Comparative HDTV Display Technologies

Comparative HDTV Display Technologies: Is Your HDTV Is Too Small?

— How to overcome WAF* in right-sizing your next HDTV —(*Wife Acceptance Factor)

John R. DiLoretoAnalyst

Insight Mediawww.insightmedia.info

Bay Area SIDChapterMay 17, 2006

Insight Media

Market research firm with an exclusive focus on digital display supply chain

Covering technology, business, market, distribution and product news and issues

Four Key Areas– Newsletters

– Reports

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What is an “HDTV Display”

At least 1280 x 720 pixel resolution– 1920 x 1080 is preferred

Progressive scan

ATSC colorimetry

Large enough to be viewed by >1 person

Analog Display Technologies

Before 1998, CRT technology was the only consumer choice

CRT RP

HD Display Technologies

LCD, plasma and microdisplay technologies have emerged– Sharp 65” LCD — $20K– Samsung 80” plasma— $40K

42"

36"

26"

82"

80"32"

CRT

Plasma

MD RP

LCD 65"

HTPSDLPLCoS

Large Screen Model Assortment by Size

Large Screen Model Offering by Display Type (30+")

Direct View CRT

What are the prospects for CRT technology?

CRT Manufacturing In Retreat

Hitachi– Halted direct view CRT production in 2001

Matsushita (Panasonic)– Halted CRT production in Japan in 2003

Sony– Ended direct view CRT production in Japan in 2003

Toshiba– Discontinued direct view CRT production in Japan in 2004

Sharp– Exited direct view CRT TV to in 2005 to focus on LCD

New Slim CRT

Samsung, LG slim CRT HDTV design saves 1/3 depth of conventional flat CRTs

Slim CRT offers CRT performance at less cost (~$1,000 retail) than LCD

Direct View CRT

Advantages– Excellent picture quality (broadcaster reference standard)

Fast-moving images Fine resolution

– Most-affordable consumer option at 36 inches and below

Disadvantages– Size and weight

Disproportionately increases in weight with screen size, especially in widescreen

– Mature technology Little room for further improvements in quality or cost

Direct View LCD

The fastest-growing HDTV display segment

Will it take over?

Direct View LCD

Advantages– Thinnest and lightest of flat panel technologies– 1920 x 1080 resolution at modest extra cost– Low power consumption– No pixel degradation or burn-in– Long lifetime components

Disadvantages– Response time causes blurring of fast-motion images– Lower color saturation (gamut)– Limited viewing angle

Current Price Point– 32" 1366 x 768 resolution, w/o tuner $1200-$2000– Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Panasonic, Philips

Direct View LCD

Future Development– Continued dramatic cost reductions and size increases

expected Should be strongly competitive in 26” to 46” screen sizes

at the expense of CRT and plasma

– Improved image quality through Faster response times Increased brightness Improved contrast Increased color gamut from 70% of ATSC standard to

nearly 100%– New LED backlight technology shows promise

2006 LCD-TV BACKLIGHT REPORT

BLU Unit Forecast by Lamp Technology Expected 40"-44"

Opportunity Analysis of CCFL and Alternative

Technologies

LCD Fab Evolution

Increasing glass size provides ongoing economies of scale

32” HDTV

2400 mm

2200 mm

1870 mm

1500 mm

1100 mm

G9

G8

G7

G6

G5

1300 mm 1850220025002800 mm

LC Fab Investments

Global companies continue to pour billions into LC fab Expect long-term cost improvements and size increases

Global TV Market Forecast

Source: Displaybank

LCD-TV Market Forecast

Rapid growth — especially in 40+" LCD segment

Plasma Display Panel (PDP)

Consumer favorite

Increasingly squeezed between LCD and RP

Plasma

Advantages– First “hang on the wall” display– Bright, sharp, fast-moving images– Wide viewing angle and uniform brightness

– Most cost-effective flat panel option at ≥42"

Disadvantages– Phosphor brightness degrades over time– Prone to screen burn-in for fixed images– High power consumption– Very expensive at resolutions greater than 1366 x 768– Heavier than LCD

Plasma

Current Price Point– 42" 1024 x 768, w/o tuner, $2000 - $3000– Panasonic, Philips, LG, Pioneer, Samsung, Toshiba

Future Development– Longer lifetime: 30K hours moving to 50K hours– Reduced power consumption– Increased resolution to 1920 x 1080 for largest displays– Wireless video reception will improve on-wall installability

Leading Plasma Brands

Plasma Panel Manufacturing

Rapid increases in manufacturing capacity are expected to continue through 2009 with billions invested

Source: DisplayBank

Microdisplay Rear Projection

RPTV advantage: modest increase in cost with increasing size

Lightbulb replacement after 6K-8K hours (3-5 years @$200-$300)

LCD, DLP, LCoS

LCD (HTPS) Rear Projection

Advantages– Proven, stable technology– Strong value proposition at ≥50”

Disadvantages– Limited pixel aperture ratio– Higher black level

Current Price Point– 50" 1280 x 720, w/o tuner, $2000 - $2400– Panasonic, Sony, Mitsubishi

Future Development– Thinner and lighter designs– Improved pixel aperture

DLP Rear Projection

Advantages– Competitive picture quality

Contrast, grayscale linearity, brightness, uniformity

– 6th generation product designs

Disadvantages– Field sequential operation

Color breakup Limited light throughput

– No native 1080p resolution– Temporal dithering

Recent Enhancements– Thinnest cabinet design (InFocus)

