Laser Projection article

[Vincent Rice]

I wrote a feature for AV Magazine in the UK a few months ago on laser projectors and it's now available online:

Laser Projection

I thought some of you here might be interested. I actually mentioned RED in the original but it was edited out! (magazine had no idea who RED were).
The VP of projection engineering at SONY 'friended' me after this so it can't be complete rubbish.

RED have a great potential future in the AV world - if they're willing to do what it takes.

 

[Les Dittert]

Great article! Takes the mystery out of the technology.

 

[Vincent Rice]

Thanks Les.

 

[Julian Banos]

Thank you Vincent! Great read! It actually makes me connect a few dots.

 

[Chris Park-Kennaby]

Good work, this was an excellent read.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

Vincent, thanks.

There are many companies in on this. Most I know of are with pocket projectors and scanned. Scanned are getting a bad safety wrap lately, which nobody believed me about years ago, so mostly are not worth worrying about for cinema sizes.

Unfortunately it is late and I can't remember many of the names. There is also already a 8k laser projector, used for Planetariums. I pulled out a wannabe technology from my old research reading pages last week. The Russians invented a laser cart tube system for cinema years and years ago. Went know where much I think, but think what might have been 15 years ago if they had.

You wrote on the different color perception from narrow band, I identified, I think, and wrote about that here last year or before.

Now, here is where I and les might disagree.

We actually don't need lasers to do this. Years ago I was looking into how to do near high efficiency and 100% efficient lighting sources. Since then I have be come aware of others with other 60-80% efficiency light sources. It is possible to make narrow frequency Leds too, as has been used in back projected TV's. Of course you don't get the light all in phase, and maybe not polarised. I've been looking into making a new technique to achieve laser replacement.

I personally don't see laser light as normal light, it is in phase with a resonance frequency, compared to normal light. In surgery, manufacture etc, they use this characteristic to target a reaction to a material. So, when I think about laser light, it has all these attributes attached to it. However, medically, I have not yet researched the current research on which is more harmful for the perceived effect. What should be noted, even if not researched yet, what is the effect over time, over the decades on eyes. Scientist often do very simplistic studies, and then say they have found something (well the ones that get proven wrong published about in the press at least). So, you can say X amount does damage instantaneously, Y amount over a second, but more subtly change can lead biological sub processes that change eye structure over time. It could be as simple as stimulating production of a compound that eventually directly or indirectly feeds back into affecting the growth of eye structure. So, even measuring the changes over a feature film or a day, might not tell you much about what that amount of energy may do over the years.

I wanted to develop a laser based video game system years ago, and laser displays. They now talk about laser safety features on scanning laser systems but I came up with a set a number of years ago. But these issues, and the general lack of off the shelf cheap laser scanning part to use, kept me back from using it. Even if you out in laser safety features, what if the kid sticks it up to their eyeball. Nobody with sense would want to do that with a projector or flood light, but if a kid did, and they sued, you can imagine. I designed around that too, but eventually many other designers might land up with such additional complexity as to negate benefit for their employer. Things are not too difficult in life, we are often just dum..(spelling intended).

So, there are plenty of other things to research out there.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

One advantages of lasers is the ability to switch polarity on a whim, as fast as with each pulse if implemented properly. Unlike with other conventional sources, including LEDs, we don't need additional filtering in the light path to produce alternating polarity images for 3D. Laser projection is the only currently available technology to allow for *SIMULTANEOUS* 3D display out of a single projection path. There is no alternating left-eye, right-eye crap.

In theory LED or other conventional sources could use the proper filtration and double-up on light emitters to do simultaneous 3D output. Or gain double brightness for 2D applications. Not sure if trying to find a laser alternative is really worth it, or not when based on more conventional sources. Not when most other industries are beginning to flock to laser light as a solution for everything from projection to intense light sources such as stadium lighting and automobile headlamps. Lasers have the highest and cleanest light output per input watts of anything out there (again, if properly implemented). Between OLEDs, lasers and organic optical fibers these days, LED's are starting to seem kinda old fashioned.

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

I wrote a feature for AV Magazine in the UK a few months ago on laser projectors and it's now available online:

Laser Projection

I thought some of you here might be interested. I actually mentioned RED in the original but it was edited out! (magazine had no idea who RED were).
The VP of projection engineering at SONY 'friended' me after this so it can't be complete rubbish.

RED have a great potential future in the AV world - if they're willing to do what it takes.

they didnt bother to do a 3 second search and visit red.com? really? What a lazy editor : anyway thanks for an informative article!

 

[Martin Stevens]

Nice article... thanks.

 

[Wayne Morellini]

One advantages of lasers is the ability to switch polarity on a whim, as fast as with each pulse if implemented properly. Unlike with other conventional sources, including LEDs, we don't need additional filtering in the light path to produce alternating polarity images for 3D. Laser projection is the only currently available technology to allow for *SIMULTANEOUS* 3D display out of a single projection path. There is no alternating left-eye, right-eye crap.

In theory LED or other conventional sources could use the proper filtration and double-up on light emitters to do simultaneous 3D output. Or gain double brightness for 2D applications. Not sure if trying to find a laser alternative is really worth it, or not when based on more conventional sources. Not when most other industries are beginning to flock to laser light as a solution for everything from projection to intense light sources such as stadium lighting and automobile headlamps. Lasers have the highest and cleanest light output per input watts of anything out there (again, if properly implemented). Between OLEDs, lasers and organic optical fibers these days, LED's are starting to seem kinda old fashioned.

I don't see the polarisation an any issue myself Jeff, I'm interested in auto 3d and those Dolby, was it, band pass 3D filter glasses.

There are a few easy polarization switching tech now, I was interested in developing one myself, and they announced the same sort of idea.

You preempted me on the multi led light source and pol stuff . But, I understand that leds do up to 80% efficiency (well a priority Australian outdoor lighting one does and seems work in a similar fashion to what I had been proposing first above 70%), and there is an organic electroluminescent material that has attracted military funding that can theoretically do 100%, I've had on my books for many years. I thought leds were generally a lot more efficient just not ussually as narrow band. What are phatlights like?

What is the individual red green and blue efficiencies now, I understand infrared is up to around 60-80%. I have a design for a near100% efficient laser light source concept here for my products. It follows a style of engineering I'm using in a lot of developments I have been proposing for display technologies and other optical projects.