By the time you read this, Projection Summit will have concluded and attendees will be gearing up to see the sights and sounds at InfoComm and 3D Comm - all of which is taking place here in Las Vegas. Projection Summit, now in its ninth year, has demonstrated an ability to bring together the thought leaders in the projection industry to present, discuss and showcase the latest projection technologies and to highlight where the industry is headed. Understanding the trends that will shape the industry in the next 2-3 years, and the ability to network and develop relationships, are clearly the key reasons why people attend. Today, let me give you a few tidbits of some of the discussions and demos I experienced in the first morning of Projection Summit.

Chris Chinnock
Senior Analyst and Editor
for Insight Media

Lasers and Speckle
The first session focused on lasers with 6 laser manufacturers providing updates and insights on device development. While we have reported on laser development for a number of years at Projection Summit, this year felt different. These manufacturers are clearly starting to see commercialization around the corner with the emphasis of activity shifting from basic device performance to manufacturability, production ramps, reliability, lifetime, supply chain, speckle reduction and projection system integration issues. Lasers have a clear long term advantage as a projection light source, but today development is focused on the two ends of the projection spectrum - the low-lumen pico range and the high-lumen cinema and large venue range.

In the panel discussion following these presentations, speckle measurement dominated the dialog. There was clear agreement that different measurement methods exist and that some standardization of these techniques is needed. This is complicated as projector speckle measurement is tied to the system design, the lens throw ratio, the type of screen surface, ambient room lighting and even the type of content. But, just as importantly, these techniques need to be tied to the way humans perceive speckle. Fortunately, there seems to be some determination to make progress in this area.

Green Projection Displays
The Green Display session showcased the new laser-scanning phosphor display system from Prysm, which is more energy efficient that alternatives, and a presentation from TCO, an organization that sets up benchmarks for "green" products and then tests them to certify compliance and issue a label. TCO has a new program for projector certification but the validity of the program was challenged as one participant felt the metric penalized 3LCD projectors since the tests looked only at luminance and not color brightness.

It was also fairly clear that green projection was not really on most attendees radars - but it should be. EnergyStar rating for consumer projectors are in the works, InfoComm will come out with guidelines for green AV products later this week, and the economics of green can actually work in favor of manufacturers. This is exactly the type of topic Projection Summit is designed to highlight as a future trend so attendees can start to pay attention.

Exhibits and Demos
During lunch, I had a chance to see a few exhibits. At the Scalable Display booth, two LG micro projectors (about 200 lumens each) were illuminating a cylindrical screen. A web cam and Scalable’s software was used to create one seamless image across this display, which looked quite good. CEO Andrew Jamison said they have been doing well and they are particular excited about an emerging trend in this multi-megapixel space - dual-purpose rooms.

He described this as "telepresense meets collaborative visualization." By setting up a multi-projector seamless display wall, it can be used for collaborative visualizations by one team (think looking at 3D molecules or oil formations), while other groups can use the room for video conferencing. Both teams love the room and can share the expense, which has come down considerably and is now much more affordable to begin with.

There were several other dual micro projector demos being used in 3D or blending applications, so this is clearly an area of emerging innovation.

On the 3D front, BenQ and 3D Rover showed their portable solution, which can be a single projector with active shutter glasses or a dual-stack solution with passive polarized glasses. This is geared toward education where the 3D cart can be rolled from classroom to classroom.

LG also showcased a working model of their 3D home theater projector that was debuted at CES. This features dual SXRD engines and a single lens to create a passive polarized 3D image. A polarization preserving high-gain screen from Mocomtech was used. This could be an exciting product for the CEDIA channel. The price will be $13K (up for the $10K announced at CES) and light output in 2D mode is 2500 lumens. The jack package is not really well suited for CEDIA yet, as LG will find out, but fixing this could come fairly quickly.

Anyway, that’s all the space I have for now. Look for much more in our subscription newsletters.