Visual Technology

Barco lights up Transformers movie premiere at LA film festival

Posted on July 11th, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new.

Flawless performance of Barco’s new DP-3000 digital cinema projector at Westwood’s National Theatre

Sacramento, CA — July 5, 2007 — Digital cinema pioneer Barco is proud to announce that its DP-3000 projector was selected for the North American premiere of DreamWorks/Paramount’s new feature, TRANSFORMERS, at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. Held on 27 June at Westwood’s National Theatre before a packed house of 1100, TRANSFORMERS is the latest feature from acclaimed director Michael Bay (The Island, Bad Boys 2, and Pearl Harbor). For Barco, the screening also marked the DP-3000’s world premiere in a dedicated cinema venue.

The National Theatre’s 23’ x 64’ screen offered the perfect large-screen venue for the TRANSFORMERS premiere. “People who saw the film, were blown away, because it looked amazing and sounded great.” said Kerim Duran, Technical Director for the Los Angeles Film Festival. “And for the National Theatre, as an exclusive 35mm and 70mm house, this was their first 2K DCI compliant presentation, and it was flawless.”

With a remarkable 30K lumen output, the DP-3000 is Barco’s new flagship, and the brightest “large venue” digital cinema projector in the industry. Using the DLP Cinema® chip from Texas Instruments, the DP-3000 is designed for screens up to 30m (98’) wide, and exemplifies Barco’s hallmark attributes of image quality, reliability and robustness.

Joe DeMeo, Director of Sales for Barco’s cinema business, commented on the event’s importance. “Many key ingredients came together to contribute to the success of the TRANSFORMERS premiere,” noted DeMeo. “You have a superb new Michael Bay movie, the prestige of the LA Film Festival, the National Theater’s first digital screening, and the DP-3000 — the world’s brightest cinema projector. Overall, this was a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of the DP-3000 to the Hollywood community.”

Terri Westhafer, Director of Business Development for Barco’s digital cinema business unit, noted that this was the finest digital presentation she had ever experienced. “Every member of the crowd was riveted to the screen. The image was flawless and the sound system was superb — but it wasn’t just the projector’s brightness and contrast. It was also the evenness of the light output, with the corners at the same intensity as the center. The image simply embraced the audience.”

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Experience a new dimensio

Posted on July 2nd, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new, Screens, 3 d.

Philips 3D Solutions brings the 3D viewing experience to you without the need for special 3D glasses. Philips WoWvx technology grabs the attention of the viewer. The 3D display has a large viewing zone and is suitable for simultaneous use by a number of viewers. 3D is the next big thing since the introduction of color displays. 3D provides a richer, more exciting, more informative, and more entertaining end-user experience in various fields!

3D is cool!
Having a night in with your friends? There is no better way of watching the latest movies, the coolest shows, and the most important sporting events, than in an exciting 3D mode!!

3D is going to be big!
There are great opportunities for consumers, as well as business and the professional market. Just imagine what 3D can do for the visualization of your product.

3D is the next big thing!
Hollywood is already shooting some big productions in 3D. They also know that soon, everybody will want to see their favorite movie in 3D!

Grab viewers attention and bring your content alive with WoWvx technology!
Imagine what Star Wars would like on a 3D screen! It’s like being there, in a Galaxy far far away yourself! And try to resist that freshly squeezed glass of orange juice springing out of the screen!

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Barco appoints new CFO

Posted on June 28th, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new.

Kortrijk, 28 June, 2007. Barco announces the appointment of Dirk De Man as Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Antoon Van Petegem, the current CFO of Barco. The appointment is effective 1 September 2007. A transition period is foreseen until the end of 2007.

Dirk De Man is currently CFO of Unilin, a division of Mohawk Industries (USA). During the greater part of his career he worked for Procter & Gamble in Europe and the USA, where he held a number of finance positions. After that he joined UCB/ Cytec as Group Controller of the Specialty Chemicals Division. Dirk De Man has an MBA from Manchester Business School in the UK and a Master’s Degree in Financial & Commercial Sciences from EHSAL in Belgium.

Over the last 20 years Antoon Van Petegem contributed strongly to Barco’s development into a major global player in professional markets for visualization. During his 21 years with the company, Antoon Van Petegem’s vast expertise as CFO and his strategic contribution to acquisitions and divestments has allowed him to play a very substantial role in Barco’s growth to global leadership in its selected markets.

Barco will continue to capitalize on Antoon Van Petegem’s know how. In the coming months he will manage the transfer of his responsibilities, after which he will remain involved in Barco’s strategic development.

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Sanyo reveals XL50 projector with record 3-inch throw

Posted on June 18th, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new.

Sanyo today unveiled what could be one of the most significant breakthroughs in its LCD projector series. The LP-XL50 includes a radical redesign of its aspherical mirror and lens that projects its image at an angle from the middle of the unit rather than at the end. The technique revolutionizes what can be done with projectors, Sanyo claims. With a minimum distance of just over three inches, the XL50 can be put into otherwise impossible positions: it can cast on to the floor or even hang from the wall, the company says. This method also maintains a relatively large image, creating a minimum 60-inch picture and as large as 80 inches.

Image quality is also the same, with a 1024×768 image cast at a 2,000 lumen brightness at a full 16.7 million colors. Input includes VGA for computers as well as component and S-video for DVD players and other analog-resolution sources.

