March 2007

news archive

Real D Acquires ColorLink

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - 3D cinema company Real D officially acquired Colorado-based photonics company ColorLink on March 8, making ColorLink a subsidiary of Real D and increasing its product offerings and production capability. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

The acquisition includes ColorLink's Research and Development campus in Boulder, Co., as well as its manufacturing facilities in Tokyo and Shanghai. Real D also gains a broad range of published patents covering a significant number of optical, liquid-crystal, and light-based technologies. In addition, ColorLink offers a significant line of 3-D imaging components for entertainment, gaming, industrial, and scientific applications.

"Adding ColorLink truly helps us deliver on our commitment to being the premier visual brand," Real D Chairman and CEO Michael Lewis said in a company press release. "Their world-class scientists and patented technology will allow us to continue to lead the way with the most cutting-edge 3-D experience and technologies."

"This is a natural fit for ColorLink," ColorLink President and CEO Leo Bannon also said in the company statement. "The premise of all our work has been to provide key technologies to achieve the highest-quality images possible. We look forward to working with Real D on this collective goal."

Bannon will take on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Real D.

"We have been working closely with ColorLink's team for several years, and their approach to light management and design is truly revolutionary," Real D President Joshua Greer stated. "We look forward to pushing new visual frontiers together in the years ahead."

Toshiba America Electronic Components Names New President & CEO

IRVINE, Calif. - Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC), an independently operating company owned by Toshiba America Inc., announced on March 14 the appointment of Hideya Sakaida as its new president and CEO. Sakaida will oversee all administration, sales and marketing, and financial-management activities for TAEC. He replaces Takeaki Fukuyama, who has returned to Japan to continue his tenure at Toshiba's headquarters in Tokyo.

"I welcome this opportunity to lead the TAEC senior management team and build upon the company's successes of the past several years," Sakaida said in a company statement. "We will achieve this by fully understanding the needs of our customers and by providing timely solutions enabled by innovative Toshiba technologies."

Sakaida has been with Toshiba since 1978, serving as managing director of Toshiba Electronics Asia Pte. Ltd. before being appointed to his new position. Previously, Sakaida held key positions in international operations and electronic components.

Flexible Electronics Pilot Lab Launched in Taiwan

HSIN CHU, Taiwan - The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has launched the first laboratory in Taiwan devoted to the research and development of flexible electronics including flexible displays, electronic circuits, solar cells, and reactors.

The Flexible Electronics Pilot Lab will provide a comprehensive range of functions, from synthesizing materials and developing production processes, to product design and pilot production, according to a statement from ITRI. In the future, the organization believes it will serve as an important platform for cooperation between the international industrial and academic circles, and will hasten the development of the flexible electronics industry in Taiwan. The Laboratory will soon be open for international cooperation, and ITRI hopes to build an industry alliance to carry out joint efforts in establishing high-performance flexible electronics production lines. ITRI expects about NT $300 million in investment.

"In light of the huge business opportunities and potential impact of flexible electronics, ITRI, with the support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, has established this flexible electronics pilot lab," ITRI President Dr. Johnsee Lee said in a statement.

The initial focus of the lab will be on production-process R&D for flexible electronic circuits, solar cells, reactors, and displays. In the future, ITRI said, continuous production process hardware will be increased. Lee said in a company statement he hopes the lab will act as a locomotive for the industry and help industry participants in carrying out pilot production. ITRI also claims the lab will help reduce defect ratios, significantly cut down the period needed to get a new product from the drawing board into production, and help reduce risks associated with developing new products.

The Flexible Electronics Pilot Lab has already established a production process for 25-cm-wide photolithography, as well as three processes for ink-jet printing and screen printing. The equipment and processes can be combined in a variety of ways to pave the way for the development of different types of flexible electronics products, according to a press release. This also enables the integration of chemical manufacturing processes and opto-electronics analysis, and allows for the development and pilot production from components to entire products on a single platform.

Domestic and international companies, academic institutions, and research agencies will be welcome to engage in R&D at the laboratory. In the future, ITRI hopes the lab will engage in specific cooperation projects with local companies and schools, and will form international R&D alliances.

Philips to Drop Flickering Backlights in Favor of LEDs for Use in LCD TV

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands - Philips has decided to end research and development on its Aptura lighting technology, which it had previously hailed as a potential cash cow, in favor of investment in light-emitting-diode (LED) backlights for use in liquid-crystal-display (LCD) TVs, according to a report this week in the Washington Post.

Philips had originally designed the Aptura lights, which emitted bursts of light rather than constant light to trick the eye into seeing sharper images, to reduce motion and smear on LCD TVs. However, Philips has recently repositioned its lighting division as a bigger growth engine, and sees the future of the market in LEDs.

