APTI And IBM To Discontinue Relationship

APTI and IBM connected in the early 1990s to manufacturer what they thought would be the future of display technology. The technology, known as reflective LCD imaging, was expected to bring images from projectors that were brighter and had a higher contrast ratio than transmissive LCD technology. But, it appears they may have failed. Rumor has it that the APTi and IBM consortium notified the vendors of reflective LCD engines that production of their reflective LCD technology will cease sometime later this year. There could be an impending buyer of the technology, but sources close to APTi would not comment on the future.What happened? Well, it appears two things: (1) Epson, Sony and Sanyo have found a way to make images using transmissive LCD technology as bright as 4000 ANSI lumens and they are only expected to get brighter. So, the push for reflective LCD imaging suffered a setback. And, (2) Texas Instrument's DLP technology (a reflective mirror imaging technology) went into production four years ago and has produced inexpensive, high-resolution engines that are now supported by over 15 vendors of DLP projectors.Does this mean reflective LCD is dead? No way. In fact, JVCs long awaited reflective D-ILA technology has been a hit over the past 18 months and its soon-to-arrive one-chip D-ILA is getting a great buzz from those who have seen it. It promises consumer projectors using D-ILA technology by end of the first quarter of 2000. Also, expect to see more reflective LCD manufacturers pop onto the scene by the end of the year.

Source: KNews