep color video and audio. The chips’ 

designs enable them to be efficiently embedded into flat panel televisions, set-top boxes, Blu-ray DVD players, 

personal computers, laptops, home media gateways and more. http://www.sibeam.com 

25


WirelessHD Consortium completes compliance test specification 

The WirelessHD Consortium announced that the WirelessHD Compliance Test Specification 

(CTS) version 1.0 is now available to WirelessHD adopters and evaluators. In addition, 

Compliance Certification Services (CCS) has been named the first WirelessHD Authorized 

Test Center (ATC). First WirelessHD testing will commence in Q1’09. The WirelessHD 

Compliance Test Specification (CTS) 1.0 details the tests, procedures and equipment specifications established by 

the WirelessHD promoters to assist adopters in verifying WirelessHD product compliance. Mandated by the 

WirelessHD adopter’s agreement, compliance testing also promotes interoperability among WirelessHD devices 

and is required for a product to bear the WiHD logo or to claim conformance to the WirelessHD specification. 

Since the announcement of the WirelessHD 1.0 specification during the 2008 International Consumer Electronics 

Show, the WirelessHD Consortium has experienced growth and momentum including new adopter interest and the 

addition of Broadcom as a new promoter. This growth and momentum is expected to accelerate with the 

announcement of the availability of the WirelessHD CTS 1.0. The WirelessHD CTS includes three standalone test 

specifications. These include an RF test specification, a protocol test specification, and an interoperability test 

specification. In order for adopters to ship product into the market with the WiHD logo, products shall be required 

to pass all three specifications at a WirelessHD ATC. http://www.WirelessHD.org 

IEEE confirms baseline for broadband-over-power line standard 

The IEEE P1901 Working Group has confirmed and approved the baseline for IEEE’s standard 

related to Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL), IEEE Std 1901, “Draft Standard for Broadband 

over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications”. Three 

proposals addressing more than 400 functional and technical requirements in three critical areas of 

BPL, in-home, access and coexistence, were approved to form the baseline of the standard. The 

proposals received more than 85% of affirmative votes within the working group; exceeding the 

75% required threshold. More information about the standards process can be found at: 

http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/bkgnd_stdsprocess.html. 

OMVC launches mobile DTV 

The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), along with major consumer electronics manufacturers, unveiled the 

culmination of more than 12 months of work. The OMVC is an alliance of more than 800 broadcasters whose 

mission is to accelerate the development of mobile digital television (DTV) in the United States. 

The OMVC hosted a press conference at CES with demos of live, local and national digital 

television – including news, traffic information, weather, sports and popular branded 

entertainment. http://www.omvc.org 

Green Plug showcases new open systems power interface 

Green Plug announced the lineup of consumer electronics devices that its Greentalk 

technology will power. Green Plug and Innergie, developer of the world’s smallest universal 

power adapter, announced the Greentalk-enabled Innergie mCube90G - the first 

implementation of the Green Plug protocol. Green Plug’s Greentalk open system universal 

power interface enables any consumer electronics product to obtain power from any compliant external power 

adapter. The Green Plug/Innergie CES demo showcased a digital media enthusiast’s toolkit, centered on an ecofriendly 

Fabrik SimpleTech [re]drive storage system, Ricoh R10 and GX200 digital cameras, and NEC LaVie 

laptop. Greentalk technology will also power an HP TouchSmart PC, Panasonic cordless phone, Canon photo 

printer and camcorder, Linksys wireless router, Westinghouse digital picture frame, portable Dynex DVD player, 

cordless power drill, and several 5V devices, including iPhones and iPods. These devices were equipped with the 

Green Plug power interface without vendor intervention, testimony to the ease of implementing the free, open 

systems power interface. While each of these products has unique power needs, Greentalk enables all to obtain 

power from a dynamically adaptable power hub instead of having to rely on separate, incompatible power adapters 

and battery chargers. http://www.greenplug.us 

26


MIPI Alliance delivers seven mobile device interface specifications 

The Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance, the industry initiative established five years ago to define 

and promote open standards for hardware and software interfaces in mobile terminals, announced that it has 

introduced seven key standards throughout 2008. Collectively these new specifications will help the industry to 

provide optimized and efficient mobile terminals. As these standards are implemented in mobile device technology 

the industry will see benefits such as better interconnection among devices and components such as cellular 

telephones, handheld computers, digital cameras, and multimedia devices; higher data exchange rates among 

devices; prioritization of traffic; better adaptation and interoperability of devices from different vendors; and more 

cost and power efficient mobile terminals. http://www.mipi.org The new MIPI Alliance Specifications introduced 

in 2008 include: 

� Unified Protocol (UniProSM) v1.00.00 

� Display Serial Interface (DSI) v1.01.00 

� Processor Interface Emulation (PIE) v0.90.00 

� Dual Mode 2.5G/3G Baseband/RFIC Interface v3.09.04 (DigRFSM) 

� Device Descriptor Block (DDB) v0.82.01 

� Serial Low-power Inter-chip Media Bus (SLIMbusSM) v1.01.00 

� System Power Management Interface (SPMI) v1.00.00. 

Mixel and Northwest Logic partner on MIPI IP solution 

Mixel Inc. and Northwest Logic announced the availability of a complete solution for the Mobile Industry 

Processor Interface (MIPI) Camera Serial Interface-2 (CSI-2). This solution consists of the Mixel MIPI D-PHY 

(Physical Layer) and the Northwest Logic MIPI CSI-2 Controller Core delivered as silicon Intellectual Property 

(IP). The companies, working together, provide customers with a complete, low-risk, low-power, low gate-count, 

full-featured, differentiated MIPI solution. The Mixel D-PHY is a complete D-PHY IP, optimized for low-power 

operation and small foot print, and is fully compliant with the MIPI D-PHY specifications. The Mixel MIPI D-PHY 

is modular, and available in various configurations, up to the recommended four data lanes, each operating at 1 

Gbps. The Mixel D-PHY transceiver is fully characterized, available on multiple foundry process nodes, and is in 

the process of being transferred to production in Mixel customer’s products. Mixel also provides its customers with 

the Clock Management Unit IP, incorporating a high performance, low jitter PLL and timing circuitry. The Mixel 

D-PHY and Clock Management Unit ship as GDSII and RTL, with LVS netlist, LEF file, Verilog and timing 

models, and comprehensive documentation. http://www.mixel.com http://www.nwlogic.com 

Axis introduces world’s smallest video encoder with H.264 video compression 

Axis Communications announced a highly compact and cost-effective one-channel video encoder with H.264 video 

compression. The AXIS M7001 Video Encoder is perfect for integrating any type of analog CCTV surveillance 

cameras into network video surveillance systems. The video encoder’s small size (smaller than a modern cell 

phone) also makes it ideal for use in camera housings and discreet surveillance applications, for example, in retail 

stores and banks. A small covert camera is made available with the video encoder in the AXIS M7001 Covert 

Surveillance Kit. The AXIS M7001 Video Encoder is designed to be installed close to an analog camera. It 

converts analog video signals from all types of analog cameras into digital video streams that are then sent over an 

IP-based network (e.g. LAN/intranet/Internet). The video encoder also provides pan, tilt, zoom support to PTZ and 

PTZ dome cameras. The AXIS M7001 can deliver two simultaneous video streams, one in H.264 and another in 

Motion JPEG, at full frame rate in all resolutions up to D1 (720x480 in NTSC). The H.264 support drastically 

reduces bandwidth and storage requirements without compromising image quality. Motion JPEG is also supported 

for increased flexibility. The video encoder also enables users to adjust image settings such as brightness, contrast 

and saturation to improve images before encoding takes place. http://www.axis.com 

27


Mirics FlexiTV receiver achieves NorDig 2.0 compliance 

Mirics FlexiTV has become the world’s first broadcast TV receiver utilizing software demodulation to comply with 

the latest NorDig 2.0 specifications for digital terrestrial TV reception. Typically applied to consumer television 

and set-top box products, the NorDig test specifications ensure that compliant, quality products are developed for 

robust DVB-T signal reception. Launched in 2008, FlexiTV targets host processor-based platforms such as 

notebook PCs, and was the world’s first global standards broadcast receiver to leverage the flexibility and cost 

benefits of software-based demodulation. Mirics FlexiTV is the only commercially available software demodulatorbased 

receiver conforming to applicable broadcast TV and radio specifications. FlexiTV exceeds NorDig 2.0 

performance requirements on a standard consumer notebook with very modest system resource requirements. For 

example, a FlexiTV-enabled notebook is capable of receiving live Standard-Definition DVB-T signals with just 

30% CPU load. However, it is the move towards reception of HD signals that is really driving CPU resource 

requirements, where H.264 decoding presents a significantly greater burden than the requirements for software 

demodulation. Mirics FlexiTV can comfortably accommodate even the most demanding case of High Definition 

H.264 DVB-T reception within the resources of an entry-level dual-core x86-based PC. http://www.mirics.com 

Obama signs bill delaying switch to digital TV 

President Obama made the digital TV delay official earlier February, signing legislation to put off the switch until 

June 12. He and Congress hope to give millions of unprepared viewers four more months to upgrade their 

equipment so they don’t lose over-the-air programming. Although the major TV stations in Los Angeles won’t turn 

off their analog signals until the new deadline, the law allows stations to apply to switch on the original date 

(February 19) or any time before June 12. More than a quarter of the nation's 1,749 full-power stations have applied 

for permission to turn off their analog signals on the original date. They include Fox, CBS and ABC affiliates in 

San Diego; NBC, ABC, CBS and Telemundo affiliates in Santa Barbara; and KJLA and KHIZ, independent 

stations in Los Angeles. But there is a requirement that at least one station in the market continue analog broadcasts 

of local news and public affairs programming, as well as emergency and digital TV transition information for at 

least 60 days. 

New Year lawsuit targets Apple over lines on iMac displays 

Another class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple (it was filed on New Year's Eve) over unwanted vertical 

lines on iMac screens. The lawsuit was brought by Florida resident Aram Hovsepian after his iMac, purchased in 

October of 2006, began showing vertical lines on the display in March of 2008. In his complaint, Hovsepian alleges 

that Apple failed to disclose material facts about the displays in its iMac line, and that there were “common 

manufacturing defects” that would cause the vertical line phenomenon to happen. “Instead, Apple remained silent 

knowing its iMac display screens would malfunction while consumers purchased iMacs, made warranty claims 

arising from the vertical lines on display screens, and made out of warranty repairs related to the vertical line 

problem,” reads the complaint. Because of this, the lawsuit says Apple is in violation of the California Unfair 

Business Practices Act, as well as the California Consumers Legal Remedy Act. The company has also supposedly 

breached its implied warranty by not disclosing these flaws, and has received unjust enrichment as a result. 

CPT, Sharp, and LG Display executives jailed in LCD price fixing case 

Executives from CPT, Sharp, and LG Display pled guilty to conspiring to fix prices. The price fixing led to inflated 

costs for displays used by firms like Dell in its notebook computers. In November of 2008, executives from Sharp, 

LG, and Chunghwa Picture Tubes all pled guilty to price fixing. The largest fine imposed was placed on LG and 

totaled $400 million with Sharp said to be paying $85 million in fines. DigitalTrends reports that the former 

chairman and CEO of Chunghwa, Chieng-Hon Lin was hit with an individual fine of $50,000 and a sentence of 9months 

in an American prison. The other executives involved in the scandal received prison terms ranging from six 

to nine months each. Deborah A. Garza, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, said in a statement, “The 

Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable all conspirators who harm American consumers, no 

matter where they live or where they commit the crime.” 

28


Plasma TVs face being banned in Europe 

The EU is contemplating a plan to kill off plasma televisions across Europe because they burn too much power. 

According to reports in the Italian press, the EU might make a ruling on the technology in the spring. 

Commissioners are about to release new guidelines on the consumption of television screens. While LCD screens 

scrape through the new requirements, the plasma screens use too much energy. A 42-inch plasma TV consumes 822 

watts of electricity in comparison with 350 watts of a flat screen LCD and 322 watts of a cathode ray tube. Among 

the plans is to put a system of labels on televisions so that punters will know how much they are going to consume. 

This has been done for some time with fridges and other appliances, but not for TVs. 

Chinese pirates crack Blu-ray DRM and sell pirated HD discs 

Movie pirates have moved on to selling high-definition discs. The HD discs are not genuine Blu-ray discs and don’t 

have as high resolution as Blu-ray does, but can fool. Law enforcement in Shenzhen, China, raided a warehouse 

that contained HD copies of a number of popular movies. There were over 800 discs that were packaged in false 

Blu-ray boxes, complete with holograms to make them appear legitimate. According to the Motion Picture 

Association International, this is the first ever seizure of these types of discs in China. The pirates are apparently 

ripping high-def movies (cracking Blu-ray's AACS and BD+ encryption in the process) and re-encoding them using 

AVCHD, which offers a 720p picture. Because of the reduction in resolution, file sizes are smaller and can be 

burned to regular DVDs instead of the more costly Blu-ray discs. 

Pony/Canyon releases Blu-ray/DVD hybrid 

Software maker Pony/Canyon will release the first Blu-ray/DVD movie hybrid in Japan in February 2009, in an 

attempt to accelerate consumer transition from the DVD format to Blu-ray. The disc uses an efficient encoding 

algorithm (based on the MPEG-4 AVC H.264), because the available Blu-ray capacity (25GB) on it was not 

enough. Full HD of 1920x1080 pixel resolution is compressed, as well as 24p/60i down to 12-24Mbps. That is the 

opposite of what Blu-ray is supposed to do, which is expand the viewing capacity to such a degree that it doesn’t 

need compression. The concept (originally created by JVC) is as an optical sandwich: there’s a single blue laser 

layer (at 25GB capacity), lying on top of two more layers of DVD (at 8.5 GB). In between, there is a thin film that 

reflects the blue light needed for the Blu-ray playback, while also allowing the DVDs red light to filter through (see 

illustration). Pony/Canyon claims the hybrid disk is compatible with 99% of all current DVD and Blu-ray players, 

including some of the early Blu players like the PS3. So far, it hasn't released a comprehensive list of all of the 

players the disk will work on, or the few it will not. http://www.ponycanyon.co.jp 

SNL Kagan study says Blu-ray sets will drive home video growth 

Blu-ray will drive the growth of the home video market during the next decade, despite its relatively minor impact 

at the moment, according to a new study. “The State of Home Video” from SNL Kagan says that Blu-ray will reach 

59.7% market share and $13.1 billion in revenue in 2014, hitting 73.8% and $15.6 billion by 2017. But Blu-ray’s 

reign may be short lived, according to the study, which expects video-on-demand to increasingly impact highdefinition 

DVD. The study expects the number of high-definition DVD homes to be at 115.2 million by 2017, with 

98.8 million homes capable of video-on-demand via high-speed Internet. 

29


Honestech releases VHS-to-DVD to support HDTV and Blu-ray 

Honestech released “VHS to DVD Deluxe 4.0”, a hardware and software solution, which supports converting 

HDTV quality video formats including: HDV, VHS, C-VHS, Beta and other video and audio formats to DVD and 

Blu-ray DVD. VHS to DVD Deluxe 4.0 includes: VIDBOX hardware, a USB cable and software to convert analog 

video to digital, or reformat digital video, for recording on DVDs. PC users can either use the VID-BOX interface 

or connect their digital video cameras and players to their PC to store the video. VHS to DVD Deluxe 4.0 software 

formats the video for DVD players, Blu-ray Disc players and recording devices. Priced at $79.99 with availability 

in first quarter of 2009, VHS to DVD 4.0 offers tools to edit and produce quality video files easily and to save and 

keep home videos in sharp and crystal-clear DVD/CD quality. Using the Easy Wizard Mode, anyone can transfer 

HDV, VHS, Beta, or other videotapes to DVD with just a few clicks using step-by-step pictorial instructions that 

guide the user through the process. This is one of the first software solutions to support Blu-ray Authoring and 

burning on Blu-ray Discs, which is ideal for burning and playing high-definition video that requires greater data 

storage space. Advanced scene editing tools allow users to record movies, delete commercials or unwanted scenes, 

and easily add special effects, titles and chapter points. http://www.honestech.com 

SEMI PV Group releases Global Photovoltaic Standards Roadmap Guidance Document 

The SEMI PV Group today announced the release of its Global Photovoltaic (PV) 

Standards Roadmap Guidance Document, which identifies immediate opportunities for 

reducing cost and accelerating innovation in thin-film and crystalline silicon cell and 

module manufacturing through industry standards. The Guidance Document provides a high-level assessment of 

existing SEMI Standards and Safety Guidelines with respect to their applicability to PV manufacturing and was 

developed by a team of industry stakeholders including equipment and materials suppliers, cell and module 

manufacturers, safety experts, and other interests. Building upon 35 years of SEMI International Standards 

development, the Global PV Standards Roadmap Guidance Document identifies over 64 existing SEMI Standards 

and Safety Guidelines that are applicable to PV manufacturing. Out of those 64, 31 were rated as ‘Top Priority’ for 

their potential to deliver immediate cost benefits to the industry with limited or no revisions necessary. 

http://www.pvgroup.org 

International Standard facilitates home networks for devices, computers, and operating systems 

Networks that connect televisions, cell phones, 

computers, and other devices are becoming increasingly 

common in the homes of tech savvy families. A new 

standard published by the International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) and the International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) provides guidelines for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices to assure 

compatibility and seamless connectivity. The guidelines within ISO/IEC 29341, Information technology – UPnP 

Device Architecture, are categorized into 73 parts that address the various aspects of the technology. Part one 

details the UPnP device architecture and defines the protocols for communication between controllers – or control 

points – and devices. Part two addresses basic device control protocol, including a mechanism for products that 

wish to use UPnP but for which there is not yet an appropriate standard base device type. Specific device categories 

are addressed in the remaining 71 parts of the standard, including internet gateways/routers; audio-video media 

devices; printers; scanners; climate control; lighting and wireless LAN access points; and digital security cameras. 

Guidelines for additional aspects of the technology, such as security, remote user interface and quality of service, 

are also provided in the document. ISO/IEC 29341 was developed as a result of eight years of collaboration by the 

members of the UPnP Forum, an industry-led initiative with over 850 members that facilitates connectivity among 

consumer electronics, intelligent appliances, and mobile devices from many different vendors. The standard was 

adopted for publication by ISO/IEC JTC (Joint Technical Committee) http://www.ansi.org 

30


Panasonic proposes Blu-ray disc and HDMI standards for 3D imagery 

Panasonic Corp of Japan has disclosed the submission of a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), for a 

Blu-ray disc standard to store 3D imagery formed of left/right-eye two-channel full-High Definition (HD) images 

(1,920x1,080 pixels). It is also considering submitting a proposal for a High-Definition Multimedia Interface 

(HDMI) standard capable of transmitting 3D imagery. The BDA hopes to begin formal discussion on the standard 

proposal before the end of 2008, with commercial adoption probably in 2010. There are two reasons why Panasonic 

moved to propose a standard ahead of other firms: to avoid the same sort of futile standards war that occurred with 

next-generation digital video discs (DVD), and to prevent patent conflict related to 3D imagery standards. The 

technologies proposed by Panasonic for 3D imagery storage, transfer, etc, all utilize existing standard technology. 

Image encoding uses the two-channel encoding function implemented in Moving Picture Coding Experts Group 

Phase 4 Advanced Video Coding (MPEG-4 AVC) H.264. The second channel stores only the data different from 

channel one, holding the increase in data volume to about 1.5 times. The HDMI standard is used to transfer data 

from the player to the television, with left and right-eye images alternated in single-field (single-frame) units. “All 

we have to do is define a flag to identify image data, equipment and other elements supporting 3D imagery. We 

really don’t need any other major changes,” explained Hiroshi Miyai, director, High Quality AV Development 

Center of Panasonic. Panasonic is not planning to standardize the techniques for displaying 3D imagery. At 

CEATEC Japan 2008, the company exhibited a 103-inch plasma display panel television displaying 3D pictures 

(see photo and graphic). It featured dual drive integrated circuits to achieve a 120 frames/s, and modified 

phosphors to shorten plasma emission rise/fall times. http://panasonic.co.jp 

SENSIO 3D format chosen as 3D DVD standard 

SENSIO Technologies announced in late January that its SENSIO 3D format was officially accepted as an optional 

DVD standard – like DTS for audio. Manufacturers wishing to integrate the SENSIO 3D format in their electronic 

equipment will have to do so in accordance with globally recognized specific standards and directives. This is the 

very first 3D format to be recognized by a standards organization for the distribution of 3D content in the consumer 

market. http://www.sensio.tv 

ITU starts work on 3D TV transmission standard 

The International Telecommunications Union has started work on standards for the transmission of 

3D TV, as well as Ultra-High-Definition TV. The ITU is thinking ahead, with the Russian 

Federation pushing hard for standards to be established regarding minimal image and sound 

requirements, as well as ways in which 3D might be broadcast using existing bandwidth allocations 

or not. Also in the pipeline is Ultra-HD, offering resolutions of around 7680x4320. The ITU doesn’t 

concern itself with how the image might be displayed, but has started considering how to ensure that 

first-generation 3D based on stereoscopic displays don’t cause the eye fatigue that limits the use of existing 3D 

systems. Squeezing a 3D image into the existing terrestrial bandwidth is also under discussion. Given the similarity 

between a pair of stereoscopic images there is plenty of room for compression, and the ITU plans to make the 

system compatible with existing digital broadcasts. Existing TVs will simply display one of the images. The ITU 

isn’t expected to finish its research until 2012. http://www.itu.int 

31


Meko/DisplaySearch Display Forum 2008 

November 4-5, Düsseldorf, Germany 

In this second report of two, Phillip Hill covers this joint conference with presentations from Lenovo, 

Fujitsu Siemens Computers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and EPEAT 

The Duty Issue… A Never Ending Story? 

Jos Verstraten, PricewaterhouseCoopers, London, England 

Verstraten first went into the background of the monitor import duty levels. The current state of play is that all 

monitors are classified in “8528”. For non-CRT’s: 8528.51: of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data 

processing system of heading 8471 (0%); 8528.59: other non-wide screens up to 19 inches (duty suspension 0%); 

others 14%. Other issues are the continuing discussion to expand duty suspension (+19 inches), and pending court 

cases. Regarding the pending case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) involving Kamino International Logistics 

BV, questions raised by the Dutch Supreme Court were: 

� Must Note 5 to Chapter 84 be interpreted as meaning that a color monitor which can display both signals 

from an automatic data processing machine and from other sources is excluded from classification under 

heading 8471? 

� If classification in heading 8471 is not excluded, on the basis of which criteria must it then be 

determined whether it is a unit of the sort that is solely or principally used in an automatic dataprocessing 

system? 

� Does the scope of application of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 754/2004 of 21 April 2004 on the 

classification of certain goods extend to the monitor at issue and, if so, in light of the answers to the first 

and second questions, is that regulation valid? 

The opinion of the Advocate General issued on Sept 10, 2008 is that “solely or principally” does not equal “solely”. 

The Commission and a few member states tend to interpret ITA restrictions in an effort to limit the range of 

products that benefit from the ITA duty exemption. The classification of monitors is complex (duty suspension, 

classification Regulation 493/2005) and “principally” should be read as “normally”. Classification Regulation 

754/2004 cannot directly be applied to this case seen that there are considerable technical differences in products 

nor can it be applied by analogy. Verstraten said that if ECJ verdict is in line with opinion of Advocate General, it 

might be groundbreaking with the option to claim back duties paid. It re-opens discussions on the current 

classification with additional legal (court) cases likely. 

EPEAT Overview 

Jeff Omelchuck, EPEAT (EPA), Washington, District of Columbia 

EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is a system from the US Environmental Protection 

Agency to help purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, 

notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also provides a clear and consistent set of 

performance criteria for the design of products, and provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market 

recognition for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products. The EPEAT Registry includes products 

that have been declared by their manufacturers to be in conformance with the environmental performance standard 

32


for electronic products - IEEE 1680- 2006. IEEE 1680 has eight categories of criteria that cover full product lifecycle: 

toxics, energy, etc. Some criteria relate to the product, some criteria relate to the company. There are 51 total 

criteria – 23 required criteria and 28 optional criteria. There are three EPEAT tiers: bronze – a product that meets 

all 23 required criteria; silver – a product that meets all required criteria plus half of the optional criteria; and gold – 

a product that meets all required criteria plus ¾ of the optional ones. 

EPEAT purchasers specify that they will only buy EPEAT registered products. Manufacturers register their 

products in EPEAT which maintains the web-based product registry and verifies that products meet criteria of IEEE 

1680. The manufacturer buys IEEE 1680 from IEEE ($70). The manufacturer signs EPEAT agreement and pays the 

EPEAT fee. EPEAT e-mails the manufacturer a password. The manufacturer uses the password to add products to 

the EPEAT registry by completing an on-line form for each product. Software determines Gold/Silver/Bronze. 

Products appear on the registry immediately. The manufacturer is not required to use EPEAT label but must 

participate in EPEAT verification. 

EPEAT is funded by manufacturer fees. The 2009 annual fee is based on brand sales in 2008, in five tiers: 

$90,000/year for biggest companies (HP and Dell); $1500/year for the smallest companies. There is no fee per 

product. EPEAT will soon be looking for international certifier partners for 2009/2010. Manufacturers can choose 

their certifier who will be responsible for verifying their manufacturer’s products probably worldwide. 

Green Differentiation: How to succeed 

Niels Keunecke, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Maarssen, Netherlands 

Fujitsu Siemens Computers last August started shipping monitors featuring a power supply that automatically 

switches off completely in power-save mode. The company said that its zero-watt power saving technology means 

the new SCENICVIEW ECO monitors draw no power when not in use, while monitors in standby mode normally 

continue to draw 1-6W of power. Keunecke started by quoting Meko Display News at the IFA 2008 conference: 

“There's a real simplicity to the FSC 'Zero-Watt' story. Of course, the amount of power used by monitors when in 

operation is much more significant than whether the monitor takes 0.3W or 0.7W in standby. However, customers 

don't generally have a sense of the numbers, but they do understand zero!” There is a clear ecological and 

economical value proposition. Stand-by power accounts for about 10% of the electricity use in homes and offices. 

Some of the honors garnered by the 0-watt 

technology developed by Fujitsu Siemens 

“Customers don't generally have a 

sense of the numbers, but they do 

understand zero!” 

33


Pioneering Energy Efficient Displays 

Tom Shell, Lenovo, Beijing, China 

Lenovo is China’s largest and the world’s fourth largest personal computer manufacturer (the latter since its 2005 

purchase of IBM’s PC division), after Hewlett-Packard and Dell of the US and Acer of Taiwan. Tom Shell began 

by saying that environmental issues are front and center on the world stage. The top 10 environmental issues are: 

1. Climate Change 

2. Energy 

3. Water 

4. Biodiversity & Land Use 

5. Chemicals Toxics & Heavy Metals 

6. Air Pollution 

7. Water Management 

8. Ozone Layer Depletion 

9. Oceans and Fisheries 

10. Deforestation 

New standards will require more energy 

efficient displays, Shell said. He showed a 

slide of China’s new monitor energy 

efficiency standard (effective November 1st, 

2008) and Energy Star Version 5.0 (Draft 2). 

