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Projector Projections One thing was clear from the range of projector-market projections presented by analysts at the show: The numbers don’t always add up. Analysts at InfoComm, however, did all agree that within the K-12/higher education market, projector sales will make the most significant gains in the next four years. It’s still a relatively small market compared to the sales of projection devices into the corporate boardroom, but therein lies the potential. In Europe, where the schools are much more media savvy, that growth will be even larger. Paul Martin, the editor in chief of TFCinfo market research (tfcinfo.com), saw a rise in projector purchases by business producers in May, up some 20 percent from purchases made in February. Sweta Dash, director of LCD/Projection Research at i-Suppli/Stanford Resources (www.stanfordresources.com), indicated that the $999 projector is coming soon. Some manufacturers, she said, say they will even be able to manufacture in the near term a basic projector for $400 and sell it for $700. When it comes to projection technology, DLP continues to reign supreme. Texas Instruments’ (www.dlp.com) new dark metal process chip adds more blacks and sharper contrast ratios to digital cinema projectors, including NEC’s digital cinema line, for example. TI is hard at work perfecting its new Sequential Color Recapture (SCR) chip set that will double lumen brightness at a minimal cost. Ian McMurray, TI’s worldwide media relations manager, says we can expect to see SCR-enabled projection products by the first quarter of 2003. [an error occurred while processing this directive] Among LCD projector news, Panasonic Broadcast & Professional Video (www.panasonic.com/projectors) introduced the PT-L780NTU and PT-L750U portable, high-brightness XGA LCD projectors. Weighing in at 12 pounds, the projectors are HDTV-ready and can automatically synchronize to display 1080I, 720P, 480P and 480I video in the 16:9 aspect ratio. The projectors, available in September, also support most worldwide video standards, including NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Canon (www.canonprojectors.com) highlighted the LV-7545 LCD projector, released last November. Featuring Canon’s Turbo Bright system, the projector removes the color filter from the light path, letting more orange light pass through and brightening the projected image up to 3,700 lumens. Network It, Baby IP networks, which deliver higher-quality media and are easier to manage than ISDN, are taking hold in the business world in a big way. The expanding range of IP-addressable products continued to impress at Sony (www.bssc.sel.sonycom/professional). Sony’s professional products division, newly renamed the Business Solutions & Systems Company, showed its line of SuperSmart projectors, the VPL-FE110, VPL-FX50 and VPL-PX15. The company also introduced new software for its PCS-1600 set-top videoconferencing system. NEC launched the first version of its Image Xpress technology for networking SDTV and HDTV multimedia streaming, distance learning, video-on-demand and videoconferencing. The technology can’t handle full-motion video just yet, but NEC says stay tuned.
AMX (www.amx.com) showed its comprehensive and expanding range of networking products. There were no switchers and routers in the booth, and according to Sean McNeill, director of sales, AMX won’t develop those types of products any time soon. “We had moved away from our core control business, but we’ve made more than a 50 percent increase in our control systems R&D in the past year. We want to make the best networking products in the industry.” The company debuted the Platinum series 15-inch Touch Panel and Touch Panel Interface (TPI/4) aimed at presentation, health-care and educational facilities. Crestron (www.crestron.com) unveiled its DVP4, a digital-video processor, touch-panel interface and stand-alone 2-Series control processor. It can display four video/computer windows at once in real time. Mitsubishi (www.mitsubishi.com) offered the first universal remote to control its projectors and other media devices such as DVD players. The company is also the only projector manufacturer offering new network management software—its Projector View—that is compatible with its older projector models. Seen and Heard In audio news at InfoComm, TASCAM (www.tascam.com) highlighted the new SX-1 Digital Production Environment system ($8,999). Combining automated digital mixing, hard-disk recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, DSP plug-in technology and multi-format mastering capabilities, the SX-1 was designed for professional project studios, commercial recording facilities and broadcast-production applications. Peavey Architectural Acoustics (http://aa.peavey.com) introduced the FMW 12 and FMW 15 Floor Monitor Wedge two-way floor monitor loudspeaker systems that feature a BWX woofer, with a Kevlar-impregnated cone, and an RX 22 compression driver coupled with a CH 3 constant directivity horn. Source: AVVMMP RELATED FORUMS: RELATED SITES: • AV Video • Corporate Media News • Digital Producer • Presentation Master [an error occurred while processing this directive] |
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