Highlights from the 2022 LIPA Annual General Meeting (AGM22)
Overview
The purpose of this past year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM22) was to provide membership with a formal, “hybrid” (in-person and virtual), update of LIPA’s activities and progress for 2022, via reports from Regulatory, Membership, and Communications committee chairs and support personnel and a wide range of invited speakers and panelists.
The meeting ran for 6+ hours and was divided into 4 sessions: LIPA/Committee Updates; Cinema Update and Roundtable Discussion; Technology Updates and “Blue Sky”- future view. There were approximately 15 in-person attendees who met in the main theater at Barco and 32 online attendees from around the world.
- Held (virtually) on Tuesday, December 14, 2022, from 09:00-16:45 CET (3:00 am-10:45pm EST)
- First in-person AGM since 2019, in Sonoma, California; first at Barco HQ since 2016
- 17 speakers from 15 companies; 7 members, 4 consultants, 2 guests
- LIPA membership manufactures and/or supports ~75% of global projector share
Summary of Presenters
| Speaker | Company | Title/Topic |
| Dr. Goran Stojmenovik | Barco | Chairman’s Welcome Message and Summary Update; First in-person Meeting since 2019 – at Barco HQ, Kortrijk, Belgium and online |
| Anabel Martinez | AMS – Admin | Membership Summary – 11 members + 2 subsidiaries |
| Bill Beck | BTM Consulting | Membership updates – Nichia rejoins; Cinionic/Barco, ForMovie/Appotronics subsidiary participation (LIPA Co-founder and former chairman) |
| Mark Roslon | Seiko-Epson | Communications Update: Communications and Membership merged for 2023; Rich McPherson/NEC retires after 11 years on board; replaced by Reiner Doetzkies as Treasurer |
| Bill Beck | BTM Consulting | Communications Committee Annual Report: – 8K Update; Global Business Update and HDR/WCG Tutorial Webinar; Types of LIPs article published. |
| Dr. Goran Stojmenovik | Barco | Regulatory Business Committee report and update |
| Dr. Karl Schulmeister | Seibersdorf Laboratories | New standard for EU Consumer Laser Product Safety (EN 50689 ) |
| David Hancock | OMDIA | Cinema Market Update |
| Dr. Tom Bert Eric Vieth Rich McPherson Jan Rasmussen Wouter Vander Elst | Barco, Christie, NEC, NordiskFilm/UNIC, CinemaNext | Cinema Roundtable: Discussed Market, content supply, LIP technology and market penetration; Energy price and ongoing Covid impact |
| Shinya Matsuda | Nichia-Europe | Nichia Laser Presentation LIPA 2022 – Status update and Roadmap for RGB laser technology, performance, and potential; multi-die packaging and integration |
| Mark Roslon | SeikoEpson | New Light Source (multi-die) Packaging Technology |
| Dr. Tom Bert | Barco | New Light Steering Projector and HDR Cinema Specifications |
| Zu Qiang Guo | Appotronics | Light Engine of 4K Laser TV (Ultra-Short Throw) |
| Jason Jiang | ForMovie | Go Big with Laser Display in Home (application or 4K light engine) |
| Roslon/Beck | SeikoEpson/BTM | Lumen Metrology Working Group (LMWG) – Progress Update |
| Dr. Alberto Alfier | ClayPaky | Lasers for Entertainment – Progress report on performance and regulatory compliance |
| Pete Ludé | Mission Rock Digital | Keynote: DVLED Update – Progress and Challenges (LIPA Co-founder/first chairman/former SMPTE president) |
BOLD Denotes current LIPA member/liaison partner
LIPA AGM 2022 Highlights
- Dr. Goran Stojmenovik, long-time Chairman and supporter of LIPA welcomed incoming chairman, Tim Ryan, of Texas Instruments, a founding member of LIPA. He thanked founding member Richard McPherson of SharpNEC Displays for his service as Finance Chair and welcomed Rich’s replacement, Reiner Doetzkies, also of SharpNEC. Goran also thanked retiring member Hideyuki Kanayama of Panasonic for his long service as Regulatory Chairman.
- Anabel Martinez presented Membership status and announced that Nichia will rejoin LIPA. [Note that Anabel has recently left LIPA/AMS for another position and has been replaced by AMS veteran, Lisa Rodriguez.]
- Mark Roslon, Communications Chair updated the group on progress and announced the merging of the Membership and Communications committees for 2023.
- Bill Beck presented a brief overview of the Communications Committee’s activities, highlighting major webinars: Global Market Update; HDR/WCG for LIPS and DVLEDs and a seminal article on Types of LIPs.
- Goran presented a short update for the Regulatory Business Committee (RBC) which has focused on evolving regulations for Small Source LIPs.
- Dr. Karl Schulmeister of Seibersdorf Labs (Austria) presented an update on EU Consumer Laser Product Safety Standard EN 50689 on behalf of the RBC.
- David Hancock of OMDIA, a longtime supporter of LIPA and current chair of the EDCF (European Digital Cinema Forum) gave an overview of the global cinema business and exhibition as context for a Cinema Roundtable, that included panelists from the three Cinema suppliers (LIPA founding members, Barco, Christie, and NEC), exhibition and distribution. This session enjoyed vigorous Q&A, was full of insights and challenges and could have gone on for another hour or more.
- Cinema revenues are still not back to 2019 peak of ~40B USD vs ~27B for 2022. Note however, that this is no longer Covid/exhibition-dominated but driven by the ~24-month lead-time on content still limiting global box office growth. Residual impact is very much regional with France back to ~75% v. Italy at ~45% of 2019 level revenue. Global screen count is ~ 212,000.
- Panelists stressed the importance of sustainability as selling point for LIPs, especially in the context of sharply increasing energy costs. DVLEDs is still 5 years out and niche.
- Nichia, a very important global technology leader, presented their comprehensive roadmap for Laser diode fabrication and multi-die packaging. Of note was their commitment to produce and package Red laser diodes, going beyond their historical leadership in GaN-based Blue and Green devices.
- Mark Roslon, of SeikoEpson, continued the technology session with a presentation on multi-die packaging of RGB diodes. [Note: Mark will leave LIPA on March 31, as Communications/Membership chair and will be replaced by Jason Meyer, also of SeikoEpson, starting on April 1, 2023.]
- The technology section continued with a presentation by Dr. Tom Bert of Barco on Light Steering and new HDR specifications for Cinema, recently finalized. Two presentations on UST 4K Laser TV – technology by Zu Qiang Guo of Appotronics, and home cinema applications by Jason Jiang of ForMovie, an Appotronics subsidiary.
- Mark Roslon and Bill Beck of the ad hoc Lumen Metrology Working Group (LMWG) gave a progress report of the committee’s study of global specifications and practices for measuring and reporting projector light output (lumens). The final report of the LMWG will publish April 2023.
- The AGM wrapped up with its customary “Blue Sky” future view session. LIPA member Dr. Alberto Alfier of ClayPaky (formerly part of Osram) provided a progress update on the application of Laser Illumination for high function event and stage lighting and the need for precise radiance metrology and “audience sensing” to assure safe operation in public spaces.
- Invited speaker Pete Ludé, of Mission Rock Digital and LIPA co-founder, presented a comprehensive update of DVLED technology for cinema and professional applications in the context of his 2022 LIPA Webinar on new Cinema (DCI) HDR specifications and other evolving performance vectors.
Goran closed out the AGM22 by expressing appreciation for all LIPA and invited speakers, members, and guests. He then hosted a tour of the Barco Headquarters facilities and a LIPA networking dinner.
