Digital Projectors have been the cornerstone video display technology of attractions, fixed installations and events for many years, and the technology has developed at pace. Resolution has been getting higher and higher – now up to 8K – and brightness capabilities have been increasing year on year from all manufacturers.
As the market matures, all projection manufacturers have faced growing competition, commoditisation and also alternative technology solutions for installations that were previously the province of projectors. Flat panels are at a price point and a size that they can adequately service classrooms and boardrooms where a projector may have previously been used. In larger scale applications, LED walls are now very bright and great in high ambient light environments, with the ability to produce incredible images. The pixel pitch is getting smaller, and the video processing more impressive, which provides strong competition to projection.
Ultimately, a lot of business applications that used to be for projection have been fulfilled by other technologies. So, we needed to ask our customers and ourselves a basic, yet fundamental question. Who wants a projector, and, more importantly, what do they want from it?
Ultimately, a projector is a small box that can create a big image with very little else required. However, as projectors have got brighter, these small boxes have been getting bigger, heavier and more power hungry. This makes everything from logistics to installation and servicing more difficult, time consuming and expensive. At the brightest end of the market, you can be looking at dealing with projectors that need in the region of 4kW power and that weigh in the region of 150kg. That is a lot of kit to deal with and find space for. Couple this with the fact that many installations would be a retrofit, there often isn’t space for the brightest projectors, and that’s before you have factored in the noise and heat that they create.
Read the full article in our latest issue below.
