Unknowingly, everyone has ushered in a new week. I wonder how everyone spent their weekend? Anyway, I caught a cold over the weekend and spent a day lying in bed. In short, let's greet the new work week with full energy! I wish everyone a promotion and raise, and to reach the peak of their career soon. Enough idle talk, let's take stock of some of the news and interesting events that happened in the LED industry last week.

NAS Releases Report on the Second Phase of Solid-State Lighting Assessment

　　The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) recently released a second report on the status of LED and OLED lighting, titled "Second Phase of Solid-State Lighting Assessment." The report points out that by 2030, the adoption of solid-state lighting (SSL) can save 40% of lighting energy.

　　In addition, the report shows that the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SSL program has been a key factor in the faster-than-expected transition to LEDs and further indicates that the agency's R&D funding should continue.

NAS released its first SSL report in 2013. These reports were conducted in accordance with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 to inform the U.S. Congress of the progress of SSL. The 2013 report urged continued research on core LED and OLED technologies to improve efficiency and output. The U.S. Department of Energy also funded many such R&D projects through programs such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR).

　　The U.S. Department of Energy also funded research by major companies in the SSL field. For example, in mid-2015, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $10 million in grants to nine companies and research institutions.

The new NAS report notes that SSL penetration rates have increased significantly since the last report, although the absolute figures remain low. Studies show that 6.4% of general lighting installed in the U.S. in 2015 was SSL. The report projects that this figure will reach 48% by 2020.

The report documents two side effects of the unexpectedly high interest in LEDs that were not predicted in the 2013 report. Previous studies did not foresee the collapse of LED component prices, partly due to oversupply, leading to what NAS calls a "dramatic dislocation and restructuring of the SSL market." In short, SSL companies did not earn the expected profits.

The positive side effect of this is the search for new applications for SSL. For example, we regularly cover the topic of horticultural lighting and have planned another upcoming event. Other examples include Human Centric Lighting (HCL), as well as smart lighting and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The NAS committee clearly believes that SSL offers enormous commercial potential and the possibility of further reducing energy consumption. The report also provides some investment recommendations for DOE. "The committee recommends that the Department of Energy should continue to invest in the core technologies that improve SSL technology, including LEDs and OLEDs; it should also consider solutions that ultimately allow for low-cost implementation. The risks of early investment in disruptive technologies are also impossible for the industry to bear."

Top 10 LED Packaging Companies in 2016: MOKOLIN Ranks Second

The ranking of the top ten LED packaging factories in 2016 has been released. According to LEDinside statistics, only Epistar and Lite-On among Taiwanese packaging factories made it into the top ten, while MOKOLIN surpassed Lumileds for the first time to reach second place.

　　Epistar has firmly secured the top spot in packaging. According to the 2016 China LED Packaging Factory Revenue Ranking Report issued by LEDinside, MOKOLIN's ranking continues to rise, successfully surpassing Lumileds to become the second-largest packaging factory in China, second only to Nichia.

　　Nichia remains the number one packaging factory, Lumileds was surpassed by MOKOLIN and fell from second to third place in the Chinese market, while Epistar and Osram ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

　　According to LEDinside statistics, Lite-On and Epistar are the only two Taiwanese factories to make it into the top ten. Lite-On's ranking dropped from sixth to seventh after being surpassed by Nationstar, while Epistar maintained its steady fourth place.

LEDinside points out that Nichia, with its technological advantages, patents and brand strength, continues to maintain its market share in the backlight market while actively expanding into the high-end automotive lighting market; MOKOLIN, ranked second, continued to expand its production capacity last year, and its market share in the lighting and display markets has improved; Although Lumileds slipped to third place, it still enjoys a competitive advantage in high-end commercial lighting, flashlights, and automotive lighting, and its revenue also increased compared to 2015.

　　With the continued expansion of Chinese manufacturers' production capacity, the revenue of the top ten LED packaging factories in mainland China reached US$4.1 billion last year, an increase of 24% compared to 2015, far exceeding the overall market growth average of 6%, indicating an increase in industry concentration. Yu Bin, an analyst at LEDinside, said that in 2017, with the large-scale expansion of MOKOLIN, Nationstar, and Honli Optoelectronics, the trend of mainland manufacturers' rise will be even more obvious this year.

