Speakers

Monday Keynote Address

Paul Salvini
CTO
Christie Digital

What's Next for Pro AV?
From tablets to flat panels to the future of projectors…. from personal viewing to group collaboration, to using the world around us as our own digital canvasses… the world of display technology is changing. With all this change and disruption, the question facing many is, what does the future hold for Pro AV integrators? Dr. Salvini will discuss near- and long-term factors that may influence future innovation opportunities, as well as review key influencing factors that could help shape the direction and value proposition of the Pro AV market. Paul will share his insights and experiences as a technology champion in the field of content development and integration with display solutions in this promising look at what the future may hold for Pro AV integration experts.

Session 1 - Laser-based Digital Cinema and Large Venue

Greg Niven
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
NECSEL/LIPA

New Opportunities for Laser Illumination Projector Systems
The Laser Illuminated Projector Association (LIPA), representing over 20 industry-leading laser suppliers, projector manufacturers, technology organizations and exhibitors, will present its views on new opportunities for laser illumination projector systems. The presentation will primarily explain the benefits of laser technology as it applies to commercial theatre-quality and large-venue projectors. Benefits explained will include brighter illumination, better color rendering, and lower cost of ownership.
Also, LIPA will address the current regulatory environment governing the use of lasers and the impact on regulations on theatre owners/operators. Background for this part of the presentation, in which LIPA will argue for a better regulatory environment, will be drawn from product comparisons sponsored by LIPA and conducted in the field by independent experts. A key LIPA goal is to promote wider adoption of laser projectors, and regulatory reform is an essential element.

Bram Dieryckx
Product Manager, ProAV Projection
Barco, Inc.

Laser Technology: The Future of Projection for the ProAV Market
In this session, Bram Dieryckx will discuss the impact of laser technology to the ProAV community; the long-term benefits of laser technology to the audience, exhibitors and systems integrators; the three major factors driving the commercial availability of laser projection; and the leaders bringing laser technology to market.
After talking about lasers as light sources for projectors since the 1960s, laser projection is finally here-and commercially available next year. In January 2012, Barco publicly unveiled its laser projector prototype, showcasing levels of brightness and color saturation never before seen to exhibitors and industry leaders. Exceeding 55,000 ANSI lumens, Barco demonstrated its revolutionary 4K laser projection technology on a 70-foot screen, providing a glimpse of where projection is heading in the future.

Bill Beck
Founder & EVP Business Development
Laser Light Engines

Off-board Laser Illumination: Enabling New Projection Use Models
Laser-driven illumination provides many desirable benefits to performance projection including radically scalable brightness, long life at full output, reduced power consumption, as well as lower heat dissipation and ambient noise. Another attractive attribute of laser illumination is that it can be decoupled from the projector. This talk will explore a number of new use models for performance projection enabled by optical fiber delivery (OFD). This is a new category of solid-state light source called "off-board illumination" (OBI). These new use models will be described and quantified to suggest how OBI can be used to retrofit lasers to many types of existing projectors, both DLP and LCOS. The concept of centralized laser "light farms" for both fixed and mobile applications will be proposed for flexible, reconfigurable light and projection requirements. Finally, a universal, compact projection head will be described for single SKU coverage of a wide range of lumen outputs and applications.

Petteri Uusimaa
President & CEO
Modulight, Inc.

Laser Diode Light Engines for 3D Cinema
There is an increased interest in high brightness long-lifetime light sources in large venue projection applications, especially in 3D digital cinema. This application requires lasers with optical output powers in the range of 50-200W per RGB wavelength to realize 10k+ lumens systems. It is widely accepted that the most powerful and cost efficient way of realizing these light sources is using RGB laser diodes directly. In this work we discuss tradeoffs in designing laser diode based solutions for blue and red light engines for cinema application and demonstrate performance of the 50W light engines at 465nm and 635nm. We will also present guidelines for system level requirements for projector application and present results on current performance and scalability of this technology to high-lumen 3D projection.

