North America

The Great Future of LED TV(2)-- The maturity and productization of LED TV Technology

ivan — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:08:16 +0000

In the IFA 2008, many manufacturers introduced LED TVs to show their capability of combining LED and TV technology.

Samsung

For example, Samsung introduced the A950 series, which supports Full HD(1920*1080) with screens made 46 or 55 inches, and adopts LED back light, which can control the brightness more efficiently.

Sony

Sony also displayed LED TVs made with two different LED back-lighting technologies. One of them called X4500 series, which adopts 「Direct Type」 LED back-light and comes with screens made as 46 and 55 inches. The X4500 series adopts Sony's exclusive technology of LED Back-lighting, which is called TRILUMINOS RGB. TRILUMINOS RGB changes the result of traditional RGB LED back-light, which arranges the colors of red, green and blue in a special way, pushing up NTSC to 102% and the dynamic contrast ratio to 1000000︰1.

Another LED TV from Sony is called ZX1, which adopts the 「Edge Type」 LED back-light and 40-inch panel, reducing the thickness of its LCD panel to 9.9mm only, and thus becomes the thinest big-screen TV in the industry. ZX1 weights only 12.2 kilograms, contains 120Hz MotionFlow scanning technology, x.v.Color and BRAVIA Engine 2 picture processing technology. But in order to make the ZX1 ultra-thin, Sony has sacrificed some features, such as the static contrast ratio, which is only 3000:1, and the ZX1 only has one HDMI. It's priced at 490,000 yen(4,600 USD).

LG didn't show its LED TV in the IFA this time, but already launched the LG90 series in Korea, which adopts 47-inch panel and LED back-light. The contrast ratio of LG90 series is as high as 1000000: 1, while its energy consumption is only 70% of that of other LCD TVs with similar screen size. LG90 series also adopts 120Hz technology, which is combined with the high efficiency of switching from LED back-light to lift up the level of definition for dynamic pictures.

Sharp

Sharp's LED TV is named Aquos-XS series, which comes with 65 or 52-inch panel, 1000000:1 contrast ratio, and 105% NTSC. LED back-light makes the thinest place of Aquos-XS only 23mm. Aquos-XS is scheduled to launch in October 2008.

Philips

The LED TV from Philips is 42PFL9803, which adopts 42-inch screen and LED back-light,and is the first TV that utilizes Philips' LED LUX dimming technology. 42PFL9803 has 128 sets of LED(1152 in total) which are separated into 8 rows, and each set contains 9 LEDs that can individually shift to dark, so every pixel can be controlled accurately to increase the performance of dark color. Philips claims that the picture performed in its 42PFL9803 has better quality than that in the plasma TV, because the dynamic contrast ratio of 42PFL9803 is as high as 2000000:1.

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Executive with US rival joins Enfis to drive its smart LED technology across the Atlantic

sarafan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:03:32 +0000

Recently, Enfis, which is an innovator of intelligent LED lighting systems and technologies, announced that Dan Polito has joined the company as president of its North American business unit. The appointment highlights the increasing opportunities for smart LED technology across the Atlantic.

Mr Polito was vice-president and chief marketing officer of New Jersey-based Lamina Lighting – an LED lighting technology manufacturer and spin-off from the Sarnoff Corporation. He was responsible for the management of marketing, global business development, product development, sales and channel sales. He successfully groomed and relaunched the Lamina brand, spearheading a string of industry partnerships and introducing a new line of highly successful LED products.

Based in the central New Jersey area, Mr Polito will oversee all areas of Enfis’ North American operations. According to the chief executive Shaun Oxenham, “This is a new position which will drive our presence in the critical and fast-paced North American marketplace. Dan brings a wealth of significant marketing and business development experiences that will further strengthen our position as the dominant provider of intelligent LED lighting technology on a global scale.”

Mr Polito indicated: “There are a number of exciting opportunities in North America for the kind of smart LED technology that Enfis provides, driven in part by growing environmental concerns, as well as the demand for greater product reliability and consistency.”

Cree LED Recessed Down Lights Win International Design Competition

sarafan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:37:23 +0000

Recently, CREE, a market leader in LED lighting, has again won the top prize for recessed down lights in the 2008 Lighting for Tomorrow solid-state lighting (SSL) competition. The complete Cree LED lighting family has now been recognized for superior efficacy and design by this contest, organized by the American Lighting Association, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Consortium of Energy Efficiency.