He then showed a graph that illustrated that 

the shift to larger LCDs has increased 

energy consumption (see graph). LCD 

energy efficiency can be improved today; he 

pointed out and showed a slide to illustrate 

that 35% power savings can be made very 

simply (see illustration). Shell then went 

into some detail on the Chinese Tier 1, 2, 

and 3 requirements for LCDs up till 2011 

and how Lenovo LCDs meet Energy Star 

Version 5.0 and the China Tier 1 

requirements now. “Let’s move the display 

industry forward together,” he concluded, 

“by adopting energy efficient designs 

today… encouraging tougher standards, and 

innovating to reduce display system level 

power.” 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


3rd Annual SID Mobile Displays Conference 2008 

September 23-24, 2008, San Diego, California 

Phillip Hill covers the standards aspects with presentations from iSuppli, Samsung SDI, AMD, 

California Micro Devices, and Nokia 

Mobile Handset Display Market 

Vinita Jakhanwal, iSuppli, El Segundo, California 

Jakhanwal first looked at small/medium display trends. It is a large market that reached 4 billion units in 2007 and 

will pass 5 billion units in 2012. Consumer and emerging applications are driving market growth. She showed a 

slide illustrating growth by technology (see left chart below). 

Jakhanwal turned to the mobile handset display forecast. Mobile handset display shipments will continue to 

increase. In 2008 there was slow 1H demand particularly from China. CSTN shipments dropped in 2008 as 

suppliers shifted capacity to touch. MSTN maintains shipments of about 100 million. OLED was slow in 1H’08, 

but the full year will be as forecast (see right chart below). 

iSuppli predicts that mobile handset display revenues will decline with display suppliers facing price and margin 

pressures. Mergers and acquisitions will happen amongst display suppliers, which are moving to higher margin 

products like higher-end TFT LCDs (thinner and lighter), and touch screens. Turning to touch-screen penetration, 

Jakhanwal said that they will enable larger display area with an easy and intuitive interface, enabling innovative 

applications like web browsing and writing characters. New touch technologies are creating more markets – e.g. 

multi-touch, sensor-in-pixel. Capacity expansion and cost reduction will lead to fast growth. Capacity is not enough 

for success, he said. Manufacturing cost needs to be decreased by technological innovation, which is being applied 

35


to larger gen fabs already. There are power-saving solutions: content-based BL control; sensor-based brightness 

control; sub-pixel rendering; OLEDs; and reflective display technologies. Turning to the


Interconnect Variations and Display Interfaces 

Fariborz Pourbigharaz, AMD, Camberley, England 

The presentation covered interconnect variations; standard display interfaces; bridges and hubs (bridging to/from 

DSI, heterogeneous hubs, multimedia accelerators); and potential trends for future display interfaces. Pourbigharaz 

gave a flip phone example of 

interconnect variations where there are 

too many signals over flex – ~70 or 

more, involving cost and EMI/ESD 

considerations (see illustration on the 

left). He outlined the standard high-speed 

serial interfaces: DSI (MIPI) and MDDI 

(VESA) for handhelds; HDMI for 

consumer electronics; DisplayPort 

(VESA) for personal computers. He 

discussed market segments and overlaps, 

e.g. HDMI move from CE to handhelds. 

He then went into detail on MIPI display 

standards and bridging systems for 

instance enabling MDDI based platforms for DSI. There is multi-media acceleration with MIPI interfaces but there 

are fewer signals over flex (see illustration on right) for instance by offloading BB from MM tasks – 

imaging/video, graphics/display, and audio. 

Display Driver Opportunities 

Jussi Ropo, Nokia, Helsinki, Finland 

Ropo first outlined what had happened in Nokia in the last two years. OLED main (320x240) displays have been 

brought to mass market: Nokia 7900, Nokia 6600 Fold, Nokia 8800, and more will follow. Content adaptive 

brightness control has been brought to market. High speed serial interfaces have been adopted in >320x240 

resolution displays. So far only Nokia proprietary Compact Display Port (CDP) interface has been used. 

Color depth mainstream in Nokia displays is now 24bit (16.7M colors). Some cost sensitive modules are still with 

16/18-bit colors. Composite video TV-out is widely available (N95, N96, E90, Nokia 6220, Nokia 7310). There is 

852x480 resolution continuation in Nokia Internet Tablets: N770, N800, N810 (see photos). 

Basic business challenges remain. The mobile phone market is growing. Nokia’s volumes grew 21% Y/Y in 

Q2/2008, and the overall market grew 14.5%. Due to volumes, multi-sourcing has become more and more 

important. Nokia estimates total 2008 handset market will be >1.2B units. Nokia alone shipped 122 million 

handsets during Q2 2008. The need to co-operate with bigger companies is important in order to secure investment 

capability and delivery capacity. Standardization is more important than ever in order to guarantee component 

interoperability and availability – MIPI for display drivers. Some of the previously exclusive features have become 

commodity (e.g. ambient light sensors) and there are lots of opportunities for new features. It’s sometimes hard to 

utilize proprietary IP if developing companies are not willing to offer technology to others with reasonable terms, 

the presenter said. 

Co-operation between chipset and driver suppliers is to be encouraged. MIPI standard interfaces make this easier 

with better sample quality. The Nokia plan is to give more business opportunity to companies that are able to 

answer the call. For the best driver suppliers, there is more volume available. Due to increased value of the 

business, more investment is possible in new projects. 

37


MIPI DSI (Display Serial Interface) high speed serial interface will be widely used in the future. It will replace 

Nokia CDP in the future. This supports Nokia’s strategy of using open standard interfaces. DSI command mode 

makes it possible to use “smart” displays, i.e. displays having full frame memory. This offers smaller power 

consumption. EMI is a major concern. Driver, flex, connectors, etc. need to be carefully considered. Nokia is 

currently implementing DSI: no new versions are expected for either D-PHY or DSI for the first implementations. 

Due to advances in display driver process node and partly also because of large displays, memory integration is 

possible even for 852x480 (e.g. N810 Internet Tablet) resolution. Currently mainstream technology is 6T-SRAM 

but there are also other possibilities. 

Serial Display Interface Design Considerations for Multi-Display Configurations 

Kyle Baker, California Micro Devices, Milpitas, California 

Baker first covered the market environment. Smart phones and consumer feature phones are expected to adopt 

multi-display architectures in high volumes driven by handset form factors (clamshell vs. bar or slider), and driven 

by new features, applications and peripherals (pico projectors; higher resolution imagers for still images and motion 

video; mobile TV; and video downloads). There are also new, popular I/O options such as touch-screen keypads. 

But there are practical challenges. There are limited high speed serial interface (HSSI) host and client options. 

There is no desire to sacrifice hard fought advantages of design simplicity, lower power and improved EMI 

performance gained by adding high-speed serial interfaces. There is limited board space to add additional 

components and there are tight BOM constraints. New serial-to-serial conversion architectures are yet to be defined 

(HSSI to HDMI). There is a practical need to support MDDI and MIPI architectures. 

Baker turned to handset HDMI growth accelerators and asked if it was another virtuous circle. Advanced video 

compression and encoding technologies are driving deployment of high quality video via mobile networks. An 

increased amount of high-resolution video is available via Internet and mobile networks with high quality video 

compression and low cost decompression. Technologies make it practical to store video in the handset for playback 

to large monitors. There is a growing deployment of high-resolution imagers in handsets. There is a need for a 

direct interconnect method from handset to digital display. Handset HDMI is a true “wildcard” with potential for 

faster growth than currently forecast, said Baker. 

Mobile HDMI adoption forecast 

He concluded by saying that multi-display handsets are already a large segment and will continue to grow at a 

faster rate than the whole market. Initial HSSI client solutions are largely designed to support single display 

implementation. A new class of HSSI clients within integrated hubs, discrete hubs and switches and interface 

converters will be required. How the hub/switch is partitioned involves making tradeoffs that can impact cost and 

functionality. It creates a new market opportunity with ample means of differentiation. 

38


Monitor specifications and measurements. Several technical issues related to displays are faced today by the 

professional and subsequently the consumer community. This session will report on the work of different major 

standardization bodies toward addressing those issues. Presentations will be made by representatives from the EBU, 

ICDM, SMPTE, ITU, and IRT. 

Image processing and quality. This session will give an insight on today’s display issues. Among the subject 

addressed: Scaling, overscan, de-interlacing; burn in issue; lip synch; high dynamic range; wider color gamut; and 

motion fidelity improvement. 

39 

http://tech.ebu.ch/display09


6th Annual DisplaySearch HDTV Conference 

September 15-17, 2008, Los Angeles, California 

In this second report of two, Phillip Hill covers presentations from DTVAnswers, LG Electronics USA, 

Audiovox Accessories Corporation, and Xceive 

Get ready for the switch to digital television (DTV) 

Harold Protter, DTVAnswers, Washington, District of Columbia 

DTVAnswers is the official website of the National Association of Broadcasters. The transition to digital television 

(DTV) is coming, Protter said. At the time of the conference, by law, television stations nationwide had switch 

from analog to digital broadcasts by February 17, 2009. This date has since been put back to June 12. Digital 

television gives dramatically clearer pictures, better sound quality, more TV programming options, and it is more 

efficient and more flexible than analog. Every household in America that receives free over-the-air broadcasting 

signals through antennas on analog television sets will be affected by the transition. 19.6 million households are 

analog only. An additional 15 million receive over-the-air signals on at least one analog set. 69 million analog sets 

are being used across the country. 

To prepare for the transition to enable continued watching on and analog set, consumers need to purchase a 

converter box. A DTV converter box is an easy-to-install electronic device that hooks up to an analog television set. 

The box converts the digital television signal into analog making it viewable on an analog TV. The boxes are 

expected to cost between $40 and $70 and are available for purchase at retail stores that sell electronic equipment. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) began issuing coupons for DTV 

converter boxes in early 2008. Households may apply for up to two coupons, valued at $40 each, which must be 

redeemed within three months (90 days) of receipt. Otherwise consumer can purchase a new television with a builtin 

digital tuner. Or they can subscribe to a paid cable, satellite, or telephone company television service. Another 

option is to discover free over-the-air HDTV. 

LG’s Digital TV Transition Leadership 

John Taylor, LG Electronics USA, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 

LG supported broadcasters with early converter boxes for testing and evaluations, and testified before Congress on 

DTV transition. LG drove the establishment of the DTV Transition Coalition, and partnered with broadcasters to 

promote DTV. It is working closely with FCC, NTIA, and CEA on consumer education efforts. The mission of the 

Digital TV Transition Coalition is that no consumer loses free over-the-air television reception due to a lack of 

information about the DTV transition. It has more than 230 members comprised of business, trade, industry groups, 

and grassroots organizations. 

LG’s Zenith initiative is supporting the CEA outreach to consumers – reaching the “Baby Boomers” and their 

parents, and donating Zenith converter boxes to senior citizens in Wilmington, Denver, and Minneapolis. The 

Zenith DTT901 has industry-leading tuner performance; extremely fast channel scan – less than 30 seconds. Zoom 

functionality remembers picture format by channel, and a 28-key remote also controls the TV. There is also a 

“What’s On Next” program guide, and it is available at Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, and regional retailers at 

40


$59.95 SRP. The Community Broadcasters Association: “We tested the Zenith DTT901… we find it to be a sound 

solution for the millions of viewers who require the ability to receive analog as well as digital broadcast signals.” It 

is embraced by the disability community. It provides one touch access on the remote to closed captions with full 

decoding of digital closed captions with multiple fonts, colors, and opacity. It has second audio program support for 

videotext descriptions. ENERGY STAR is 8 Watt active, 1 Watt standby. Zenith DTT901 is only 3 Watts active, 

less than 1 Watt standby. It automatically turns off after 4 hours of inactivity. LG says more than 30 million analog 

TV sets will be spared from landfills. 

Replacing Analog: Courting the Late Adopter: the Evolving Role of the Broadcast TV Tuner 

Neil Mitchell, Xceive, Santa Clara, California 

Most US TVs are cable compatible for free digital channels (Cable-in-the-Clear). Few new TVs can receive 

encrypted digital cable signals – no CableCARD. Bi-directional cable will not happen overnight (DCAS vs. 

MCard). US cable will still broadcast local channels in analog (as well as digital). The US government (via the 

FCC) has mandated cable must transmit the local broadcast channels in analog for three years beyond the 2009 cut 

off. Canada goes all digital 2021+ possibly delaying the digital only switch even further. TV makers (Sony, 

Samsung, LG) will not provide a digital-only TV to the North American market for many years – hybrid reception 

(analog + digital) will be a requirement. 

Only 13% of US households rely on terrestrial only, but many of the cable households have a second or third TV 

that is terrestrial only. They will need to upgrade to a hybrid TV, buy a terrestrial converter box or connect to 

cable/satellite. Due to the 

strength of cable in the US 

market and second/third 

TVs requiring connection 

to cable for the first time, 

TV companies will build 

hybrid TVs until at least 

2012. What will terrestrial 

analog tuner be replaced 

by? Other forms of content 

delivery will have a greater 

impact on the traditional 

television: Blu-ray; 

streaming TV delivery; 

downloadable TV content. 

These do not need a 

broadcast tuner, however 

they will supplement the 

broadcast tuner for many 

years (not replace it). 

Worldwide analog to digital terrestrial broadcast transition dates 

Broadcast and cable delivery of content will continue for years. IP/Internet content will enhance this broadcast 

content with more information and provide TV 10ft style interaction to all content, and additional services unrelated 

to the broadcast content. How do you merge the traditional CAN tuner into a more advanced, higher integration, 

thinner TV with enhanced IP/Internet Services, Mitchell asked. With ChannelVista it is possible with only one 

Xceive tuner to view many live pictures surrounding the main picture (see photo). Sources can be merged between 

broadcast, IP and Internet sources. 

41


Digital Antenna Products 

Lou Lenzi, Audiovox Accessories Corporation, New York, New York 

RCA antenna products fit the new designs and technologies of today’s displays, practically disappearing into the 

décor. The graphic shows a typical rabbit-ear antenna reception pattern and an actual ANT1500 reception pattern – 

good reception in any direction. Some antenna products try to get better picture by amplification alone. This gives 

you more and noticeable picture 

distortion, Lenzi said. The ANT1500 

digital flat antenna receives all digital 

and analog TV broadcasts and selfadjusts: 

just plug and watch. A supersize 

footprint provides superior 

reception, and it has an easy-to-hide 

flat design. It outperforms traditional 

antenna due to a patented omnidirectional 

design. It mounts on the 

wall, lays flat or sits upright with an 

included stand. The ANT1550 has all 

the above, plus an ultra-low noise 

amplifier to provide clear reception of 

HDTV and UHF/VHF signals. 

Displaybank Korea Display Conference 

July 2-4, 2008, Seoul, South Korea 

Phillip Hill covers talks from AUO, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, 3M Optical Systems, 

and Samsung SDI 

Choosing the green approach to create A+ product 

Jennifer Y.-C. Lin, AUO, Hsinchu, Taiwan 

Jennifer Lin’s presentation agenda 

covered displays that reshape our 

new lifestyle; green innovation 

bringing more to displays; 

optimized panel design reducing 

power consumption; utilizing green 

materials to reduce consumption; 

high performance systems with 

green considerations; and AUO’s 

solution to “green” the world. 

Lin first showed a slide (see 

illustration) that demonstrates how 

CCFL efficiency is improving 

continuously. LED adoption in 

notebooks helps mercury reduction. 

42


AUO is aggressively adopting LED technologies and plans to have 100% LED by the end of 2011. AUO will save 

more than 120,000 mg of mercury by 2011. She then discussed AUO “Green 2010” eco-efficiency indexes. There 

will be a 70% reduction from 2004 levels by 2010 in greenhouse gas emissions per substrate size; 80% waste 

recovery rate achievement; and 70% reduction from 2004 levels by 2010 in water consumption per substrate size. 

She turned to dynamic backlight control. There are various algorithms to manipulate the BL index and GL transfer 

to differentiate image quality. This is usually done by the system designer/maker, but 2D control is feasible in 

direct type LED backlights. Lin concluded by saying that the TFT-LCD market will continue to grow through 

technology innovation and novel applications. Displays continue to reshape our future life style. Products bring 

convenience to life = A products, and help to “green” the world = A+ products. AUO can make A+ products 

through green innovation: optimized panel design reduces power consumption; utilize green material and reduce 

consumption for products and processes; think green for high performance and stylish systems. AUO plays a key 

role to “green” the world by its influence to broad component vendors and customer bases. 

Disruptive Technology in Small and Medium Display “mirasol” Display Value Proposition 

James Jeon, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, San Diego, California 

Qualcomm is a global leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications solutions 

based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. It partners with wireless operators, device manufacturers, 

independent software vendors, and distribution suppliers to drive adoption of mobility solutions based on 3G 

CDMA and other digital technologies. “mirasol” is a MEMS-based reflective display. It reflects ambient light so 

that specific wavelengths interfere with each other to select color (see illustration). As a mechanical device, the 

mirror actuates due to an applied voltage, with a response time of 10s, easily supporting video applications. The 

phenomenon that makes a butterfly’s wings shimmer is the same process mimicked in mirasol displays. There are 

no color filters, no polarizer, no transistors, no organic material, and no backlight. 

What drives the widening power gap? Style dictates design: there is a demand for smaller and thinner devices, 

which equates to space limitations on batteries. There is slow battery R&D. Development focuses on delivering 

higher discharge vs. power conserving batteries. Cutting edge battery R&D is focused elsewhere (hybrid vehicle 

technology). Convergence is the primary contributor. Users continue to demand more applications, and operators 

derive increasing revenue streams from application-based services. The current solution is a bigger battery. The gap 

between the capacity of 3G phone batteries and non-3G is growing. Power consuming 3G features like video calls 

and web browsing tax phone batteries. The trend is to bigger batteries – heavier, thicker, non-style supportive and 

more cost. mirasol displays are a low-power solution. For a 2.2-inch color screen, it uses 1mW compared to 100- 

700mW for AMOLED and 20mW for TFT-LCD. It is bistable with near-zero power for a static image. It is sunlight 

viewable with a wide, symmetric view cone. Commercial products featuring mirasol displays are entering the 

marketplace adding value throughout the wireless value chain, the company says. 

43


3M Vikuiti DBEF Technology: Film Solutions to Meet Tightening Energy Standards 

3M Optical Systems, St Paul, Minnesota 

3M’s multilayer technology uses hundreds of layers that are under 100nm thick. It recycles light that would be 

absorbed by the LCD. For LCD TVs, on average a single sheet of dual brightness enhancement film (DBEF) 

provides an increase in efficiency of 42%. It improves energy efficiency and uniformity while maintaining a bright 

picture and wide viewing angle. Furthermore the Vikuiti microreplication technology recycles off-axis light not 

normally useable to the viewer. Combining DBEF and Vikuiti produces a 68% improvement in LCD TVs (see 

graphic). 

The graphic on the right shows DBEF average power savings by screen size 

Image Quality Technology Issues using Emotional Image Quality Evaluation Method 

S.M. Lee, Samsung SDI, Seoul, South Korea 

Samsung SDI has developed a new evaluation method using CIECAM02. Image quality factors using CIECAM02 

are color reproduction capability – by volume at QMh space; gamma by JCh space; gray level gradation; perceptual 

contrast range – by QMh space; viewing angle – by volume at QMh space; and color difference analysis for image 

– by ΔE by QMh space. For color reproduction capability, the new definition is color reproduction capability = the 

volume size of the CIECAM02 gamut (see illustration). 

It is possible to analyze in more detail the instability of the gray level (gradation) and color representation in all the 

signal range. It is possible to analyze the representation of very dark color. The change of the brightness and the 

hue can be estimated simultaneously. It is 

also possible to analyze in more detail the 

instability of the color representation in a 

low signal range, i.e. the reversal of a color 

or the representation of a specific one. 

Samsung says that CIECAM02 is a 

powerful tool, in terms of reflecting the 

human visual perception system and 

observation (environment) condition. 

CIECAM02 has various feasibility and 

development possibilities for the 

estimation and standardization of displays. 

44 

3D gamut visualization and comparison (QMh)


45


SID Display Week 2008 Symposium 

May 20-23, Los Angeles, California 

In this third report of three, Phillip Hill covers the pick of the poster sessions with presentations 

from Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology, National Chiao Tung University, KDDI R&D 

Laboratories Inc./Tokai University, Korea University/ i-components, Otsuka Electronics, Industrial 

Technology Research Institute/ISUZU Optics Corp., Tatung University/Chunghwa Picture Tubes, 

Eldim, and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health/FIMI/Philips 

Relationship of Moving Edge Color Distortion and Response Spectrum 

Yoshi Enami, Otsuka Electronics, Shiga, Japan 

Moving edge color distortion is a phenomenon that is often seen in PDP TVs and other displays that use a phosphor 

and in displays using field sequential drive. By observation using a moving picture evaluation system using a color 

pursuit camera, which the company has developed, the company was able to confirm that moving edge color 

distortion also occurs in LCDs. In order to clarify the cause of moving edge color distortion in an LCD, the 

response of the LCD was measured using a high-speed spectrometer, and as a result, they were able to confirm that 

wavelength-dependence of retardation is a cause of moving edge color distortion. 

Pursuit images of respective types of displays taken by 

a moving picture evaluation system with a color pursuit 

camera (MPRT-2000CM) are shown in the photo. 

Images taken by this method are considered to be close 

to those perceived by the tracking vision of a human. 

Next, by determining cross sections in the moving 

picture movement direction of these images, the 

moving picture response curves in terms of the 

intensity measured by the CCD camera are obtained. 

By performing a matrix conversion, moving picture 

response curves of the R, G, and B pixels of a display 

can be determined. 

Measurements of the spectral response by a high-speed spectrometer showed that the wavelength dependence of the 

liquid crystal retardation is a cause of differences in the response speeds of the respective LCD display elements. 

Although the measurement method requires improvement, response measurement using the high-speed 

spectrometer enables simulation of the moving edge color distortion in the liquid crystal cell state, and the 

possibilities of simulation can be widened, for example, by adding information on the backlight, a simulation 

evaluation close to the final product state can be made. Presently, moving edge color distortion of LCDs is not 

discussed much. However it is considered that as further improvements are made in regard to moving edge blur, the 

influence of moving edge color distortion will become greater. In order to make improvements to moving edge 

color distortion, the respective display elements should be made uniform in response speed by making 

improvements to the wavelength dependence of the liquid crystal retardation, the company concludes. 

46 

Pursuit image of an LCD PC taken by the pursuit color 

camera system. The gray level is varied from black to 

white (0-255). The scrolling speed is 8 lines/frame and an 

XGA video signal is used.


New Multispectral Fourier Optics Viewing Angle Instrument for Full Characterization of LCDs 

Pierre Boher, Thierry Leroux, Thibault Bignon, and David Glinel; Eldim, Hérouville St Clair, France 

Fourier optics viewing angle instruments are now widely used to check the viewing angle behaviors of displays in 

terms of luminance, contrast and color. In the present paper Eldim introduces a new generation of EZContrast 

instruments that provides not only luminance and color at any incidence and azimuth angle but also the full spectral 

radiance in all the visible range. After a description of the new system they show that these new measurement 

capacities are useful in different situations: for LCD emissions, each color behavior can be understood in all its 

details and color variations measured with an unprecedented accuracy; for display components, their angular and 

spectral transmittance properties are useful for best understanding and more precise optical simulations. 

Standard color measurements, even if perfectly adjusted to the human eye sensitive, are quite restrictive compared 

to the complex spectral stimuli always emitted by any kind of display. A multispectral analysis with 20 to 30 

channels in the visible range can be 

helpful. One example of multispectral 

measurement on an LCD is shown in the 

figure. In this example, the LCD has a 

CCFL backlight with a characteristic 

emission spectrum. The figure shows the 

multispectral measurement of the white 

state. The instrument provides the spectral 

radiance of the display at each incidence 

angle from 0 to88° and for all the 

azimuths. Some examples of spectra 

obtained along azimuth 0 are shown on the 

right part of the figure. From the spectral 

radiance it is possible to calculate the 

corresponding luminance and color 

coordinates with a better accuracy than 

with five color filters. 

Multispectral measurement on an LCD display in the white state: 

luminance in the Fourier plane (left) and some multispectral 

measurements for some incidence values along azimuth 0 (right). 

The company says that the instrument is simple to use and can replace spectrophotometers on goniometric stages in 

many situations with obvious advantages in particular in terms of speed. A polarization analysis option, in addition 

to spectral characterization, is also a very powerful tool in many applications. 

Study of the Ergonomics Requirement for Color Difference in Electronic Displays 

Yuzo Hisatake, Azusa Ikeda, Hideki Ito, Masaki Obi, Yasushi Kawata, and Akio Murayama 

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Saitama, Japan 

The researchers have studied the dependency on color chroma and hue for allowable and optimal levels of color 

difference. The deeper the chroma, the wider the areas of optimal and allowable limits. The plot of each limit for 

deep RGB on the chromaticity diagram shows that the width for chroma is wider than that of hue area. ISO has 

published the standards of ergonomics requirements for FPDs (ISO-FDIS9241-300~307) in 2008). In these 

standards, the FPDs are required that the uniformity and viewing angle characteristics of the delta u’v’ value (color 

difference value) shall be less than 0.02 for all color chromaticity. However, Toshiba assumed that each limit is 

influenced by color chroma and hue. Thus, they studied ergonomics requirements of maximum color difference 

through subjective evaluation experiments using several pictures with high and low color chroma in six color hues 

(red, green, blue, cyan, yellow and magenta), three achromatic color (white, black and gray), and skin color 

displayed on a LCD monitor with a wide color gamut display. 

47


The panel used for this evaluation was a 9.0inch 

diagonal field sequential color 

(852x480) LCD. The evaluated pictures and 

their color chromaticity measurement data 

are shown in Figure 1. The team selected 16 

pictures of objects or landscapes, which 

represent 13 chromatic and three achromatic 

colors, and prepared 49 pictures in various 

color chroma and hue at nearly the same 

brightness and luminance contrast. The 

evaluated pictures were displayed with the 

original color picture side-by-side on the 

screen. The subjects evaluated the color 

quality of each picture by comparing with 

the original image, and rated the allowable 

color difference using a scale of the 

following five levels: 1: very worrisome, 2: 

worrisome, 3: worrisome for a while but it is 

allowable, 4: hardly worrisome but it is 

optimal, 5: not worrisome at all. 

Figure 2 is a chromaticity diagram showing 

the area of optimal and allowable limits for 

chromatic colors. The area of each limit 

becomes wider with increase in chroma 

depth. The results of the deeper chroma 

pictures: b), d), e), g), i) and k) show that the 

color shift from the original to lighter 

chroma is less allowable than that to deeper 

chroma. The area of each limit for deep red, 

green and blue shows that a width for 

chroma direction is wider than that for the 

hue direction. On the other hand, in the area 

of cyan, magenta and yellow, the width for 

chroma direction is narrower than that for 

the hue direction. The color shift from white 

to yellow is less allowable than white to 

blue. 

The researchers suggest that to realize good 

viewing angle characteristics of color image 

of cyan, magenta and yellow, viewing angle 

characteristics of luminance contrast ratio 

should be made wider for small color 

chroma shift. In contrast, for color image of 

red, green and blue, the balance between 

RGB gamut curves should be made 

correspond to every viewing angle for small 

color hue shift. 

