Philips have been supplying the entertainment industry with high quality optical products for over fifty years and today supply the likes of Coemar, High End and VariLite with lamps that ensure their technology delivers the effects for which they were intended. Jerry Gilbert travels to the company's Netherlands base and speaks to Roger van den Plas and Hans van Wijngaarde to find out more on how the company continue to push the boundaries of lamp technology...

With the laws of Optical Physics as finite as they are, it is little short of a miracle that the upgrade path in lamp technology over the past 20 years has been as profound as it is.

When disco lighting manufacturers in the early 80's started redeploying the GE4515 30W pinspot from the automotive and aeronautical industries, kick starting the biggest revolution on the world's dancefloor ceilings, General Electric scarcely knew that the entertainment industry existed.

Yet barely half a decade later the Dutch-based Philips Lighting were working alongside Coemar to develop a product range called the Discolux (no doubts there of any market recognition!) Two halogen and two discharge lamps were to produce up to three times the output in ceiling fixtures such as the Venus, which was already groundbreaking in its own right. And as for the Coemar Forte, the new Discolux 220/SN high pressure tin-based effect created the impression of a 2.5K fixture - all from a 220W discharge lamp! Following on from this, Philips' MSR700 and MSR1200 discharge lamps were soon became as synonymous with the genre as the famous 4515 digits had a decade earlier.

Since then Philips have forged ever closer links with the entertainment industry - plaques from High End Systems, Vari-Lite and many others on the walls of their lamp factory at Turnhout bear testament to that. Today they consult regularly in the studio and theatre world with the likes of ARRI, DeSisti, Mole and Strand - as well as all the major scanner and automated head manufacturers like Martin, Robe and many others It is therefore little surprise that Philips remain at the vanguard of the ever-evolving lamp technology under their Broadway banner, as they have been carrying out their own quiet revolution for more than half a century.

Back in 1950 Philips developed halogen optical lamps as a replacement for the low lamp life incandescent, and ten years later had introduced halogen dichroic reflector lamps for 8mm film and slide projectors. Another decade later found them further immersed in the entertainment industry with the birth of the bi-plane halogen studio/theatre lamps. By 1980 the modern lightshow was beginning to emerge and beam strength became everything. Philips piloted single-ended MSR gas discharge lamps which swept through the disco industry as a panacea and remain a de facto standard. Today 700W short arc (SA) versions of the metal halide lamp are used universally - developed specifically for the modern computer-controlled, moving head spotlight - along with double-ended lamps with golden lamp caps (called MSR Gold). Which is as good as it gets.

On the one hand, the short, intensive arc generates extremely narrow, high-intensity beams in suitable optical systems, and allows the design of smaller, lighter and more mobile spotlight housings. But Philips' other breakthrough has come down the Ultra High Performance (UHP) lamp axis, using ultra short-arc technology to influence both the modern LCD and DMD high-output projector industry, the same technology is now applied by companies like Sony and Samsung in large screen consumer TV's. This technology recently won the Technology and Engineering Award Emmy Award 2005.

"It's an optical law that if the arc size is bigger, you can never hope to fill a small aperture with light; for small optical devices like DMD or LCD it is absolutely essential to have lamps with very short arc gaps in order to collect as much light as possible in this small aperture," says Hans Van Wijngaarde, Business Manager of Philips Optical Division.

He, and Roger Van den Plas, Product Marketing Manager, have spent a combined 57 years at Philips trying to overturn those optical laws.

In the midst of so many turn-of-the-millennium advancements, Philips invited Mondo to visit their vast optical lamp development plant in Turnhout, specifically to talk about these developments and the new Ceramic ST lamp programme, which has already set a new standard for theatres and studios with the introduction of C3 technology.

Thanks to C3 ceramic technology, the Ceramic ST 250HR discharge lamp - nominally rated at 250W - can achieve comparable light output to a 1,000W halogen lamp, using only 25% of the power consumption compared with halogen, although the strong presence of halogen sources in their Broadway catalogue demonstrates that this technology has far from had its day.