The Cree LR4 recessed architectural LED down light won the top prize for LED recessed down lights. Entrants in this category must meet the U.S. Department of Energy's solid-state lighting Energy Star(r) criteria, slated to go into effect later this year. The Cree LR24, a 24-inch square recessed LED light, was honored for superior efficacy in the "Other Applications" category, reserved for general illumination products not covered by Energy Star that exceed device efficacy of 50 lumens per watt. The LR24, targeted for availability this fall, is designed for use in suspended ceilings and features the same beautiful color rendering, long lifetime and best-in-class efficacy as the other Cree LED lights.

Gary Trott, Cree LED Lighting Solutions vice president of market development, said "Cree is proud to extend the success of our LR6 LED down light, last year's Lighting for Tomorrow grand prize winner." He indicated that they continue to set the standard for LED lighting by delivering lights that combine the beautiful color of incandescents with nearly twice the energy efficiency of compact fluorescents. Their lights are designed to last more than two decades under typical residential usage.

As we know, Cree's LED lighting innovation has been praised with numerous other awards including a prestigious 2008 silver International Design Excellence Award (IDEA), a 2008 PCBC Cool Product designation and BuildingGreen's Top 10 Green Building Products for 2007.

About Cree

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications. Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, blue and green LED chips, high brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.

LEDs are powering new types of projectors, LED makers reel in new orders

sarafan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:48:58 +0000

Recently, Luminus Devices and Everlight have each announced that their LEDs are powering new types of projectors. Luminus LEDs used in Samsung, LG projectors, Everlight starts shipping LEDs for micro projectors.

Luminus Devices has indicated that its PhlatLight LEDs are powering two of the newest portable LED-based projectors, the Samsung P400 pocket imager and LG Electronics’ HS-102 ultra-mobile projector. Both projectors are lamp-free, weigh less than two pounds and fit in the palm of a hand.

The PhlatLight PT54 LEDs used in both units enable brightness to reach and exceed 150 lumens, a breakthrough for pocket projectors. The pure RGB color from the PhlatLight LEDs produce a brighter more vivid image than the ANSI brightness specs would suggest, for a picture that’s easily viewable when projected to a 40-inch size even in a well-lit office. These projectors consume approximately one-third the power of comparable lamp-based projectors and produce an instant-on image at full brightness without the cost and inconvenience of lamp replacement. Both projectors were recently demonstrated at IFA in Berlin and are launching to worldwide distribution. The Samsung P400 is now shipping in the US.

In addition, Taiwan-based LED packaging company Everlight has received high-power LED orders to be used in micro projectors with shipments starting in September, said a recent report. Although initial order volumes are limited, Everlight is the first to enter the market for micro projectors in Taiwan, according to market sources. The market sources noted that micro-projectors are a newly developed product and most vendors are using LEDs from US or European LED makers. Everlight is the first Taiwan-based LED maker to provide high-power LEDs to micro projector vendors.

Everlight indicated that micro projectors require better color saturation and hence RGB LEDs will be used as the light source. Initial monthly shipment estimates are for about 10,000 units, but orders are expected to grow as the market for micro projectors matures in 2009.

Industry players estimated that the market for micro projectors and micro projectors built into handsets may reach 2.34 million units in 2010. However, Taiwan-based Lite-On Technology remains conservative about the new market noting that LEDs typically deliver only one-sixth the brightness of alternative projector light sources. Lite-On said it believes the growth of the micro projector market is limited and it is not considering joining the market at this time.

Optoma has introduced its first micro projector using DLP technology from Texas Instruments (TI), with LEDs as the backlight source. The device is able to project a 20-inch diagonal image from a distance of 50cm. This product is expected to start shipping in October.

Thanks to improved technology, LEDs to have a bright future

sarafan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:45:01 +0000

In the past few years, LEDs have made huge advances in energy efficiency. Industry sources and outside experts say LEDs are now the most energy-efficient lighting source available. They use far less energy than other bulbs, last a lot longer, and cost less to use over their lifetime.

