Epson and Philips announced their cooperation in the field of innovative projection key modules and the immediate availability of their first joint reference design for a small and cost effective personal projector.

“The features of our latest 0.47 inch panel make it perfectly suited for SVGA resolution, providing the benefits of a high aperture ratio, high transmittance, and high contrast all at a low cost.” said Hideaki Iwano, Chief Executive of Epson’s TFT Operations Division. “Therefore this panel is fully consistent with the requirements of a small and cost effective personal projector.”

“The use of projection in conjunction with applications as diverse as game consoles, digital cameras, PDAs and MP4 players will create new, immersive consumer viewing experiences due to the large screen size framed within small, stylish and portable devices. Our Ujoy lighting system is a very compact, low-power light source based on the well-known Philips innovative UHP technology and is specifically designed for these applications,” said Ney Corsino, VP Marketing at Philips Digital Projection Lighting.

Epson’s new panel, from L3P04S Series, will have 800 x 600 (SVGA) pixels, a 0.47” panel size (diagonal), a 12µm pixel pitch and an aperture ratio of 71%. Philips’ Ujoy lamp has a 50W output power. Its lifetime is 2000 hours. The lamp size is 43.5 mm in diameter and 64 mm in lenght. Its total weight is 115 g.