Session 2 - Projection Components and Subsystems

Dr. Walter Chen
Senior Principal Member of Technical Staff
MAXIM Integrated Products

Bill of Materials (BOM) Requirements of a Laser Scanning Pico Projector
A laser scanning Pico Projector can be assembled using off-the-shelf electronic components at the expense of high BOM cost and high power consumption. To move closer to mass production at a consumer price point, and with power consumption suitable for battery applications, ASICs are being developed and more power efficient laser drivers are becoming available. Taking a system view of the Pico Projector, a new interface - Host Sinusoidal Synchronized Framing (HSSF) - is proposed to further cut BOM cost by reducing the requirement for frame buffering. A single chip solution is possible based on this HSSF interface.

Francis Nguyen
Senior Product Marketing Manager
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc.

Evolution of LEDs Used in Picoprojectors
Pico projectors are emerging as a tool for sharing information as well as completely new applications made possible by its small size. LEDs have made possible tiny projection systems and are still the light source technology of choice. Market expectations for brightness, size, efficiency and cost of pico-projectors are influenced to a large extent by the selection of LED and imager used. The optimization and evolution of the RGB LEDs used in projection engine designs have evolved over the last few years resulting in each generation of pico-projectors that are brighter than last season's model. Today a pico projector that fits in a suit jacket or a briefcase is available for under $500. We are now in our 4th generation of LEDs used in projectors and this paper will continue with a look ahead at what is coming up.

Andrei Kazmierski
Systems & Application Engineering Manager
Luminus Devices, Inc.

The Bright Outlook for LED Projection Displays
Advances in high-brightness (HB) LED technology are enabling a continually expanding market for solid-state light source data/video projectors. Brightness, compact size, long lifetime and reliability are some of the key characteristics that have driven LEDs to become the de facto light source for market segments such as pico, ultra-portable and simulation / video wall projection. The home theater market segment is seeing rapidly increasing adoption of LEDs in part due to increased brightness and a large native color gamut. Mainstream data projection has already adopted lamp-free hybrid solid-state sources, and LEDs will see further penetration as brightness continues to increase.
Andrei Kazmierski will discuss the various key market segments for LED projection in 2012 and beyond, and highlight specific advances in LED technology that complement system design to accelerate the inevitable penetration of solid-state lighting for a variety of projection systems.

Kenneth Li
President/CEO
Wavien, Inc.

Making LEDs Brighter for Projection Displays
LEDs will have a bright future in projection displays with its long lifetime and lower cost compared to lasers. But LEDs are not bright enough for many projection applications, from small pico-projector to high power projectors.
The requirements keep increasing as the outputs of LEDs are improved by LED chip makers. This paper describes the Recycling LED Technology (RLTT), a method of recycling part of the emitted light from an LED back to itself.
The results are lowering of the etendue and increasing the brightness of the LED, which will be characterized as the gain in brightness. The gain in brightness depends very much on the construction and the surface structure of the LED chip. The gain also depends on whether the LED chip has a lens attached to it or not. The mechanism can be analyzed theoretically but the performance has to be measured for each type of LEDs. The "effective reflectivity" of the surface of the LED chip can be determined from the measurements and the theoretical analysis, which is a representative parameter for each type of LEDs. Higher effective reflectivity results in high recycling gain, producing high LED brightness. The analysis of the recycling mechanism will be described and the measurements of various LEDs from several LED makers will be presented. Proposed configurations from small pico-projectors to high power projectors using an array of recycling
LEDs will be described.

Session 3 - Hybrid Projectors

Fei Hu
Senior Manager R&D
Appotronics Co. Ltd.