For now, the lights still cost more than the average consumer is used to spending on a light bulb -- a lot more. Prices for LEDs on the market today can be more than five times what an incandescent bulb costs. However, the LEDs use about 85% less energy and last 30 times longer. They also use about half as much energy and last five times longer than compact fluorescent lights.

Manufacturers' game plan is to first target commercial and industrial customers, for whom the economics of LEDs are increasingly too compelling to ignore. Such customers leave their lights on most or all of the time and pay labor costs each time bulbs are changed. Longer-lasting lights that use less energy thus offer them significant savings over time.

Then, as sales increase, creating economies of scale and bringing down production costs and prices, the industry will expand its marketing to residential customers in a push that many observers expect will make LEDs the lighting of choice for years to come.

Jim Brodrick, Solid State Lighting program manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, predicts that LEDs will save Americans $280 billion in energy costs over the next 20 years, and that the technology will make up 70% of the market by the end of that period. Philips Lighting, part of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics, sees LEDs as the future. It has spent $4.2 billion in LED company acquisitions over the past two years.

Strategies Unlimited, a market-research firm specializing in advanced electronics, forecasts that sales of LEDs, which accounted for a minuscule $330 million of the $15 billion lighting market in 2007, will grow 40% this year and reach $1.6 billion by 2012. "It's a small base" but "it's growing fast," says Robert Steele, a principal at the Mountain View, Calif., firm.

LEDs consist of a small semiconductor that emits photons when electricity is applied. For decades, they've been used as indicator lights for small applications like remote controls and stereos. A major hurdle to their broader use for industrial and residential lighting, however, was manufacturers' inability to boost brightness without increasing power consumption too much. Advances in materials used in LEDs have led to an explosion in technological improvements at the leading LED companies over the past two years. An LED light and fixture on the market from Cree Inc., a Durham N.C.-based LED maker, produces about 60 lumens per watt, a measure of lighting efficiency. That product is about as bright as a 65-watt incandescent bulb, while using only about one-sixth of the power. The LED lamp also has an estimated life of about 50,000 hours, about 33 times longer than that of an incandescent light.

Some companies and a growing number of cities have started adding LEDs incrementally. For such users, the savings LEDs provide on energy bills, bulb-replacement and labor costs can often cover the higher up-front cost in about a year, industry experts say.

Raleigh, N.C., recently installed LED lights in parking decks and other outdoor spaces. Dan Howe, assistant city manager, estimates that in one underground parking deck the change will save the city more than $700,000 in energy and maintenance costs over the 15-year lifetime of the LED products.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., after tests at two of its stores in Texas and Colorado, has decided to use LEDs in the freezers and refrigerators at all 4,200 of its stores in the U.S. A company spokesperson adds that tests are under way of LED lights in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store in Arkansas.

For now, price remains the biggest obstacle, especially for residential use. But there are signs that this is changing as well. Consider "down lights," the kind of directional, recessed lighting that is common in many homes and offices. LEDs are well-suited for this kind of lighting because they typically provide directional light. But despite their suitability for this purpose, Sloan Ritchie, a sustainable-home builder in Seattle, says he isn't yet installing LED down lights because they're too expensive: about $80 each, compared with $15 for an incandescent and $35 for a fluorescent. Even though LEDs offer savings in the long run -- and use less energy -- consumers still are reluctant to pay more up front. However, with LED prices falling about 25% a year, Mr. Ritchie says he may begin using them next year.

According to the Energy Department's Mr. Brodrick, some manufacturers already are test-marketing products in stores of Home Depot Inc., the big home-improvement retailer. Meanwhile, for the LED market itself to light up. For one, as often happens with new technology, the quality of LED products currently on the market is uneven. Of 140 LED products in stores and tested by the U.S. Energy Department, more than half were considered poor quality. People get kind of interested.

Leading LED manufacturers have responded by buying their own fixture makers. Earlier this year, Cree purchased LED Lighting Fixtures Inc., and Lighting Science Group Corp., a New York-based LED product company, purchased Netherlands-based Lighting Partner BV.

LED driver upgrades LCD backlight for media player apps

sarafan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:21:58 +0000

Recently, ON Semiconductor has released the NCP5890, a lighting management device that integrates LCD backlighting, fun light controls and ambient light sensing in a 3mm x 3mm x 0.55mm µQFN-16 package. It targets compact smart phone and portable media player applications.

