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RE: Inexpensive Display Technology

-----Original Message-----
From:	R. Paul McCarty [SMTP:]
Sent:	Monday, April 27, 1998 8:41 AM
Subject:	Re: Inexpensive Display Technology

> This is really depressing to see the interest in wearables, and have no
> really *good* display for people to use.  I would suggest the M1 from
> Liquid Image, but it uses quite a bit of power and I think $1000 is a
> bit more than most people want to spend on a display.

Paul,

Thanks for the plug!  We feel that at ~2.5W, the M1 consumes very little 
power given its functionality:

It handles both VGA and NTSC on the fly with no need for signal converters. 
It accepts a wide variety of voltage levels (6.5V-24V) in order to 
accommodate almost every existing platform and design with out expensive 
modifications to the electronics.
It also has brightness and contrast controls so that you can modulate the 
power consumption manually.  i.e..  The brighter it is the more power it 
consumes.

> It's hard to believe that there was better hardware for wearables 
available a couple
> of years ago, then there is now.

Ouch, now that one hurt!  I have to disagree with you on that one.  I agree 
that there were some higher resolution systems out there but they were 
priced well over the magic $1,000 price point you identified in your 
previous paragraph.  They were also heavier and drew way more power than 
HMD systems do now.   Any other system that was priced below that point did 
not possess the performance required for this industry.

> Correct me if I'm wrong but people want:

> *a low power monocular HUD display that is under $800 suitable for
> reading text

I totally agree with you here. Under this definition, the M1 would fit the 
bill if the price was dropped to $799.  (A group purchase would get that 
price.)   What you don't address in this specification is the support from 
the company.  As you previously identified, turnover is a problem in this 
industry. Products and companies are entering and exiting the market 
leaving lots of unsupported product out there. Good customer support is 
essential.

If you take a look at the portable HMD industry it is dominated by small 
design houses (<20 people) that have identified a market and are gunning 
for it.  In the past year, the quality standard of products have gone up 
dramatically. At Liquid Image, the glory days of glue guns and Velcro have 
been replaced by robotic manufacturing and ISO 9002 certified processes. 
Next day delivery is becoming a standard on even large quantity orders. 
 800 numbers for sales and support.  Evaluation periods and money back 
guarantees are standard.  We feel that developing a strong product AND a 
strong company is essential for success in this market.  Do you want to 
hack an unsupported game device to salvage some low end screens or work 
with a manufacturer to achieve seamless integration of quality components 
into your product?

> Nothing exists like this in this price range other than wraparound VR
> glasses, which aren't really suitable for walking around with, or a
> video display from a camcorder, etc., but there is some concern that the
> NTSC signal doesn't render text very well.

If you design software to run on an NTSC based system it will look great. 
 WebTV is a prime example.  Designed for an NTSC signal, it utilizes larger 
text and proper layout to achieve a pleasing result.  The developers behind 
WebTV content worked within the boundaries of the technology to provide 
useable and entertaining content - TODAY.  They did not wait for HDTV or 
digital line doubling technology to become part of everyday life or they 
would still have a nominal installed base.  This analogy holds true for the 
wearable industry as well.  If content providers are designing for a sub 
$800 640x480 color HMD, they will be waiting a long time.  If they design 
for currently available technology with future upgrade paths, the product 
is available today.

Regards,

Tony Havelka

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