Figure 1: Evaluated pictures and their original color 

chromaticity on CIE1976-UCS diagram 

Figure 2: Optimal and allowable limits for each chromatic color 

48


Permeation-Rate Measurements System and Its Application to Polymeric Substrates 

Jin Hwan Choi, Young Min Kim, Young Wook Park, and Byeong Kwon Ju, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea 

In Sun Kim, and Hee Nam Hwang, i-components, Pyongtaek-City, South Korea 

The researchers report on a measurement system including an analysis of an electrical mechanism based on calcium 

degradation. Polymer substrates provide better flexibility compared to metal or glass and better ruggedness than 

glass, but do not provide sufficient protection to water permeation. Therefore, a substrate barrier structure is 

required in addition to a single inorganic top barrier. In this work, the researchers report on a measurement 

principle including an analysis of an electrical mechanism based on calcium degradation. They can measure an 

accurate gas permeation rate with a high 

sensitivity and a structural compatibility. The 

structural advantages of the devised test 

sample enable applications to various kinds of 

fabrication processes of passivation layers. 

In this system, quantitative water vapor 

transmission rates were measured in the range 

of 10–10 -5 g/m 2 /day. It is particularly useful to 

evaluate time-dependent barrier properties. 

This method presents a direct comparison of 

the gas permeability of plastic substrates that 

are a part of the polymeric passivation layer 

coating technologies. The test sample structure 

and measurement principle results in an 

application to evaluate the barrier performance 

for stability of flexible electronics. 

The schematic diagram of water permeation measurements system 

Colorimetric Characterization of High-Dynamic-Range LCDs 

Yu-Kuo Cheng, and Han-Ping D. Shieh; National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan 

A modified model, incorporating backlight intensity, for chromatic characterization of HDR LCDs is proposed. 

Images, exemplifying regular and random backlight distributions, were designed to evaluate the proposed model. 

The results showed that chromaticity of three primaries varied with incident backlight intensity. An HDR LCD 

features a local-dimming backlight, while the backlight of a conventional LCD is full on over the entire panel. This 

differentiation produces a critical issue if the color model of the conventional LCD is applied to the HDR LCD. To 

answer the question, chromatic properties of the HDR LCD were first examined, and then a modified 

characterization model was proposed. Finally, the proposed model was evaluated in comparison with the model 

dedicated for the conventional LCD. 

Backlight dimming not only extends the contrast ratio, but also increases the complexity of chromatic properties of 

the HDR LCD. The measured data show that area-adaptive backlighting results in one-to-many chromatic mapping, 

rather than a one-to-one mapping relation in the case of full-on backlighting. Therefore, a suitable chromatic model 

is required to substitute device-dependent color transformation for colorimetric color reproduction in the HDR 

LCD. The proposed model, taking account of backlight intensity, is demonstrated to be more applicable than the 

conventional model for chromatic characterization of the HDR LCD. 

Current results reveal that the improvement of reducing color difference is significant; however, the model 

performance can be further enhanced if the estimation of backlight intensity can be improved. Applying a nonlinear 

optimization technique is another solution to enhance color reproduction accuracy. In addition, this model 

can be modulated accordingly to well characterize the HDR LCD with multi-primary LEDs as the backlight source. 

49


Novel Evaluation Method for Visibility of Reflective Electronic Paper Display by Comparative Examination 

with Liquid Crystal Display; Kohsuke Nishimura, KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc., Saitama, Japan 

Makoto Omodani, and Junko Imai, Tokai University, Kanagawa, Japan 

An organoleptic examination technique is proposed for evaluating visibility of reflective electronic paper displays 

(EPs). The visibility of EP was compared with that of LCD under various ambient illuminances. The threshold 

illuminance, above which the visibility of EP was better than that of LCD, was successfully extracted. A reflective 

EP is much less power-consuming than a transmissive or an emissive display as far as for showing still images, 

which is a paper-like feature. Moreover, the luminance of the reflective display linearly depends on the ambient 

illuminance, which is also a paper-like feature, hence the devices with reflective EPs are considered to be suitable 

particularly for outdoor and/or mobile usage. From the user viewpoint, it is of great interest how the visibility of an 

EP changes especially under various illuminance conditions. However, the visibility of reflective EPs has not been 

studied well because an evaluation technique has not yet been established. In this paper, an organoleptic 

examination method is proposed for evaluating visibility of EPs. One of the key points of the method is that a 

conventional transmissive LCD is employed as a standard of comparison. The other key point is that the threshold 

illuminance, above which the visibility of EP was superior to that of LCD, can be extracted by a simple 

measurement that takes only a few minutes to finish. 

The first device, EP 1, is an electronic billboard “Albirey” fabricated by Hitachi, equipped with a liquid powder 

type EP from Bridgestone Corporation. A conventional transmissive LCD, LCD 1, with comparable size was used 

as the standard device for comparison. The second device, EP 2, is an electronic portable reader “PRS-500” 

fabricated by Sony Electronics equipped with an electrophoretic type EP from E Ink Corporation. Another 

electronic portable reader, LCD 2, was “Words Gear” fabricated by Matsushita Electric Industrial employing a 

transmissive LCD with a comparable size. Major specifications and the photographs of these devices are listed in 

the table. All the displayed contents were in black-and-white. 

Specifications of the devices under test. †The viewable area was restricted in the 768x1024 pixel portrait by covering the 

peripheral areas with black paper as shown in the photographs. ‡Top and bottom areas are used for showing the operation 

instructions and the page index. The effective pixel area for showing the content is almost comparable to EPD 1. 

50


Luminance and Color Measurement for LED Backlights with a Hyperspectral Camera 

Hsiang-Han Hsu, and Yu-Ping Lan, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan 

Chieh-Hung Lai, ISUZU Optics Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan 

A calibrated hyperspectral camera is used for luminance and color measurements for the entire surface of LED 

backlights. The measurement results are compared and are consistent with the results of point-to-point 

measurements of the widely-used Topcon spectroradiometer SR-3A. This new hyperspectral camera demonstrates 

the feasibility and reliability of this 

application. The results show the maximum 

differences in luminance and CIE color 

coordinates measurements are 2.9 % and 

0.002, respectively. The schematic image 

type hyper spectrometer is shown in the 

figure. It consists of an objective lens, an 

entrance slit and a prism-grating-prism 

(PGP) structure. The hyperspectral camera is 

a line scanning system with high spectral 

resolutions. The line image of the target is 

formed by imaging optics and then projected 

on a CCD imaging sensor. The spectral 

Light dispersed via PGP structure to CCD image sensor of the 

hyperspectral CCD camera 

range of the hyperspectral camera is from 380nm to 1100nm. A 1344x1024 12-bit CCD camera (HAMAMATSU 

C8484- 05G) was used for the experiment. The entire surface information of the LED backlight is derived by 

scanning of the target. Digital images of the target are captured by a personal computer via IEEE 1394 interface. 

Channel-Dependent GOG Model for Colorimetric Characterization of LCDs 

Chun-Hsien Chou, Ray-Chin Wu, Chih-Cheng Fu, Cheng-Chieh Wu, and Shing-Shi Tseng, Tatung University, 

Taipei, Taiwan; Chien-Lung Tzou, and Jia-Ming Huang, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Taipei, Taiwan 

Accurate colorimetric characterization is an important step in establishing the color management system for LCDs 

to achieve device-independent color reproduction. The gain-offset-gamma (GOG) model that is accurate enough in 

describing the tone reproduction curves (TRCs) for CRT displays has been found inadequate for characterizing 

LCDs due to mainly channel interaction and non-constancy of channel chromaticity. In this paper, a modified 

GOG model that takes channel interaction and backlight leakage into account is proposed to accurately characterize 

the TRCs of LCDs. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model outperforms the conventional GOG 

model in terms of the CIEDE2000 color difference between the XYZ values of the measured color sample and the 

estimated XYZ values. The effect of channel interaction is considered in the proposed model by measuring the 

parameters of gain and gamma of the GOG model as functions of input digital counts. Experimental results show 

that the proposed model outperforms the conventional GOG model and is effective in accurate color reproduction 

of LCDs. The proposed model is also believed to be helpful in characterizing the color sequential displays that 

show apparent dependence between color channels. 

Noise and Resolution in a Dual-Layer LCD 

Aldo Badano, and Hongye Liang, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA, Silver Spring, Maryland 

Luigi Albani, FIMI/Philips, Saronno, Italy 

The noise and resolution characteristics of a dual-layer LCD capable of high luminance range are presented with 

emphasis on the measurement and analysis methods considering the parallax effect. The results are compared to an 

identical panel with a single-layer structure. The figure shows a single-pixel line displayed in both front and back 

layer. As a result of the parallax effect, the lines overlap fairly well at about 15 degrees. The parallax effect is 

51


evident both at 0 and at 27 degrees. For a more quantitative understanding, the researchers computed the full-widthat-tenth-maximum 

for each angle. 

CCD images of line patterns in both layers at different angles. Note that the best alignment is achieved at 15 

degrees in the field of view of the camera. 

The results suggest that the angle of view is a crucial parameter when measuring noise and resolution of display 

devices with potential for parallax errors. The results also suggest that the methods developed for 2D devices with 

no parallax need to be updated to incorporate the parallax error, even when measuring a single viewing direction 

with a detector having a finite aperture. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Interview with Nicole Helsberg from ESAC 

Nicole Helsberg is the director of public, public relations at the Entertainment Software 

Association of Canada (ESAC). She was previously manager of communications for the 

Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC.) ITAC is the voice of the Canadian 

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) industry in all sectors including 

telecommunications and Internet services, ICT consulting services, hardware, 

microelectronics, software and electronic content. Prior to joining ITAC, Nicole did 

communications work for the University of the Arctic in Rovaniemi, Finland. This interview 

was conducted by Neil Schneider from MTBS who was interested in identifying gaming 

habits of both parents and children in the home. The interview is republished by 

permission. 

I understand you have some exciting findings to share, but first I’d like to talk a bit 

about the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC). For those 

unfamiliar, can you elaborate a bit on what you do? The Entertainment Software Association of Canada is 

dedicated exclusively to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies in Canada that publish and 

distribute computer and video games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the 

Internet. Association members include the nation’s leading interactive entertainment software publishers and 

distributors, which collectively accounted for more than 90% of the $1.67 billion in entertainment software and 

hardware sales in Canada in 2007. The entertainment software industry currently accounts for over 260 firms and 

10,000 direct jobs and thousands more in related fields across Canada. 

There is ESAC and ESA (for the US market). While you are rooted from the same organization, outside of 

geography, are there some key differences that set you apart? Are there legal differences, for example? The 

ESA is our sister association. ESAC, while an advocate of many of the same industry issues, faces different 

challenges in Canada. One key difference – some of our provinces have legislation that adopts ESRB ratings into 

law and restricts the sale of Mature and Adults-Only rated games to children. (To date, in the US, only the state of 

New York has video game legislation). Our membership is also different. While we represent many of the same 

companies, ESAC’s membership includes companies not members of the ESA, and vice versa. 

What needs does your organization fill that makes you so critical to the video game industry? ESAC is the 

voice of the entertainment software industry. We promote the industry to all levels of government – federal, 

provincial and municipal. ESAC is an advocate for issues affecting our industry, including copyright reform, piracy 

and intellectual property enforcement, and international trade. We conduct research about and on behalf of the 

industry, and promote the industry to the public. We work with provincial officials and our partners in the retail 

sector to promote the industry’s rating system and help parents and consumers make informed choices about the 

games they purchase or rent for their families. 

Once a Mature (M) or Adults Only (AO) rating is determined, how effective are efforts to get retailers to 

stop selling to minors? Are kids carded the same way they are for alcohol or cigarettes? Do stores prevent 

sales somehow? Together, with our partners at the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and the ESRB, we have a 

wonderful program called “Commitment to Parents” (CTP). The CTP program is a voluntary initiative designed to 

restrict the selling or renting of games to children that are meant for older teenagers and adults. The program’s 

mandate is to help parents make informed choices for their families by educating consumers about the ESRB rating 

system and ratings enforcement. CTP participating retailers agree not to sell Mature (M) or Adults Only (AO) rated 

games to under age children. They display store signs, which advise customers of their participation in the program 

and promote awareness and understanding of the ESRB rating system. And yes, sales associates will card someone 

who looks under age before they are allowed to purchase a game. 

53


Let’s talk about your latest research. What was the motivation behind this study? Each year, we survey the 

trends of video game play in Canada. We survey Canadians to find out the average age of a gamer, age 

breakdowns, what types of games are most popular, etc. Given we know that most games rated for sale by the 

ESRB in Canada are rated for play by children and teens, we were curious to know whether Canadians were 

findings ample choices for their families. Were they playing games together as a family? 

Who put the study together and how was it carried out? Ipsos Reid conducts the survey on our behalf. Further 

details can be found on their website: http://www.ipsos.ca. 

Just so I don’t feel so old, what is the age of the average gamer? Has this changed a lot over the years? Why 

do you think that is? In our most recent survey of Canadians, the average age of a gamer is 40.3 years. And, yes, 

we’ve seen a steady rise in that average age over the years. This has occurred for many reasons, including parents 

who are playing more with their children, likely because, as we’ve discovered, parents are finding a greater 

selection of games for the entire family. Formerly young gamers are aging and having children, and including 

games as part of their family time. 

What ESRB game rating is deemed family friendly? Can you name some popular PC titles that fit this 

category? E (everyone) E10+ (everyone 10 and older) and T (teen) would be ratings for family games, depending 

of course, on the age of the children. While I don’t want to name specific games, as everyone will have their 

favorites, I would like to point out that the ESRB has an excellent tool on its website to search games by platform, 

by rating, and by type of game. For example, when I select rating - E (everyone), platform – Windows PC, and type 

– any, listed are over 4500 titles. I’d suggest going to the Internet for reviews of games, and 

http://www.gamingwithchildren.com is one good resource for reviews of family friendly games. Also, I’d suggest 

talking to the retailer. A sales associate will have a pretty good idea of what’s fun and appropriate for the family. 

Video games get a lot of criticism for being violent and not appropriate for family viewing – you’ve heard it 

all, I’m sure! Are these statements true for the majority of games? How big is the family viewing market in 

video games? Big sales titles like Halo and Grand Theft Auto get a lot of buzz in the press. But, truthfully, M rated 

games make up a fraction of games rated for sale in North America. The ESRB says that 59% of games rated for 

sale in 2007 were rated E for everyone, and another 15% were rated E10+. Mature games were a scant 6% - this, 

out of over 1500 games the ESRB reviewed last year. 

Growing up, I remember video games as being alien to parents, and reserved for the enjoyment of teenagers 

and solitaries. How knowledgeable are parents about video games now? Certainly, Canadian parents 

demonstrate a great deal of responsibility regarding the selection of their child’s game(s). Our research over the 

years has consistently demonstrated this. Nevermind that many parents play the game prior 

to making a purchasing decision. And according to our most recent research, 57% of 

parents play video games with their children. It’s just another way that parents are 

spending time with their children. With increased family offerings from publishers, parents 

are finding an ample selection of games that they can play with their children, and enjoy an 

activity that is fun for all ages. 

This family angle, was it encouraged by the game developers, or did it occur naturally? I can’t say for sure, 

though, it would make financial sense, I imagine, to broaden the appeal of video and computer games to what may 

have been considered non-traditional gamers. I recently attended the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los 

Angeles. And after attending many press conferences and briefings there, I’ve noted that many publishers were 

keen on showcasing family friendly games as part of their offerings for 2008 and 2009. 

If parents had a choice of having their kids watch television or play video games, which would they pick? 

Why do you think that is? According to our research, 41% of parents would prefer their children to play video 

games over watching television. Video games require skill, thought, communication, strategy... these are all good 

54


things when perhaps compared to a more passive activity, like watching TV. And adults, even seniors are getting in 

the game, so to speak! Game developers are making games that are not only easy to play for all ages, but are 

targeted to groups of people that most would not think of as traditional ‘gamers.’ 

Between parents and kids, I’m sure you will agree that it’s often hard to agree on what program to watch. 

Do you have any findings about parents playing video games with their kids? How many do it? Why do you 

think that is? Our research shows that 57% of parents play video games with their children. Parents and children 

are finding exciting game content that appeals to multiple generations. And the majority of games are family 

friendly, especially in terms of ratings. Can that be said about most television shows today? 

Do you think parents are playing the games because they enjoy them, or is it more a concern about 

monitoring what their kids are playing and who they are chatting with online? I think it’s both. Games are 

available for the whole family to enjoy together. But maybe what got parents interested was the fact that this was a 

significant pastime for their children, and being conscientious, they wanted to be involved. Perhaps they got 

“hooked” as well! Certainly, in past research, we’ve determined that parents are very aware of what their kids play. 

According to our 2007 data, 79% of parents monitor closely or very closely the video games their child plays. 

Can you take a guess about what triggered parents to suddenly take an active interest in their kids’ video 

games? Were the parents game players all along and just grew up, or has something happened that made 

games more appealing? I think parents have always been interested in what their child plays, and our research has 

always supported this. But a) parents are perceiving a greater number of games available for family play - 69%, 

according to our recent study. And b) publishers are reaching out to all ages and developing content for nontraditional 

gamers as well as gamers. And finally, c) the Atari generation has grown up. Those who grew up playing 

video games are embracing video game play with their children. 

Video games: Tips for parents from ESAC 

Here are some helpful tips for parents regarding video games, courtesy of the Entertainment Software 

Association of Canada: 

� Check the ratings. Ratings are featured on the front of the game package, and give information as 

to age appropriateness. 

� Carefully read and look at the package. Game content is described on the back of the package, 

and is a helpful tool for parents to understand why games are classified for certain ages. 

� Monitor your child’s game play. Create a dialogue with your child about their game playing - 

their habits, feelings and with whom they play. Ask them about their experiences interacting with 

others while playing games, both in person and online. 

� Use the parental controls offered on all platforms. These controls allow parents to restrict content 

based on the age of the user/ESRB rating, set time limits for game play, set monthly spending 

limits for online gaming, and restrict chat functions with other users in a live setting. 

� Play with your kids. Recent surveys show that Canadian families are embracing gaming as a way 

to spend time together. According to Ipsos Reid, fifty-seven per cent of parents play video games 

with their children. Choose games that parents and kids can play together. 

� Go beyond the box. There are many other resources for information about video games, 

including game reviews, trailers and demos both online and in store, which can empower 

parents’ wise choices for kids video game play. 

55


56


Viewing angle and spectral characterization 

of LCDs and their components 

Pierre Boher earned an Engineer Degree at the ECP (Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures) 

in 1982. After earning his Ph.D. in material sciences in 1984, he worked in the French Philips 

Laboratories during nine years on the deposition and characterization of very thin films and 

multilayers. R&D manager at SOPRA between 1995 and 2002, he was involved in the 

development of different metrology tools for non-destructive characterization mainly for 

microelectronics. He joined Eldim in 2003 to work in the research and development of new 

metrology heads. This article was co-authored by T. Leroux, T. Bignon, and D. Glinel, all from 

Eldim. http://www.eldim.fr 

57 

by Pierre Boher 

A new Fourier optics system capable of measuring spectral information at each incidence 

and azimuth angles is presented. In reasonable measurement times, a full viewing angle 

pattern of radiance at 31 wavelengths regularly distributed in the visible range is obtained. Full polarization analysis 

of the light at each wavelength is possible. Paper focuses on gray level and polarization analyses of one LCD 

display in order to show some of the possibilities of the new instrument. 

Fourier optics based systems are now widely used for color and luminance viewing angle measurements of many 

types of displays and components. The measurement speed and the large amount of data are key parameters to 

estimate viewing angle properties rapidly and accurately. Nevertheless, standard color measurements, even if 

perfectly adjusted to the human eye sensitive, are quite restrictive compared to the complex spectral stimuli always 

emitted by any kind of display. A multispectral analysis with 20 to 30 channels in the visible range can be helpful. 

For digital color imaging and color reproduction this approach has been used with success. 1,2 Some attempts have 

been made recently to characterize backlights with hyper-spectral camera. 3 Transmission of display components 

such as polarizer and diffusion films, can exhibit complex spectral behaviors that need to be taken into account for 

precise predictions of the emissive properties. Recently a new generation of viewing angle systems EZContrastMS 

from ELDIM capable of providing multispectral information on the full cone of view of displays in reasonable 

measurement times has been presented. 4 This system can provide radiance information but also complete 

polarization analysis versus wavelength. We focus on this aspect in the present paper. 

Experimental details: The new system is based on the well known Fourier transform EZContrast viewing angle 

instruments proposed by ELDIM for more than ten years. Compared to standard instrument the five color filters are 

replaced by 31 band pass filters regularly distributed in the visible range. The system makes automatically a quasispectral 

image of the full Fourier plane at each filter and the sequence is repeated for all the filters. The system is 

calibrated in an absolute way to reconstruct the spectral radiance at each incidence and azimuth angle. 

Complete measurement sequence takes less than three minutes for a 100cd/m 2 white source. Color and luminance 

properties can be recalculated with an excellent accuracy. The system includes also different polarizers and 

waveplates in the same way as standard systems, 5 to allow full polarization analysis at each filter wavelength. 

Polarization ellipticity, polarization direction and polarization degree are then available in the full viewing angle for 

each wavelength. 

Experimental results: In this article, we have decided to measure the same LCD display in three different 

conditions to show the new possibilities of the instrument: a first set of radiance measurements is made on ON state 

and OFF state. Then gray level analysis is made. Finally polarization dependence without top polarizer is measured.


Luminance analysis of one LCD: 

One example of radiance spectrum 

measured at normal incidence on 

ON state is reported in Figure 1. 

The LCD used in this study includes 

a CCFL backlight and the different 

emission lines of this type of lamp 

are of course detected. 

This type of information is obtained 

at each incidence and azimuth angle 

of the full viewing angle cone of the 

display and can be used to evaluate 

in great details the emissive 

performances of the display. For 

example, not only the luminance 

contrast ratio but also the radiance 

contrast ratio can be calculated at 

each wavelength. One example is 

reported in Figure 2. ON and OFF 

angular radiance distribution can be 

used to calculate the radiance 

contrast ratio at each wavelength 

(549 and 477nm in Figure 2). The 

contrast degradation in the blue can 

be pointed out in this example. 

Gray scale multispectral analysis: 

Iso-contrast curves are usually used 

to evaluate the viewing angle 

characteristics of LCDs. For gray 

level scales images, this is not 

sufficient. Viewing angle gray level 

analysis of luminance and lightness 

measured using Fourier optics 

instrument has been proposed 

earlier. 6 The same type of analysis 

can be made using EZContrastMS 

using radiance instead of luminance 

or lightness. As shown in Figure 3, 

the angular pattern of radiance for a 

given gray level is dependent on 

wavelength. It is then possible to 

make a complete gray level analysis 

of the LCD emission at each 

wavelength. Fine dependence 

versus wavelength and incidence 

can be detected as shown in Figures 

4 and 5. 

Figure 1: Absolute radiance of ON state at normal incidence 

Figure 2: Radiance at 549nm for ON state (top left) and OFF 

(top right) and radiance contrast at 477nm (bottom left) and 

549nm (bottom right) 

58


Figure 3: Radiance pattern at 487nm (left) and 549nm (right) for gray level 23 

Figure 4 (on the left): Gray level dependence of the radiance at 487nm (top) and 549nm (bottom): five angles 

are selected. Figure 5 (on the right): Gray level dependence of radiance along azimuth 0 and azimuth 90. The 

wavelength is fixed at 549nm and values are relative. 

59


Polarization analysis: Polarization analysis of the light emitted by LCDs is also very informative on the efficiency 

of the liquid crystal cell as polarization modulator. We have already shown that unpolarized light detected in OFF 

state is directly related to the quality of the black level of the display. 5 Another way to follow in details the crystal 

cell switching is to remove the last polarizer of the LCD and to measure the polarization state versus gray level. The 

example is reported in Figure 5. We see directly that the OFF state is characterized by quasi-linear polarized light 

in particular near normal incidence. The liquid crystal cell rotation acts as a waveplate and the light becomes nearly 

circular polarized for ON state. The polarization degree is also slightly affected by the crystal cell rotation: it is 

nearly 1 for OFF state and decreases down to 0.85 for ON state. 

Figure 5 (on the left): Polarization analysis of LCD display without last polarizer at 549nm: the polarization degree 

is reported in color scale. Figure 6 (on the right): Polarization analysis of LCD display without last polarizer: 

ellipticity and polarization degree are reported versus gray level and incidence angle (the azimuth is fixed at 45°and 

the wavelength at 549nm). 

The polarization rotation depends on the incidence and azimuth angles and drives the viewing angle of the display. 

As shown in Figure 5, the polarization state of ON state is far to be ideal. In particular the light is far from being 

perfectly circular and strongly depends on the angle. To emphasize this point, we have reported the data measured 

60


along the 45° azimuth versus incidence angle and gray level (c.f. Figure 6). The wavelength is fixed at 549nm as 

for Figure 5. We see that the maximum of ellipticity is not for normal incidence and does not reach 45°. The 

degradation of polarization degree at high angles drives the angle of view of the display. 

All these data can be used to evaluate the best top surface polarizer. One easy way to read the polarization data is to 

use the Poincare sphere as shown in Figure 7. The evolution of the S1 and S2 Stokes vector is characteristic of the 

polarization rotation of the crystal cell and the influence of the incidence angle is particularly clear. The influence 

of the LC can be decomposed in an equivalent optical 

retardation and one rotation. 7 These two parameters 

can be easily driven from the present data. The 

rotation is in particular strongly dependent on the 

angle. The retardation is exactly at 45° only for +50° 

incidence in this case. The rotation and the orientation 

of a combined waveplate and polarizer to complete the 

LCD in the most efficient conditions can be derived. 

Of course the efficiency of the display must be 

maximized for all the visible range. Using 

EZContrastMS, the same polarization analysis can be 

made at all the wavelengths of the instrument. One 

example is reported in Figure 8. We report the 

ellipticity and orientation of the light emitted by the 

display versus gray level and at three wavelengths 

(549nm already used in Figures 6-7, 487nm and 

609nm). We detect small dependence of ellipticity and 

orientation versus wavelength as weighted for a liquid 

crystal cell. The variations are essentially due to the 

variation of the optical indices of the LC versus 

wavelength. These variations must nevertheless be 

taken into account to ensure optimal performances at 

all wavelengths. For the present LCD it is clearly not 

the case as we have seen on the gray level analysis of 

the radiance. 

Figure 8: Normal incidence evolution of ellipticity and orientation versus gray level at different wavelength 

61 

Figure 7: Evolution of stokes vector versus gray level at 

different incidence along 45° azimuth (the wavelength is 

fixed at 549nm)


New features for the characterization of LCD using multispectral EZContrastMS system are presented. In addition 

to providing most efficient data in terms of luminance and color, precise analysis of the display performance can be 

made versus wavelength and gray levels. The capacity to analyze the polarization state of the light is also extremely 

helpful to understand the LCD behavior. If we remove the top LCD polarizer the rotation of the liquid crystal cell 

versus all parameters can be measured (angles, gray level, and wavelength). It is possible then to evaluate the best 

top waveplate and polarizer to optimize the performances of the display. Polarization gray level analysis can help to 

optimize the liquid crystal cell and its components. 