The one obstacle to the projector is its availability, Sanyo adds. A launch is planned for this year but will only see shipping XL50 models on December 21st, over six months away. Price details and launches outside of Japan have gone unannounced and are likely to appear closer to the actual release date.

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LSI ANNOUNCES MAJOR INITIATIVES IN LED LIGHTING WITH SIGNIFICANT STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS

Posted on June 12th, 2007 by Marcela.
Categories: new.

Cincinnati, June 27, 2006 – LSI Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:LYTS) today announced it has acquired substantially all the assets of SACO Technologies Inc., a leading technology developer and producer of LED (light emitting diode) products headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The purchase consideration consists of $23 million cash, 1,419,355 shares of LSI’s common stock, and assumption of certain indebtedness. SACO’s management team and employees will remain in place with operations continuing in Montreal. Fred Jalbout, CEO of SACO Technologies will become President of the LSI Technology Solutions Plus business segment.

SACO Technologies is a worldwide leader and pioneer in the design, production, and support of high-performance light engines and large format video screens using LED technology. State of the art technology, strong commitment to research and development, over 17 years of industry experience and success in markets throughout the world have earned SACO its place as a major player in the production of solid-state lighting and LED video systems. SACO’s proprietary SMARTVISION® solid-state system has become a recognized brand name in both indoor and outdoor LED video displays.

Installed examples of SACO’s products include the largest video screen in the world (the Nasdaq Marketsite on Times Square), professional sports facilities and teams (Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Ravens, Edmonton Oilers, Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, Golden State Warriors, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Timberwolves), entertainment events (Madonna, U2, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Athens Olympics 2004, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, BonJovi), and commercial facilities (Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Air Canada Center, Walt Disney, Mercedes, Toys “R” US).

As an innovator, SACO offers its customers expertise in developing and utilizing high-performance LED color and white lightsource solutions for both lighting and graphics applications. SACO’s established position and extensive capabilities in LEDs allow it to address the architectural, multimedia, industrial, entertainment and theatrical, digital signage, outdoor billboard, transportation, and custom lighting and graphics markets. Most recently, SACO produced the solid-state LED video screens for Madonna’s “Confessions” tour using its advanced SMARTVISION® V9 technology, installed indoor and outdoor lighting at the Rexall Place (Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Rush and Canadian Finals Rodeo), and has received purchase orders to design and manufacture digital billboards for outdoor advertising.

For calendar 2006, SACO expects net sales, EBITDA, and operating income of $26.4 million, $7.3 million, and $6.3 million, respectively, before giving effect to purchase accounting considerations. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to LSI’s earnings commencing fiscal 2007. This acquisition is of a highly strategic nature for LSI Industries from both a lighting and graphics viewpoint. As a light source, light emitting diodes are highly energy efficient and long lasting compared to conventional light sources. LEDs are also more durable and produce less heat than other sources of light. From a white light standpoint, solid-state lighting is rapidly becoming more attractive as costs decline and performance increases. Consequently, LSI believes that solid-state lighting will become increasingly important as it becomes more cost effective for an ever widening breadth of applications. For LSI, solid-state LED products mean substantial new opportunities to drive growth in both the lighting and graphics segments of the business.

Bob Ready, LSI’s President and CEO, commented, “This acquisition represents a very important strategic direction and capability for LSI as we continue to develop the technology element of our vision ‘Lighting + Graphics + Technology = Complete Image Solutions.’ The combination of the emerging importance of solid-state LEDs as a cost-effective, superior light source and LSI’s well established position in the lighting and graphics markets creates a very powerful growth platform.” Mr. Ready went on to say, “SACO is not new to LSI, we have been working with this company over the past year on a number of important LED-based products. Development projects include white light products for municipal market applications as well as LSI’s core niche markets including commercial and industrial applications. In addition, on the graphics side, an interior display using color LEDs has been developed and is being proposed for one of LSI’s national retail customers. Another intersection between SACO and LSI involves the 3M Company. In April of 2005, SACO and 3M Light Management Solutions announced ‘By integrating our complementary expertise, we can offer solutions that far surpass traditional lighting systems by incorporating the full benefits of new technologies without sacrificing durability.’ In January of 2006, LSI and 3M Digital Signage announced a 2006 business development initiative to provide customers with distinctive digital signage solutions. LSI sees the clear opportunity to incorporate current and future technologies developed by SACO into our graphics segment.”

Mr. Ready continued, “We have enjoyed a fine working relationship with SACO and I am pleased our two companies are joining forces to enhance each other’s strengths. Fred Jalbout, President of SACO Technologies, will bring his considerable experience and skills to LSI as President of our Technology business unit.”

Mr. Ready concluded, “We believe LSI Industries has the resources and is positioned to become a leader in the commercialization of LEDs in both its lighting and graphics markets. The initiatives we have put in place will have a major impact on the growth of LSI for many years to come.”

Fred Jalbout, President of SACO Technologies, stated, “This transaction is of great strategic value to both SACO and LSI. We are providing a high-quality solution that is right for today, but also the right investment for the future. Together, with the innovative, leading edge technology of SACO along with LSI’s top industry position we can more effectively serve the worldwide Lighting & Video markets. Our relationship with LSI has always been in complete synergy and is really about working together in innovative ways to improve the quality, creativity, and performance of all products offered. Our customers will have the assurance of two highly respected companies joining forces to take care of their needs. I look forward to the opportunities and challenges that are to come in creating an extremely bright future.”

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