I think this may be quite underrated it may be a disruptive innovation...
Thursday September 7, 10:07 am Eastern Time
Press Release
DLP Technology Finding Increasing Favor Among Manufacturers of Home
Entertainment Systems
More than twenty products expected to feature at CEDIA Expo
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2000-- Illustrative images for this story may be found at
ti.com
Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE:TXN - news) today said that visitors to this year's CEDIA Expo (September 6th - 10th, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis)
will have the opportunity to see the enormous strides made by DLP(TM) technology in home entertainment applications over the past twelve months. No fewer than
twelve of the industry's most noted players are expected to feature systems developed using Digital Light Processing(TM) technology to deliver superior video
images from systems that are smaller, lighter and more visually appealing than is possible with alternative technologies.
``The last twelve months has been hugely exciting for DLP technology in the home entertainment market,'' said Dale Zimmerman, Business Manager for Home
Entertainment Systems for TI's Digital Imaging division, ``as more and more household name companies have seen the benefits the technology brings and have
elected to use it to develop innovative, market-leading products which are capturing the attention of home theater enthusiasts everywhere.''
Rear Projection
In the first half of this year, Texas Instruments announced agreements with Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Panasonic under the terms of which those companies would
develop a new generation of home entertainment products featuring DLP(TM) technology. These products would be characterized by having large screens,
outstanding video performance, spectacular graphics performance - and would be housed in more elegant cabinets than have previously been possible with rear
projection systems using competing technologies. The first products to result from these agreements are now beginning to appear in stores nationwide.
``Our vision of the future of home entertainment,'' continued Zimmerman, ``sees the convergence of broadcast programming with web-based entertainment to deliver
to the consumer a seamless, interactive, personalizable and highly immersive leisure activity experience. The implication of this is that the home entertainment screen of
the future will be larger than today's average TV, and will deliver stellar performance whether in HD video mode or high resolution graphics mode. DLP technology is
uniquely placed to deliver this.''
``Many consumers have shied away from large screen rear projection systems, though, because the products themselves were unattractive pieces of furniture in many
cases. However, the unique characteristics of DLP technology mean that manufacturers can develop cabinets that are smaller, lighter and much easier on the eye: we
expect that this alone will bring new customers into the market.''
CEDIA Expo is expected to represent the first opportunity to see `side by side' the new, DLP(TM) technology-based home entertainment systems from Hitachi,
Mitsubishi and Panasonic.
Front Projection
DLP(TM) technology has already achieved significant success in the market for business projectors, and is at the heart of market-leading systems which feature
extraordinarily light weight (the most recent products weigh less than 3lbs) with high brightness and exceptional image quality. Now, manufacturers in the home
entertainment market are seizing on these characteristics to develop award-winning home entertainment systems.
``Just as DLP technology is enabling the development of more elegant, more attractive rear projection home entertainment systems, '' said Zimmerman, ``so it is also
enabling the manufacturers of front projection systems to design units that are compact, lightweight and visually attractive. The high degree of portability that is so
highly prized by business presenters is no less valued by home entertainment connoisseurs who like the idea of a `take me anywhere' solution. For fixed installations,
it's important to consumers that the home entertainment system they choose should be as unobtrusive as possible. DLP technology uniquely enables these
requirements to be met.''
CEDIA Expo is expected to see around twenty home entertainment systems, enabled by DLP(TM) technology, from manufacturers such as Davis, DreamVision,
DWIN, Marantz, PLUS, SIM2 Multimedia (Seleco), Runco and Zenith.
``If the last twelve months have been exciting,'' concluded Zimmerman, ``we expect the next twelve months to be even more so. We're investing an increasing amount
in developing DLP technology for home entertainment applications, both rear projection and front projection. We are also involved in some exciting trials which will
push the boundaries of home entertainment way back from where they are today. Our goal is that DLP should be the pre-eminent display technology for home
entertainment systems of the future.''
Today, TI supplies DLP(TM) subsystems to more than thirty of the world's top projector manufacturers, who then design, manufacture and market projectors based
on DLP(TM) technology. There are now over fifty products based on DLP(TM) technology in the market. Since early 1996, over 350,000 DLP(TM) subsystems
have been shipped. Over the past four years, DLP(TM) technology-based projectors have consistently won some of the audio-visual industry's most prestigious
awards, including, in June 1998, an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
At the heart of TI's Digital Light Processing(TM) technology is the Digital Micromirror Device(TM) optical semiconductor chip. The DMD(TM) switch has an array
of up to 1,310,000 hinged, microscopic mirrors which operate as optical switches to create a high resolution, full color image.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. The company's
businesses also include materials and controls, and educational and productivity solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has manufacturing or sales
operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information on TI's DLP(TM) technology can be found on the World
Wide Web at ti.com.
Digital Light Processing, DLP, Digital Micromirror Device and DMD are all trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other products and names may or may not be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
fred |