"If we want to continue developing this backlighting technology, we'll have to make new investments," the Post article quotes a Philips representative as saying. "At the same time, LEDs are getting ripe for the market, and they enable thinner TV sets, so we've chosen to go with those."

Philips unveiled its intention for a flickering backlight several years ago, and started selling it commercially last year together with LG.Philips LCD. At the time, Philips touted the technology as a major innovation.

Philips has a division called Philips Lumileds that is one of the leading developers of bright LEDs.

3DIcon, University of Oklahoma Extend Multimillion-Dollar 3D Display Research Agreement

TULSA, Okla. - Communications technology company 3D Icon Corp. announced on March 12 it had extended its Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) with the University of Oklahoma (OU), committing the company to work with OU through 2010 on three-dimensional display technologies and related areas.

"This extension builds upon the previous two-stage work done in conjunction with 3DIcon, namely our 'Investigation of Emerging Digital Holography Technologies' and 'Investigation of 3-Dimensional Display Technologies,'" Dr. Jim Sluss, Morris R. Pitman professor and director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at OU's College of Engineering and principal investigator for the 3DIcon SRA, said in a press release. "During this third-phase research-and-development period, we expect to make additional, significant progress in the development of 3-D display technologies. The areas of concentration include work with both swept-volume and volumetric display technologies including the application of nanomaterials to create vibrant, real-time systems."

The new SRA modifies the performance period by OU and greatly expands the scope of its relationship with 3DIcon in terms of total focus and funding. The new agreement now runs through March 31, 2010, and is worth $4,047,439 to the University; an increase from the $578,843 committed to OU under the first two phases of the SRA, according to a 3DIcon company statement. The agreement encompasses both continuing and new research and development in 3-D display technologies and related areas, including relevant software. Funding will be provided by 3DIcon through a financing agreement with Golden Gate Investors of San Francisco.

Pursuant to its SRA with 3DIcon, OU has already filed four provisional patent applications and one utility patent application, according to the 3DIcon statement.

"Our relationship with OU is increasingly productive and exciting," stated 3DIcon CEO Martin Keating. The researchers have exceeded our expectations. The expanded scope of the research and associated funding from the University is indicative of the progress we are making in the nascent field of 3D communications, and it opens many possible marketing opportunities to the company."

Enuclia Semiconductor Announces International Design Center in Taiwan

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Fabless semiconductor and video technology development company Enuclia Semiconductor Inc. on March 6 opened a new international design center in Taiwan. Located in the Nei-hu region, which is rapidly emerging as one of the country's leading high-tech clusters, the new office will be staffed by display industry veterans with an average of more than 10 years of TV development experience, including numerous development projects with leading TV brands worldwide.

"We are excited to open our Taiwan design center, and are thrilled with the caliber of engineering talent we have recruited," Enuclia Vice President of Sales and Marketing Christian Prusia stated in a company press release. "The team's extensive domain knowledge and long-standing design relationships will greatly aid our alpha customer engagements."

"I am very excited to join Enuclia by opening its first overseas design center," added Enuclia's Director of Taiwan Engineering, Ric Chien. "Taiwan is an important hub for flat-panel TV manufacturers, and this office represents the company's commitment to accelerating product development cycles for our partners."

Court Rules Against Canon in SED TV Legal Battle

AUSTIN, Tex. - SED Inc. parent company Canon Inc. has lost the latest round in its ongoing legal battles with Texas-based Nano-Proprietary Inc., leaving the future of surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TV uncertain. On Feb. 22, a U.S. district judge ruled in favor of Nano-Proprietary, which had accused Canon of violating a licensing contract for technology used in its SED TVs by sharing the technology with SED Inc. partner company Toshiba.

Canon originally licensed field-emission display (FED) technology from Nano-Proprietary in 1999, agreeing to share the technology only with Canon subsidiaries. But in 2004, Canon and Toshiba jointly formed SED Inc. to develop SED TVs in hopes of taking over a new share of the lucrative flat-panel display market currently dominated by liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma TVs. Nano-Proprietary called foul in April 2005, saying SED Inc.-in which Canon owned 50% of the stock plus one share and Toshiba owned the remainder-did not qualify as a Canon subsidiary.

Although Canon bought out all of Toshiba's SED Inc. shares in January in an attempt to stave off further litigation, a Texas court ruled on Feb. 22 that Nano-Proprietary's Dec. 1, 2006 termination of its contract with Canon was valid. While Nano-Proprietary has said it is still open to renegotiate a contract with Canon, there is no word yet on whether this will actually happen.

