[paulgas]

This company Reflectivity seems to have found a way to make higher fill ration native hd dlp chips with higher yields and at lower cost than TI
http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1090190289781.html

They are in heavy stealth mode but soon will have native hd resolution chips for FP and the buzz is that they are targetting costs to be 3-5k. Sounds good to me.
http://www.reflectivity.com/

You may want to check in on who the investors are and who the directors and outside board members are. It is going to be an interesting story and prices and performance may begin to move in the directions best for us.

Paul

 

[santellavision]

Paul,

FYI: TI's current 720 x 1280 chip is true HD. Just as 1920x1080 is also HD.

 

[Tryg]

he meant to say "real HD"

 

[Michael Grant]

In my book a display that cannot fully resolve all HD content, and that includes 1080p24/30, is not true HD. But if the marketing boys want to decide a 720p display (which I own) is true HD, well hey, I'm not gonna argue. And 1080p downsampled to 720p still looks damn good

 

[Andrikos]

Hey Michael,

we're still waiting on that review of yours...

 

[Michael Grant]

Would you believe that the projector is mounted on my ceiling but there is no DVI cable running to it yet? I am a pitiful soul This has been unbelievable. BUT, my Ph.D oral defense is on Nov. 4th, with my dissertation due shortly after that, so the end is in sight. Once my dissertation is done I will be throwing myself fully into getting this theater done.


I am proud to say however that I broke out the trusty old soldering iron and fixed my fiber-optic DVI cable, which had a pin broken off. Salvaged an older DVI cable for parts. Whew, that was several hundred dollars saved

 

[Andrikos]

First things first.

Get your Ph.d, everything else is a bunch of hooey (things I mean, NOT family... )

Good luck, although I have a feeling you don't need it...

 

[tubby]

Good Luck Michael, I just finshed mine also after beiing out of school for 12 years. Feels pretty nice. I am just startining my first PJ project now.

 

[noah katz]

Paul,


Thanks for the links, most interesting.


"And some 11% of units sold in the big-screen market were home-theater projectors"


A lot more than I would have guessed.

 

[Alan Gouger]

There was talk about this company being at Cedia but it was a closed conference and all press had to sign a NDA. Glad to see some competition to TI.


I wish it would help speed the delivery of FP 1080P DLP display devices. I want one for Xmas

 

[Michael Grant]

Quote:

Good Luck Michael, I just finshed mine also after beiing out of school for 12 years. Feels pretty nice. I am just startining my first PJ project now.

Well what a coincidence, tubby! I started this Ph.D. work just a shade over 12 years ago. I've had a few things get in the way, such as the little girl in the photo, the mother who birthed her, a couple of good jobs...


Anyway, as for the topic at hand. I think the Qualia and HD2K posts have amply demonstrated the benefits of 1080p... It will be interesting to see if a razor-sharp 1080p DLP unit stacks up against a film-like 1080p LCOS unit.
Quote:

"And some 11% of units sold in the big-screen market were home-theater projectors" A lot more than I would have guessed.

It seems reasonable to me if you consider what a small segment of the market they're talking about... DLP RPTVs aren't that popular yet... and they're ignoring DLP business projectors...

 

[paulgas]

It seems some of the outside directors are from OEM's many us already own pj from and SONY has an investment in this company as well. No wonder there were NDA's but the buzz is soon to market so I am saving my pennies....

 

[Jorus]

What is this technology going to be called? I'm assuming they can't call it DLP, or anything remotely similar.

 

[paulgas]

dunno, maybe someone will call investor relations and get a packet....

 

[noah katz]

quote:"And some 11% of units sold in the big-screen market were home-theater projectors" A lot more than I would have guessed.


"It seems reasonable to me if you consider what a small segment of the market they're talking about... DLP RPTVs aren't that popular yet..."


I take the big-screen market to include RPTV's, which there are acres of at mass market retailers.

 

[paulgas]

I tend to agree. My brother is buying a fp system now the process is being driven by his 15 yr old. Costco now has fp bundles with a pj and a screen. I think this is begining to resemble "mass market"

 

[Michael Grant]

Quote:

I take the big-screen market to include RPTV's, which there are acres of at mass market retailers.

Yes, but how many of them are DLP-based? What the quote seems to be saying to me is that 11% of the DLP big-screen market is home theater projectors.

 

[noah katz]

Here's what it says:


"In the second quarter, some 53% of advanced TVs sold with a screen bigger than 30 inches were projection sets, and TI's chip powered nearly half of them, according to market researcher Quixel Research LLC, Portland, Ore. Following projection sets, plasma accounted for 27% of the sales of these big screens while LCD TVs racked up a 9% share. And some 11% of units sold in the big-screen market were home-theater projectors -- many of which are powered by the same TI chip."


I read it as 11% of the 53% first cited were pj's.


And I wasn't talking about whether they're DLP or not, just the fact that there FP's.

 

[rogo]

Noah, the chart in the article shows the 11% as part of the total of 100%, 9% LCD, 27% plasma, 53% projection (half being DLP apparently).


It's not entirely clear to me if any of these guys really have a shot in hell, but there was one quote that stood out:


"Why would anyone want to tangle with TI? "My view is no one wants an Intel of televisions," says Bob Duboc, Reflectivity's CEO, referring to Intel's position as the dominant maker of personal-computer microprocessor chips."


Um, it's way too late for that. In projection, TI is the Intel of televisions. And even if 3-4 startups all learn to compete, they will be AMD-sized at best. The first-mover advantage here is just so incredibly mammoth, that people who still won't enter the market for a year are only going to grow so much.


And besides, the flat panel prices are coming down 20-30% per year. While projection will play a role at 50 inches and up for years to come, it's only going to do so by being cheap. That further squeezes the startups and makes it harder for them to achieve returns and gain scale.


Color me a bit skeptical, but hopeful that TI's chokehold doesn't become a full on stranglehold.


Mark

 

[mandarax]

Very cool info. Refreshing to see that someone has the balls to step up to the plate this late in the game and see if they can hit a home run. Not for the meek or timid for sure... and they seem to be hiring a boat load of technical people which is also quite refreshing to see.


Good luck on your Phd Michael.. I mean good job finishing it especially with the other important side events.



Robert