References 

1 G. Sharma, “Digital color imaging handbook”, Published by CRC Press, ISBN 084930900X (2003). 

2 R.S. Berns, F.H. Imai, P.D. Burns, D.Y. Tzeng, “Multi-spectral based color reproduction research at the Munsell 

color science laboratory”, Proceedings SPIE 3409 (1998). 

3 H. Hsu, Y. Lan, C. Lai, “Luminance and color measurements for LED backlights with a hyperspectral camera”, P- 

84, 1503, SID proceedings (2008) 

4 P. Boher, T. Leroux, T. Bignon, D. Glinel, “New multispectral Fourier optics viewing angle instrument for full 

characterization of LCDs and their components”, P-89, SID conf. (2008) 

5 P. Boher, T. Bignon, T. Leroux, “Angle of View Polarization Characterization of Liquid Crystal Displays and Their 

Components”, Journal of Information Display, vol. 8, N°4 (2007) 

6 J. Hirata, Y. Hisatake, M. Ishikawa, “Viewing angle evaluation method for LCDs with gray scale images”, J. of SID, 

¼, 405 (1993) 

7 S.T. Tang, H.S. Kwok, “3x3 matrix for unitary optical systems”, J. Opt. Soc. Am., A, vol. 18, N°9, 2138 (2001) 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Background Information for the LCD Shoot-Out 

Comparison of Top-of-the-Line Flagship Models from Samsung, Sharp and Sony 

and Mid-Line models from LG, Samsung and Sony 

63 

by Raymond Soneira 

Dr. Raymond Soneira is the founder, president and CEO of DisplayMate Technologies 

Corporation. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University, where he spent five 

years as a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study. He has authored more 

than 35 research articles in scientific journals on physics and computer science. 

Backgrounder Introduction: This Report includes background information and 

summarizes the conclusions of the LCD Shoot-Out. The LCD Shoot-Out was jointly 

produced by DisplayMate Technologies and Insight Media. The technical analysis was 

performed by Dr. Raymond Soneira, President of DisplayMate Technologies. 

http:www.displaymate.com, http://www.insightmedia.info 

This report details the benchmark testing that was done on a number of top and middle-of-the line LCD HDTVs. 

These TVs were arranged side-by-side in a shoot-out configuration and compared to each other and to reference 

PDP and CRT monitors. The report summarizes the main shoot-out results and includes many photos, tables, 

graphs and figures to aid in understanding how the tests were done, why they were done and the significance of the 

results. 

While on-axis performance is quite good in these LCD TVs, at off angles the color shifts are noticeable and 

potentially a serious problem. Worse, TVs with native extended color gamuts produced significantly larger color 

errors at off angles. 

Many in the industry will find the off-axis results not unexpected, but the level of color inaccuracy and the 

enhanced effect with wide color gamut displays, was a surprise to us and to everyone that came by to observe the 

test results. Understanding these effects can help system integrators and OEMs select the best LCD for their 

applications, and LCD manufacturers to do a better job with the next generation products. 

The figure below shows a panoramic photograph of the shoot-out with the lights turned on. All of the 

measurements and viewing tests were done in the dark for maximum picture quality and accuracy. 

Panoramic photograph of the shoot-out with the lights on Photograph by Dieter Michel, PROSOUND and Medientechnik 

& Systemintegration Magazines, Germany; http://www.displaymate.com/shootout_panorama_large_4000.jpg 

HDTV displays in the shoot-out: From right to left in the above panoramic photograph: 

1. Sharp – Flagship Top-of-the-Line LC-52D92U; 120 Hz Refresh Rate with Standard Color Gamut 

2. Samsung – Flagship Top-of-the-Line LN-T5281F; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Extended Color Gamut; 

LED backlight is strobed to minimize motion blur 

3. Reference Plasma Display – Panasonic Professional Plasma


4. Sony – Flagship Top-of-the-Line KDL-52XBR4; 120 Hz Refresh Rate with Extended Color Gamut 

5. Reference CRT Display – Sony Professional HD Trinitron Monitor 

6. Reference Plasma Display – Panasonic Professional Plasma 

7. LG – Hospitality Model LG 42LC5DC; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Standard Color Gamut 

8. LG – Mid-Line 42LG50; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Standard Color Gamut 

9. Samsung – Mid-Line LN40A550P3F; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Standard Color Gamut 

10. A Prototype HDTV; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Standard Color Gamut 

11. Sony – Mid-Line KDL-40V3000; 60 Hz Refresh Rate with Extended Color Gamut 

Note: models identified as flagship were the top-of-the-line models as of September 1, 2008. 

Introduction: The units were set up, calibrated, and compared side-side in a shoot-out configuration, 

simultaneously showing identical 1080p HDMI high quality all digital content. All of the units were set up for 

optimum image and picture quality using only standard user menus and user controls. The selections and settings 

were all chosen to have each unit perform as closely as possible to a high quality HDTV studio monitor. In 

particular, all settings that dynamically process the image were disabled, such as dynamic contrast, dynamic 

backlight, dynamic black, dynamic white, and dynamic color. Many of these functions are given proprietary names 

by each manufacturer. 

All of the measurements in this report were made in a completely dark room, so there was no luminance or 

chromaticity contamination from ambient room lighting. This is particularly important for accurate black levels and 

contrast ratios. All of the viewing tests were also done with no ambient light. In order to obtain the highest picture 

quality from any display it is necessary to use the lowest practical level of ambient light. Ambient lighting always 

raises black levels and reduces contrast and color saturation, particularly in dark scenes. It is impossible to deliver 

high picture quality and color and gray scale accuracy in high ambient light. 

Picture quality and viewing angle: The discussion that follows is based on viewing tests, which are documented 

with screen photos, and via spectroradiometer measurements with results presented in the figures and tables below. 

CRT and plasma viewing angle performance: CRT and plasma displays deliver very close to true (full) 180 

degree (±90 degree) viewing angles, the same as traditional CRT monitors. There is very little change in brightness, 

contrast, hue, or color saturation over the entire 180 degree viewing area. 

LCD viewing angle artifacts: All LCDs show large viewing angle artifacts. Even when viewers are seated close 

together side-by-side, each person will see a different picture with noticeably different coloration in both hue and 

saturation, as well as variations in contrast and black level. This effect is due to the fact that for bright LCD subpixels 

the brightness decreases with viewing angle and for dim sub-pixels the brightness increases with viewing 

angle, leading to contrast reversal. Since this occurs independently for each of the red, green, and blue sub-pixels, it 

leads to a rather complex behavior of brightness and color variation with viewing angle. Color mixtures show the 

greatest variations, but displays are engineered so that things balance out for whites and grays. We demonstrated 

that: 

� There are clearly noticeable differences at ±15 degrees and large differences at ±30 degrees. This is 

confirmed in both the viewing tests and spectroradiometer measurements. 

� The sweet spot for seeing the best picture on an LCD is only one person wide, even for these top-of-the 

line LCD HDTVs. 

� Even when viewers are seated close together side-by-side, each person will see a different picture with 

noticeably different coloration on an LCD. 

� Both horizontal and vertical viewing angles matter. Someone sitting on the floor directly in front of a 

monitor will see a degraded picture, as will someone standing up looking downward at the screen. 

Sitting on the floor and off to the side is worst of all. 

64


� While the S-IPS LCD technology in the LG unit does not produce changes in hue with viewing angle, 

there are major increases in black level, which produces a noticeably hazy background and significantly 

reduces both contrast and color saturation, particularly for dim or dark picture content. 

Manufacturer’s published LCD viewing angle specifications: The manufacturers all publish wide (full) 176+ 

degree viewing angle (±88 degrees) specifications for their units, but these have absolutely no bearing on the true 

acceptable viewing angles. This industry specification is based on where the contrast ratio falls to 10, which is 

unacceptably poor performance because these monitors have contrast ratios of about 1,500 when viewed face on. 

Furthermore, the eye is much more sensitive to variations in color than the luminance values used to determine the 

contrast ratio variation. While some pictures with very bright and saturated colors may be considered viewable at 

±45 degrees, more typical pictures that include a wide range of intensities, hues and saturations will appear 

significantly degraded at much smaller viewing angles. 

Extended color gamut effects: LCDs with extended color gamuts (Sony and Samsung units) show additional and 

much stronger viewing angle artifacts than LCDs with a standard HDTV color gamut. (See Figures 1 and 2 below.) 

This is because the standard HDTV primary colors must be generated as color mixtures of the extended gamut 

primary colors, and those color mixtures then vary with viewing angle just like the other colors. As a result a much 

larger fraction of the HDTV color gamut shows a strong variation with angle. The Sharp unit does not have an 

extended color gamut and as a result performed much better with bright saturated colors than both the Sony and 

Samsung units. So, extended color gamuts are just marketing gimmicks, currently useless, and actually 

substantially decrease picture quality for all currently available HD content. 

Change in color with viewing angle data: Figure 1 shows the variation in color with viewing angle for each of 

the tested units. Measurements were taken at 0, 15, 30, and 45 degrees. The eye is significantly more sensitive to 

reds and greens than blues, so we’ve picked a sample color with a mixture of 100% red signal and 50% green signal 

to measure and analyze, which is an orange color that has roughly equal luminance contributions from both red and 

green. The results are based on spectroradiometer measurements and presented in terms of MPCD (Minimum 

Perceptible Color Difference) or JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference), where 1 MPCD = 1 JNCD = Δ(u’v’) = 

0.0040 on the 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Scale. 

Figure 2 repeats the measurements and analysis for the pure saturated red and green HDTV primary colors in order 

to examine the effect of extended color gamuts. Results indicate: 

� All of the LCDs produce a noticeable color shift at 15 degrees, whereas the plasma display is visually 

indistinguishable from face on viewing to well beyond 45 degrees. 

� The LCDs with extended color gamuts show roughly the same color shifts for the primaries as in 

Figure 1, whereas the Panasonic plasma and the Sharp LCD, which does not have an extended color 

gamut, show very small color shifts for the primary colors 

Contrast ratios and black levels: While plasma displays deliver contrast ratios of 3,500 or more and produce very 

dark black levels, the best LCD panels can still only deliver (true native) contrast ratios of 1,000 to 2,000, which 

results in much higher black levels and a rather noticeable background glow under reduced ambient lighting. This 

can wash out the picture and is especially noticeable for images that include dim or darker content. But it gets much 

worse with viewing angle. 

Contrast ratio and black level data: Tables 1 and 2 show the variation in contrast ratio and black level for each 

of the tested units at face-on viewing (0 degrees) and at a 45 degree viewing angle, which is a typical viewing angle 

for both HDTV and signage monitors. 

65


66 

Source: DisplayMate Technologies and Insight Media 

Variation with viewing angle: Following the trend of the previous section, the contrast ratios and black levels for 

LCDs change dramatically with viewing angle, while they remain virtually constant for plasmas. In fact, at 45 

degrees the best of the LCDs has a contrast ratio of 467. The black levels in Table 2 are all for the same peak white 

luminance of 200 cd/m 2 . 

Table 1: Contrast ratio with viewing angle Table 1: Contrast ratio with viewing angle 


Dynamic backlights and dynamic contrast ratios: A new trick for LCDs is to darken the backlight when the 

video signal is black or near black. Sony and Samsung use this technique. The backlight goes into a standby mode 

lowering the minimum black level by a factor of 10 or more, thereby increasing the contrast ratio by this same 10x 

amount. Sometimes it’s called dynamic contrast. This does not change the black level or the contrast for any picture 

that is not all black, so it is meaningless for picture quality. The primary reason for including this feature is that the 

published contrast ratio goes from 1,500 up to 15,000 to 35,000 or more. 

LED local dimming backlights: LCD HDTVs with multi-zone LED dynamic backlights (such as the Samsung 

unit) can produce very dark black levels. When a portion of the image is relatively dark, the LEDs in that local area 

of the screen are dimmed, which lowers the black level in that area only. However, objectionable halos appear 

around bright objects that are embedded in dim or dark surroundings. Also, very dim or dark content is sometimes 

lost entirely and appears as pure black. The dynamic contrast ratio for this technique is close to infinite when the 

LEDs are all shut down, but Samsung “conservatively” quotes 500,000:1, which is impressive but the halo artifacts 

are offensive.


Motion smear: Motion smear is a well known issue with LCDs. It arises because the liquid crystal is unable to 

change its orientation rapidly enough when the picture changes. While all of the LCDs clearly show smear with 

moving DisplayMate test patterns and video containing computer generated scrolling text (which is functionally 

similar to a moving test pattern), it is very hard (even for a trained observer) to spot smear in real video content that 

isn't actually in the source. When people see motion blur, it is generally in the source content and not the display, 

but they blame the display... 

We’ve done extensive testing in side-by-side simultaneous comparisons on all 11 units using an HD-TiVo with 

many hours of recorded sports with lots of fast motion and camera panning. We have a reference Sony CRT 

monitor (which has zero motion smear and artifacts) and a reference plasma (which has zero smear and barely 

detectable digital motion artifacts) as control displays. If we think we see smear on one unit we press the 8-second 

Tivo backup button and watch the sequence over and over again on all of the units (LCD, CRT, Plasma) until we 

understand what is happening. There is smear but you have to study the displays and carefully search for it before 

you find an occasional real event in real video. Note that scrolling text almost always involves sharp transitions 

between high to low or low to high intensities. That is where the response times are the fastest and also where the 

signal processing that reduces blur, including higher refresh rates, is the most effective. On the other hand, most 

video content involves complex images with softer gray-to-gray transitions, where the response times are inherently 

longer, where the signal processing is not as effective, and where human vision simply doesn't notice the blurring 

elements in the overall picture. We have evaluated 60Hz CCFL units (Sony, Samsung, LG), 120Hz CCFL 

interpolating units (Sony and Sharp), and 60Hz strobed LED units (Samsung) and it is very rare to see motion 

smear on any of the LCDs that doesn’t smear on the CRT and plasma. This indicates the smear is in the source 

content. More importantly, there is very little visual difference between the 60Hz, 120Hz, and LED strobed units. 

Test patterns show differences in blur and artifacts, but with real video, even with multiple instant replays to study 

differences in a large selection of fast moving content, there is very little noticeable difference between the units. 

LCD response time: LCD motion smear is generally evaluated with a response time specification. Unfortunately, 

just like the viewing angle specification, it is not particularly relevant because it measures the time it takes for a 

pixel to go from black to white and then back to black again. However, most picture transitions involve much 

smaller and more subtle gray-to-gray transitions, which take a lot longer to complete. As a result the LCD display 

with the fastest response time specification frequently does not have the smallest visual smear. As a result, it 

appears that the 120Hz units, the upcoming 240Hz units, and the pulsed LED LCDs are primarily for marketing 

rather than picture quality improvements, in effect marketing gimmicks. Consumers will be drawn to the advanced 

panels because they appear to have better specs, even though the actual observable differences from the 60Hz units 

are small or undetectable for most picture content. 

Screen photos from the viewing tests: These screen photographs demonstrate the change in color with viewing 

angle for each of the test units. When viewed in person the differences are much more pronounced than they appear 

here in these printed thumbnails. 

Panasonic - PDP Sony – LCD 

Red door –on-axis color is good, but shifts to orange in off-angle Sony LCD Photograph Don Cochran 

67


Panasonic -- PDP Sharp – LCD 

Girl with Painted Face – notice the change in the skin color in the off-axis LCD Photographer Steve Kelly 

Panasonic – PDP Samsung – LCD 

Spanish Oranges – notice the oranges change color and look like pinkish grapefruits in the off-axis LCD 

Photographer Sergio Parisi 

Panasonic - PDP 

LG – LCD 

New York City at Night – the LG LCD produces a noticeably hazy background, especially in off-angle viewing 

Photographer Paulo Barcellos Jr. 

68


Photometry and colorimetry measurements: This section presents photometry and colorimetry measurements for 

the LCD models from LG, Samsung, Sharp and Sony. Three of the units are the current top-of-the-line flagship 

models. All of the units were set up for optimum image and picture quality using only standard user menus and user 

controls. The selections and settings were all chosen to have each unit perform as closely as possible to a high 

quality HDTV studio monitor. In particular, all settings that dynamically process the image were disabled, such as 

dynamic contrast, dynamic backlight, dynamic black, dynamic white, and dynamic color. Many of these functions 

are given proprietary names by each manufacturer. 

The units were all fed digital HDMI signals. DisplayMate test patterns were used to accurately set the black level to 

16, the peak white clipping level to 255, and the white point chromaticity as close to D65 as possible. The 

measurements were made after a minimum one-hour warm up period with a Konica Minolta CS-200 

Spectroradiometer set for a 1-degree acceptance angle. 

Luminance and contrast ratio: Table 3 summarizes the principal photometry measurements. The “Highest 

Calibrated Luminance” is the maximum luminance that the unit can produce while calibrated as described above. 

For most LCDs, this was obtained from the highest backlight setting available. For side-by-side comparisons the 

backlight for each of the LCD units was adjusted to provide comparable luminance, about 200 cd/m 2 for the largescreen 

flagship units, and somewhat higher at about 250 cd/m 2 for the mid-line units. 

Highest 

Calibrated 

Luminance 

Peak 

Luminance 

Setting Used 

69 

Contrast 

Ratio 

Correlated 

Color 

Temperature 

Gamma 

Samsung LCD 427 cd/m 2 189 cd/m 2 1,877 7035 K 2.25 

Sharp LCD 307 cd/m 2 192 cd/m 2 1,330 7334 K 2.23 - varies 

Sony LCD 362 cd/m 2 202 cd/m 2 1,344 6495 K 2.17 

LG LCD 384 cd/m 2 251 cd/m 2 511 6463 K 2.13 - varies 

Table 3: Photometry and colorimetry measurements summary 


Transfer function and gamma: Figures 3 to 7 plot the transfer functions for various combinations of the HDTVs. 

The plots extend down to 10% of peak signal intensity, which corresponds to 0.0063 of the peak luminance for the 

standard gamma of 2.20. 

Gamma is a parameter that specifies how the luminance changes with signal input level. Originally based on the 

performance of the CRT, the luminance “L” is presumed to vary with signal “S” as a pure mathematical power-law 

in the form L2/L1 = (S2/S1) Gamma . In particular, when plotted on a log-log graph the slope of any portion of the 

transfer function is its local gamma. If the transfer function is a perfectly straight line on a log-log graph, then 

gamma is a constant. If it isn’t a straight line then gamma varies with signal level. 

The logarithmic slope of the transfer function is the gamma for the display, which is listed for each unit in Table 3. 

When the transfer function is not a perfectly straight line on a log-log graph, then the gamma varies over the signal 

intensity range. The gamma values listed in Table 3 were measured over the signal intensity range from 90 to 40% 

of maximum. The ideal standard gamma value for HDTVs is 2.20. 

Note that if the transfer function is not a perfectly straight line, then the effective gamma changes with anything 

that affects the operating points for the signal intensity range, such as the setting of the contrast/picture control or 

any other function that affects video gain or signal levels.


Variations in the transfer function affect not only the picture’s gray scale and contrast, but also the resulting hue 

and saturation for all color mixtures, because the individual R,G,B intensities simultaneously dip into different 

portions of the transfer function. 

The setting of the black level has an increasingly strong affect on the slope of the transfer function at lower signal 

intensities. Setting the black level too low reduces the local gamma and increasing it increases the local gamma. 

Many HDTVs come set from the factory with a high black level. This also eliminates some dark and shadow detail 

in the picture. For digital signals the standard black level is 16, but many HDTVs come set at levels as high as 40. 

Figure 3 (on the left): Transfer functions for the Samsung unit with LED local dimming on and off; Figure 4 (on the right): 

transfer functions for the Samsung unit for gamma parameter settings 

70 


Figure 3 compares the transfer functions for the Samsung unit with LED local dimming on and off. The transfer 

functions are very similar down to about 10% signal. At 5% signal (not shown in this figure) the luminance for the 

local dimming on is 0.100 cd/m 2 and for local dimming off is 0.195 cd/m 2 . The differences between the two 

transfer functions are due to differences in signal processing between the two modes. The differences are not due to 

measurement errors. When local dimming is on, the intensity of the LEDs and the internal video gain, which affects 

the panel transmission, both change with the signal intensity and APL change in opposite directions with the signal 

intensity and APL in order to deliver the net transfer function.


The Samsung unit has a user menu option labeled “Gamma” with seven different settings labeled –3 to +3 

with a factory default of 0. Figure 4 shows how the transfer function varies with this setting. The Gamma +1 

setting was used for all of the other figures and tables in this report as well as in the viewing tests because it 

is the closest fit to the standard gamma of 2.20. 

Figure 5: Transfer functions for various LG picture modes; Figure 6: Comparison of the transfer functions on a 

common percent of peak luminance scale 


In Figure 5 the transfer functions for the predefined daylight, normal, and night time picture modes for the LG 

hospitality unit are the out-of-box unmodified factory settings provided by LG. Given that this model has a very 

high peak luminance and a very low contrast ratio, these transfer functions are the opposite of what is needed to 

compensate for the unit’s short-comings and actually further decrease its contrast, picture quality and accuracy. 

The transfer functions do steepen at low signal intensities due to the very high digital black levels of 24 to 32 

chosen by LG instead of the standard digital level of 16. 

For the user mode we properly set the black level, clipping and white point chromaticity and obtained much better 

results. The user mode is the mode used for all of the other figures and tables in this report and also for the viewing 

tests. Note that the user mode luminance has been shifted downward in 9 by 40 percent to prevent crowding. 

The gammas for the daylight, normal, night time, and user picture modes are respectively: 1.68, 1.65, 1.52, and 

2.13. The transfer functions for the four large-screen units are plotted on a common 100% of peak luminance scale 

in order to compare their relative behavior. A pure power-law gamma with a slope of 2.20 is also plotted in black. 

71


There is substantial crowding above 40% of maximum signal intensity, but note that on this 1000:1 logarithmic 

scale the diameter of the round data points corresponds to a 6% shift in luminance. 

Figure 7: Magnified view of Figure 6 near peak luminance and signal intensity 

This figure enlarges the portion of Figure 6 at high peak luminance and signal intensity in order to show the 

significant differences between the transfer functions on a magnified scale so they are easier to see. Note the 

significant convex curvature for the Samsung unit, which begins with a lower gamma of 2.00 between 100 and 80% 

signal, and then steepens significantly to 2.38 between 80 and 60% signal. The Sharp unit has the opposite concave 

curvature with its gamma shifting downward from 2.33 for 100 to 75% signal to 2.16 between 75 to 50% signal. 

Referring back to Figure 6 the Sharp transfer function then steepens significantly between 40 and 25% signal with 

a very high gamma of 3.25 before returning back to significant concave below 20% signal. These variations in the 

transfer functions affect not only the picture’s gray scale and contrast, but also the resulting hue and saturation for 

all color mixtures, because the individual R,G,B intensities simultaneously dip into different portions of the transfer 

function. 

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Primary chromaticities: Figures 8 to 11 plot the 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Diagrams for the red, green and 

blue primary colors for each unit. They are compared to the HDTV ITU-R BT.709 standard primary colors, which 

are commonly referred to as Rec.709. 

Figure 8 (left image): 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Diagram for the Sony KDL-52XBR4 unit; Figure 9 (right 

image): 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Diagram for the Samsung LN-T5281F unit 

73 


The chromaticity diagram for Sony XBR unit is essentially a perfect match to the HDTV Rec.709 standard. The 

chromaticity diagram for the Samsung unit is excellent in green and blue but is significantly red deficient. This was 

obvious in the viewing tests as well. 

Figure 10 (left image): 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Diagram for the Sharp LC-52D92U unit; Figure 11 (right 

image): 1976 CIE Uniform Chromaticity Diagram for the LG 42LC5DC hospitality unit 

Source: DisplayMate Technologies and Insight Media


The chromaticity diagram for the Sharp unit indicates that the red, green and blue primaries are more saturated than 

the HDTV Rec.709 standard. These saturation values can be reduced and brought into better agreement with the 

Rec.709 standard by using the user color saturation control. However, when this is attempted the picture quality and 

accuracy degrades substantially due to the unit’s internal automatic dynamic signal processing, which cannot be 

disabled through the user menus and controls. The control settings used for the Sharp unit for this figure and all 

other figures, tables and viewing tests were carefully chosen to produce the best and most accurate picture quality 

match with all of the other HDTV units being tested. 

The chromaticity diagram for the LG hospitality unit indicates that it is significantly deficient in red, which was 

obvious in the viewing tests. 

Additional technical background information is available in the Display Technology Shoot-Out article series for 

CRT, LCD, plasma, DLP and LCoS technologies. See http://www.displaymate.com/shootout.html 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Display metrology news 

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compiled by Phillip Hill 

Phabrix launches portable audio/video test signal generator 

The new PHABRIX SxA is the world's first 3G-SDI, HD-SDI and SD-SDI portable video test signal generator, 

monitor and analyzer plus AES audio testing and monitoring. The SxA's intuitive interface and logical workflow 

allows the professional engineer to quickly select from generator, analyzer and monitor toolsets. Feedback is 

smooth and interactive clearly displaying a full range of test patterns, both static and animated on its 4.3-inch 16:9 

color TFT screen. The SxA offers Auto Bi-level, Tri-level and SDI genlock with cross lock capability, which is 

important for a range of broadcast applications. The combined 

audio features of the SxA include support for 16 channels of 

embedded audio to complete the suite of functions. The AES 

functionality of the PHABRIX SxA allows the user to embed a 

single external 48kHz synchronous AES stream into the 

generated video stream. Audio de-embed using the SxA’s 

analyzer function allows the user to receive a video stream with 

embedded audio on one of the AES pairs, stripping the audio to 

be exported onto the AES output - a useful function for those 

working with a Dolby DM100. http://www.phabrix.com 

Fuji TV goes live with Tektronix Cerify 

Tektronix announced that Fuji Television Network has adopted the Tektronix Cerify file-based content verification 

system, to support the company's move to a file-based workflow environment. One of the world’s earliest multiunit 

deployments of Cerify is now fully in-service. The deployment is comprised of 10 units, which went live on 

December 1, 2008. Each unit is able to verify four files simultaneously enabling Fuji TV to maintain its 

commitment to providing its viewers with the highest quality video possible. As part of the company’s master 

control room rebuild, Fuji TV took the opportunity to upgrade to a file-based workflow including a content 

verification system. Tektronix Cerify is the only automated product that fully tests all aspects of a digital audio and 

video file to ensure that it meets system parameters, formats, resolutions, bit-rates, video/audio quality levels, 

metadata and compliance/correctness to a wide range of video and audio standards. http://www.tektronix.com 

Labsphere and Otsuka launch HalfMoon flux measurement system 

Labsphere and Otsuka Electronics of Japan have collaborated to develop a new light measurement system. 