Laser and Phosphor Hybrid Source for Projection Display -- Recent Development & Tendencies
Laser and phosphor hybrid light sources proved to be a promising technology for the next generation projection display industry. Two different light source architectures were developed for single chip DLP projectors. The first light source architecture, based on reflective phosphor wheel, is targeted at high lumen projectors. Engineering sample results show that over 5100 lumens have been achieved, while the light source power consumption is 391 W. The lumen efficacy is over 13.0 lumen/W. The color gamut of such a projector fulfills Rec. 709, while the red content is 8.3%. Another light source architecture, based on transmissive phosphor wheel, is targeted at pico-projectors. Engineering sample results show that an average of 183 lumens are achieved, while the power consumption of the light source is only 11.5 W. The lumen efficacy is 15.9 lumen/W. The ultra thin design of the light source module achieved a thickness of 18.3 mm. The color gamut of such a pico-projector fulfills Rec. 709. Reliability tests were done on both projector models for 1000 hours. The extrapolated lifetimes for both projector models are longer than 15,000 hours.

Matthew Brennesholtz
Sr. Analyst
Insight Media

The Market Opportunity for Hybrid Projectors
Cost-effective LED projectors are currently limited to 500 - 600 lumens or so, but this is not sufficient output for most mainstream applications including home theater, education and conference room use. Most of the benefits of LED projectors, including extremely long life and good colorimetry, are also present in hybrid projectors, where the green light is derived from a laser-excited green phosphor rather from an LED. End users are beginning to buy these projectors in significant numbers and they are available from multiple companies. This talk will focus on applications where hybrid projectors are a better choice than either lamp- or LED-based projectors. In addition, Matt will provide a forecast for the growth of this technology.

Vincent Hsu
Deputy General Manager, Projector Division
Viewsonic Corp.

Market Adoption and Game Changing Technology for Hybrid Projectors
The future trend in projection is poised to be projectors with laser and laser/led hybrid light sources better known as lamp free projectors. This session will cover market adoption, consumer impact and high level technical overview of the innovation. Session will also focus on the game changing aspects that lamp free projection will deliver including but not limited to: energy savings, TCO related to virtual maintenance free aspect of this type of display, reduction of noise pollution, cooler operation, improved usability with instant on/off.

Session 4 - Interconnectivity/Transmission

Micha Risling
Marketing Committee Chair
HDBaseT Alliance

Trends in ProAV Markets & Business Practices
Current trends in the professional AV industry are forcing decision makers to demand a new solution for digital connectivity technology. Display trends are heading toward thinner, lighter wall-mounted TVs but these TVs have been encumbered by complicated companion AC-to-DC power circuitry. In addition, whether installing a video wall in an airport, a projector in a conference room or placing digital signage in a mall, cable length remains one of the biggest A/V challenges for integrators.
The ideal connectivity solution must meet installer needs for performance over long distance, ease of installation, reliability, flexibility and low cost of installation, all without compromising on quality. This session will explore professional AV connectivity trends with a particular focus on the projection market, installer challenges and the emerging technologies aimed at meeting these challenges. One such technology that will be analyzed is HDBaseT, a digital connectivity technology that converges uncompressed, full HD digital video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, power over cable (100W) and various control signals-over a single, 100m/328ft Cat5e/6 LAN cable.

Leslie Chard
President
WHDI LLC

Wireless and the A/V Connectivity Challenge
One of the biggest trends in A/V today is the increasing number of devices that are now content sources in the home and office - including laptops, tablets and even mobile phones. The challenge is to allow users to connect all of these devices to their display of choice, whether that is their monitor, TV or projector. Wireless is a key part of this solution, but which wireless technology? Each of the leading wireless technologies comes with different pros and cons, and the choice of technology will dictate the use cases that a system can support. WHDI believes that the connection must allow both the high-quality streaming of HD content and the no-latency mirroring of the source device. This functionality will give users easy access to all of their content, including movies, games and other interactive content, from any of their devices. In his presentation, Les will outline the ""Connectivity Challenge"", including some of the technical difficulties creating this challenge (e.g. different audio/video codecs, latency caused by video compression, mobile devices as content sources, etc). He will talk about the requirements for different device and content use cases, and how each of the main wireless technologies fares in meeting these needs. Finally, Les will give an overview of the WHDI technology and products currently available/coming.