With its 30V output capability, the device drives LEDs in series to achieve homogeneous backlight over the LCD screen. At the same time, it controls three sets of white LEDs or RGB LEDs to create light patterns on keypads or chassis in a unique combination with backlighting. The driver also extends battery life by adjusting the backlight current based on the ambient light level.

Having high overall power efficiency of up to 90 percent at 1.3MHz oscillator frequency, the NCP5890 inductive boost LED driver renders up to 30V at output. It can sustain eight LEDs in series for LCD backlight and fun lighting. The device supports ambient light sensing, a feature needed in smart phones to lower power use and increase user comfort.

The NCP5890 also has a built-in gradual dimming that produces fade-in and fade-out effects. Both ambient light sensing and gradual dimming are automated built-in functions that can be activated with I2C commands. The device backs I2C protocol with two separate address options. The integrated driver also stretches battery power with a true cut-off function that limits the leakage output current in shut-down mode.

Brooklyn Park tries out LED streetlights

sarafan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:48:20 +0000

It’s reported that Brooklyn Park and Xcel Energy Co. started an energy saving experiment this week by installing LED bulbs in nine streetlights.

City engineering director Gary Brown said the residents will be asked if the LEDs, which use about half as much electricity as conventional streetlights, are as bright as the high-pressure sodium bulbs they replaced. The LED bulbs are on corner light poles on 71st Street, west of Zane Avenue N. he indicated that the LED lights last about three times as long as sodium lights but cost about three times as much. Replacing LED bulbs less often would save on installation costs.

Other suburbs, including Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, are considering LED and other lighting alternatives. Eden Prairie installed about a dozen LED lights this summer in its City Hall parking lot, public works director Eugene Dietz said. He said of the rectangular new lights, which were brighter than nearby sodium lights. A city consultant said the energy savings would pay for the new lights in 16 years, he added.

According to Brian Wagstrom, Minnetonka public works director, LED streetlights last 100,000 hours versus about 30,000 hours for the standard fixtures, but LEDs are relatively new, and Minnetonka is waiting to see how they perform elsewhere.

Brooklyn Park, St. Paul and Minneapolis already use LED bulbs in many traffic lights, Brown said. The new traffic lights use only 10 percent as much energy as conventional traffic lights, he said.

East Manufacturing Announces New Features to LED Lighting

aber — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:55:20 +0000

Ohio East Manufacturing, Randolph, Ohio, has announced it is offering a LED lighting system that is completely sealed against the elements. The system uses sealed “plug-in” connections designed to prevent moisture infiltration and subsequent corrosion from compromising the functionality of the trailer's lighting system, the company says. This moisture-barrier lighting system is now standard equipment on all East aluminum flatbed, dump and transfer trailers.

“The new moisture-barrier system is a return ground system, versus the traditional chassis-ground system, eliminating the opportunity for poor connections between body, chassis and tractor fifth wheel,” says Bob Appleman, director of supply chain management. “There is no splicing needed, no wire nuts, and no junction boxes with the standard lighting system. The system uses wire harnesses with corrosion-resistant Truck-Lite Fit 'N Forget plug-in connections. Each connection is packed with non-conducting dielectric grease to seal out moisture,” Appleman adds.

"East is focused on the goal of making better, more durable trailers that decrease maintenance time and expense for our customers,” says Dave Tate, president of East Manufacturing. “This moisture-barrier lighting system is a perfect example. It is virtually maintenance free, and the life of a LED light is more than 100,000 hours.”

He continues, “So when you combine them with a wiring harness system designed to keep moisture out of the connections, lighting maintenance on an East trailer should be minimal.”

East Manufacturing Corporation offers a full-line of aluminum dump, platform and refuse trailers, steel and aluminum dump bodies, and heavy duty trucking accessories.

Pitt State's ‘Jungle-tron’ debuts against Missouri Southern

aber — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:15:09 +0000

Crews with Daktronics and Pittsburg State University have burned the midnight oil for the last several days to ensure that the new "Jungle-tron" at Carnie Smith Stadium was ready for use Saturday during Pitt State’s home opener with Missouri Southern.