Taiwanese manufacturers such as Epistar and Lite-On have seen significant revenue increases in mainland China. Taking Epistar as an example, its revenue is mainly contributed by TV backlights, mobile phone flashlights, displays, automotive and infrared products, while Lite-On benefits from mobile phone flashlights, infrared products and automotive lighting products.

Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, Spot Check: 10 Batches of LED Lighting Fixtures Fail to Meet Standards

On July 13, the official website of Jiaxing Municipal Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau in Zhejiang Province released information on the results of municipal product quality special supervision and inspection in the second quarter of 2017, listing 12 batches of unqualified products.

This report released the results of a special supervision and inspection of 160 batches of products, of which 148 batches met the requirements of this inspection, and 12 batches of products were unqualified.

Another 10 batches of lighting fixtures (embedded LED lighting fixtures) were found to be unqualified. The manufacturing companies involved are Jiaxing Mingshi Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Jiaxing Tianyi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Hongpu Lighting Jiaxing Co., Ltd., Haishu Township Baipu Town Lishang Lighting Factory, Zhejiang Glen Electric Co., Ltd., Jiaxing Langneng Electric Co., Ltd., Haishu Township Baipu Town Panshi Optoelectronics Factory, Haishu Hongxin Plastics Factory, Gefeng Electric Jiaxing Co., Ltd., and Haishu Township Baipu Town Feiyue Electronic Equipment Factory.

Samsung Launches World's First Cinema LED Screen, 10.3 Meters Wide

Samsung Electronics announced that it has installed the world's first commercially available Cinema LED screen at Lotte Cinema in the World Tower in South Korea. This is a HDR LED cinema display screen. During its development, Samsung Audio Lab collaborated with HARMAN Professional Solutions to provide the screen with next-generation image quality technology and realistic audio technology, resulting in an excellent viewing experience.

HS Kim, President of Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Division, explained: "Because the images are clearer, the colors are more realistic, the audio is enhanced, and the display is more perfect, our Cinema LED screen will provide viewers with a better experience, making them feel like they are part of the picture. We are pleased to be able to cooperate with Lotte Cinema to bring this technology to movie fans, and we hope that we can further impact the film world in the future."

　　The Cinema LED Screen is approximately 10.3 meters (33.8 feet) wide and 5.4 meters high. Its settings can be adjusted to suit the cinema environment, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and image quality. The screen incorporates HDR technology into an ultra-large screen with a resolution of 4096x2160 (Ultra HD 4K), a peak brightness of 146fL, 10 times stronger than standard projector technology. The screen is actually composed of 96 LED partitions, 10.3 meters wide, with width adjustable by Samsung according to requirements.

　　Samsung installed the ultra-high-definition LED screen in the Super S auditorium, located in the Lotte Cinema at Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The cinema screen does not distort because ultra-high contrast and ultra-low gray levels can be selected when setting up the screen, thus presenting ultra-bright colors, ultra-deep blacks and pristine whites, with extremely high contrast.

　　The Lotte Cinema "SUPER S" auditorium already featured powerful video technology. Samsung combined its Cinema LED Screen and Harman JBL's advanced audio technology with the theater's existing technology. How was this done? Samsung installed powerful speakers at the edges of the screen, implemented proprietary processing technology, and installed the JBL Sculpted Surround system. The entire system delivers unparalleled visual and audio effects, just as content creators desire.

　　With the Samsung Cinema LED screen, cinemas can offer a wider range of services to meet the different needs of their audiences. The screen maintains excellent performance in various dark and ambient light conditions. Sometimes venues may want to use the theater space for other purposes, such as corporate presentations, concerts, sports viewing, or gaming events. In these instances, the Samsung Cinema LED screen proves invaluable.

　　Lotte Cinema CEO Wonchun Cha commented: “The SUPER S theater represents a new form of movie projection. In collaboration with Samsung, we will introduce new high-definition technologies to the film industry, improve the viewing environment, offer a variety of content, and enhance customer satisfaction.”

　　Before its official commercial launch, the Samsung Cinema LED Screen underwent rigorous testing to prove its performance and display capabilities met requirements. In May 2017, the Cinema LED Screen met the DCI theatrical technology standard requirements before commencing commercial use.