Designed for manufacturers of LEDs, light fixtures and displays, the HalfMoon “total forward spectral flux 

measurement systems” deliver accurate and efficient light source measurements. Available in standard 12, 20 and 

40-inch diameters, the HalfMoon system provides an alternative to integrating sphere photometer and 

goniophotometer methods of measuring total forward spectral flux of forward emitting lamps, luminaires and 

displays. The compact design creates a virtual integrating sphere by pairing an 

interior mirrored surface cap with half an orb coated with Labsphere’s highly 

reflective diffuse Spectraflect material. The resulting system saves space, minimizes 

absorption errors and facilitates quick sample changes. While the HalfMoon has a 

small footprint, it shares the accuracy of an integrating sphere, but with twice the 

efficiency of an integrating sphere of the same diameter. The center sample 

mounting keeps base electronics and thermal management peripherals out of the 

detection area to reduce absorption errors. The easily accessible mount also reduces 

the time to set up and change samples for measurement. The system is configured 

for base up to horizontal measurement geometry, allowing products to be tested in 

the same orientation as the fixtures they are intended for. http://www.labsphere.com


ORA releases software for complex optical systems 

CODE V, the premier optical design software from Optical Research Associates (ORA), now delivers faster 

optimization of complex optical systems by taking full advantage of parallel processing on multi-core architecture 

CPUs. In particular, both of its local and global optimization routines in the release of CODE V 10.0 are now 

enabled for multi-core operation. Optical designers can solve the most complex lens design problems in a fraction 

of the time needed using a single processor. CODE V 10.0 also offers improved accuracy and ease of use for 

diffraction analysis. Its new “Beam Synthesis Propagation” (BSP) feature uses a beamlet-based, diffraction 

propagation algorithm to include diffraction effects through the entire optical system design. BSP delivers greater 

accuracy than using exit-pupil diffraction computations, or beam propagation based on FFT or angular spectrum 

methods. Systems with astigmatic beams, polarized input optical fields, low f-numbers (e.g., microlithography 

lenses), or non-contiguous pupils are accurately analyzed with 

BSP. The feature is also useful for near-field diffraction 

analysis and for optical systems where the amplitude or phase 

is modified near the focus, such as with a grating, phase plate, 

or spatial filter. Determining appropriate inputs for any beam 

propagation algorithm can be challenging, but BSP solves this 

by including a unique pre-analysis feature, which 

automatically provides appropriate input recommendations for 

a specific lens system, including input field sampling, 

resampling and output grid characteristics. Using pre-analysis, 

BSP will also estimate an execution run time for a lens 

system. http://www.opticalres.com 

Tektronix picture quality analyzer assists SureWest Communications in evaluation of H.264 encoders 

Tektronix announced that SureWest Communications, which provides advanced digital TV, high-speed Internet 

and telephone services to the greater Sacramento and Kansas City regions, used the Tektronix PQA500 picture 

quality analysis tool in its Sacramento market to provide dependable evaluation and qualification of H.264 video 

encoders intended for future deployment in their digital television service. As more broadcasters move to high 

definition (HD) output, it is imperative that their new and existing equipment is capable of supporting the highest 

quality images. Broadcasters need to accurately and comprehensively assess the picture quality of encoding and 

decoding equipment so they can have confidence that it meets or exceeds their requirements. By using an algorithm 

that accurately models the human vision system, the Tektronix PQA500 provides a suite of repeatable, objective 

quality measurements that closely correspond with subjective human visual assessment. These measurements 

provide valuable information to engineers working to optimize video compression and recovery, and maintain a 

level of common carrier and distribution transmission service to clients and viewers. http://www.tektronix.com 

Ocean Thin Films releases ColorBug wireless color and luminance testing device 

Ocean Thin Films, a division of Ocean Optics, introduced the 

ColorBug handheld wireless device for lighting designers, 

technicians, videographers and digital photographers. 

ColorBug measures CIE color values and luminance in 

theatrical, studio and architectural applications. Its software 

allows technicians to wirelessly share data with their iPhone 

or iPod touch, making color analysis simple and convenient. 

The ColorBug can be mounted on walls and other fixtures to 

assist in taking measurements remotely or hands-free. Smaller 

than a typical mobile phone, ColorBug is completely portable 

and features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and mini USB 

connectivity. http://www.seachangeronline.com/colorbug.html 

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DisplayMate introduces new motion blur measurement system 

DisplayMate introduced Multimedia with Motion Bitmaps Edition that moves test patterns and test photos to 

measure, and evaluates motion blur in HDTVs and computer monitors. With it, one can visually measure the true 

response time in milliseconds for different gray-to-gray transitions on-screen with just the eyes alone. You simply 

interactively vary the speed of a calibrated test pattern until the blur matches a specific width on the test pattern and 

DisplayMate tells you immediately on-screen what the response time is. You’ll see that the blur and response time 

vary significantly for different gray-to-gray transitions and that the response times for most transitions are 

considerably longer than the published specifications. Besides test patterns there are also 40 photographs that are 

moved on-screen so you can visually evaluate how motion blur affects real images. In addition to motion blur, 

DisplayMate will also show all sorts of bizarre motion artifacts that affect all display technologies except CRTs. 

These arise from the display driver and signal processing electronics, and frequently from algorithms designed to 

reduce motion blur, which introduce their own artifacts. Since many displays have one or more user options for 

reducing motion blur you can visually compare them. DisplayMate Multimedia with Motion Bitmaps Edition runs 

on any 32-bit version of Windows XP or Vista. It runs automatically and instantly from the supplied USB drive - no 

installation necessary. It works with any type of analog or digital connection supported by a PC and HDTV or 

computer monitor (but HDMI and DVI are best). http://www.displaymate.com/hdtv_cal.html 

Green electronics round-up 

compiled by Keith Baker with additional material by Phillip Hill 

Keith J. Baker is project researcher at the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology 

(SISTech, www.sistech.co.uk) a not-for-profit sustainable development consultancy based 

at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is a 2003 graduate of the 

DisplayMasters program and has a PhD in Domestic Energy Consumption from the 

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Leicester, 

England, with a background in environmental science and science policy. He has a keen 

interest in the energy efficiency and environmental impact of new technology, particularly 

relating to displays. http://www.linkedin.com/in/keithjbaker 

Happy New Year to all our readers and get ready, 2009 looks set to be a big one. To kick 

things off we look forward to what the EU has in store this year – and there’s a lot of it 

coming our way. We finally have some good news from the One Laptop Per Child 

project, which this column has been following and supporting since it began; and we couldn’t let some minor news 

about a certain election go by without a comment. Congrats to our US readers! 

The EU Directives – What’s in store for 2009? 

For the displays and electronics industries 2008 was a relatively quiet year by EU policy-making standards. 

REACH continued to make slow but rumbling progress, the WEEE and RoHS reviews got underway, and EuP took 

its first tentative but promising steps with the release of the first batch of eco-design guidelines and the 

announcement of the stepped phasing out of conventional light bulbs. So now that you’ve had a chance to take a 

time out, get ready for the next round in 2009. 

Perhaps most importantly, the results of the RoHS review will soon be upon us. As covered here previously it is 

safe to assume that many of the current exemptions will go, although a few new ones may be added, new product 

categories will join those already covered, and the list of restricted substances will grow. Early indications are that 

the latter will cause the biggest problems, with Denmark leading the call for more and tougher restrictions along 

with Norway, which is a non-EU state but is allowed input to the process and is set to announce its own version 

around the same time. The revision will also bring the restriction and monitoring elements of RoHS and REACH in 

line with each other, meaning less paperwork for manufacturers than previously feared. One substance that will 

77


definitely not be restricted or monitored is the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol (TBBPA), which a recent study 

conducted under the REACH remit found to be safe to humans and the environment. However, four substances 

have been identified for priority assessment and possible ban: hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), bis (2ethylhexyl) 

phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). Further afield, the 

much-delayed China-RoHS lists of products and substances are finally expected in the next couple of months. For 

more information regarding the proposed EU RoHS revisions, visit http://www.ipc.org/rohsrevisions. 

The WEEE and Batteries Directives may cause problems for those nations, particularly the UK, that have been slow 

to wake up to their implications; but it will be local authorities rather than the industry who will be suffering 

headaches this time round. On a more positive note, the missed opportunity of fully incorporating the Basel 

Convention into the WEEE Directive will be rectified under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (EWSR). Another 

addition to WEEE that could arrive this year are new measures to make recycling safer and easier for consumers 

and businesses, but this may depend on how much progress is made with the other directives. 

The saga that has been the development and implementation of REACH looks set to continue, but at the moment 

the major arguments are centering around chemicals used in agriculture. So whilst it is never a good idea to forget 

about the directive that has been dubbed “RoHS on steroids” it is more likely to be RoHS itself that will make the 

headlines. If there are problems, and if REACH’s history is anything to go by then there will be, they will almost 

certainly revolve around the “substances of very high concern” (SVHCs) listed under the Directive, of which there 

are 15 in use by the electronics industry with another seven likely to be added this year. Manufacturers will now be 

required to document and track any of these that constitute more than 0.1% by weight of a device, and as with 

RoHS there are no allowances for components sourced outside the EU for which this data is not available. 

Interestingly it may ultimately be consumers rather than policy-makers who will influence attitudes towards the 

directive, as consumer requests for information about SVHCs must be dealt with within 45 days. A few difficult 

questions could cause serious problems for careless manufacturers, and one is left wondering how a more policysavvy 

rival could exploit this to lever a competitive advantage. 

Finally there’s the Energy-using Products Directive. This is definitely the one to watch. The eco-design guidelines 

released last year were merely the appetizer before this year’s main course. EuP’s Implementing Measures for ecodesign 

will arrive this year to give the guidelines teeth. Whilst very little reliable information has so far come out of 

Brussels the expectation is that tungsten bulbs won’t be the only technology that EuP will phase out. The most 

inefficient power supply units are certain to be on this list, in line with the EU’s intention to revise its energy 

labelling scheme, and non-mercury-free CFLs may not be too far behind. Even this revision is causing controversy 

as it looks set to result in a move away from the simple “A-G” rating to one consisting of numbers and letters. 

Earlier proposals looked at keeping the existing system but losing the lowest (G) category by banning all products 

in it from the market. 

This column has predicted the rise of EuP for some time now; this year we will finally learn how accurate those 

predictions were and this time next year it will be interesting to reflect the relative coverage generated by EuP 

compared to the more high profile revision of RoHS – but then where EU policy-making is concerned it is always 

safe to assume there will be a surprise or two along the way. 

One Laptop Per Child fights on 

Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child initiative has probably made more headlines for the setbacks it has 

suffered than the successes it has achieved, but OLPC has consolidated its operations and is now emerging healthier 

than ever. Negroponte, who is the founder and chairman emeritus of MIT’s Media Lab, founded OLPC with the 

aim of providing every child in the developing world with access to education through the provision of low cost 

laptops, with a target price of $100 a unit. The development of OLPC’s XO-1 machine hit a major obstacle back in 

2007 when chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen refused to start a new company called Pixel Qi to support 

development of XO spin-offs separately. Then financial stresses led to further problems - the resignation of OLPC’s 

78


software guru Walter Bender, the laying off of half of OLPCs staff, and the remaining staff accepting huge pay 

cuts. Furthermore, with the prices of mass-market laptops falling, XO-1 is now beginning to face competition from 

the commercial manufacturers it was set up to undercut, as well as from a similar initiative by Intel that was 

arguably a cynical move in the wake of the publicity afforded to OLPC. 

Competition for the XO-1 is also emerging in India, one of the nations OLPC’s efforts were intended to help. The 

Indian government having recently announced that a competitor machine developed by the Indian Institute of 

Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras will be a cornerstone of delivering its 

National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technologies. However just before this 

column went to press the first specs came out, and the details are what some might consider a nice bit of karma (see 

next article). 

Yet despite all of this, and to his great credit, Negroponte is fighting on. As he recently commented, “OLPC should 

have trimmed sooner. We have since grown stronger. Almost all the cutbacks were in engineering staff related to 

the in-house support of Sugar, which is far better done in the community. In fact, paying people to do it from within 

created a degree of control that was unsuitable for real open-source development. There are 600,000 laptops in the 

field, 250,000 in transit and another 380,000 about to be made, so the total adds up to about 1.2m. Thirty-one 

countries in 19 languages are the exact statistics. It’s less than I anticipated, but still gratifying.” 

This modesty in the face of adversity almost misses the fact that if the XO-1s remaining to be made arrive in the 

field then OLPC will have surpassed many of the gloomy predictions made in the media, and set a precedent for 

future IT philanthropists to follow. Yet perhaps the saddest part of the OLPC 

story is that those who have followed Negroponte’s lead so far have done so as 

competitors who have benefited from the lessons he and his organization have 

had to learn the hard way. Intel has used them to gain positive PR for its 

business and the Indian government’s move smacks of a mix of political spin 

and protectionism, but it is hard to imagine any of these motives being in 

Negroponte’s mind when he founded OLPC. Those of us who have followed 

and supported him from the start can only hope that OLPC fights on and that 

future generations of electronic engineers will hold him in the high regard he so 

richly deserves. 

As for the future, a fitter and leaner OLPC is gearing up to deliver a second gen machine and repeat the 1 million 

laptop target with digital books, but the final words are best left to Negroponte: “The fact that there are 500,000 

children around the world who have laptops is testament to their [OLPC’s staff’s] extraordinary work and is already 

a key part of OLPC’s legacy. The future brings with it some uncertainty, some difficulty, but also the excitement 

that comes with the rededication to a cause, and a new path that will allow us to realize the moral purpose of OLPC. 

I hope that each one of you will remain supportive of OLPC, and its mission of opening up a universe of knowledge 

to the world’s poorest children living in the most remote parts of the Earth.” http://www.laptop.org 

Vodafone Ireland announces ambitious emissions reduction plans 

Despite the current economic crisis, Vodafone Ireland is aiming to invest in reducing its CO2 emissions by 30% 

over the next two years by engaging employees with new initiatives on energy, transport and waste. The company 

already has a track record of success in reducing its carbon footprint – in 2007 it reported a reduction in energy 

consumption equal to 581 tons of CO2, cutting a massive €100,000 off its energy costs, and achieved a further 8% 

reduction last year. Boss Charles Butterworth said, “We have the ability to bring about positive change and 

encourage others to become 'greener'. Despite challenging economic times... a robust environmental strategy will 

provide strong benefits for all of our stakeholders and, more importantly, will allow us to play our part in 

combating the challenge that climate change presents.” http://www.vodafone.ie 

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Indian OLPC “rival” is a farce 

It was supposed to be a laptop computer. It was supposed to cost $10. It was supposed to come with 1GB memory 

and wireless connectivity. And it has been designed to rival OLPC’s XO-1. At the time of writing only the last 

statement could be confirmed as true and the first two have been confirmed as false, even though the backers are 

still making the “laptop” claim. This is the sorry tale of India’s “$10 laptop”. Billed as India’s home-grown XO-1, 

the final result of the efforts of the brightest minds from two top Indian universities has been dubbed “a damp 

squib” by the Times of India, a “hoax” by Indian technology journalist Randeep Ramesh and, in what might 

actually be an unbiased piece of journalism, as a “nearly useless brick” by Fox News. Although the full specs are 

still not available, those released so far suggest that this 10x5-inch device is little more than a pen drive the size of a 

modem. Despite this, the “nearly useless brick” is to be rolled out to thousands of Indian schools, colleges and 

universities to develop e-learning and improve literacy rates. Electronic classrooms are being set up and free access 

to online textbooks has been secured, as are improvements to Internet access (which isn’t free but is being 

subsidized). In a month that has finally brought some good news for the beleaguered OLPC project it is hard not to 

respond to this news with a wry smile, but ultimately it is the Indian people whose tax dollars have been wasted 

who will pay the price - whatever that price turns out to be. 

Will Obama sign up to Basel? 

Far be it from this column to ignore the political event of the year, so congratulations to the USA for electing the 

president that the rest of the world deserved. But does this have any implications for the USA’s deplorable record 

on e-waste? The good news is yes. Whilst still a senator, in 2008 Obama co-sponsored a bill banning the export of 

mercury, so he clearly knows a thing or two about toxic substances, and the signs are that he will act to close two 

gaping holes in US waste policy. One will be federal-level WEEE legislation, a task that grew more complicated in 

the dying years of the Bush administration as many states developed their own bills, resulting in a patchwork of 

different legislation that will require significant effort to mesh together. It currently appears that the US may sign 

Basel Convention in Obama’s first year in office. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention, which 

has largely failed to achieve its goals – in no small part due to the lack of a US Presidential signature and a lack of 

commitment from those nations that did sign up. Arguably this is a symbolic gesture that will have little impact 

outside the US and those nations that have been on the receiving end of its e-waste exports, although the impacts on 

both will be significant, but symbolic gestures made in symbolic years can sometimes have far-reaching effects. 

Washington State introduces e-waste fee 

Move over California. Washington has become the first state to require electronics manufacturers pay for recycling 

of TVs, computers and other e-waste. The new legislation, which is similar to that in the WEEE Directive, preempts 

the rumored federal-level legislation but it remains to be seen how many other states will continue to go it 

alone. 

Oregon set to ban disposal of all computers, monitors and TVs 

Oregon E-Cycles, established by Oregon’s Electronics Recycling Law (ORS 459A.300-.365), is a new statewide 

program that requires electronics manufacturers to provide responsible recycling for computers, monitors and TVs. 

Product stewardship directs everyone involved in the life cycle of a product to take shared responsibility for the 

impacts to our health and environment that result from the production, use, and end-of-life management of the 

product. Oregon E-Cycles provides free recycling of computers, monitors and TVs to anyone bringing seven or 

fewer items to a participating collection site at one time. However, collection sites may accept more than seven 

items from households, small businesses and small non-profits with 10 or fewer employees. Effective January 1, 

2010, all computers, monitors and TVs will be banned from disposal in Oregon. Manufacturers must label their 

computers, monitors and TVs with a visible, permanently affixed brand, and register those brands with DEQ. All 

manufacturers are required to pay a registration fee, which covers DEQ’s administrative costs to implement Oregon 

E-Cycles. Manufacturers choose to either pay a recycling fee to participate in the DEQ-administered State 

Contractor Program or, if they meet certain requirements, to implement and pay for their own statewide program. 

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/ecycle/moreabout.htm 

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Flat-screen TVs to face energy-efficiency rules in California 

Starting in 2011, state regulators want retailers to sell only the most energy-efficient models of power hungry LCD 

and plasma sets. The industry opposes the new rules and warns of higher prices. The LA Times reports that state 

regulators are getting ready to curb the growing power gluttony of TV sets by drafting the nation's first rules 

requiring retailers to sell only the most energy-efficient models, starting in 2011. The consumer electronics industry 

opposes the regulations, expected to pass in mid-2009, and claims that they could remove some TVs from store 

shelves and slightly boost sticker prices. But the California Energy Commission is looking for ways to relieve the 

strain on the power grid. Officials say the standards, once fully in place, would reduce the state’s annual energy 

needs by an amount equivalent to the power consumed by 86,400 homes. 

Lenovo generates higher standards in energy efficiency for mobile workstations 

Lenovo announced that the ThinkPad W700 and W700ds mobile workstations meet or exceed criteria for the US 

Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star 5.0 program for computers, which takes effect in July. This 

brings Lenovo’s portfolio of Energy Star 5.0 offerings to more than 25 PC products, including laptops, desktops, 

workstations and monitors. Mobile workstations are designed to handle the most data and graphics-intensive tasks 

from users in fields such as digital content creation, digital photography and oil and gas. The ThinkPad W700 and 

W700ds mobile workstations are the peak of Lenovo’s mobile performance. They come with choices of Intel 

mobile quad core processors, NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics, up to two hard drives, 8 GB of high speed DDR3 

memory as well as an optional Blu-Ray DVD burner. They can also be configured with a high brightness 

1920x1200 LED-backlit display and a host of connectivity options including WiMax, Bluetooth and WiFi. To keep 

the mobile workstations running coolly and efficiently, Lenovo designed them with a dual thermal solution with 

one fan to cool the CPU and the other to cool the GPU. The ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation also brings users 

new levels of innovation with an optional built-in digitizer and color calibrator, and the ThinkPad W700ds mobile 

workstation goes even further with an optional second display for extra screen real estate. Lenovo will continue to 

introduce products that meet or exceed Energy Star 5.0 criteria in 2009. http://www.lenovo.com/environment 

Additionally, Lenovo has more than 58 products that are rated EPEAT Gold for their environmental attributes, 

including energy efficiency, materials use and recycling options. 

Purdue’s Hestia Project dynamically depicts carbon emissions 

Purdue University Professor Kevin Gurney and his colleagues at the Hestia Project have posted a terrific video 

animating carbon dioxide emissions in the US. His work shows how transportation, manufacturing and other inputs 

affect CO2 levels. They’re working on a global map 

as well as live maps for real time display of carbon 

info. The Hestia Project is a global-scale 

collaborative project that will build a computerbased 

world in which all processes that emit fossil 

fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) at the planetary surface 

can be simulated, visualized, analyzed, and used by 

multiple stakeholders as they engage the climate 

change problem. Hestia will provide the models, 

data sets, and decision-support tools needed to 

design and implement carbon management 

strategies, strengthen and support basic research in 

climate prediction and carbon cycle science, and 

allow the public, decision makers, scientists, and 

industry to access detailed space-time information on fossil/industrial CO2 emissions via an intuitive, interactive, 

photorealistic, three-dimensional visualization of the Earth. In short, Hestia will quantify, simulate and visualize the 

metabolism of global industrial economic activity. http://www.purdue.edu/climate/hestia/project_overview.shtml 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJpj8UUMTaI&eurl=http://www.greentechforum.net/category/news/&feature=player_embedded 

81


Dell previews G-Series LED monitors that deliver energy efficiency 

Dell announced its G-Series of LED wide-screen flat panel monitors with the introduction of the G2210 22-inch 

and G2410 24-inch models. G-Series high-performance EPEAT Gold and ENERGY STAR-compliant monitors are 

distinguished by a design approach that combines energy efficiency, LED technology, recycled materials and other 

environmentally preferable components. Availability of the G2210 and G2410 monitors through Dell.com is 

planned for late February, with prices starting at $279 and $359 respectively. http://www.dell.com 

Greenpeace releases green electronics report 

The greenest consumer electronic products on the market today have a smaller environmental footprint than those 

sold a year ago but the industry as a whole still has plenty of room for improvement, according to a new survey 

released by Greenpeace. “Green Electronics: the search continues” assesses the progress made over the past year by 

consumer electronics companies on their public commitments to green their products. Fifteen major electronics 

brands submitted 50 of their most environmentally friendly new products – mobile and smart phones, televisions, 

computer monitors, notebook and desktop computers, and game consoles. Greenpeace assessed and scored each of 

these products against a set of environmental criteria. 

Greenpeace found that fewer electronic products on the market contain harmful PVC plastic and fewer hazardous 

chemicals are being used in products. LED displays, which save energy and avoid the use of mercury in backlights, 

are more commonplace. Manufacturers are using larger quantities of post-consumer recycled plastic in TVs and 

monitors and producers have established more comprehensive voluntary take-back and recycling programs. Most 

companies have also adapted quickly to the new requirements of Energy Star. 

The Lenovo L2440x wide computer monitor scored highest with 6.9 points (on a 10-point scale) and is far ahead of 

the competition in the monitor category. Other product category leaders include the Sharp LC-52GX5 television 

(5.92), the Samsung F268 mobile phone (5.45), the Nokia 6210 Smart phone (5.2) the HP Elitebook 2530P laptop 

(5.48) and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 desktop (5.88). The Greenpeace report is available at 

http://www.greenpeace.org. Companies that chose to participate in the survey were: Acer, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, 

Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM/Blackberry, Sharp, Samsung, Sony, 

Sony Ericsson and Toshiba. The companies that refused to take part in the survey were: Apple, Asus, Microsoft, 

Nintendo, Palm, and Philips. Only Sony submitted game consoles for review. 

Samsung develops LED that eliminates “droop” 

A new breakthrough by researchers with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s National Science Foundation-funded 

Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center and Samsung Electro-Mechanics may bring LED lighting closer to 

affordability and help the researchers creep closer to 

The figure 

highlights “LED 

droop”, which 

decreases LED 

lighting 

efficiency and 

brightness. The 

Rensselaer 

Polytechnic 

Institute and 

Samsung have 

come up with a 

new LED. 

82 

a DOE-funded $20M prize. The new type of LED is 

said to be “polarization matched” and gives 18% 

increase in light output and a 22% increase in wallplug 

efficiency. The droop phenomenon involves 

LEDs being most efficient when operating on low 

current densities, and seeing their efficiency greatly 

droop at higher current densities. While all the 

factors have yet to be determined, electron leakage is 

one source of droop. The end result of droop is that 

LEDs are forced to operate at lower current 

densities, which feature much lower brightness and 

efficiency in achieving light output. The new 

research is reported in Applied Physics Letters.


Toshiba products ranked as most eco-conscious 

A disassembled Toshiba Portégé R600 ultra portable laptop PC, ranked as one of the most eco-conscious laptop 

computers sold in the US by the federal Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). The “E- 

Core LED Downlight” is an energy-efficient LED lamp that uses one-seventh the power of a traditional 

incandescent bulb of equal brightness. All fall 2008 and 2009 Toshiba TVs not only qualify but also exceed the 

EPA’s Energy Star Version 3.0 specification by at least 15%. 

Sony Green Glove delivery service recycles old TVs 

Sony unveiled a new premium delivery service it calls “Green Glove”. When Sony Style customers buy 32-inch or 

larger BRAVIA LCD TVs at a Sony Style store or at Sonystyle.com and opt for premier in-home delivery service, 

the delivery company will remove the old TV set for recycling and remove the Sony packaging for recycling. Sony 

recycles the old TVs via Waste Management Recycle America. The company also runs a Take Back Recycling 

program that provides free recycling for all Sony-branded products managed by the same recycling firm. Recycling 

efforts from the Take Back program have collected more than 11.9 million pounds of electronics waste so far, and 

the amount of recycled electronics is expected to grow rapidly. http://www.sonystyle.com 

Energy Star may make new TV specifications more stringent 

A stricter Energy Star spec may be implemented later this year. The Energy Star 3.0 specification sets standards for 

total power consumption when a TV is on, as well as the power it uses when in “standby,” or off. A 42-inch flatpanel 

TV must use 208 watts or less, and a 50-inch 318 watts or less to 

display the Energy Star logo; they must also use less than 1 watt while in 

standby. When turned off, many electronics still use a small amount of 

power for remote control sensing and other functions. About 460 TVs 

have qualified for Energy Star since the new spec went into effect in 

November. Too many TVs appear to have qualified to display the Energy 

Star logo. Energy Star is supposed to signify that a product is more 

efficient than most others in its category. So when the EPA sets an Energy 

Star standard, it anticipates that about 25% of the models in that class will 

qualify. When considerably more than that meets the voluntary standards, 

new and more stringent requirements can be implemented, with the goal 

of improving energy efficiency further. http://www.energystar.gov 

Worldwide contest challenges participants to “Save the Earth” 

The IEEE Committee on Earth Observation (ICEO) is launching “SaveEarthGame”, two international computer 

game design contests, with a top prize of $20,000, that challenge participants to demonstrate how real-world events 

affect the Earth and impact people. A panel of specialists will award prizes for the two different contests. The first 

contest is open to all age groups, and is for the development of a game concept. It does not require any computer 

programming skills, just imagination and ingenuity. Contestants will create a computer game concept using Earth 

observations to contend with a myriad of environmental issues that impact Earth: disasters, health, energy, climate, 

water, weather, ecosystems, agriculture and biodiversity. Entries should be submitted by April 10, 2009. The 

winners will receive a Computer Game Development Workshop Class and cash prizes ranging from $100 to $1000. 

