100-Inch Laser 3D Projector Vows Energy, Cost Savings Vs. Plasma

Details emerged Friday on a laser-driven 100-inch 3D projection TV whose developer calls it more energy-efficient and potentially less costly than a flat-panel plasma display of the same size (CED April 2 p9). The laser projection system also features built-in realtime 2D to 3D conversion, maker HDI Ltd. said.

HDI’s “2D/3D Switchable Dynamic Video Projection TV” will make its debut during the NAB Show April 12-15 in Las Vegas at the HDlogix booth. That’s the company supplying the 2D to 3D conversion technology for the TV. Its ImageIQ 3D system was used to provide realtime 3D conversion from live 2D camera feeds during a Dallas Cowboys-San Diego Chargers football game last year, for projection on the giant screen in the stadium (CED Dec 11 p1).

HDI’s TV delivers Full 1080p 3D from two RGB laser-lit LCoS microdisplays, the company said. The system also uses low-cost, lightweight, proprietary passive-polarized glasses. The system can be configured as a rear- or front-projector, said Chris Stuart, HDI director of technology.

"Actually we will have both types available,” Stuart told us. “Our main system will be enclosed in a rear-projected 100-inch diagonal cabinet that is only 10 inches deep. Because of our controlled use of laser/LCoS integration we are able to fold the optical path in such a way as to keep the depth of the system to a minimum,” he said. “This keeps the system relatively light in weight, as compared to the equivalent sized LCD or plasma, so the customer can place it on a wall or stand. The basic design of our projector also works as a front projection system. We simply add an appropriate lens, and provide a custom-treated silver screen to handle the laser speckle and maintain the circular polarization."

The projector will be “targeted to the high-end home theater market,” Stuart said. “This will also branch out to educational centers, conference telepresence boardrooms, scientific visualization labs, and possibly production studios as a 3D reference monitor.” The first sets are slated to ship in Q2 or Q3 of 2011. “Limited prototypes to select customers might be available by this fall or winter,” Stuart said.

HDI’s pre-NAB publicity claimed a street price “potentially” 60 percent less than current 2D flat screen plasma displays. That’s compared with Panasonic’s 103-inch plasma TV, Stuart said. Panasonic’s model isn’t a consumer model, but sells for $50,000 through the company’s professional division and select retailers, a spokesman said. “Once we begin production with volumes of 100,000 or more, our targeted price should be below $15,000,” Stuart said. “The MSRP for the Panasonic 103-inch plasma is $50,000. So, our projector works out to be 70 percent less, with some fudge-factor built in."

HDI also said its laser projector “draws 80 percent less power than existing 2D flat screen plasma monitors of the same size.” The comparison was again with Panasonic’s 103-inch TH-103PF9E-K, Stuart said. “Our 100-inch system will draw approximately 200-250 watts of power consumption when we start production next year,” he said. An equivalent 103-inch plasma from Panasonic is 1,500 watts and NEC’s 82-inch LCD8205 draws 680 watts. So, we are way less than all of these,” Stuart said. At our deadline, Panasonic hadn’t confirmed the power consumption of its plasma set, and NEC couldn’t be reached for comment.

Pre-NAB publicity from HDI also claimed “greater-than-high definition” resolution than current 1920-by-1080p displays, without providing details. That was a reference to the system’s potential, and only in 2D-mode, Stuart said. “Somehow we let this slip into our PR info and it should be corrected,” he said. “This is actually meant for a future option on upcoming builds, two to three years out. In 3D mode, the display delivers 1920 by 1080p images to both eyes simultaneously. In 2D mode both imagers are displaying the identical 1920 by 1080p signal. However, in future builds, we are able to offset one imager by a half pixel diagonally, and with our custom software actually create 50 percent better or 3K by 1.5K resolution in 2D mode only."

As for HDI’s low-cost, lightweight proprietary 3D glasses, “the glasses are the inexpensive, passive circular-polarized type,” Stuart said. “The spec is the same as the regular RealD-style glasses except that the left eye lens is rotated 90 degrees to match our style of polarization of the projector/screen,” he said. “The prices are very much the same as the fifty cents to a dollar pricing you get as the cinema style. Or, you can of course spec out a custom frame style from companies like Microvision Optical that ranges upwards of $35 a pair for really nice ones."

When asked if the stereoscopic effect from HDlogix’s conversion can be controlled by the viewer, or if it’s set by the ImageIQ algorithms, Stuart said: “This question is probably best answered by the HDlogix team, but in practice demos, the user can set a very wide range of specific parameters to get the best average look per style of video. … I would guess that there might be an easy-viewer mode where the customer will have a few optimized choices depending on the genre of video, like movies, sports, talking heads, concerts and so on. I could also see an expert-mode where you can dial in certain ImageIQ parameters to get the best settings."

HDlogix wasn’t willing to go so far. “The 3D stereoscopic effects in HDlogix’s 2D to 3D conversion are indeed created and managed by HDlogix’s Image IQ 3D technology algorithms, and are not something that can be controlled by the viewer,” a spokeswoman said. “This is not a case of the consumer being able to switch on or switch off 3D. Instead, HDlogix is working with broadcasters, cable providers and content developers to do the conversion on their end, and deliver a pure and natural 3D signal to the viewers.”