Guoqing Li
Research Scientist
Intel Labs

WiGig-Wireless Gigabit Alliance WiGig Display Extension: Unleashing Your High-definition Display
WiGig, the 60 GHz, super-high-speed wireless technology, is emerging as the short-range standard to link PC, tablets, smart phones, handheld gadgets, peripherals, displays and other devices together seamlessly at home and in the office. The WiGig Alliance was formed in 2008 and has not only grown its membership but also reached many important technical milestones. In this presentation, we will focus on one usage model that WiGig enables: cable equivalent wireless display using WiGig Display Extension (WDE) technology. The WDE technology is able to deliver superior display quality over wireless for all content types including text content with very low latency, which is critical for gaming and docking use cases. Facilitated by WiGig MAC and PHY technology which was adopted as IEEE 802.11ad, WDE link is highly adaptive to temporary channel degradation with no image quality impact. Efficient channel sharing mechanism is defined to support simultaneous display traffic and other traffic types such as IO. Furthermore, WDE is able to accommodate battery operated devices through various power saving features and it is operated with high protocol efficiency for wireless display at Gbps speeds. In this talk, we will first analyze the requirements for cable replacement wireless display and then provide a high level introduction of the various features defined WDE specification in order to meet these requirements.

Jeffrey Gilbert
CTO, Silcon Image
Wireless HD Consortium

WirelessHD Delivers Wired Quality Without Wires for ProAV and CE
Applications
WirelessHD enabled products using 60 GHz wireless technology deliver the high quality lossless transmissions demanded by ProAV applications at cost-points and form-factors suitable for mass market Consumer Electronics applications. Operation in the 60 GHz band supports near-zero latency for interactive applications, while being free from interference by 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi devices. Highly integrated solutions using standard digital CMOS processes handle all wireless network management, A/V packetization, and smart antenna control to greatly simplifying overall system design.
In 2007, the WirelessHD Consortium created the industry's first specification for multi-Gbps wireless transmission of lossless high-definition A/V and data for consumer electronics, PC, and portable products. The specification is optimized for robust, low-cost, high-performance wireless high definition audio and video streaming.
Products available since 2009 including integrated WirelessHD DTVs, projectors, laptops, and HDMI adapters have demonstrated the viability of NLOS transmissions at 4 Gbps for lossless, interference-free transmissions.
WirelessHD v1.1 includes enhancements ranging from optimizations for mobile devices consuming only a few hundred mW to maximum data rates exceeding 10 Gbps to enable the latest video resolutions and configurations to be supported.

Tuesday Keynote Address

Levin Tang
Secretary General
China 3D Industry Association

Update on China's 3DTV Trial Channel and 3D Commercial Market Development
Mr. Tang's presentation will cover the latest progress of the China's 3DTV channel delivering content to 114 million users, the status and trends of the 3D consumer market in China, the current progress of the 3D business market in China and the contribution and value of the China 3D Industry Association.

Session 5 - Markets & Trends

William Coggshall
President
Pacific Media Associates

Playing Defense in the 2012 Projector Business
The total projector market in revenue terms is expected to grow only 1% in 2012, yet new companies--especially in China--are piling into it. Why did the projector business stop growing like it used to and, more importantly, what can companies do to make sure that their growth exceeds the 1%? We'll look at product strategies such as new technologies and focusing on the extremes of performance, at sales/marketing strategies such as targeting relatively unoccupied niches and countries with rapid development, and at other possibilities.

