Promised Technologies

[Hussla]

Anyone know what's ever happened to these two? a matter of months ago I heard about these two technologies been plasma and lcd killers, now it's all gone silent.

Anyone know of any updates? ive been looking up SED but can't seem to find any recent articles, the wiki entry is pretty tiny.

Is SEDTV vapourware or is it actually going to be released?

[Scalpel]

Anyone know what's ever happened to these two? a matter of months ago I heard about these two technologies been plasma and lcd killers, now it's all gone silent.

Anyone know of any updates? ive been looking up SED but can't seem to find any recent articles, the wiki entry is pretty tiny.

Is SEDTV vapourware or is it actually going to be released?

I posted (this) update a month ago - starting to look very bleak for any release of SED from Canon/Toshiba. Maybe someone else will deliver it, but there will be a lot of R&D losses tied up with Canon/Toshiba that they will certainly not want to give away.

Laser TV was a con (by a company wanting to list on the staockmarket). Laser SXRD is almost here.

Next up was a 55-inch SXRD set. Sony's already got larger 60- and 70-inch models using its proprietary flavor of the LCoS rear-projection technology, but this one utilizes a laser light engine that allows for a wall-mountable 10-inch depth versus the 19-inch thickness a bulb-based light engine requires. (If that sounds familiar, it's because Sony showed a slimmed-down 55-inch SXRD prototype last year as well--sans laser, however.)

(link)

LED backlit LCD's will also be a useful change in technology.

J.

PS - this is one of the Laser TV debunking articles (from SMH) (link)

Laser TV has been dubbed by its creators as a plasma and LCD killer, but not everyone thinks it's the next big thing in flat screen technology.

Four major TV manufacturers - Fujitsu, Pioneer, Samsung and Philips - have said they have no immediate plans to incorporate laser TV into their product lines, having already made significant investments in plasma and LCD.

"Fujitsu is not considering introducing laser technology because we consider plasma to be a superior technology. Over many decades it has proven to be reliable and provided superb viewing quality. [We] will continue to be committed to developing plasma screen technology," said Milton Kaloudis, marketing manager, Fujitsu General.

One of the companies behind much of laser TV's hype is Arasor, an Australian outfit that supplies the optical processing techniques that are key to laser TV technology.

The company was scheduled to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange today, but the listing has been postponed until 11:30am next Wednesday for procedural reasons, said an Arasor spokesman.

Arasor has partnered with US-based laser specialist Novalux and TV manufacturer Mitsubishi to create working laser TV prototypes, which it showed off to a group of journalists last week.

Laser TVs will produce "twice the colour [depth]" and "30-40 per cent lower [manufacturing] costs", said Arasor co-director Larry Marshall.

"With a laser you're able to custom engineer the light source, so you're able to get the deepest red, the deepest blue and the deepest green," said Marshall, adding that this "gives you almost the full spectrum of colour".

Marshall told us that "by CES [Consumer Electronics Show] next year in January, there'll be eight different manufacturers, including the major ones, with laser TVs on display", but this did not gel with what a number of large TV manufacturers have said.

In fact, the consensus seems to be that laser TV as a technology is too new to be labelled a plasma or LCD killer, at least in the near future.

"Pioneer has no immediate plans to incorporate this technology into our product range," said Michael Broadhurst, Pioneer's public relations manager.

"While new technologies like laser TV create plenty of industry hype, today's display market is already fiercely competitive and consumers demand more than simply technological advances in a television."

A spokesman for Samsung told us: "Laser TV is one of a number of competing, next generation formats. At this stage, it is too early to say more."

The technology might be "quite some time away from possible commercial production", he added.

Philips was more decisive in its response to queries on laser TV.

"This particular technology is not part of any plans Philips Australia has for their TV development in the near future, and we do not expect this particular technology to impact on sales of our flat TVs, nor change our planning for future models," said Matthew Moran, general manager, Philips Consumer Electronics Australia.

Arasor registered as a public company with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in June.

"We started the company in America but we chose for a number of reasons to bring the company back here [to Australia]," said Marshall.

"Australia trains some of the world's best optics and semiconductor people ... but the problem is there's no local industry, so they end up going to the US or Europe to work in the industry there.

"Essentially what we're trying to do is take advantage of the presence of those people, and turn the brain drain around."

Arasor also has bases set up in China and India, but Marshall said the company would treat these countries as "markets" rather than "cheap labour pools", selling them the laser TV optics technologies it has developed in Australian manufacturing plants.

"The plant that we're planning to build is going to be in Sydney. We've got the first phases of that going. Anything that involves a large amount of manual labour will happen in China but all the high-end stuff we'll have here [in Australia]. Essentially all we'll do in China is put it in a box," said Marshall.

Marshall said that the core technologies of laser TV had been around for some time, but earlier versions were too bulky to be integrated into a consumer product.

The ultimate goal was always to create a laser TV that's "the same size and weight as an LCD TV", which has only recently been accomplished.

