Under the trend of diversified display terminals, intelligent projection products have become a hot segment with rapid growth in recent years. According to the latest forecast data released by Luotu Technology, the global projector market shipments will be 18.97 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%. In the first half of this year, although the shipment scale of the Chinese mainland projector market declined, its influence in the world is still significant, and the scale of projectors made in China and Chinese brands account for more than 70% of the global market.
Behind the excellent results of the intelligent projection industry is the result of innovation and unremitting efforts in the entire industry. It can be seen from the insights expressed by experts and business representatives at the "Intelligent Projection Industry Theme Conference" of the 2023 World Display Industry Conference held recently that the innovation achievements of the projection industry are emerging in batches.
Optical technology innovation
When it comes to the "starting point" of projection, it is inseparable from the light source and the glass through which the light source passes. In other words, the final effect of smart projection is largely related to brightness, efficiency, and color saturation. Therefore, the importance of projection light sources and optical materials is self-evident.
Huang Shaohua, general manager of Longming Nars Optoelectronics (Xiamen) China, said that the light source of intelligent projection generally has four major parts. The core is epitaxy and chip to provide a high-density current structure and ensure stability at high currents; The second is to improve the efficiency of light taking; The third is the transfer technology with high thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance; Finally, thermal management and packaging technology with high heat dissipation. Whether it is gallium nitride or sapphire, its thermal conductivity is relatively not high, Longmings photoelectric through transfer technology to transfer the light-emitting film to the material with better thermal conductivity, and no longer need to consider the adaptation problem, it has a wider range of options.
High brightness, true color, high resolution is the development trend of projection display technology, to achieve the above characteristics can not be separated from high-performance display optical materials. "Specifically, projection light source systems require high transmittance, high refractive index, low dispersion, special dispersion and aspheric surfaces." Wu Jinting, deputy general manager of Chengdu Guangming Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., said at the theme meeting, "With the development of projection technology, the requirements for shape are getting higher and higher. In terms of high brightness, we have high transmittance optical glass, i-wire irradiation-resistant optical glass and blue light-resistant irradiation resistant optical glass; Ultra-low dispersion optical glass on true color; For high resolution, there are ultra-high refractive index optical glass, low softening point optical glass and aspheric lenses. ”
As a technical branch of projection, laser display technology is closely related to the projection industry. The advantages of laser directionality, monochromaticity, high brightness integration and other advantages can improve the expression ability of color in the projector. Zhong Qiang, general manager of R&D of Hisense Laser Display Company, said that in terms of three-color laser, the color gamut rendering effect brought by it is more prominent in the current technical routes, and at the same time, due to the high degree of brightness integration, the light utilization rate will also be improved.
In the field of laser display, it also has four core devices, namely laser light source, anti-light screen, imaging lens and display chip. Zhong Qiang added that the light-resistant screen is the first core device to achieve national production, and the lens has also been localized, which is of great significance to the prosperity of the industry.
Seek new application experience
While constantly updating technology provides a better viewing experience, eye health has also become a topic of concern for developers and consumers. Data show that from 2018 to 2022, the myopia rate of Chinese children will be more than 50%, and the whole society urgently needs to do a good job in healthy eyes.
In order to pursue the ultimate color, display equipment companies sometimes choose a narrow spectrum of light sources, creating a rare color in nature, although there are advantages such as color gamut indicators on display devices, which can attract the eye, but it is also easier to form ghosting and other problems, which has a greater impact on human eye vision. Yin Lei, vice president of Jimi Technology, said: "Natural light should be the most suitable light for the human eye, because most of the light exposed to throughout the evolutionary history of human beings is natural light, and people have long been adapted to the color display formed by the spectrum of natural colors. In the projection technology, JIMI's RS Pro3 has taken the lead in launching the technology of wide spectrum + narrow spectrum, which can make the display spectrum closer to the natural spectrum and give consumers a more comfortable experience. ”
The projection effect is more "understanding people", and the application scenarios of projection are closer to people.
The person in charge of Mango TV's smart large screen said that audio, as an indispensable "attached" device for intelligent projection, can also provide different application modes for different application scenarios. For example, projection has become common in the car, and the use of car audio to start speaker mode or atmosphere mode is a projection of a more special scene. "For these special scenarios, the platform side wants to provide more diversified services, but the interfaces or standards of major hardware manufacturers are not uniform, so they cannot be adapted. Therefore, customizing individual color files for projection output and unifying standards have become the basis for the development of projection in the future to adapt to a variety of application scenarios. He pointed out.
Updated evaluation system
In the process of rapid development of the intelligent projection industry, there is also a certain market chaos, and it is necessary to unify the industry for long-term development.
Dong Min, deputy secretary-general of the China Electronic Video Industry Association, said that the association officially released and implemented the CVIA brightness standard, CVIA test and identification specification in April this year. This is an important indicator for projectors in the industry, and it is also the world's first special industry specification for projector brightness.
Unlike the ideal data of the laboratory as the industry standard, experts pointed out that the projection effect should also be evaluated in conjunction with real-life scenarios. Mao Junting, founder of Beijing Ruiping Interactive, said at the theme meeting: "Starting from the actual life scenarios of users, the entire evaluation system can be divided into five dimensions, namely light source, color, imaging, hardware and experience. Similar to the "running score" of mobile phones and other devices, through the standards of various dimensions, a comprehensive evaluation and scoring of the product can obtain a performance score in daily use scenarios. In addition, the performance score will also be compared with the price, and the price/performance ratio will further help consumers choose.
New sales channels
In terms of consumption, e-commerce platforms are becoming a new front for smart projection products. Zhou Hong, head of the digital industry of Douyin computer, said: "In the past two years, due to home learning and office, projection has achieved great growth in the entire 3C digital field, including learning education and other new form products. It is expected that this year, the entire 3C digital of Douyin may exceed 100 billion, and maintain triple-digit growth in the next 3 years. "The addition of e-commerce has expanded the sales channels of projection products, and also enabled projection products to obtain higher exposure and dissemination in the Internet era."
At the same time, people's attention to projection products is also reflected on Internet social platforms. According to statistics, compared with 2022, the projector's note content on the Xiaohongshu platform increased by 747%, and the search volume also increased by 16%. Duo Xi, head of Xiaohongshu 3C consumption, said that there are two core reasons that affect user purchases, one is the quality of the product itself, and the other is the cost performance.
Before purchasing, users are accustomed to searching content through platforms such as Xiaohongshu, comparing different products, and collecting a large number of users' experience. In this process, projection products also show a trend of more diverse and segmented use scenarios. "Subdivide the house scene, there are living rooms and bedrooms, etc., and the selling points of the product are different in these segmented scenes. For example, in the living room, the behavior of game interaction through the projector may be the most frequent occurrence in this scenario, and if the living room is to turn the living room into a game hall for such users, the 4K resolution, clarity, and low latency of the game are the focus of everyone's attention. The bedroom for relaxation and rest, the requirements for projection are more ambient, in this demand, color restoration has become very important. Dosh said.
Author丨Wang Xinhao
Editor丨Xu Hengmei Editor丨Maria Executive Producer丨Lian Xiaodong