Lutz Nehrhoff von Hoderberg
R&D Director
Barco Control Rooms

GEN3 LED-powered Rear Projection Display Walls & Super Narrow Bezel LCD
This presentation will cover the following:
Market trends
     - Markets for video walls
     - Applications for video walls
     - Some basics about video walls
     - single large display (>84") versus multi channel walls (nxm)
LED powered video walls
     - technology (Gen3 LED)
     - key parameters (why lamps disapeared so fast and the impact for rear projection)
     - main challenges (like color stability, cooling)
Super narrow bezel LCD video walls
     - technology (super narrow bezel, LED backlight - also in this market the lamps are replaced)
     - key parameters (bezel size)
     - main challenges (color stability, lifetime)
Performance comparison between both technologies
     - Color matching as a function of the bezel size or screen gap
     - Total cost of ownership versus performance comparison
Summary
     - How RP-based video walls compete with flat panels
     - Value proposition for RP video walls versus flat panels
     - Typical applications for RP video walls and flat panels
Technology trends - What's next in video walls
     - Hybrid light sources
     - OLED

Dan Meehan
Sr. Business Development Manager
Panasonic

AV Technologies in Education: Finding the Right Mix Among Projectors, Displays and Other Technologies
A number of audio-visual solutions, from flat-panel displays, interactive whiteboards to projectors, are penetrating the education segment. This presentation will discuss the value propositions of long- and short- throw projection and how, where and why projection complements flat panels and interactive whiteboards. We will also highlight the best solutions for a variety of environments, from large auditoriums to intimate classrooms. Finally, we will explore innovative projector features that are key to long-term deployments and highest ROI, in order to best adjust to the changing dynamics in the education market.

Session 6 - Green AV Panel Discussion

Green AV Panel Discussion
Participants:
Allen Weidman, InfoComm Sustainability Officer/STEP Foundation, Executive
Chris Maione, President, Chris Maione Associates
Annika Overodder, Business Area Mgr., Projectors; TCO Development Director

Allen Weidman brings more than 30 years of association experience to STEP, having worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Consumer Products Safety Commission and a number of other federal and state regulatory agencies. He has developed, integrated and managed industry coalitions on federal and international environmental issues. Weidman also concurrently serves as Sustainability Officer for InfoComm International, the trade association representing the commercial audiovisual industry.
Prior to joining STEP, Weidman served as a Senior Account Executive for Kellen Company, an association management firm. He has also served as Executive Director for six different industry sector groups during his tenure at the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), where he was responsible for developing industry positions relative to sustainability, the environmental footprint of various plastics, and was instrumental in the strategic analysis of how the emerging ""green"" standards would impact associations. In addition, he played an integral role in the development of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Certification Program and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers'
""Energy Standard for Buildings"" and ""Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality"" standards.

Christopher Maione is a recognized leader and expert in the AV industry with 10 years experience working as a Project Manager for an AV systems integrator, followed by 17 years as founding and managing partner of one of the world's leading AV consulting firms. Throughout the years, Christopher has been a frequent presenter at Infocomm International, the AV industry organization and trade show. Chris has written, contributed to, and been interviewed for numerous articles relating to audiovisual and videoconference technologies. Chris holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ and serves on several InfoComm Standards Committees.

Annika Overödder is Business Area Manager for projectors and headsets at TCO Development and manages all aspects of the TCO sustainability certification, from criteria development to supporting industry through product testing and certification. Annika has been instrumental in bringing TCO Certified into InfoComm's STEP program. She has over 20 years of international product development experience from her time with Ericsson in Europe and Asia before joining TCO Development.

Session 7 - 4K Projection

Kevin Wines
Image Technology Director
THX Ltd.

To 4K and Beyond - How to Ensure Quality when Implementing Future Technologies
Home theaters have continually taken their cue from cinemas. The move from film-based content to digital, along with 3D technology, were both major shifts in the industry. Home theater is starting to take the lead with the move toward 2K and 4K technologies. As these technologies, including 3D, are becoming more prevalent in current projectors on the market and consumer demand for them grows, how can manufacturers differentiate and ensure a high quality entertainment experience? This session will outline what technologies, testing and quality control processes manufacturers, standards organizations and third-party technology companies can deliver to help differentiate and deliver the best possible home theater experience through future projectors. Topics that will be addressed include the market factors that will contribute to 4K, High Frame Display and 3D adoption in the ProAV and CE markets; bridge technologies aiding in 4K adoption; standards and certifications for 4K and 3D in the home; third-party technologies improving the 4K and 3D user experience; and technologies that simplify the user experience, preserve artistic intent, yet allow consumers to take advantage of all the cool features in future projector products.