The second contest, which kicks off May 1, 2009, is to design a playable, prototype computer game and requires 

game development skills. Contest participants are encouraged to use earth observation data as a means to forecast 

and respond to environmental challenges. Contestants will be able to communicate globally with IEEE engineers, 

GEO teams and scientists as mentors and as an additional resource in game development. Proposals must be 

submitted by June 30, 2009. At that time, judges will identify finalists who will have until August 2010 to create 

and submit functional, playable games. The winner receives a $20,000 prize plus an expense-paid trip to the Group 

on Earth Observations (GEO) Summit. http://www.SaveEarthGame.org 

83


DisplaySearch reports half of mainstream panels will be green by 2011 

DisplaySearch reports that in 2008, 20% of FPD shipments had green features, and this share is expected to soar to 

70% by 2012 and dominate the market by 2014. DisplaySearch has created a new topical report dedicated to green 

FPDs: “Green Technology in Flat Panel Displays: Market Technology and Trends”. This new report examines 

environmental regulations, power-saving technologies, eco-friendly components, energy-saving manufacturing 

processes, and panel structure simplification efforts of the main three kinds of FPD: TFT LCD, OLED and plasma. 

DisplaySearch defines green flat panel displays as those which meet one of the following conditions: using 

environmentally friendly components and materials; achieving lower power consumption by using new components 

or technologies; compliant with environmental regulations such as waste disposal; using production processes that 

reduce energy and materials consumed; completely or partially recyclable after useful life; or use of green or ecofriendly 

concepts in product design, packaging methods or materials. 

As the figure shows, 2008 was the year of green FPD development, with green panels accounting for nearly 20% of 

the total $95.6 billion market for TFT LCD, OLED and plasma displays. DisplaySearch defines 2009 as the year of 

green implementation, and panels and end products will be focusing on green promotion in 2010. Green FPD 

penetration will pass 50% in 2011 

and then achieve 100% in 2014. 

Regarding TFT LCD, there are 

currently four methods to 

implement green displays: new 

cell structures that increase panel 

transmittance or new technologies 

like PSA, COA, AMVA and 

SHA; energy-saving production 

processes, like photomask 

reduction, ink-jet printing of color 

filters, roll-to-roll production, and 

replacement of toxic gases in 

production; green components, 

such as glass, color filter, liquid crystal, optical films, driver ICs and LED backlights; and packaging, like spacesaving 

containers for better transportation efficiency and recyclable packing materials. DisplaySearch defines 

OLED as a naturally green technology, due to the simpler structure, reduced materials consumption, and lower 

power consumption. For plasma, there are three ways to implement green: high luminous efficiency, eco-friendly 

materials with lower EMI, and new manufacturing processes for materials reduction. The Green Technology in Flat 

Panel Displays Report also takes a close look at the green activities and technologies adopted by 12 major 

companies: Samsung, LG Display, AUO, CMO, CPT, Sharp, Sony, Lenovo, HP, Philips, Apple, Dell, Panasonic, 

and LG Electronics. http://www.displaysearch.com/ 

Sharp launches nationwide TV and electronics recycling initiative 

Sharp Electronics Corporation has established a nationwide electronics program to provide consumers with no-cost, 

convenient recycling of Sharp televisions and other consumer audio and video products. Begun January 15, 2009 

Sharp will expand its current recycling program to 280 sites nationwide, including at least one location in all 50 

states, with hundreds more sites planned over the next three years. Sharp’s recycling program will utilize the 

infrastructure developed by the Electronics Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM). A joint 

venture between Panasonic, Sharp Electronics and Toshiba, MRM was established in September of 2007 to 

efficiently manage collection and recycling programs for electronics manufacturers in the United States. Consumers 

can drop off Sharp brand televisions and other Sharp consumer audio and video electronics products for free 

recycling. Panasonic and Toshiba products will also be accepted at these locations. A complete list of locations 

where Sharp products can be recycled is available on the MRM website. http://www.MRMrecycling.com 

84


Sony releases details on new energy efficient Bravia LCDs 

Sony’s Bravia VE-5 line of LCDs will become available this summer. They use a different form of fluorescent 

backlighting and can cut power consumption by 40% when compared to conventional LCD models, Sony says. The 

VE-5 line, which will include 52-inch KDL-52VE5, the 46-inch KDL- 

46VE5 and the 40-inch KDL-40VE5, will be the first to incorporate Sony’s 

micro-tubular hot cathode fluorescent lamp (HCFL) technology. HCFL 

backlighting is configured of a light commonly used in fluorescent lamps, 

and achieves greater light-emitting efficiency than conventional CCFL 

backlighting. HCFLs were not previously used for TV backlighting because 

the lamps could not be made small enough, so Sony developed microtubular 

HCFLs that resemble a double helix and can fit in thin flat-panel 

TVs. http://www.sonystyle.com 

EPA publishes “Responsible Recycling Practices” 

The Responsible Recycling (R2) Practices for Use in Accredited Certification Programs is a set of guidelines for 

accredited certification programs to assess electronics recyclers’ environmental, worker health and safety, and 

security practices. Since January 2006, the EPA facilitated a multi-stakeholder group to develop this document. The 

R2 practices include general principles and specific practices for recyclers including those electronics that are 

exported for refurbishment and recycling. The practices are set forth below: 

� Develop and use a management system that covers environmental, worker safety and public health 

practices on-site and downstream management of end-of-life (EOL) equipment and materials; 

� Establish a policy that promotes reuse and materials recovery for EOL equipment and materials; 

� Comply with environmental, health, and safety legal requirements, both domestically and 

internationally, that are applicable to the recyclers’ operations; 

� Use practices to reduce exposures and emissions during recycling operations; 

� Export (or arrange for the export of) focus materials only to foreign countries that accept them. Focus 

materials are: cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and CRT glass; circuit boards (unless they have had batteries 

and mercury-containing items removed and are lead free); batteries; and items containing mercury 

and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), both in EOL equipment and when separated as components; 

� Send EOL equipment and all material derived from this equipment, that contain focus materials only to 

facilities that are properly licensed to receive these materials, and use technology designed to safely and 

effectively manage these materials - whether in the US or another country; 

� Ensure that an electronics recycler does not use energy recovery, incineration, or land disposal as a 

management strategy for focus materials or equipment and components containing focus materials. 

However, if circumstances beyond the control of the R2 recycler disrupt its normal management of a 

focus material, it may consider these technologies to the extent allowed under applicable law; 

� Exercise due diligence in ensuring that downstream recyclers and processors manage recycled materials 

appropriately, throughout the downstream recycling chain; 

� Ensure that materials going for reuse are refurbished and tested for functionality, and residual focus 

materials are managed responsibly; 

� Ensure that personal data on EOL electronics going to reuse or recycling are cleared or destroyed; and 

� Track throughput and keep records; store and transport material securely and safely; and possess 

insurance, closure plans, and financial mechanisms to cover the potential risks of the facility. 

The R2 practices are not legal requirements and do not replace electronics recyclers’ legal obligations. Electronics 

recyclers that adhere to this set of R2 practices are doing so on a voluntary basis. If a requirement of this document 

conflicts with an applicable legal requirement, the recycler must adhere to the legal requirement. 

http://www.epa.gov 

85


IPC Symposium on Electronics and the Environment 

July 16-17, 2008, Cambridge, Massachusetts 

In this third report of three, Phillip Hill covers presentations from Benchmark Electronics, University of 

Massachusetts, and Intel 

EMS Viewpoint – Green Initiatives 

Aimee Siegler, Benchmark Electronics, Angleton, Texas 

In a brief presentation, Siegler gave an overview of the company’s activities – electronics manufacturing services 

(EMS). These are in medical, high-end computing, industrial controls; test & measurement; telecommunications; 

and military/aerospace. Benchmark Electronics is in the business of manufacturing electronics and providing 

services to OEMs of telecommunication equipment, computers and related products for business enterprises, 

video/audio/entertainment products, industrial control equipment, testing and instrumentation products and medical 

devices. The company provides specialized engineering services including product design, printed circuit board 

layout, prototyping and test development. Specifically the company specializes in device monitors and 

programmers; pumps and infusion technologies; glucose monitoring systems; servers and server products; high 

reliability computers; thermostats and ignition controls; HVAC control systems; optical recognition systems; incircuit 

test platforms; telecom test equipment; routers and switches; wireless radio base stations; optical 

networking; guidance systems; communication & control; and ID systems. 

Each customer has a different definition of green, Siegler said. We must be flexible to meet customer needs. Some 

customers didn’t know that they needed to start (RoHS, now REACH), let alone where to start. Dealing with the 

technical issues sometimes means that you have to share information with your competitors, Siegler pointed out. 

There are many different drivers to new legislation and regulations, both political and NGO driven. Social 

responsibility is here to stay – ISO is drafting a social responsibility guideline, to be released in 2010. Focus will be 

on: the environment; human rights and labor practices; organizational governance and fair operating practices; 

consumer issues and community involvement/society development. Environmental sustainability is not optional – 

the electronics industry can make a difference, Siegler concluded. 

Barriers and Opportunities for Advancing Design for Environment and Green Chemistry in Industry 

Joel A. Tickner, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts 

In a preliminary overview, Tickner said that there was a strong interest in many sectors in advancing green 

chemistry and design for the environment (DfE). There are many drivers for change, yet many barriers to change 

need to be overcome. There are great opportunities to move forward towards safer, more sustainable chemistries 

and products. The cultural change of REACH implies that no data = no market. There is a responsibility on 

companies to develop safety data, define safe uses of chemicals, and communicate with supply chains. There is a 

responsibility on manufacturers/importers to ask for permission (authorization) to use chemicals of very high 

concern. This means greater sharing of information on substances in products (preparations and articles) and a 

greater supply chain dialogue and forced cooperation on testing. 

86


Technical barriers exist that can compromise product performance with a risk of lower performance. Often 

alternatives just don’t exist or are difficult to implement or are too costly in a short-term perspective. Government 

programs supporting DfE and green chemistry are inadequately resourced. There are limited programs to 

distinguish safer products and preferable treatment (what is safer?). There is little economic incentive to switch. 

Firms lack tools, data, support to move towards safer materials (toxicity, materials tracking, design, etc.). Often 

there is a lack of good communication up and down supply chains. Consumers, purchasers, and manufacturers are 

often not informed about safer options. 

Most chemicals in commerce lack some basic toxicity information. The situation is improving for high production 

volume chemicals and the new EPA CHAMP Program. REACH will solve some of the data gap problems. Large 

quantity users can make demands from suppliers (harder for smaller quantity ones), but smaller quantity users can 

use a series of tools. We don’t need perfect data, just enough to make informed decisions and to understand 

hazards, exposures, and potential trade-offs, Tickner said. 

Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous 

substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. Green chemistry is a revolutionary 

philosophy that seeks to unite government, academic and industrial communities by focusing on environmental 

impacts at the earliest stage of innovation and invention. This approach requires an open and interdisciplinary view 

of materials design, applying the principle that it is better to not generate waste in the first place, rather than 

disposing or treating it afterwards. It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it is formed, 

Tickner pointed out. 

He concluded by saying that the 

innovators and leaders will be the 

companies that recognize the 

changing drivers and emerging 

patterns and embrace changes in 

product design and chemicals 

management that go beyond the next 

set of regulations. They will be those 

who do not only respond to legal 

demands but foresee market, 

scientific, and political signals and 

think long term. “These are great 

opportunities for the electronics sector 

to take leadership in this area.” 

iNEMI BFR-Free PCB Material Evaluation Project 

Stephen Tisdale, Intel Corporation, Chandler, Arizona 

Barriers to green chemistry and DfE innovations 

The overall project objectives are to build on industry knowledge and capability; consider unique market segment 

requirements; identify technology readiness and gaps; stimulate supply capability; and recommend standards 

development opportunities. The anticipated outcomes are: define electrical requirements based on market segment 

application; validate electrical and mechanical properties – loss tangent and Dk modeling over required range of 

signal speed, and mechanical performance validation for lead free assembly; validate material supplier and PCB 

manufacturer infrastructure capability; and estimate costs – volume market leader for new material may not achieve 

cost parity with best-in-class. Tisdale then outlined what the project is and what it is not (see table on the next 

page). 

87


The project is in three phases. Phase 1 is design. The goal is to review prior work and make recommendations for 

testing needed. Investigation should take into account the needs of electronic product sectors represented by iNEMI 

membership. It will identify market segment requirements, candidate materials (synchronized with EPA), identify 

key performance characteristics and test criteria, and design test vehicles and test methodologies, and leverage 

standards where possible. Phase 2 is test with the goal to develop, manage, and execute performance testing; 

develop an evaluation schedule; 

procure parts and test vehicles; 

assign teams to carry out completion 

of the testing in a standardized 

fashion; and perform mechanical 

and reliability testing on test 

vehicles. Phase 3 will compile 

results, assess significance, make 

recommendations, and publish a 

report; assess performance relative 

to market segment requirements; 

assess technology readiness/identify 

gaps; and assess manufacturing 

capability and supply capacity. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Green technology in flat panel displays 

David Hsieh is vice president of the Greater China Market for DisplaySearch. David 

joined DisplaySearch from HannStar Display where he was a key account manager 

responsible for both notebook and LCD monitor accounts. Prior to two years in 

HannStar's sales and marketing department, Hsieh served for a total of five years as 

production planner and production engineer at HannStar's TFT LCD module line and 

Hitachi Kaohsiung's STN LCD module line. Hsieh is fluent in Taiwanese, Mandarin, 

Japanese, and English and holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Chung-Yuan 

Christian University. 

89 

by David Hsieh 

With “green” becoming an increasingly important concept in many flat panel display 

applications and the evolution of technologies to enable green displays, it’s no surprise 

that green flat panels are beginning to take off and will become the most important trend in the FPD industry for the 

next decade. DisplaySearch reports that in 2008 20% of FPD shipments were green, and this share is expected to 

soar to 70% by 2012 and dominate the market by 2014. DisplaySearch has created a new topical report dedicated to 

Green FPD – Green Technology in Flat Panel Displays: Market Technology & Trends – which examines 

environmental regulations, power-saving technologies, eco-friendly components, energy-saving manufacturing 

processes, and panel structure simplification efforts of the main three kinds of FPD, TFT LCD, OLED and plasma. 

DisplaySearch defines green flat panel displays as those which meet one of the following conditions: using 

environmentally friendly components and materials; achieving lower power consumption by using new components 

or technologies; compliant with environmental regulations such as waste disposal; using production processes that 

reduce energy and materials consumed; completely or partially recyclable after useful life; or use of green or ecofriendly 

concepts in product design, packaging methods or materials. David Hsieh, vice president of DisplaySearch 

and the author of the report, specifically uses a chart, shown as Figure 1, to describe the green perspectives in the 

flat panel display industry. 

Cost Reduction 

Eco-Friendly 

Components 

� Product re-design 

� Low mercury 

� Components reduction 

� Eco-friendly 

components adoption 

� New display 

technology (such as 

OLED, e-paper, 

MEMS-based display) 

Panel Design 

Energy Saving 

Production 

� New processes in the fab 

to reduce the electricity 

and water consumption 

� Production efficiency 

improvement 

� Photomask reduction 

Figure 1: Green techniques for flat panel displays 

Environmental 

Regulation 

Power 

Consumption 

Reduction 

� Panel transmittance up 

� New optical film in the 

backlight unit to reduce 

power consumption with 

the same brightness 

� Luminous efficiency 

improvements 

� LED backlight


As the figure shows, the most manifest motivations for the panel supply chain participants to work on green are 

two, cost reduction and environmental regulations. In terms of cost reduction, of course, not all green FPD 

technologies represent cost reductions for panel makers, but as long as the technologies improve and more suppliers 

adopt them, green will eventually lead to lower costs. In terms of the environmental regulations, such as Restriction 

of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Energy Using Products 

(EuP), Energy Star, TCO and so on, are taking more important roles in the panel design. 

There are many efforts underway at PDP and LCD companies to achieve green perspectives as well as green 

products. However, while comparing the eco-friendly properties of LCDs and OLEDs, it is easy to see that OLED 

is definitely “greener” than any LCD, as shown in Figure 2, Because there are no backlights, no color filters and no 

optical film stacks in the OLED, it is considered to be naturally green. 

� OLED has no backlight, no color filter, no optical film stacks, no lamps. Therefore it is greener than the 

current dominating LCD technology. In addition, OLED is much slimmer than LCD due to the simpler 

structure. 

� The OLED does not need a backlight because it is self-emissive, AMOLED (Active Matrix OLED) 

consumes less power than TFT LCD. The graph on the right (below) shows a comparison of 2.0-inch 

(320x240 pixels) mobile phone panels with different technologies. 

Source: AUO Source: Samsung SDI 

(now Samsung Mobile Display) 

GUI = Graphic User Interface 

mWh = 1000 kWh 

Figure 2: OLED is much more green than LCD 

Regarding TFT LCD, there are currently four methods, categorized by DisplaySearch, to implement green displays: 

� Green Panel Design, such as new cell structures to increase panel transmittance, or new technologies 

like PSA, COA, AMVA, and SHA 

� Energy Saving Production Processes, such as photomask reduction, ink-jet printing of color filters, rollto-roll 

production, and replacement of toxic gases in production. 

� Green Components, such as glass, color filter, liquid crystal, optical films, driver ICs and, LED 

backlights. 

� Packaging, especially new space-saving methods and recyclable packing materials. 

90


Within these approaches, the most effective one is the green component usage. On the glass substrate side, 

Corning’s EAGLE XG performs the same features as the previous product, the EAGLE 2000. EAGLE XG glass is 

recognized as green glass, because it has no halide elements or other heavy metal elements and it does not include 

hazardous elements such as arsenic, antimony or barium. 

The reduction of lamps and driver ICs keeps up its steady momentum in monitors and LCD TVs. For example, the 

32-inch panel is aggressively moving toward the use of U lamps to replace the conventional CCFL and to reduce 

the number and power consumption of lamps and inverters. As shown in Figure 3, the 32-inch LCD TV backlight 

unit structure evolution is a perfect example of how the panel makers reduce the number of CCFL units but achieve 

the same brightness through the functionalities of the optical films. 

2”W LCD TV Panel 

Cost Reduction 

hrough structure 

hange 

Power 

Consumption 

Brightness 

CCFL 

Optical Film 

Structure 

110W 

450 nits - 500 nits 

16 CCFL 

• Diffuser + Prism 

Sheet + Diffuser 


Sheet + DBEF 

• DBEF-DTV + 

Diffuser 

94W 


12 CCFL 


Sheet + DBEF 

• Diffuser + DBEF- 

DTV 

• Two Gain Diffusers 

+ Diffuser 

Figure 3: LCD TV backlight evolution (example: 32-inch HD) 

Display Standard 

Back Issues – only $7.99 each 

http://www.veritasetvisus.com 

91 

62W 


6-7 CCFL (U-Shape) 

• DBEF-DTV + 

Diffuser 


The financial standard… 

Apple’s 2008 PC revenues exceed iPod revenues 

92 

by Mark Fihn 

In late January, Apple released its latest quarterly financial report for the period through December 31, 2008. For 

several years now, Apple’s reports have provided some interesting information about both Apple’s business and 

about the computer business in general – identifying early trends toward the increased popularity of consumerbased 

PCs versus business-based devices, and the trend to notebook PCs over that of desktop PCs. While Apple’s 

iPod and iPhone business attract headlines, it’s interesting to note that Apple’s PC business has seen a resurgence in 

recent years, such that their PC business is now significantly larger than their MP3 business and showing signs of 

growing at a faster rate. 

Despite a weak economy in the second half of 2008, Apple’s PC unit volumes surged, trebling in just five years. Apple 

continues to lead in the transition from desktop to notebooks, with almost 65% of revenues coming from notebook in 2008. 

Apple was able to sustain ASPs for both desktops and notebooks in 2008, with notebooks been able to shrink the 

price gap between their desktops and notebooks, with notebook ASPs actually lower by $65/unit for notebooks than 

for desktops. Apple’s PC revenues in 2008 exceeded iPod and accessory revenues by more than $2 billion. 

Contrary to market trends, Apple has actually increased ASPs since 2005. The chart on the right shows that Apple’s 

PC business significantly outperformed the iPod business during 2008.


With a very weak economic environment, Apple’s stock has suffered along with that of most companies – not 

helped by Steve Jobs’ recent health issues and transfer of executive power. Still, long-term investors in Apple are 

likely to be quite satisfied. The following charts show the relative stock performance of Apple, Dell, and HP: 

In the past two years, Apple’s stock has been quite volatile, but even considering today’s stock market trough, investor’s in 

Apple are still up by almost 20%. Over the same period, rivals HP and Dell are down by about 20% and 60% respectively. 

(For the period 02/13/2007-02/12/2009). 

Over the past five years, investors in Apple’s stock have enjoyed an 800% return on their investment, a sacrifice from highs 

from late in 2007 and early 2008. HP’s stock is much less volatile and investors would be up by more than 50%. Investors in 

Dell’s stock continue to struggle with a five-year performance that has cost investors almost 75% of their outlay. Put 

differently, $100 invested in Apple five years ago is now worth about $800, in HP is worth about $150, and in Dell is worth 

about $25. (For the period 02/16/2004-02/09/2009). 

93


For the first time in its history, Apple tallied more than $10 billion revenue, reporting sales of $10.17 billion for the 

three months ended December 31. That’s up 6% from the revenue of $9.6 billion Apple recorded during the yearago 

quarter. The company reported a $1.61 billion profit, up 2% from last year. Apple earned $1.78 per diluted 

share, up from $1.76 a year ago and ahead of analyst expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected 

revenues of $9.75 billion and $1.39 per diluted share. 

On the retail front, Apple ended the quarter with 251 stores in 10 countries. Total revenue from the stores rose 2% 

from the 2008 first quarter to $1.74 billion. However, average per store revenue fell to $7 million from $8.5 million 

last year. The company plans to open 25 more stores during the 2009 fiscal year, with half of those openings slated 

for outside the US. 

WitsView’s Market Confidence Index (MCI) 

WitsView Technology Corporation, a Taiwan-based LCD Research Institution, routinely publishes a 

fascinating peak into the health of the TFT LCD market and has graciously given us permission to 

occasionally reprint their Market Confidence Index (MCI) as part of the Display Standard. 

WitsView’s commentary: “Between January 12, 2009 to January 30, 2009, the MCI index rose from 4363.2 to 

4386.4, up slightly by 23.2 points. The index variations during this time period were relatively small, fluctuating 

between 4255 and 4482. A key reason stemmed 

from the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, 

where the stock prices of the Taiwan and 

Korean panel makers were respectively 

unavailable for 7 and 2 days. In addition, the 

index also appeared to be weighed by the panel 

makers’ expected quarterly financial losses for 

4Q08. For reference, among the already released 

figures, LGD and Samsung respectively posted 

a 7% and 8% operating loss, while AUO 

reported a whopping 44.3% operating loss. On a 

different note, it is worthy to note that the MCI 

index started to fall below the 20-day average 

on Jan 21, 2009. The difference with the 20-day 

average reached as high as 126.3 points during 

the index’s subsequent development. 

Fortunately, as of Jan 30, it narrowed to 11.0 

points. The crossover reflects the still shaky 

outlook surrounding the TFT-LCD industry, 

despite market anticipations of a monitor panel 

price increase in February.” 

Source: WitsView 

The MCI is an indicator tailored for the TFT LCD industry. In the past, marketers tend to use the mainstream panel 

prices to diagnose the health of the TFT LCD industry and predict its market trend. However, as the application 

sizes vary and market focus changes all the time, it is never easy to find an appropriate tool to judge the market 

climate. In view of this, WitsView develops MCI, aimed to become a mutual-language among industry participants 

for effective communication on industry outlook and market trend. 

MCI is NOT an underlying index traded in any market; those who use MCI as their trading benchmark should judge with their discretion and take the full 

responsibility for any loss that incurs. WitsView and Veritas et Visus hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality or accuracy. 

94


95


Innovation, partnership, and death: 

the new economics of HDTV semiconductors 

by Christian Prusia 

Christian R. Prusia is chairman of Display Insights, a multidisciplinary team that researches 

and consults within the HDTV semiconductor market. Prior to Display Insights, Mr. Prusia 

held numerous leadership positions within the consumer electronics industry; including 

positions at InFocus, Pixelworks, and Enuclia Semiconductor (where he was co-founder and 

CEO). Mr. Prusia earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Willamette 

University's Atkinson School of Management as well as a B.A. from the University of Puget 

Sound. Both degrees include specialized concentrations within the area of quantitative and 

qualitative marketing research. 

Display Insights’ new report “Innovation, Partnership, and Death: The New Economics of 

HDTV Semiconductors” takes a detailed look at the costs and opportunities within HDTV 

semiconductors amid the 2009 global climate. The report includes company-specific analysis 

across 92 individual semiconductor manufacturers (50 privately held) including the leading 

silicon tuners, demodulators, MPEG processors, image processors, and interconnects (including wireless transceivers). 

Company-specific analysis includes: detailed block diagrams (120Hz, ultra-thin, MPEG-4); individual component 

pricing (ASPs), technology roadmaps; design wins; and positional forecasts. http://www.displayinsights.com 

Inundated with inventory, rapid price declines, bankruptcies and governmental bailouts, there is little debate that 

the worldwide semiconductor ecosystem is facing a challenging 2009. January opened with China’s largest 

chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, structuring a government-backed infusion of $170 million 

combined with a larger than expected quarterly loss. Germany’s Qimonda followed by filing for bankruptcy and 

Korea’s Samsung Electronics reported its first-ever quarterly loss. Adding to the negative momentum, Japan’s 

Toshiba and NEC Electronics posted Q4 losses, followed by Pioneer Corp. announcing, it will get out of the TV 

business altogether while trimming 10,000 jobs. 

The severity of the global semiconductor market was described as “desperate”, by Daniel Heyler, head of global 

semiconductor research for Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. 1 And Daniel is not alone in his opinion. In December, 

iSuppli announced semiconductor inventories would escalate by more than 250%, reaching $10.2 billion at the end 

of December, up from September’s $3.8 billion. This was followed by the Semiconductor Industry Association‘s 

February report that outlined global semiconductor sales declined by 16.6% across December, typically one of the 

strongest months for the industry. The SIA also reported total ’08 semiconductor sales were down 2.8% Y/Y, 

reaching only $248.6 billion compared to $255.6 billion in ’07. According to Gartner, economic pressures will 

continue throughout ‘09, with worldwide semiconductor revenues forecast to recede to $219.2 billion, a decrease of 

more than 11% Y/Y. 

Short-term impact: high inventories, price erosion, and general discomfort: The reduction in consumer 

electronics demand across Q4’08 and early Q1’09 has undoubtedly placed tremendous pressure on the average 

HDTV bill-of-materials (BOM). Yet price compression appeared most volatile across HDTV system memory 

manufacturers and the flat panel glass manufacturers themselves. This is due to the intense capital requirements 

both the memory and panel infrastructures necessitate, combined with their standardized production practices. 2 

Industry insiders agree that memory and panel manufacturers experience fixed costs ranging between 75% and 85% 

respectively, so as consumer demand wavers, these manufacturers continue to flood the market in an effort to 

protect market share at the cost of fueling further price erosion. 