C3 should not, however, be confused with the new Philips P3 Pinch Protection initiative - which has created more flexible burning positions, longer and reliable lamp life. But more of that later. Hans van Wijngaarde and Roger van den Plas believe that a lot of recent developments are attributable to the closer relationship not only built up with OEMs, but also with lighting directors and designer end-users.

While Hans' area of responsibility in the Optical division spans a vast range of applications - for products generated in four different manufacturing plants (including Japan for the Asia Pacific market) - this article will focus exclusively on the entertainment sector and predominantly gas discharge production.

"Although all the breakthrough lighting technologies are born in house we depend a lot on the original equipment manufacturers," Roger confirms. "Our goal has always been to try and understand better than our competitors about these applications - asking the fundamental question, how do we get more light out of our lamps together with the optics? As a result, we continue to talk a lot with LD's and people in the various sectors of the entertainment industry as to what their needs and requirements are in terms of expectations - such as higher beam intensities and higher perceived brightness. That provides us with a lot of input."

One of the issues constantly raised by LD's has focused on the unreliable measurement of colour temperature and colour rendering characteristics in discharge lamps - sometimes inaccurate by as much as 1000K . All that is now starting to change, as Roger van den Plas explains. With the introduction of the Minolta CL200 meter, colour temperature of discharge lamps can be measured more accurately.

Meanwhile, the fact remains that the lamp is a low-interest item... until it fails! And it was to avoid such failure that P3 technology was developed, enabling lamps to operate in hotter environments. "We have managed to solve a lot of problems with the introduction of P3 technology," says Hans. So what is P3? Essentially it offers the benefits of quality, reliability and freedom for design by solving heat problems; halogen and discharge lamps can now withstand a higher pinch temperature - up to 500¡C - which is the most critical part of the lamp. "For instance the MSR1200 had no outer envelope and so we introduced a new pinch layer to give it protection," explains Roger. "Our OEM's were less worried about cooling issues but they wanted the lamp smaller with greater light output." And P3 has pursued the lower cost/higher yield ratio relentlessly.

The latest manifestation of the P3 programme is the introduction of the MSR Gold at PLASA last year - double-ended lamps with golden lamp caps, allowing higher cap temperatures (up to 500¡C) and reducing lamp (holder) damage.

Roger explains, "We found the solution to the heat problem in the MSR double-ended lamps by changing the caps from nickel to gold. What was happening was that users were replacing the lamp but finding that the lampholder was so corroded they had to replace that too." At the same time P3 technology has enabled them to enhance colour consistency to match the excellent white. As a result, most companies are now applying the the double-ended MSR Gold.

The fact that Philips continues to maintain its pole position through innovation is attributable to a vast R&D commitment. "To keep the innovation coming we have spent a lot of money in R&D - three times as much as our competitors - because only in this way can we serve the markets better," proclaims Hans.

Gas discharge remains Philips' fastest-growing technology in their heavily-automated production area. "You can see everything being made here," says Hans. "We have manufacturing operations for components. We make our own glass, quartz and filaments and all key components, as well as our own tooling and machines." Add to this list their own dichroics and electronic ballasts. A tour of the factory and display showcase revealed optical double-ended and single-ended lamps, and hot restrikes for film; the aforementioned MSR-SA (short arc) to create higher beam intensities; MSD lamps for architectural and show lighting; CDM-SA (short arc) ceramic discharge, with their high-efficiency producing excellent colour rendering coupled with an enviable lumens-to-watt ratio. Finally there is the important Ceramic ST - described as an end-user innovation born out of the frustrations of the LD.

Roger explains how Philips created a competitive edge in this exciting new development which employs PCA (Polycrystal Alumina) tube technology. "It's the first discharge lamp where we we have been able to integrate the characteristics of halogen - 3200K (used in studio and theatres) - with the discharge lamp technology generally used for outdoor lighting." The result, he says, is a source with low heat generation, which will serve studio and theatre applications throughout the next decade, in many cases replacing halogen.