Paul Russo
Chairman & CEO
Geo Semiconductor Inc.

4K Displays Are Next Big Wave - Challenges & Opportunities
Even though 1080P is the perceived standard for the distribution of High Definition content, technology will enable displays to double resolution every few years, allowing for better and better viewing experiences for large area displays. 4k displays that sport 4 times the resolution of 1080P, or 8 Megapixels, will become the new frontier. In addition the evolving availability of solid state light sources, especially lasers, will drive costs of front- and rear-projection displays down and down to the point where they become the displays of choice for homes, just like they already are for digital and 3D cinemas. Image processing technologies - especially scaling - good enough for current TV products, may prove inadequate for 100+ inch projection devices. The progress and challenges will be discussed in the context of when these types of displays will become main-stream for 2D and 3D TV.

Session 8 - Passive 3D Stereo Trends and Options

Stephen Palmer
Chief Science Officer
Volfoni R&D, France

Bright Stereoscopic 3D Solutions
Stereoscopic 3D projection systems based on either standard polarization modulators or active shutter glasses are severely limited by the maximum optical-efficiency that can be achieved, resulting in the generation of stereoscopic images that are lacking in image brightness. This paper presents a number of different technologies that can be used to double the light-efficiency, enabling 3D stereoscopic images to be generated possessing significantly higher image brightness. This includes (i) a new type of polarization-modulator for LCOS/LCD projectors, (ii) new type of active-glasses suitable for all types of projectors, and (iii) a new optical prism system suitable for cinema applications together with DLP projectors. These technologies enable stereoscopic 3D systems to be developed offering optical efficiencies in excess of 35%.

Jesper Osterman
CTO
LC-Tec Displays AB

A Fast-switching Liquid Crystal Polarization Modulator for High-end, Single-lens Stereoscopic 3D Projector Applications
Single-lens 3D projection has the advantage that the geometry, intensity, and color temperature of the stereo image pair is perfectly matched pixel-to-pixel, as the left and right eye images travel the same optical path. The key component in a single-lens 3D projector system is the polarization modulator, which imparts orthogonal polarization states to the left and right eye images presented frame sequentially by the projector. We intend to present a high-speed liquid crystal polarization modulator that will further enhance the performance of single-lens 3D projector systems and is especially suitable for high frame rate applications . The polarization modulator is based on the principle of static and dynamic polarization compensation in a dual LC cell system, resulting in fast, powered switching between left- and right-handed circular polarization states. The fast switching enables extremely short dark intervals, leading to minimized brightness loss. In addition, the optical configuration exhibits symmetric operation between the left and right eye images as well as high contrast ratios between the open and closed states for both eyes, ensuring a high-quality 3D experience. The practical advantages of fast 50µs polarization switching will be discussed. The polarization modulator is capable of running at 400 FPS (frames per second), while still ensuring high brightness images. This outpaces target rates of 240 FPS being demanded by top 3D film makers, making it ideal for present and future high-end, single-lens stereoscopic 3D projector applications such as 3D digital cinema.

Steve Cook
National Consultant Relations/Design Manager
Stewart Filmscreen

Polarization Preserving Screens: Optimizing a Passive 3D Image While Considering Performance in 2D
Silver screens, designed to preserve the polarized state of light projected upon them, have super high gain factors, very narrow viewing cones, and, when viewing 2D content, are plagued with distracting artifacts such as hot spots, inferior center-to-edge uniformity, and excessive color shift. Previous solutions to these disadvantages required the deployment of separate screens based on viewing content. This presentation will explore how these artifacts can be mitigated with breakthrough material such as the Silver 5D screen for passive polarization and the Reflections Active 170 3D. We will discuss how they are able to yield a much more uniform 3D presentation for shorter throw displays, while still delivering a 2D picture with good contrast ratios and an acceptable half gain angle.

Click here to review the Projection Summit 2011 Program/Agenda.