SED TV has suffered a string of setbacks over the last several years. Upon unveiling a prototype of the TV being hailed as the next big thing in display technology in September 2004, SED Inc. announced the TV sets would be in stores in 2005. But the launch date was later pushed back to 2006, and in mid-2006 Canon and Toshiba pushed the release back again to late 2007 in hopes of driving down manufacturing costs. The two companies had shown a 37-in. SED prototype at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and had planned on showing a 55-in. demo at CES 2007 in January. However, in December 2006, Toshiba announced it would no longer be showing the TV as promised, stating that "The reason is neither a technical nor business issue, but we are not allowed to disclose details due to a confidentiality obligation."

Dolby Acquires BrightSide in $28 Million Deal

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Dolby Laboratories announced on Feb. 27 it had signed an agreement to acquire Canada-based high dynamic range (HDR) image technology developer BrightSide Technologies Inc. for $28 million.

BrightSide is a development-stage technology company focused on enabling the capture, distribution, and display of more vibrant video on mass-market LCD TV sets, as well as front- and rear-projection TVs, according to a company press release. It has developed a suite of HDR technologies for image capture, storage, processing, and visual display. Dolby develops and produces audio and surround sound in cinema, broadcast, home audio systems, cars, DVDs, headphones, games, televisions, and personal computers.

"Dolby has built its strong reputation and brand by delivering products and technologies that make the entertainment experience more realistic and immersive, and BrightSide's HDR image technology complements that strategy," Dolby Laboratories President and CEO Bill Jasper said in a company press release. "Acquiring BrightSide reflects our long-term focus on delivering innovative technology solutions to our licensees and their customers."

Global Display Solutions Acquires Clearview Displays

ROSCOE, Ill. - Global Display Solutions (GDS) announced in February it had acquired bonded display enhancement services provider Clearview Displays LLC. Clearview will become a subsidiary of GDS, known as GDS Clearview, the company said, and will retain its staff and headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. while reporting directly to GDS headquarters in Roscoe, Ill. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

GDS hopes that the acquisition will help it build its existing range of display technology while offering superior manufacturing and engineering services to its customers in North America to support fast turnaround times on advanced bonded display services, according to a GDS press release.

"This strategic acquisition will allow GDS to provide our existing customers with an improved range of products and a better all-around service," Marco Cohen, sales and marketing manager at GDS, said in a company statement. "We believe that GDS Clearview will also help to support faster turnaround times on advanced bonded display services, and we hope to further grow our presence on the West Coast as a result of this acquisition."

Clearview specializes in display enhancement solutions and is known for its G-Bond process, which overcomes optical challenges for display-product manufacturers particularly when used with outdoor displays such as ATM screens, outdoor kiosks and gas pump displays. According to a company statement, GDS expects the G-Bond technology to enhance its current product ranges, in particular its outdoor display collection, which requires advanced optical enhancement and sunlight readability.

Through the acquisition, GDS' customers will have access to an even wider range of optically bonded surfaces and solutions with panel sizing ranging from 6.4 in. to 65 in. and options such as touch-screen enhancement and optical filters.

In January 2007, GDS Clearview moved into a new 8,000 sq.-ft. facility four times larger than its previous capacity.

Neurok Optics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Form Joint Venture Company to Develop 3-D Products

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Neurok Optics LLC, a U.S.-based 3-D technology development and marketing company, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), a Taiwan-based thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-display (TFT-LCD) manufacturing company, announced on Feb. 13 they had formed a new joint venture company to develop and market 3-D products for the electronic-entertainment market as well as for commercial and professional visualization applications. The new company, iZ3D LLC, will ship its first product in May.

"To enhance its leadership in the 3-D display market, the newly formed iZ3D LLC combines superior iZ3D technology and marketing capabilities with CMO's leading manufacturing techniques and worldwide distribution presence," David Chechelashvili, vice president of marketing for Neurok Optics, said in a company statement.

The first iZ3D LLC product to reach the market will be a 22-in. W iZ3D, an advanced video monitor capable of displaying into-screen and out-of-screen 3-D images with passive polarized glasses, according to a press release. It is designed to replace standard 2-D monitors while maintaining commercial image quality and display brightness.

According to the company, its technology takes three-dimensional applications such as PC games, 3-D entertainment, and professional stereo applications, and allows users to experience them in a way they never could with a standard 2-D monitor. It creates 3-D depth while minimizing eyestrain, spatial disorientation, headache and nausea.

The unit is powered by any personal computer with a dual output video card. Smart capabilities allow it to be used for regular 2-D office tasks as well as 3-D viewing. Specifications include 1680 x 1050 resolution, up to 120° viewing angle, 5 ms response time, and 300 NIT brightness with 800:1 contrast ratio. It has dual interface capability with DVI and DVI/VGA inputs.

"This is a very exciting, growth-oriented time in the display industry because the rapid pace of innovation in production technology is matched by equally rapid progress in display technology - this joint venture is ideal because it capitalizes on the strengths of both companies," a CMO official commented in a press release.