"[The] colour [enhancement] was sort of an unexpected bonus," said Marshall.

But regardless of the supposed benefits, Pioneer's Broadhurst says he'll believe it when he sees it.

"We are looking forward to seeing this technology in action at CES, as promised," he said.

[HeXa]

ah yes... I see your quote...

Arasor has partnered with US-based laser specialist Novalux and TV manufacturer Mitsubishi to create working laser TV prototypes, which it showed off to a group of journalists last week.

... and raise you with.. http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large...dustry/R7J2X7Q3

Mitsubishi Claims It Knows Nothing About Laser TV

By David Richards | Wednesday | 18/10/2006

Leading global CE manufacturer Mitsubishi claims that it was not invited to the Arasor launch of the so called Laser TV despite a Mitsubishi screen being used to demonstrate the Laser TV technology.

They also claim that they have no knowledge of the Laser TV product which the directors of unknown Company Arasor International and its US partner Novalux claim is being developed in partnership with Mitsubishi and other manufacturers.

Ironically Arasor is trying to raise $35 million from investors in Australia despite the Company having no development office in Australia.

Paul Caldarera, the National Sales and marketing at Mitsubishi said "The first we heard of the laser TV concept was when we read about it online in the Australian national media. One would have expected that the Managing Director of Mitsubishi would have been invited especially as the directors of Novalux and Arasor were in Australia announcing a TV breakthrough that involved Mitsubishi"

"We don't know where they got the Mitsubishi screen from and no one in Mitsubishi seems to know anything about Laser TV which is extremely unusual as we are often told by parent Mitsubishi Companies of activities in Australia involving Mitsubishi".

Journalists attending the launch of the so called Laser TV were not allowed access to the inner workings of the demonstration Laser TV according to journalists who attended the event.

Arasor International Ltd is the holding company of Arasor International Group Holding Limited Company (a Cayman Island Company), of which Arasor Corporation (a corporation organised and existing under the laws of Delaware, USA) is a wholly owned subsidiary.

Attempts to track down directors of the Company to comment have resulted in one director Larry Marshall promising to call back but despite this he failed to return our calls.

Another director did not answer both mobile and land line calls. This is unusual as directors of Companies who are trying to raise capital are normally keen to talk to the media about their Company and any technology break though they may have.

Also ducking for cover are the public relations Company Professional Public Relations who orchestrated the Laser TV press conference. Despite repeated requests to them to gain access to the directors of Arasor they have failed to deliver on interviews that were offered when the Laser TV concept was first launched.

Peter Connors of Patersons Securities Limited a Sydney based stockbroker who is the officially listed broker for Arasor said. "The main revenue streams which will be around $150M will come from Wireless and Optical technology not Laser TV. We have been told that Arasor will bring on board revenue streams from Laser TV by late 2007".

What SHN has been able to establish is that a patent was acquired by Arasor Acquisition Corporation by virtue of the merger of Lightbit Corporation, Inc. into Arasor Acquisition Corporation on 8 March 2004.

The Arasor web site reveals that the directors of the Company are Simon Cao Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Charles Mao Executive Director, Larry Marshall Executive Director, George SyCip Non-Executive Director and Parviz Tayebati Non-Executive Director.

Also listed are Anthony Surtees Non-Executive Director, Ian Neal Non-Executive Director, Laurie Kan Non-Executive Director and Zhu Xin Kun Non-Executive Director.

Calls to Arasor's listed head office in Australia revealed that very few people seemed to know anything about the Company. The receptionist did not know any one of the listed directors for Arasor including the Company CEO Simon Cao. She said "Are you sure you have the right office. I have never heard of these people" When SHN finally tracked down the listed Company Secretary Donald Stephens an Adelaide Accountant he said "The directors of Arasor are hard to get. They are very transient. I have quite a lot of difficulty contacting them. When I do it is by email".

What SHN has been able to establish is that a patent was acquired by Arasor Acquisition Corporation by virtue of the merger of Lightbit Corporation, Inc. into Arasor Acquisition Corporation on 8 March 2004. This patent relates to an optical signal converter with filtered output.

Arasor in trying to raise capital has been knocked back by several Venture Capital Companies but despite this they are attempting to raise money from Australian investors by holding the all singing all dancing PR event where they have claimed that Laser TV is set to be the next big thing after LCD, Plasma and the up coming SED TV which has two of the biggest technology Companies in the world behind it Canon and Toshiba.

[Scalpel]

Calls to Arasor's listed head office in Australia revealed that very few people seemed to know anything about the Company. The receptionist did not know any one of the listed directors for Arasor including the Company CEO Simon Cao. She said "Are you sure you have the right office. I have never heard of these people" When SHN finally tracked down the listed Company Secretary Donald Stephens an Adelaide Accountant he said "The directors of Arasor are hard to get. They are very transient. I have quite a lot of difficulty contacting them. When I do it is by email".

That paragraph is a classic.

Mmmmm - can I give them some money to invest