7" deep at 50" diagonal– 1080p with interpolation– 5x color wheel– Improved grayscale linearity– Reduced dithering artifacts

Current Price Point– 50" 1920 x 1080 (interpolated), w/o

tuner, $2800 - $3000– Samsung, Mitsubishi, Toshiba

Future Improvements– Native 1080p– New DMD players: Miradia,

Reflectivitiy, Spatial Photonics

DLP Rear Projection

LCoS Rear Projection

Advantages– Native 1080p– High pixel fill factor– Field-continuous design

Excellent image quality Efficiency

– Potentially lowest-cost microdisplay technology

– Multiple vendors eLCOS, Brillian…

Disadvantages– Track record of delays and

abandonment Hitachi, Philips, Intel

Current Price Point– 50" 1920 x 1080, w/ tuner,

$3500– JVC (D-ILA), Sony (SXRD)

Rear Projection Summary

RP will always be more cost-effective than direct view at largest sizes

Viewing angle is limited compared to direct view– Can be increased with cost

Cabinet designs are becoming thinner– Aided by warping technologies, such as from Silicon Optix

Latest LCoS products rival direct view CRT in image quality

– JVC 48" Reference Monitor @$45K Plenty of room for cost reduction

– Imager yield– Optical engine complexity– Electronics integration– LED light sources

2006 LED PROJECTION REPORT

A study of the use of LEDs as an

illumination source for projection systems.

Image Quality Comparison

CRT LCD Plasma HTPS DLP LCoS

Peak Brightness

C A A/CAPL

A A A

Low Ambient

A A

Backlight Control

B A/B

Lamp/Iris Control

A/B

Lamp/Iris Control

A/B

Lamp/Iris Control

Black Level A+ C A C B A

On/Off Contrast

A+ C A/C

APL

C B A

ANSI Contrast

C A A/C

APL

B B+ B

Color Accuracy

B

Phosphors

B

Sub-pixel Filters

B

Phosphors

A A-

Color Qheel

A

Grayscale A B+

Compression

B/C

APL

B+

Compression

A-/B-

Dark Artifacts

A

Motion Artifacts

A+ B B-/C

Dark Artifacts

B A- A-

Viewing Angle

A B A- B A- A+

Other Artifacts

Many Grayscale Compression

Temporal, Spatial

Dithering

Grayscale Compression,

Projection Optics

Rainbows, Temporal/Spatial

Dithering, Projection Optics

Projection Optics

Source: Widescreen Review

Ideal HDTV Size

Limited ultimately by 1/60° human visual acuity

“Expert” and retail recommendations are often smaller

Most HDTVs sold are undersized!

Viewing Distance

480p Diagonal

720p Diagonal

1080p Diagonal

4 ft. 11 in. 21 in. 31 in.

6 ft. 17 in. 31 in. 46 in.

8 ft. 22 in. 41 in. 62 in.

10 ft. 28 in. 51 in. 77 in.

12 ft. 34 in. 62 in. 92 in.

Field of View 11° 21° 32°

Screen Height

Multiple7 5 3.2

Why are HDTVs undersized?

Consumers not used to increased appliance size (WAF*)

Affordability Content image quality

– Much content is not HD– Broadcast signals are sometimes

severely compressed– TV enhancement artifacts

remain

*Wife-Acceptance Factor

480p

720p

1080p

11°21°

32°

04/10/23

MTF (Modulation Transfer Function)

All hi-res, hi-contrast images are not created equal.

ContrastRatio(%)

Spatial Frequencylargefeatures

smallfeatures

limitingresolution

Increased ImageContent

GoodMTFBadMTF

Contrast Threshold Function (CTF)

• Higher contrast is needed for fine detail to be seen.

• CTF varies with brightness.

• HDTV can approach the limit of perception.

• Projectors and screens without a robust MTF are HD-handicapped.

ContrastRatio(%)

Spatial Frequency 1080(1.0')

Minimum contrast the eye can detect

Perceived Image Content

MTF Area (MTFA) Method first proposed in 1965 by Charman and Olin MTF can greatly effect perceived resolution, as well as perceived content Analogous to Shannon Hartley Theorem

ContrastRatio(%)

Spatial Frequency 1080(1.0’)

PerceivedResolution

MTF 2

MTFA

MTF 1

CTF

Image Transformations

ActualImage

DigitalContent

Projector Screen

AmbientLight

HumanEye

Information content must be preserved through successive transfer functions.

Each MTF multiplies by its fraction

Conclusions

1. Costs will continue to fall at 20-25% per year

2. Average screen sizes will continue to increase

3. Each display technology will thrive in its “sweet spot”– LCD: 26 - 37 —> 32 - 46 inches– Plasma: 42 - 50 —> 50 - 60 inches– MDRP: 50+ —> 60+ inches

4. Market will remain strong as HD content mushrooms– Multiple service models: IPTV, narrow cast, streaming, PC connectivity, DVR– Opportunity to upsell undersized screens as image quality improves

5. The role of image processing will become increasingly important as sizes and consumer experience increase

6. Your next TV will be bigger than your last one

Call me.

to help your marketing needs.

John R. DiLoreto408 559-1034

john@diloreto.com