In contrast to the rapid declines across HDTV-related memories and panels, the average HDTV system 

semiconductor BOM has weathered the recent turmoil well. According to Display Insights, the average HDTV 

96


semiconductor BOM was believed to be $51.07 in Q4’07 and decreased to $46.83 by Q4’08. 3 The Y/Y decrease 

yields a surprisingly healthy CAGR of -8.3% when compared to Display Insights’ previous estimate of -5.6% over 

the same period. 

Another measurement that suggests the HDTV semiconductor’s relative health is found in comparing LCD TV set 

retail pricing with the set’s respective semiconductor content pricing. A quick test can be performed by comparing 

the global LCD TV price 

decline of -13% Y/Y in 

contrast to that of the HDTV 

semiconductor price decline 

of -8.3%. 4 Yet a more 

compelling argument for the 

HDTV semiconductor’s 

resilience can be found in 

Figure 1. As seen, LCD TV 

retail set prices have been 

falling faster than HDTV 

semiconductor prices during 

the same period, regardless 

of screen size. 5 These finding 

are likely a welcome change 

for 90+ semiconductor 

companies worldwide 

focused on serving the HD 

market’s system subarchitectures. 

Figure 1: LCD TV set retail pricing vs. HDTV semiconductor pricing 

Long-term impact: innovation, partnership, and death: Regardless of its initial resilience, the global HDTV 

semiconductor ecosystem will be forced to restructure. Over the next two to three years, expect the ecosystem to 

shrink from today’s 90+ independent companies down to 20 to 30 companies comprised of three to five large 

companies (i.e. Mediatek, Samsung, etc.) that compete across all HD semiconductor segments, along with 2-3 

independent specialist within each sub-category (i.e. tuners, demodulators, MPEG processors, image processors and 

interconnects (including wireless transceivers). This consolidation is a logical next step as the industry pushes to 

achieve a true single die ASIC. The challenges amid the global economy will likely accelerate the shakeout, 

especially among the memory manufacturers and the early stage venture-funded start-ups that have not reached or 

cannot maintain cash-flow break-even due to soft consumer demand and high inventory holds. 

So what HDTV semiconductor categories are most prone to consolidation? As seen in Figure 2, the primary 

architectural sub-categories contribute vastly different values across the HDTV system architecture. The largest 

system contributors are the MPEG processor and image processor; providing 39.6% and 36.9% respectively of the 

average HDTV semiconductor BOM. 35 unique companies tracked in Display Insights’ new report offer MPEG 

processors and 28 unique companies offer image processors. Although the relative number of companies within 

these two sub-categories is high, it was previously justified due to architectural value combined with the industry’s 

relative immaturity (i.e. pre-consolidation) when compared to the CRT system architecture. 

In contrast, the demodulator sub-category has more than 42 unique companies competing for HD-based design 

wins within a sub-category that occupies a modest 6.8% of the overall semiconductor BOM. A similar supply trend 

is visible within the silicon tuner space where Display Insights’ has identified 34 companies competing for 9.6% of 

the average HDTV semiconductor BOM. This large number of suppliers competing within the tuner and 

97


demodulator segments will likely lead the ecosystems consolidation in terms of both M&A and insolvencies across 

’09 and ’10. Yet these same sub-categories that are poised for over-supply are also fostering some of the greatest 

architectural innovations within today’s HDTV architecture: the ability to unlock a global, universal system 

semiconductor solution. 

Today there are only a handful of semiconductor suppliers that have created or assembled all of the necessary 

intellectual property (IP) blocks to provide tomorrow’s “true” single die ASIC. The tension that exists between 

analog and digital, image quality 

variation, single carrier and 

multi carrier, and process 

geometries is too great to make 

this economically feasible today. 

Yet, as innovative, specialized 

suppliers develop IP that 

captures the attention of large, 

system OEMs, the larger 

semiconductor companies will 

acquire and integrate the IP 

directly into their existing 

portfolios. As an example, based 

on the FPGA demonstrations and 

roadmaps being shared at the 

leading display OEMs, it is 

believed that a combined silicon 

tuner solution (e.g. tuner + 

demodulator) will provide 

Figure 2: HDTV sub-component value vs. company sub-component focus 

acceptable multi-carrier, multi-region capabilities before 2010 year-end. This could enable the offering to be 

combined within one of the leading MPEG or image processor IP portfolios by way of a multi-chip-module (MCM) 

in 2010 followed by a single-die scheme on or before 2011. 

Regardless of the exact timing, the economic climate is forcing numerous semiconductor companies to take bold 

risks in terms of both architectural innovation and IP licensing. Many companies both small and large are working 

tirelessly to invent, and if successful, their inventions will fuel the inevitable consolidation and long-term 

architectural maturity of HDTV. In the interim, HDTV display manufacturers have a large number of silicon 

suppliers ranging from experienced through novice to consider for inclusion on their test benches when finalizing 

their 2009 designs. 

1 

“Chipmakers on the Edge,” by Bruce Einhorn 

2 

“The New Economics of Semiconductor Manufacturing,” by Clayton M. Christensen, Steven King, Matt Verlinden, 

and Woodward Yang 

3 

Display Insights: The average HDTV semiconductor BOM was calculated using the weighted average of the four leading subarchitectures 

and 90+ semiconductor companies defined and tracked by Display Insights. This technique takes into account 

the volume difference between the respective sub-architectures as well as the BOM differences among 1080i/1080p and 

MPEG2/MPEG4 designs. 

4 

DisplaySearch: Monthly Global TV E-Tail Pricing & Specification Database. Note: The price decrease was lower than 

expected, as DisplaySearch recently included India in its global research, which has higher TV prices due to the region’s high 

consumption tax. January 26, 2009 press release data combined with Display Insights internal forecast. 

5 

Display Insights: Semiconductor content per LCD TV set includes the summation of manufacturer pricing across the following 

components: integrated tuner, demodulator, MPEG processor, image processor, interconnects and system memory. In many 

cases these functions were integrated into a shared SOC versus multiple discreet ICs. For more information, please see 

Display Insights’ new report: Innovation, Partnership and Death: The New Economics of HDTV Semiconductors. 

98


Westinghouse and Vizio bemoan ATSC license fees 

99 

by Aldo Cugnini 

Aldo Cugnini is a consultant in the digital television industry. Prior to founding AGC 

Systems, he held various technical and management positions at Philips Electronics’ 

Research and Consumer Electronics Divisions and at interactive television developer 

ACTV. He had a leadership role in the development of the ATSC Digital Television System, 

and was a key member of the Advanced Television Research Consortium (ATRC) 

development team. Mr. Cugnini received his BS and MS degrees from Columbia University 

and has been awarded six patents in the fields of digital television and broadcasting. He 

served on the board of directors of the Advanced Television Technology Center, and is the 

author of numerous technical papers and industry reports, and is a regular contributor to 

several trade publications. This article is revised from the Display Daily, published by 

Insight Media on February 9, 2009. http://www.displaydaily.com 

As the complaint appears to come from two companies that are outside of the “club” of essential patent holders, it 

may represent frustration in paying royalties that the patent holders don’t have to pay. The filing goes on to ask the 

FCC to declare that, “ATSC royalty demands that exceed international comparables are presumed to violate the 

FCC’s RAND requirements.” The petition cites a number of references, including a 2006 article in the Chinese 

business magazine 21st Business Herald, which described a State Intellectual Property Office (of China) list of 

digital TV set royalty claims amounting to $23 per unit. The article attributed a “sharp increase in royalties” to 

major patent holders Thomson and Sony. 

The petition also requests the FCC to form a license pool for all essential ATSC patents. Currently, the intellectual 

property required to sell an ATSC product come from a mishmash of patent holders, including MPEG-LA, Zenith, 

Dolby, and others. When it was formed back in 1993, the “Grand Alliance” companies developing the US HDTV 

standard had hoped to develop a licensing pool that would provide a “one-stop-shop” for licensees. The pool was 

never formed, and each company holding intellectual property went on its own to collect from patent users. 

Eventually, an independent licensing group was formed – MPEG-LA – to license MPEG and other essential patents 

for a multitude of companies. While MPEG-LA later agreed to license various patents needed for ATSC products, 

membership is completely voluntary, so the pool doesn’t cover all essential patents. MPEG-LA’s ATSC Patent 

Portfolio License currently includes patents owned by Philips, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung, Scientific- 

Atlanta and Zenith. The filing also mentions that “the Consumer Electronics Association and several other parties 

have alerted the FCC to problems involving DTV patent licensing practices...”, but in fact, the referenced CEA 

communication pertained to the V-chip licensing program, stating that the V-chip license holder participated but 

did not disclose to the FCC the ownership of an essential patent. 

Last year, a number of companies that hold MPEG-2 video-related patents, including Mitsubishi, Samsung and 

JVC, filed suit against Vizio, claiming that the company owed licensing fees for components used in their TVs. In 

its defense, Vizio stated that their suppliers, the actual manufacturers of the parts, were responsible for the royalties. 

Vizio later settled, saying that it had entered into an MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License. 

The Chinese government has already rejected the ATSC standard for DTV in China, claiming excessive royalties as 

one factor. (They rejected DVB and ISDB as well). Now, the FCC is being asked to base a petition on a claim that 

“reasonable” fees would be those comparable to what is paid for DVB or ISDB. Whether or not there is a disparity 

in royalties, however, it is not the purview of the Commission to set international standards for licensing. And 

claims of $20-30 in royalties seem to fly in the face of simple economics – ATSC DTV converters, sold at market 

for between $30 and $50, could hardly carry such a burden, even when considering display-related patents. 

Nonetheless, we’ll see how the Commission reacts to this issue – but keep in mind that they currently have their 

hands full processing analog shutoff requests in light of the DTV transition delay..


100


Active Optical Cables Market Report 2009 

101 

by Tom Rossi 

Tom Rossi has run his technology consulting company since June 2008. Prior to that, he 

worked for Intel Corporation for over 30 years in a variety of engineering, marketing 

and strategic planning roles, including his most recent position with Intel’s Connects 

Cable product group. Tom has spent 15 years with the notebook computer industry, 

including eight years working with the flat panel supplier industry and several standards 

groups supporting computer displays. He was part of the initial workgroup that crafted 

the early versions of what is now know as DisplayPort, and was instrumental in gaining 

support for key features that improve design capability for active optical cable providers 

within VESA’s DisplayPort Hybrid Device sub-group. Tom holds two US patents related 

to the flat panel displays used inside so many notebook computers today. He graduated 

from Cornell University with honors, and holds a Masters and Bachelors degree from 

their Electrical Engineering school, with an emphasis on advanced computer 

architecture. 

Active optical cables offer a significant leap in performance over their copper cable cousins. While they are aimed 

to connect to the same electrical interfaces, their innate design characteristics allow them to offer their users 

significant benefits, including: 

� Longer effective cable length limits 

� Lighter, thinner, more flexible cables 

� Far better low bit-error-rate (BER) and EMI/RFI characteristics 

In our latest edition of the Active Optical Cables: Market Report 2009, we illustrated four separate bus interfaces 

poised to capitalize on recent advances in optoelectronics: 

� InfiniBand 

� HDMI 

� USB 

� DisplayPort 

These interfaces were chosen for our analysis since the underling active optical cable designs could share number 

of core elements, into the optoelectronics devices and the optical fibers, posing a strong “adjacency factor” for the 

various designs and market segments. Thus as one portion starts to surge in volume demand, so will other segments 

benefit from overall material cost reductions caused by their adjacency. 

Several key high-volume applications segments were studied in this report. Emphasis was given to digital interfaces 

running either at or above 5Gbps, as well as those demanding extended cable lengths beyond a few meter at these 

speeds. The particular application segments covered in this report include: 

� Mainframe/supercomputer (HPCC) 

� Desktop and notebook/portable personal computers (PC) 

� High-definition television (HDTV) 

� Consumer electronics devices (CE) 

We created an innovative tool call PowerForecaster that helped us build our entire forecast data into a single 

correlated database, with over 130 charts and data tables built from the same core forecasts. As we gathered new 

information, it became a fairly trivial exercise to re-build the entire dataset and graphical illustrations used inside 

the 170+ page report. Additional tools were created to help transfer each of the charts from our master Excel 

foundation into highly structured and stylized Word documents, making the publication much simpler to create that 

found from other research companies. We also have an added benefit of being able to rapidly create numerous new


business scenarios from our core research information, helping us track and create new market reports much closer 

to real time. 

For the purposes of this shorter article, we will focus more on the display interconnects, HDMI and DisplayPort. 

Both of these interfaces are operating near 10Gbps today, and expected to increase to 20Gbps or higher in the next 

two years. Let’s dig into the core research from the “Active Optical Cables: Market Report 2009”, and see how 

these two bus interfaces stack up against each other and the overall active optical cable market over the net five 

years. 

Background: Few new businesses can offer the level of opportunity for revenue and revenue growth rates shown 

by active optical cables, as illustrated in our “Active Optical Cables: Market Report 2009”. Revenue is expected to 

increase from $221 million in 2009 to over $2.4 billion by 2013. The total number of active optical cables to be 

shipped starts at 2.0 million units in 2009, rising to 74 million by 2013, for a factored growth level of 36x over this 

five-year period. A large portion of this growth is seen from faster digital interface usage over time, causing a 

significant shift from more traditional and technically-challenged copper cable usage. Advances in core materials 

yields and cost saving passed on to the cable OEMs and the end customers are likewise expected to have a 

tremendous impact towards increasing demand rates for active optical cables. 

High performance computing centers (HPC) have led the traditional active optical cable focus in terms of volume 

and revenue. By 2009, HPC will be matched in revenue by the PC segment AOC business, and more than doubled 

by the HDTV segment, all at a time when HPC is still growing. By 2013, HPC will be reduced to ~5% of overall 

AOC revenue, even after ~4.5x growth from $52 million to $134 million. Over this same period, HDTV will 

continue to grow over 8 times, from $102 million to nearly $825 million, but slip to 34% share. This displacement 

in both HPC and HDTV is caused by PC active optical cable revenue growing nearly 30 times from $55 million to 

nearly $1.36 billion, giving this segment a 56% share by 2013. 

Revenue and unit forecast (2009-2013 all bus interfaces) 

102


The following four charts illustrate the overall active optical cable market segmentation by application type any by 

bus interface speed. Separate charts are given for Years 2009 vs. 2013 so one can identify shifts in market share 

over this time period. Careful readers will refer to the next section to see the breakout by display interface bus, as 

the PC figures shown below include three different types of AOCs (USB, HDMI, and DisplayPort). Figures 3 & 4 

give the reader a sense of the growing importance of AOCs as bus speeds continue to increase (note the 76% share 

for 20 Gbps AOCs in 2013). 

Figure 1 (on the left): Unit share by application (2009 all platforms); Figure 2 (on the right): UnitsShare by 

application (2013 all platforms) 

Figure 3 (on the left): Unit share by application (2009 all platforms); Figure 4 (on the right): Unit share by 

application (2013 all platforms) 

HDMI and DisplayPort active optical cables: From a physical perspective, HDMI and DisplayPort share many 

similar aspects. Both are currently running at slightly over 10Gbps for their primary digital data channel, both 

involve four lanes for this high-speed data path, and data transfer on this path in unidirectional. Both interfaces do 

employ a secondary sideband communications and control path, in the form of a single, bi-directional lane 

operating at much lower data rates than the primary channel. As such, one can expect the respective active optical 

103


cables to share many common design and physical elements, even though the actual electrical connectors will 

clearly be different. 

Since DisplayPort-enabled platforms are aimed more as the PC application segment, and are reaching the market 

substantially later than HDMI based units (i.e., HDTV’s), one can expect the overall market for DisplayPort AOCs 

to be much smaller than HDMI AOCs. In addition, many DisplayPort displays are intended for local desktop PCs, 

which inherently use shorter cables, and thus may be better served by copper cables in many instances. This 

relationship between demand for AOCs in HDMI vs. DisplayPort is well illustrated in the following Figures 5-6. 

The next two figures illustrate the segmentation of HDMI and DisplayPort AOCs based on overall bus speed in 

years 2009 and 2013. Since today’s market is entirely in the ~10Gbps spec range, all AOCs shipping are destined to 

be limited to that speed. However, as the two SIGs plan introduction of much faster versions of their interfaces over 

the next two years, we expect to see a substantial increase in overall AOC demand for both bus types, with a 

stronger emphasis on the 20Gbps versions where copper is less capable of serving the overall needs of the customer 

base. 

Figure 5 (on the left): Unit share by bus interface (2009 display AOCs); Figure 6 (on the right): Unit share 

by bus interface (2013 display AOCs) 

Figure 7 (on the left): Unit share by application (2009 display AOCs); Figure 8 (on the right): Unit share by 

application (2013 display AOCs) 

104


The costs of the optoelectronics devices used to create AOCs are expected to continue to decline as volume demand 

for these units grows over the rapidly expanding AOC products now entering the market. As more and more AOC 

product types ramp, material cost savings will help expand the overall market, helping make AOCs more 

ubiquitous. Make no mistake, copper cabling will still be around for many years, especially in the shorter cable 

versions, but we should start to see a shift towards optical interconnects which should only grow as systems OEMs 

continue to press for higher performance both inside and outside their boxes. While many people are attracted to 

wireless linkage of their equipment, in many cases a cable connection using AOCs will prove far more effective in 

terms of overall delivered bandwidth and connection reliability, especially in areas where real-time data delivery is 

critical. While we do not have the space in this article to cover the topic, link bit-error rates re becoming far more 

critical in many applications, from supercomputers to HD displays using one channel to transfer combined video 

plus audio traffic. Stay tuned as we prepare another article to address this critical performance element of all links, 

copper and AOC alike. 

1 

Contact Information Gatekeepers, Inc. at http://www.igigroup.com/ for further information on the January 2009 

edition of the Active Optical Cables: Market Report 2009 

2 

Contact Solutions By Design (tbits@mac.com or KaanapaliTom@yahoo.com) for more information on 

PowerForecaster and related 3D forecast management tools. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


rate for any consumer electronics technology was five years for DVD… it took nearly 10 years for VCRs to be 

yesterday. But many say BD technology is defunct even before it gets out of the chute! P2P folks say they’re 

already downloading and sharing high def movies. Experts say CDNs (content delivery networks) like Hulu, 

Unbox, Amazon, iTunes and every dog ’n cat is already doing a booming business giving folks instant movies over 

broadband. Today’s service providers complain that even the low volumes of streaming video are chewing up huge 

amounts of bandwidth. AT&T says its usage increases at a pace of 76% a year. German officials complain that it 

won’t be long before Internet video will be half of the bandwidth usage to the homes. Japan, Korea where they have 

a heckuva lot more bandwidth than the US is already there. ISPs and cable folks have the solution… choke off the 

all-you-can eat content access. Why those greedy SOBs! 

Circle of Content – almost everywhere we look we see video content. Every device we use seems to be video enabled. 

Everyone wants to make it available to you and supposedly everyone wants to enjoy it. All we need is to have good 

content and the time/money to enjoy it. Source -- InfoTrends 

106 

Big Pipes – Content 

developers, service 

providers and distribution 

organizations can see the 

Internet becoming the 

ultra high speed and low 

cost solution they need to 

deliver video to your home 

or mobile device. The only 

challenge is really big 

pipes are needed and the 

more people wanting the 

video the bigger the 

plumbing requirements. 

Source – Internet Weather 

Service


They emphasize that the top one percent of users consume 225GB of data a month (bottom 50% use 1GB or less). 

Rather than make “everyone” pay for the gluttons, they (cable and ISP) are considering: 

� tiered pricing – pay for usage just as with other utilities 

� throttle you back after X amount of usage 

� fire you! Oh yeah they do… too many customer support calls, too many hours online watching too many 

web or whatever videos and BAM!!! You’re gone. 

They are in this for a buck, you know. Think about the bandwidth sucked up downloading 30GB of HD movies. 

Where’s Joe the Plumber? Multiply your download by a couple of hundred…thousand…million people. Get real. 

If everyone hits that download button at the same time the huge sucking sound will be louder than when the protons 

or lead ions go ssswwwiiissshhhiiinnnggg by. Even then, CDNs aren’t giving you true HD content; you know 

1080p content for your new 42-inch LCD set. It’s “something else.” According to studies by George Ou of ZDNet 

and so eloquently explained by Gizmodo http://tinyurl.com/5jhvl4, folks downloading their “HD” content are 

getting the Lite version. Whooppee! Our kids are OK with the quality. It’s about as good as the stuff they pull down 

off YouTube and other social net sites. It’s good enough to throw on their mobile devices. Maybe good enough is… 

good enough? Nope! They also watch DVDs and that quality is… better. 

Figure 5 - Other Option – Pushing some level of HD content across the Internet for you to pay for and enjoy 

will become part of the delivery solution. But when consumers want to sit down and enjoy the depth and 

breadth of true high definition video quality they’ll slip a disc into the player and sit back on the couch. 

Source -- ABI 

Especially upscaled on a 42-inch set! It must be a lot better for a lot of people. 

Download, Disc: Netflix offers both disc and download delivery and still does a huge business sending movies to 

your mailbox. We’ve also seen RedBox boxes in more grocery stores. Someone always seems to be choosing a 

movie. Sounds logical… pick up a six pack of drinks, popcorn, other snacks and… a movie all in one stop. But that 

certainly doesn’t make it a sure thing for BD. Of course the “one more thing” guy said BD has its own set of 

problems. 

107


Walled Garden – While Steve Jobs offers “HD” content you can rent/buy as a download from iTunes he 

forgot to tell you that you’re buying/enjoying a Lite version of HD. Want to download 1080p HD content – 

like you get on a BD disc? Start the download, go to bed and check back tomorrow… or so. 

He’s right…kinda! But don’t believe he’s delivering the solution (check http://tinyurl.com/5jhvl4 again)! Discs 

succeed when there are a lot of entertainment options available. It succeeds when there are players in tens, hundreds 

of thousands of homes. Don’t let anyone kid you… that takes time. That takes lower prices. For indies and 

everyone but the huge studies that’s tricky right now. 

The BDA uses the same sort of formula that produced billions of dollars in profits for CDs… they license the logo 

(in BD’s case it is $3,000 per provider + X cents per disc + $1,300 per AACS license). That’s BS! Pass out the BD 

logo like popcorn to anyone who produces a movie to the format spec – Hollywood, Bollywood, indie, who 

knows/who cares. The more discs on the shelves... the more hardware, software, titles sold. OK so you levy some 

“reasonable” per disc charge based on sales – maybe. AACS license? Who gives a rat’s behind? 

Time for copies: We have 2000 music CDs at home. Love to have them on our MP3 player but ripping them and 

copying them to the player? Too much of a hassle… we’ll just throw them on our “ancient” 400-disc CD player. 

We just completed a huge family project of copying our purchased and family VHS movies to DVD using 

Pinnacle’s Dazzle DVD Recorder. Never bothered copying movies before but doing it now? It’s insurance. Tapes 

are almost gone. Deck is on its last leg. There’s a world of CSS (Content Scrambling System) decryption software 

on the Web but we never bothered ripping any of our DVDs. AACS doesn’t stop anyone who’s into stealing… 

Doom9ers rip apart the player protection all the time… lazier folks go to Slysoft’s web site… thieves go to the 

source. Silly boys! Don’t worry about the freakin’ thieves… worry about the customers! Don’t worry about the 

early royalties… worry about the volumes! 

Prices arriving: This holiday season BD players tiptoed below the $200 price. BD burners limbo'd below the $450 

barrier. Now if they knock off most of the overhead for content developers the cost of movies – purchased or rented 

– might get down to the same level of DVDs. That’ll make a huge difference. Of course BD isn’t just about movies 

– don’t tell Hollywood that – it’s also about archival storage. That’s an area that is of interest to individuals and 

companies concerned about data integrity and green IT. You could leave everything on your 1TB hard drive but 

sometime, someday it’s going to fail on you. No sweat unless it’s got all your tax and e-mail records and the 

government wants to examine them the next day. Then you are so screwed!!! 

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What about all your family/friends photos/videos? Lose the drive and you’ve lost something you can never replace 

and never put a price on! Yeah but the disc only has a life of 50+/- years. Yeah…so?? Yeah but 50GB means you’ll 

need a ton of discs? There’s a next generation disc in the wings from a company called Memphile that already 

stores 1TB. Tell the BD folks to talk to them so you have a migration path! Downloading HD content sounds 

fantastic, even Steve’s version of HD. Problem is, high def delivery is way slower than the speed of the CERN 

collider. 

Laws of Physics – As the thousands of scientists from around the globe working on the Collider project at 

CERN will tell you, there are certain laws of physics you simply can’t overcome. One is ramming two-hours 

of HD video down the pipe to your TV set and your neighbors and their neighbors and others… all at once. 

Right now push efficiency is a work in progress. Source -- IDC 

When the collider folks figure out what the beginning of time looked like and content delivery systems have 

unlimited ultra high speed bandwidth for us… things are going to be so fantastic! 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


feast or famine. Periods of low sales beget low investment in production capacity. When sales turn around, demand 

has grown and there are shortages. DisplaySearch, a prominent consulting company for the industry refers to this as 

“The Crystal Cycle”. 

My opinion is based on the history of the TV market. In the discussion below, I refer to some specific numbers 

from my 20 years in the display industry. The documentation for these numbers, in some cases no longer exist, but I 

have confirmed my historical perceptions with others, some of which have a decade or two longer experience. I 

have also discussed this topic with a number of people that are currently connected with the LCD TV industry who 

contributed their comments to this article. 

US color TV set sales history: In the early 1990s, a colleague from Corning (Duane Welch) and I visited RCA, 

Indianapolis to discuss TV set sales forecasting. RCA had a model of US TV set sales that Duane had read about 

and our visit was to get further detail. Though I would love to attribute the model to a specific individual or 

individuals, I don’t recall if I ever knew who developed the model. A former RCA employee has identified some 

possible candidates; but at this point I do not know for sure the identity of the originator. 

In any case the model had a number of interesting factors. It was tied directly to a number of econometric measures 

such as growth in the number of households and interest rates. It also accounted for exogenous events such as 

incremental sales in a year when the Olympics were held and very different consumer behavior at the front end of a 

recession (more about that later). TV set prices were not a factor because, until that time, TV set prices had not 

changed since the mid 1960s. In 1964, one of the earliest years of significant color TV set sales, the average price 

of a color TV set was $400 and the 85th percentile was $800. By the early 1990s the average price had declined to 

about $380 and the 85th percentile remained precisely at $800. Of course, in 1964 $400 bought a 25-inch round set, 

masked off to look 4:3 and of questionable reliability, and by 1995 $380 would be a low priced 27-inch with 

current features. This pricing continued through 2003 when it was disrupted by significant sales of flat panel TVs 

(LCD and plasma). Average pricing subsequently peaked in 2007, approaching the $800 mark that had been the 

entry level for the premium market. 

Another significant factor that was not in the model was any deference to a saturation point. Since the early days of 

color TV, many in the industry expected that TV set sales would reach a plateau and then become a purely 

replacement market. The initial expectation was that the saturation point was one set per household. When that was 

passed, the expectation was that saturation would occur at one set per person per household. A survey taken by 

Corning in the early 1990s indicated that the one set per person mark had already passed when the survey was 

taken. 

