MCG Reports

BACKGROUND

Enabling New Solutions with Personal Displays (a multi-client program)

Personal displays (head-mounted displays) will become cost-competitive in 2006 and 2007 due to:

• Decline in cost of microdisplays
• Emergence of new designs such as biocular
• Increased volume for all headsets and headset components

Use of personal displays will be made easier by three key market trends:

• Increased availability/lower cost of wireless content
• Acceptability to consumers of 480 line definition for video
• Headsets becoming more mainstream with emergence of Bluetooth audio headsets and gaming audio headsets

Personal displays will become a competitive weapon to gain market share for makers of four key content delivery platforms:

• Cell phones/PDAs
• Game consoles
• Notebook computers
• Portable video players (including portable DVDs)

Over the next two years, wireless services and consumer electronics companies, in combination with personal display developers, will introduce a new generation of communications and entertainment solutions incorporating headset personal displays. By 2009, sales of such display headsets are forecasted to top $1B.

“Our industry survey found a strong commitment throughout the solutions value chain to make these consumer applications real”, reports Steve Marsland, principal researcher and author of the study. “There are four separate opportunities in the consumer space: Personal TV, Data+ Headsets, Gaming and Sports Helmet Navigators. Together they will drive sales of consumer personal displays alone to nearly $1B in 2009.”

WHO SHOULD BUY AND WHY

The report is a comprehensive tool for consumer and vertical market electronics industry professionals to understand the timing and scope of emerging opportunities and develop their company’s response to those opportunities:

• Cell phone headset and handset makers – Understand how and when displays will be incorporated into cell phone headsets, pricing and cost impact.
• Portable DVD makers – Understand opportunities for upscale portable DVDs incorporating Personal (big-screen) TVs, pricing and cost impact.
• Big-screen TV makers – Personal (big-screen) TV peripheral creates differentiation opportunity for big-screen TV makers.
• Cell phone service providers – Higher-definition displays in headsets allows delivery of more sophisticated value-added wireless services.
• PDA makers – Viewer Headset boosts attractiveness and usefulness of PDAs, design implications.
• Personal Display makers – Understand how and when high-volume PD sales will emerge, learn success factors for the emerging PD solutions
• Microdisplay makers – Understand price and performance requirements and timing for the microdisplays to be incorporated in the new PD products

SCOPE AND QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

The study incorporates a number of improvements in scope and coverage compared to the 2004 report, including:

• Forecast by military, corporate, prosumer and consumer markets
• Detailed forecast of consumer sales by application
• In-depth review of the five key personal display success factors
• Forecast by type of personal display
• Reviews of five of the latest personal displays, incorporating a rating on the five key success factors
• Competitive positioning of companies by market
• Detailed analysis of comfort parameters and specific comfort vulnerabilities and requirements for personal displays
• Analysis of potential hurdles or obstacles to success
• Streamlined graphical company profiles

The study continues to incorporate the following features:

• Market trends on wireless content and adoption of Mobile TV
• Pricing trends on microdisplays
• Consumer preference for microdisplay definition
• New technology advances such as biocular designs
• Forecast of microdisplay demand by definition
• Forecast of microdisplay demand by color
• Forecast of microdisplay demand by technology
• Appendix on comparative pricing and value for personal displays versus other types of displays (updated for 2005)
• Appendix on basics of near-eye systems
• In-depth review of the five key personal display success factors
• Forecast by type of personal display
• Reviews of five of the latest personal displays, incorporating a rating on the five key success factors
• Competitive positioning of companies by market
• Detailed analysis of comfort parameters and specific comfort vulnerabilities and requirements for personal displays
• Streamlined graphical company profiles

Technology Scope. The following display technologies are included:

• LCOS: Liquid crystal on silicon (including F-LCOS)
• HTPS: High temperature polysilicon (AMLCD), which category includes other transmissive LCD microdisplays
• LTPS: Low temperature polysilicon (AMLCD)
• Beam-scan: Laser or optical beam-scan
• OLED: Organic light-emitting diode

Market Scope. Personal displays designed for the following market segments are included:

• Military
• Corporate
• Prosumer
• Consumer

Product Scope. The following types of personal displays are included:

• Binocular immersive
• Binocular sleek (including two-display and one-display biocular versions)
• Military helmets
• Monocular see-around
• Monocular see-through

CONTENTS

The study is 166 pages and includes:

• Forecasts through 2009 with detail by market and product type including units and sales value for personal displays and for the derived market for microdisplays
• Pricing for personal displays and microdisplays through 2009
• Detailed analysis of the five key success factors for personal displays – the Five C’s – Cost/Performance, Content, Control Interface, Channels, and Comfort.
• Detailed quantitative evaluation of key comfort parameters with review and summary of personal display comfort studies done over the past several years
• Analysis of each consumer application including Personal TV, Gaming, Data+ Headsets and Sports Helmet Navigators.
• Company profiles for 30 personal display companies
• Three appendices provide detailed analysis of personal display system basics, Personal TV price point, and study methodology
• View the Table of Contents.

METHODOLOGY

The MCG study is based on an industry phone survey. Marketing and technology leaders of major players throughout the value chain were surveyed by telephone during mid 2005. The report also draws heavily on MCG’s extensive research of applications for microdisplays accumulated over the past decade.

FORMAT

Either printed report or .pdf file, depending on whether site license is purchased.

SUPPORT FOR PURCHASERS OF REPORT

Available from the study’s principal researcher, Steve Marsland (contact info shown below). Purchasers of the study will receive free phone consultation about the report contents upon request.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Steve Marsland was the principal researcher and analyst. Charles McLaughlin acted as senior author and final editor.

For more information contact Steve Marsland stevemarsland@mcgweb.com 650 588 7558

SUBSCRIPTION

ORDER INFORMATION

Please use this PDF order form and fax it back to us as 650-319-1805 or contact Adrienne Hefter, info@mcgweb.com, telephone 650 323 1179. MCG office hours are 9-12 and 1-5 PST.

OTHER RELATED MCG STUDIES

MCG Research on Near Eye Displays Detailed information on the 2002 near eye research completed by MCG and sponsored by the US Display Consortium is included on our website. Information of the completed study, team biographies and information are posted on the MCG website.

Microdisplay Forecast Report 2004 Detailed Forecast for all microdisplay applications including rear and front-projection TV, electronic viewfinders (EVF), personal displays and other smaller applications.