“It was probably pretty typical for a project of this size,” said Daktronics project manager Tom Manier on Saturday.

While Manier said that things went well for the first time in operation, there were some challenges.

“There are always hiccups but when you have good technicians it makes it very easy,” Manier said.

The scoreboard, priced at $1.7 million, was funded mostly from private donations. The PSU University Foundation put $400,000 toward the project in order to start the construction process, but those funds will be replenished with additional private donations.

“With the MIAA, it raises the bar in all of Division II sports,” said Daktronics salesman Brady Jacobsen. Jacobsen was the sales representative for Daktronics to Pittsburg State.

In late August, Daktronics, the manufacturer of the LED (light-emitting diode) panels, started to place those panels on the skeleton of the scoreboard. On top of the 24 LED panels, there is a row for camera equipment, and the top level of the new scoreboard features a new audio sound system.

“Our schedule was kind of compressed and our technicians were still installing, but they had it up and ready on Wednesday,” Manier said.

After that, training began on Wednesday afternoon.

“They probably worked 40 hours out of 46 hours and got about six hours of sleep in the three days we worked,” Manier said. “All of the issues have to be resolved and they have to have everything laid out.”

According to Daktronics the PSU board will be the largest at any NCAA Division II stadium and will also boast a larger video viewing capacity than those at the University of Missouri, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.

“I think, where they were a year ago, they did a great job in getting up to speed,” Manier said. “I look for them to improve and be as good as anyone in the nation.”

「LEDs 2008」 Program is Upcoming

sarafan — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:51:14 +0000

It’s reported that LEDs 2008 is to be headlined by key industry players include Philips Lumileds Lighting, Cree Inc, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Toyoda Gosei, Nichia, the US EPA and Audi. This year’s event set for Monday, September 29, 2008 – Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina in San Diego, CA, US will highlight the impressive growth and key developments that have occurred in the industry during the past year and provide a roadmap for future development.

Because the LED industry continues to grow at 10-15% per year and is expected to climb as high as $7 billion by 2010, the future looks bright. This performance has been fueled by increased adoption of LEDs in several strategic end-use markets including camera flash, projection displays, LCD backlighting and automotive headlamps.

It’s disclosed that the topics will be addressed by several speakers at LEDs 2008 including someone who will detail how LEDs are being increasingly adopted into LCD backlighting systems by companies such as HP and Apple who have begun to utilize these systems in their PC notebooks. Stephan Berlitz of Audi will discuss his company’s expanded use of HB LED headlamps and how it is strengthening their brand image.

According to the related authority, LEDs continue to make gains in the general illumination market. The recent advent of several bans on incandescent lighting has led to a greater number of users are looking to solid state lighting as an environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternative. Terry McGowan of the American Lighting Association will examine residential lighting and will highlight some unique industry requirements that must be met for LEDs to become more commonly used in the household. Sheila Kennedy and Violich Architecture will expand on this theme by looking at HB LEDs in architecture while placing additional emphasis on solving vertical integration problems. These talks and others will highlight the inroads LEDs have made in general illumination while also detailing obstacles that must yet be overcome for LEDs to acquire a greater share of this lucrative market.

Of course, in many ways industry growth is driven by the work being done by the LED manufacturers, all of whom are represented on the LEDs 2008 program and will also participate on our manufacturer’s panel.

This year’s panelists are George Craford, Chief Technical Officer for Philips Lumileds, John Edmond, founder of Cree, Christian Fricke, Vice President of Research and Development for Osram Opto Semiconductor, Daniel Doxsee of Nichia America, and Bill Kennedy General Manager of the LEDs Department at Toyoda Gosei. This forum will provide an excellent opportunity to interact with industry leaders and to learn more about the issues that are most salient to industry objectives.

New to this year’s program includes the audience select Best in Show Awards and the Exhibitor Forum where attendees will be the first to hear product announcements, live demos and participate in question and answer sessions as industry suppliers discuss their latest technology solutions.

At a time when the LEDs market continues to experience explosive economic and technological growth, IntertechPira’s LEDs 2008 conference is both timely and practical, providing a unique opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge and network with industry leaders from around the world on this dynamic and growing industry.