The Corning survey indicated a number of other interesting things, two items in particular. First was that while it 

was believed at that time that roughly half of TV set sales were replacement, by the mid 1990s, TV sets were not 

actually wearing out or otherwise failing while in use. What was thought to be replacement sales were actually 

people upgrading their TV sets for a larger size or additional features. The usual practice for a US household was to 

buy a new, larger, TV set for the living room and to move the living room set to another room in the house. In that 

sense, a large portion of the presumed replacement sales was not actually replacements but a market expansion to 

other rooms. For that reason, it was expected that saturation would not be one set per household or even one set per 

person but one set per room (with the possible exception of the bathroom, certainly not a particularly good place for 

a large volume/high voltage CRT). Consistent with the foregoing, the other salient point from the Corning survey 

was that people did not actually know how many TV sets they owned. No doubt this was facilitated by the constant 

decline in the inflation-adjusted price of a TV set. 

Returning to the RCA model, the model was generally extremely accurate in predicting TV set market growth. 

(Predicting unit sales was actually a very trivial exercise as unit sales followed a very linear series.) However, there 

were significant deviations. The first was the introduction of VCRs. The VCR provided a new means of content 

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delivery and spurred a significant amount of incremental sales over the eight-year period when the VCR was in its 

growth phase. 

The other deviation was that premium TV set sales underwent a significant sales spurt at the front end of a 

recession. The reason for this can be partly attributed to the econometric measures, such as falling interest rates; 

however, there was a significant difference in consumer psychology at the front in of a recession. During the first 

part of a recession, those getting laid off receive larger severance packages than average. Typically, they are 

optimistic about finding new employment quickly, and hence they have unexpected money. Being Americans, they 

commonly spend some of this money on 

consumer electronics such as televisions. 

Later on, when the recession takes hold 

and consumer confidence starts to decline, 

two to three quarters into the recession, 

premium set sales plummet. The pattern is 

roughly represented below: 

Reasons for optimism regarding the 

near future: The point of this note is that 

the recovery could actually be quite rapid. 

Turning to other events in recent display 

history, display markets have actually 

turned on a dime on a few occasions. In 

notebooks, the transition from 20% color 

to 80% monochrome LCDs to the reverse 

took place in about one year. More 

recently, the transition from 4:3 to 16:10 

aspect ratio in notebooks took place over a 

Generic expectations of premium set sales during a recession 

couple of years while most industry 

forecasts had a much more gradual and incomplete change over. In the TV market we have seen equally dramatic 

moves to larger sizes, to features such as black matrix, 36% transmission glass, etc. These technology changes 

have the effect of having very recent product look dated and have been a consistent spur to sales. Indeed, the 

transition from CRTs to LCD TV was in and of itself a large spur to market growth. So, it was not such a strange 

coincidence that sales of flat panel TVs really started to come on strong in Q4 of 2003 as the industry was coming 

out of the recession caused by the tech bubble burst. 

There are multiple reasons for thinking that the recovery could be robust. First, I think current forecasts are colored 

by the general economic despair. The factors that contribute to new TV set sales do not go away during a recession. 

At the end of a recession, there will be pent up demand to be satisfied. Though the RCA model does not give much 

guidance in particular about the recovery path out of a recession, the “Delayed Replacements” model developed by 

Jeff Johnson when he was at Philips does. Basically the model says, “Total television set sales come from three 

sources: increase in households, change in sets/household, and replacement sets.” Replacements are calculated 

based on a 17-year total life cycle. 

During the times analyzed with this model, actual replacements were lower than (delayed from) the model 

expectations several times: 1968-69; 1974-75; 1979; 1981-82; 1990-91. Each time, the data show replacements 

eventually “caught up” through higher than normal sales in later years: 1972; 1976-77; 1980; 1983-84; 1992-94. 

Second, if you look at the econometric measures that go into the model there is good news for the market. Though 

credit is currently very tight, interest rates are as low as they have ever been. Further, the reason for the recession is 

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an overbuilt/over-valued housing stock. Many houses are in foreclosure or are otherwise vacant. No doubt, as the 

nation works through its difficulties; this excess housing will ultimately get filled with new household creation. 

The excess housing will not be torn down; it will be filled with either renters or buyers at lower prices. 

Third, normal behavior for the display industry is to offer more for less during a recession. In this case, more for 

less will equate to offering larger sizes for the same or a lower price than was previously available. If you look at 

LCD TV sales until this point, the unit volume has been dominated by undersized sets (less than 29 inches). From a 

purely human factors standpoint, to get full benefit of HDTV, the TV screen has to either be more than twice as tall 

as an NTSC TV or the viewer has to sit at half the distance to the set as their previous NTSC set. 

When HD sets first became available, consumers primarily purchased large sized projection TVs as LCD TVs were 

too small and expensive. Projection TV sales peaked at 2.5M units in the early 2000s and declined as larger size 

LCD and plasma sets became available. However, because of the expense until now, in general, consumers have 

been buying LCD TV sets that are, at best, no bigger than the NTSC sets they have been replacing and using them 

as a drop-ins in their living rooms, often into the same cabinets, without any rearrangement of the viewing 

conditions. The LCD TV sets that have been sold so far will make excellent sets for bedrooms but are undersized to 

be a living room set. Per the usual buying behavior, when larger size LCD TV sets become available at popular 

prices, there should be a wave of replacement/upgrade sales accompanied by a willingness to replace the old 

enclosure housing that TV. Because LCD manufacturing capacity is fixed in terms of screen area produced per 

month, large screens equate to a proportionate increase in volume (the equivalent of more sets). 

Fourth, we have a very large exogenous event happening. Though few sets are connected to receive broadcast 

signals, these sets tend to be the displaced living room sets in a spare bedroom or other location in the household. 

Further, with the complete transition of broadcasters to 16:9 HDTV format, the amount of 4:3 content or even 4:3 

friendly content (by that I mean directors not putting critical action on the fringes of a 16:9 frame) will tend to 

decline precipitously. 

Even when making movies for the cinema, producers commonly have an eye to the value of the TV rights and keep 

the action in the middle of the screen where it can be captured on a 4:3 set. One of the more notable exceptions to 

this is the central scene in the movie “The Graduate” where Anne Bancroft is undressing in front of Dustin 

Hoffman. The Dustin Hoffman character is at one extreme end of the frame and Anne Bancroft at the other. The 

scene can’t be viewed with its original impact in a 4:3 format. A significant problem with 4:3 TVs going forward is 

that there will be more “Graduate” staging 

forcing consumers to either view letterbox, 

which most consumers really hate (resulting 

in a 25% reduction in the height of the 

image they see) or get a new TV. 

The usefulness of the spare sets will 

decline, so the consumer is faced with 

losing a room with a useful TV set or 

getting converter boxes or buying a new 

living room set and moving their undersized 

living room LCD TV to the bedroom. As 

reported in the New York Times, Nielson 

Media research estimates that as late as 

January 2009, 6.5M households needed 

converters for one or more of their TVs for 

the June 2009 transition. 

Delayed replacements (set sales deficits due to recession). 

Delayed replacements are made up within 2-3 years after 

the bottom of a recession. Data courtesy of Jeff Johnson 

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The transition to HDTV has other implications. While copying content from one media to another is easy with 

NTSC content, HD brings along High Definition Content Protection (HDCP). Copying is much more restricted and 

displaying the content at full resolution requires a TV that has a High Definition Media Interconnect (HDMI) 

connector. On the downside of this, higher fees for HD connectivity through the cable box may lead the consumer 

to just reduce the number of rooms where they watch TV. 

Fifth, while through most of the history that I have recited, TVs were generally maintenance-free; this is not 

generally true of the first round of flat panel TVs. Early plasma TVs suffer from burn-in problems and the early 

LCD TVs were lit by fluorescent lamps that can lose half of their brightness within two years of use, and worse yet 

a non-uniform loss that is worst at the ends of the bulbs. If you add to that the issue that many of the early LCD 

TVs were less than the full 1080p format and suffered from significant motion-blur, the LCD TV market was 

actually in a very primitive stage. There are significant technological improvements (including LED backlights to 

improve contrast, observable as black levels) that will drive early replacement of the first round of LCD TVs that 

were sold… Similar to what happened in the 25-inch round era of CRT. 

But what about the recession? Economically, things are as bad as they have been since the 1930s. So, it is quite 

possible that emergence from the current financial difficulties will be long and slow (emergence from the Great 

Depression took ten years and a World War to restore economic vigor). Consequently, it is possible that current 

difficulties could result in significant household consolidation and a fundamental change in the consumerist 

behavior that has marked Western life. Additionally, there are any numbers of other consumer gadgets (laptops, cell 

phones, etc.) competing for the consumers’ discretionary income and the decline in consumers’ personal credit 

ratings that may inhibit purchases. 

Regarding household consolidation and the housing stock, if foreclosed housing is left vacant for long periods of 

time then this will certainly result in a reduction in the number of households in the US and a decrease in the 

available market for LCD TVs. If such is not the case, if the housing is sold or rented at competitive rates, then the 

overbuilt housing stock becomes a boon to household creation. Further, the reduction in housing costs becomes a 

spur to discretionary incomes… for those that still have jobs. 

If the current crisis brings about a fundamental change in consumer behavior, such as a closer family unit (extended 

family moving back in), this may also depress LCD TV sales, even after the recession is over. However, this is a 

change that could cut both ways. In the RCA model, the consumer behavior during the early part of a recession was 

referred to as the “Beer Can” theory. The name, in part, refers to a perception that buying a case of beer and a new 

TV is one of the first things a laid-off worker will do. This may sound disparaging but in reality, on a per hour 

basis, a TV is about as cheap a form of entertainment as there is without being absolutely free. Spending a lot on a 

TV is not necessarily a bad financial decision especially if you are going to be spending a lot of time in front of it. 

Similarly, other consumer gadgets could compete with LCD TV for discretionary income or it could spur spending 

on new display hardware. Viewing video or other Internet entertainment content on a laptop or TV on a connected 

device such as a cell phone will become more common as these devices continue their encroachment into 

entertainment applications. However, many of these devices are “convergence” devices. Text is much more 

readable on an LCD than it is on an NTSC CRT. As these devices, especially gaming consoles that are designed to 

be connected to a TV, gain Internet connectivity, the text issue drives the need for an improved set. The faster 

graphics and the relatively slow response time of first generation LCD TVs gives cause to replace even these 

relatively new sets. Many of these devices will have HDMI interfaces and will need to plug into an HDMI 

receptacle. As with computer monitors HDCP can in and of itself require users to upgrade. Further, the result for 

the laptop platform in particular may be a complete convergence for part of that market with speculated 

development of “All in Ones”, super-sized transportable laptops with 20-inch screens, or larger, purpose built to 

serve as both a small sized TV and a mobile computer. Regarding cell phones, with higher resolution cameras 

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becoming standard, one prominent industry executive noted, “HDTV provides a much better way to show off the 

photos to friends and families, replacing the projection screens of yesteryear.” 

In most cases, as it has been in the past, the sale of other electronic devices feed the demand for TVs, not compete 

with it. The introduction of Blu-Ray disc with HDCP is probably the next example. Previously one such example 

was the introduction of the “Home Theater” concept, which took off at the beginning of a mild recession in the 

1980s. Stereo makers added video ports to their systems boosting sales of both new stereos and new TVs. 

There is a concern about costs, and the industry’s ability to further reduce pricing. If the efforts of the US to end the 

recession ignite an inflationary round and the dollar devalues significantly relative to the Asian currencies where 

LCDs are produced, then the ability of the industry to further reduce (or even maintain) current dollar pricing is 

impaired. This is accentuated by the fact that the industry may already be selling at cost. Any increase in demand 

spurred by the ending of the recession may be an opportunity to restore previous pricing. So, continually falling 

prices is not the given that it usually is in consumer electronics. However, consumers do have the option of opting 

for a smaller TV than they had planned. This would contribute to an increase in unit volume for the LCD makers, 

but not necessarily an increase in demands upon manufacturing capacity. 

Of course, the lowest cost alternative for a consumer is to not buy a new TV at all but just buy a converter box. 

These are available for $49 and a replenished government subsidization program may net this cost to zero. Many 

don’t have it in their DNA to throw away something that still works. However, a combination of disappearing 4:3 

content, declining CRT image quality, and some environmental issues may force the deal. After 50 years of 

engineering, CRTs have become incredibly reliable… but have developed an interesting new failure mechanism, 

the glass wears out. After so many years of being bombarded by electrons, the glass in the interior of the CRT tube 

starts to metalize and builds up an optical layer. The blues in the image start to disappear and the image turns 

brown. The phenomenon is known as browning. Although it generally does not affect the reds and the all-important 

facial tones, it does give an old CRT image a sepia tinged washed out look. The newer LCDs are using LEDs as the 

light source, which gives more saturated colors than standard NTSC CRT TVs even when new. In addition to 

everything else the CRT viewer is missing out on a more colorful image independent of the higher definition. 

What if the recession drags on? Announcements of new large layoffs are still common and consumer confidence is 

still headed down. Per an economist friend of mine, “TV is probably a little more recession-proof than the general 

economy because it is a cheaper form of entertainment than most other alternatives, and most people seem to regard 

it as almost a necessity rather than a luxury.” Even with two of my kids getting the child’s discount, taking my 

family of five to the cinema is about $80 or more than 1/10th the average price of an LCD TV at its peak in 2007. 

Again, given the amount of time devoted to TV viewing, TV pricing, even for luxury sets, is not so expensive. 

Staying home is cheaper than going out. 

Even if the recession drags on, there is some reason for optimism. Usual recessions only last about a year, and the 

current one was a year old before it was officially declared. The available history does not tell us how long 

consumers will delay a delayed replacement purchase but if the recession lasts to be 2-3 years significant numbers 

of the delayed purchased could begin even before the recession ends. If they continue to accumulate, then that 

implies an even more dramatic turn around when the recession does end. 

The opportunities: With or without the end of the recession, there will be opportunities to increase sales. Specific 

technological improvements will increase the utility of TV sets and increase the demand for larger screens. 

Increased connectivity to the Internet and to other devices within the home may turn the living room set into a 

household command center. Companies such as Toprover Systems have created systems that combine the full 

functionality of a PC with security, household lighting and utilities control, and household device communications. 

The multiple “picture in picture” screens and the heavy text content need a large HD screen to be used easily. 

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Wireless connectivity will offer increased options for home theater and optical versions of HDMI cables will allow 

remoting of the TV screens beyond the current 10-foot limitation of HDMI cables. 

Concerning the environmental issues, presently LCDs are less energy efficient than CRTs. (Per the California 

Energy Commission, LCDs use 0.27 Watts per square inch of screen vs. 0.23 for a CRT and 0.36 for a plasma). 

However, the LCDs could become significantly more efficient. Where CRT generates light that is the image, an 

LCD starts off with white light from another source and throws away light in successive layers in the device, until 

the desired image is generated. Less than 6% of the light that goes into an LCD comes out as part of the image. 

Various companies are working on ways to increase the optical efficiency. In particular, one of the first things that 

happen in the optical path of an LCD is that the light passes through a polarizer that throws away half the light. 

Agoura Technologies is developing a polarizer that recycles most of this light instead of throwing it away. The 

highly secretive Holox Technologies is working on a technique that does away with one of the layers entirely. The 

biggest issue for both Agoura and Holox is that in addition to the downturn causing a suspension in new factory 

capacity, it is also causing a downturn in venture capital funding of new technology. The Agoura, Holox, and many 

other developing technologies are not likely to be mature enough to be applied to consumer TV sets by the time the 

market turns around. 

Additionally, CRTs contain a lot of lead. While some in the EPA freely admitted that lead bound up in a glass is 

“there for millennia”, standard hazardous waste disposal rules require that the product be ground up and mixed with 

cement, making it much more bio-available. Many communities charge a special disposal fee for CRTs and these 

fees will only grow as time passes. Given the Green climate, if the industry were to develop a comprehensive 

system to collect and dispose of CRTs with the purchase of a new LCD TV, this would be an attractive package for 

the consumer rather than having to pay a higher cost at some future date to have the CRT put in a hazardous waste 

landfill. (Some corporations have already disposed of their CRT monitors for just this reason.) The expense of such 

a program would depend on what is done with the CRTs. According to EPA’s 2008 Electronics Waste Management 

in the United States Report, in 2007, “An estimated 99 million televisions had accumulated in storage, piling up in 

people’s closets, basements, and garages… In 2007, Americans discarded nearly 27 million TVs, recycling 

approximately 18%.” 

One area that may be a possibility is renewable energy. Even in the best locations the duty cycle for wind and solar 

energy is only about 20%, so, almost by definition, the renewable energy market creates an expanded market for 

batteries. Until advanced fuel cell technology is ready having a lot more local power storage in the form of 

lead/acid batteries is not such a bad idea for the nation’s shaky power grid. The batteries already have a very high 

recycle rate and if you can keep the lead out of a landfill, it minimizes both expense and future liability. Some years 

ago, Corning used to pay a battery maker to dispose of the lead bearing waste that accumulated in its CRT glass 

making furnaces. After the company implemented a recycling program, the same company offered to pay for the 

waste. Per the law at the time, selling a product as a raw material severed any future liability where some liability is 

retained if the material is transferred as a waste. So, the sale of the waste both saved the company money and 

severed any liability with respect to that waste stream. If a market is created for the lead-bearing CRT waste and it 

can be sold rather than disposed of, this would generally benefit the industry. Interestingly, in the 1990s when the 

US CRT tube industry was offered a choice between a new glass composition that fixed the browning issue and one 

that made it easier to recycle old CRTs into new ones, they picked recycling. Later, the LCD glass was also 

modified to facilitate recycling; the Corning “Eagle” composition eliminated the arsenic in the glass. 

A government lobbying effort which I subsequently lead, convinced the EPA of the need to make exceptions for 

CRT (http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b1ab9f485b098972852562e7004dc686/6be0e9642cdeac198525662f0066b993?OpenDocument) 

waste handling in order to facilitate recycling. A similar effort to require current lead users to pay fair market value 

for the lead content of CRT glass would further encourage recycling. 

115


Regarding both environmental issues, state governments are taking some action. Maine’s “Shared Responsibility” 

legislation organizes the collection and recycling of old CRTs. California’s Energy Efficient TV Incentive Program 

encourages the sale of the more energy efficient LCD models. Both programs act through the retailers rather than 

other places in the supply chain. Additionally and independently, a major retailer is asking manufacturers to 

increase the energy efficiency of TV sets by 30% for 2010. This is the same retailer that demanded the industry fix 

the response time issue on the early LCD TVs. 

Conclusion: While buying a big TV after you have been laid off may be an American trait, Americans generally 

have accounted for the vast majority of super-sized TV sets. Until current times, this has been mostly projection 

TV, but I expect that having a pre-existing taste for super-sized sets (and the space… and the need given viewing 

distances in American homes) will mean that the US will lead the way in adopting the next round of very large 

sized LCDs. 

If you account for the excursions resulting from the introduction of the VCR or the occasional recession, the 

growth/penetration of TV set sales have been very predictable since the inception of the market. Other than the 

economy being in shambles and credit being tight, conditions could not be better for TV set sales. Regarding the 

loss of available credit, this is an area where the industry can help itself with factory financed credit programs. If 

the factory is full, then there is no point. However, it is an option for consideration until that point is reached. 

However, interest rates are low, pricing is low, household growth is expected to be abnormally high driven by an 

overbuilt housing stock, and every day of the recession that passes, pent up sales continue to grow. Further, the 

transition to HDTV means that a whole class of TV set is being rapidly becoming obsolete; CRTs were still almost 

half of US TV set sales through 2006 and there are about 250 million CRT TVs still in American homes. All of this 

means that when the economy turns around, LCD TV set sales are likely to boom. My expectation is that if the 

economy turns around by Q4 of 09, by Q4 2010, the industry will be out of capacity as has been the case in the past 

with the “Crystal Cycle”. This opinion is generally shared but there is some feeling that the industry does have the 

capacity to handle the upturn. 

What remains though, is the probability that an abnormally large number of LCD TVs will get sold in the next few 

years and an abnormally large number of CRTs will find their way into disuse. The new LCD TVs are likely to be 

with us for most of the next two decades. If the investment is made now in improved energy efficiency technology, 

these new sets can contribute to decreasing our collective carbon footprint. Similarly, the CRTs that are obsolete 

can be collected and recycled in an organized manner or they can find their way into landfills. Deciding what to do 

is a shared responsibility. 

Pros and cons of a prolonged recession: 

Positives Negatives 

Pent up demand Conservative consumer behavior 

New household creation Household consolidation 

Convergence/increased text Competition for discretionary income 

Complete transition to HD Converter boxes 

Price reductions Costs 

Early replacement/improved product Tight credit 

Post-script reference: Dr. Brian Oblivion (fictional character from the movie “Videodrome”) – 

“The battle for the mind of North America will be fought in the video arena, the videodrome. The television 

screen is the retina of the mind’s eye. Therefore the television screen is part of the physical structure of the 

brain, therefore whatever appears on the television screen emerges as raw experience for those who watch 

it, therefore television is reality, and reality is less than television.” 

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Display Industry Calendar 

A much more complete version of this calendar is located at: http://www.veritasetvisus.com/industry_calendar.htm. 

Please notify mark@veritasetvisus.com to have your future events included in the listing. 

February 2009 

February 17-19 Broadcast Video Expo London, England 

February 17-20 

Displays for Industrial, Household, and 

Auto Applications 

117 

Pforzheim, Germany 

February 20-22 Sound & Vision 2009 Bristol, England 

February 22-25 Focus on Imaging Birmingham, England 

February 24-25 Transistors on Plastics Cambridge, England 

February 24-25 EBU Display Seminar Geneva, Switzerland 

February 25-27 PV Expo 2009 Tokyo, Japan 

February 27 Green Gadgets New York, New York 

February 27 - March 1 

Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and 

Games 

Boston, Massachusetts 

February 28 - March 3 LED China 2009 Guangzhou, China 

March 2 

Kinetica Art Fair and Technologies 

Workshop 

March 2009 

London, England 

March 2-4 US FPD Conference San Diego, California 

March 3-8 CeBIT 2009 Hanover, Germany 

March 4-5 Electronic Displays Conference 2009 Nuremberg, Germany 

March 4-5 HD Expo Beverly Hills, California 

March 5-6 ITC'09 / SID Mid Europe Spring Conference Paris, France 

March 9-11 Photonics in Surveillance and Biometrics Washington, D.C. 

March 9-12 DVB World 2009 Berlin, Germany 

March 9-12 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference San Diego, California 

March 10 Integrating Plastic Electronics Oxford, England 

March 10-11 TV of Tomorrow Show San Francisco, California


March 10-12 Smart Fabrics 2009 Rome, Italy 

March 11-13 FPD China Shanghai, China 

March 11-14 EHX Spring Orlando, Florida 

March 14-15 Symposium on 3D User Interfaces Lafayette, Louisiana 

March 14-19 Virtual Reality 2009 Lafayette, Louisiana 

March 17-19 Air Traffic Control Amsterdam, Netherlands 

March 17-19 Semicon China Shanghai, China 

March 17-19 electronica & ProductronicaChina 2009 Shanghai, China 

March 17-19 Laser World of Photonics China Shanghai, China 

March 17-21 Emissive and Organic Emissive Displays Nottingham, England 

March 18-20 

Symposium on Haptic Interfaces and 

Virtual Environments 

118 

Salt Lake City, Utah 

March 23-27 2009 Measurement Science Conference Anaheim, California 

March 24-26 Image Sensors Europe 2009 London, England 

March 24-26 Phosphor Global Summit 2009 Miami, Florida 

March 24-26 Future of Television Los Angeles, California 

March 30 - April 2 Showest 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada 

March 30 - April 3 MIPTV Cannes, France 

March 31 - April 2 LEDs Asia Hong Kong, China 

March 31 - April 2 Display 2009 Paris, France 

March 31 - April 3 Active Matrix Displays Dundee, Scotland 

April 2009 

April 4-9 CHI 2009 Boston, Massachusetts 

April 6-9 Miniature and Near-to-Eye Displays Edinburgh, Scotland 

April 7-8 

Printed Electronics Europe 

Photovoltaics: Beyond Conventional Silicon 

Dresden, Germany 

April 7-8 Screen Expo Europe London, England 

April 9-10 2009 Taiwan FPD Conference Taipei, Taiwan 

April 15-17 Touch Panel Japan Tokyo, Japan


April 15-17 FineTech Japan & Display 2009 Tokyo, Japan 

April 15-17 LED/OLED Lighting Technology Expo Tokyo, Japan 

April 15-18 International Sign Expo Las Vegas, Nevada 

April 18-23 NAB 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada 

April 19-24 European Conference on Liquid Crystals Colmar, France 

April 22-23 Interactive Displays 2009 San Jose, California 

April 26-30 

Digital Holography and Three Dimensional 

Imaging 

119 

Vancouver, British 

Columbia 

April 27-29 Organic Photovoltaics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

April 27-30 IDMC/3DSA/Asia Display 2009 Taipei, Taiwan 

April 28-30 Sign UK/Digital Signage Showcase Birmingham, England 

April 30 Emerging Display Technology Cambridge, England 

May 2009 

May 4-9 3DTV-CON 2009 Potsdam, Germany 

May 5-7 Digital Signage Expo 2009 Essen, Germany 

May 5-8 

International Conference on Animation, 

Effects, Games, and Digital Media 

Stuttgart, Germany 

May 6-7 Digital Signage Show 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada 

May 12-13 HDTV Conference China Shenzhen, China 

May 12-15 Orbit-iEX Zurich, Switzerland 

May 13 Laser Processing for Plastic Electronics Abingdon, England 

May 20-22 SEMICON Singapore Singapore 

May 20-23 International FPD Korea Seoul, Korea 

May 31 - Jun 5 SID International Symposium San Antonio, Texas 

June 2009 

June 1-2 SID Business Conference 2009 San Antonio, Texas 

June 2 Dynamic Digital Facades London, England


June 2-4 SEMICON Russia 2009 Moscow, Russia 

June 2-4 Dimension3 Expo Seine-Saint-Denis, France 

June 2-4 Digital Living Room Conference Santa Clara, California 

June 2-6 Computex 2009 Taipei, Taiwan 

June 3-4 HD Expo Chicago, Illinois 

June 4-9 SIIM 2009 Charlotte, North Carolina 

June 11-13 

Photonics Festival: OPTO Taiwan , SOLAR, 

LED Lighting, Optics 

120 

Taipei, Taiwan 

June 9-10 RFID Smart Labels San Francisco, California 

June 9-11 Plastic Electronics Asia Taipei, Taiwan 

June 15-16 Projection Summit Orlando, Florida 

June 15-18 Laser World of Photonics Munich, Germany 

June 16-17 Photovoltaics USA Denver, Colorado 

June 16-18 National Electronics Week London, England 

June 16-19 Display Metrology Short Course Boulder, Colorado 

June 17-19 InfoComm '08 Orlando, Florida 

June 22-25 Cinema Expo Amsterdam, Netherlands 

June 22-25 CEDIA Expo Europe London, England 

June 23-25 

LOPE-C -- Large Area, Organic and Printed 

Electronics Convention 

Frankfurt, Germany 

June 25-26 Korea Display Conference 2008 Seoul, Korea

Display Standard - Veritas et Visus

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