"A performer or actor must look good and not be subjected to the kind of heat dissipation that will make him perspire heavily. At the same time TV studios and theatre managers want to keep the energy bill as low as possible - not only the lamp wattage but also the aircon as well as the cost of lamp replacement. With ceramic we have fulfilled all these needs, and the 250W has the same light output as the 1000W halogen - with four times less heat than halogen and a much longer life time - 4,000 hours instead of 500 hours."

The 'Broadway' banner was introduced in 2002-2003, with lamps for the optical industry listed under the Focus banner. Hans and Roger traced the technological stepping stones implemented along the way É commencing with how the halogen lamp cycle had caused such a major breakthrough in replacing incandescent. "We realised that the major part of the tungsten was going back to the filament and we managed to solve two issues in that the maintenance of the lamp became a lot better, and by getting back to the tungsten filament we could improve the life cycle." Every quantum leap is described with the same considered cause and effect mentality.

"We were the first company to enter dichroics and produced the first lamp for stage/studio lighting in halogen. We had to work out how we could prevent overheating for 8mm film projection and stopping them burning the film by applying dichroic coatings to the reflector." They emphasise that halogen subsequently passed through shop lighting into the domestic world - as so much of Philips technology has. Another pro-to-consumer example from Hans: "When I saw the first LCD's became available, I sensed that you would be able to force the same light through such a small LCD device and make a consumer TV out of this new technology.This became our starting point for the UHP lamp, which is now becoming a consumer item in the back of televisions."

As for fluorescent, it originally had an appaling Colour Rendering Index (CRI), making it largely unsuitable for offices, its prime application. Philips manage to increase this rating to 80 - but it took a long time for the market to appreciate this. It was the development of three-band phosphors of rare earth that maintained the energy-saving characteristics while achieving a remarkable colour mix. And so it goes on.

One of the frustrations of being a pioneer is that it often takes considerable time for the industry to adapt. "For example back in 1970, we went from a monoplane to biplane redesign of our studio halogen lamps as we could get 40% more light in the beam. But it took six years before the market changed over."

Reverting to single-ended lamp technology has allowed Philips to come up with a more compact solution, while boosting the optical efficiency. This is a particular benefit for the entertainment industry and some 70% of fixtures for this market are now designed around single-ended lamp.

And so in conclusion Mondo asked Hans van Wijngaarde and Roger van den Plas to forecast the short-term future for lamp technology application - and finally to give us an exciting preview of a lamp they are developing for the high-end projector industry (set for launch at this year's Infocomm).

Compactness and miniaturisation will remain high on their agenda, with further single-ended development to maximise optical efficiency. There will also be further advances in Ceramic ST technology.

"I hope we will expand this to a higher wattage," they say. "We want to match the equivalent of a 2K halogen with a 500W Ceramic ST - via a hot restrike lamp with a special base. This we see as an even bigger advancement than from mono to biplane technology or double-ended to single-ended lamps for the entertainment market." By developing a special power supply they have obviated the need for forced cooling - and hence have also removed any problems of fan noise.

Philips' joint partnership to produce modular LED solutions (with their joint venture partner Lumileds) will continue, but most excitingly will be the advances in LCD and DLP digital spotlight technology. This is a new organic development of Philips' UHP development programme.

An alternative source to xenon for the high-end (6K-10K ANSI lumens) projector market will be launched by Philips at Infocomm in June.

Currently being trialed with specific OEMs (operating under strict NDA's), Philips are remaining tightlipped about this extremely short-arc lamp, other than to say it represents a completely new light source and is more appropriate for the cinema and entertainment industry. "It's the next generation beyond UHP for higher screen lumen areas," confirms Hans.

And so the major developments are now starting to come around in something less than ten year cycles - much of it based on their experience with 'beamer' technology. And they will continue to lead by innovation.

"If you remain innovative you don't have to fear competition out of low cost areas," the two men state confidently.

Anyone who wants to see theory translated into practice only has to visit the Philips Lighting Application Center in Eindhoven, which thoroughly explores the psychology of light. Built around a new 360 degree viewing theatre it provides a tantalising visitor attraction.