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Posted by Jennifer at 04:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (3439)

August 18, 2005

What's New in Home Theater Projection?

The past year has brought change to the world of projectors. From price reductions in high-definition and entry-level projectors, to longer lasting lamps, the latest in projection technology will lead to more projectors in the hands of savvy home theater consumers.

High Resolution Under $1,000?

Two years ago we saw the first video projector (InFocus X1) drop below the $1,000 mark. These low-priced projectors were typically SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, and ranged in brightness from 1,000 - 1,500 lumens. While not ideal for home theater specific use, the low prices popularized the projectors in both home theater and business applications. Currently there are dozens of products available in this price range, most of which provide a decent video image. See our list of projectors under $1,000 here.

High-resolution home theater projectors are also getting less expensive. Native high-definition (720p) signals are now commonplace, and can be had for as little as $1,049 (Sanyo Z2 LCD projector) on our site today. High-resolution DLP™ home theater projectors have also seen price reductions, and can be purchased for as low as $2,499 (BenQ PE8700 HD2+).

Image Presets

Sometimes you want the technology you use to just know what you want, without having to do anything. That's a part of the idea behind image presets. With an intuitive menu, and available image presets, you can train your projector to remember your settings and implement them at the touch of a button. It's a handy little feature for people who use their projector during the day and at night in rooms where ambient light is not controlled. For example, you create a setting that boosts the brightness during the day for a brighter, clearer picture, and can have a nighttime setting that lowers brightness and increases contrast. Image presets aren't new, but are an increasingly popular feature in home theater projection.

DIY Installation Assistance - Lens Shift, Optical Zoom, and Centered Lenses

Lens shift has become much more common in the past year, with many more manufacturers including it on their home theater products. Lens shift is a function that allows for easier positioning of your projector in installed environments. Some projectors provide room to move the lens within the housing left or right, and up or down. Using lens shift will produce better results than using digital keystone correction because it maintains the integrity of the original image rather than compressing the pixels to square the image.

Optical zoom allows you to make a larger image from a given distance, without physically moving the projector or sacrificing image quality. As easy to use as a zoom lens on a camera, the optical zoom is usually just the turn of a lens, or a press of a button.

Projectors have varying degrees of zoom capabilities. Some can nearly double the size of your image. Optical zoom is listed in the projector specs as a number such as 2x, or two times for double the image size from the same distance. This feature may also allow you to use shorter cables, which may mean less signal degradation and a lower cable cost.

Most projectors have an offset lens rather than a centered lens. That means when planning where to hang your projector mount, you need to account for the degree of offset, rather than just centering the mount based on room specifications. A projector with a centered lens takes this extra equation out of the picture, making for a theoretically easier installation.

Higher-Resolution Projectors on the Way?

It seems a natural step for video projectors would be to increase resolutions to match the outputs of today's higher-resolution television signals. But projectors have yet to reach a true 1080p high-definition solution that is affordable.

Currently the highest-resolution LCD projectors in widescreen formats include WXGA-H (1280 x 720) and WUXGA (1920 x 1200). These ultra-high resolution projectors cost significantly more (from $4,000 on up), and are not expected to fall into a lower price category for some time.

Liquid Crystal on Silicone (LCoS) has been a promising technology for overcoming the technical challenges of increasing resolution. Production issues have kept LCoS from taking a larger portion of the market segment. If LCoS does take off, however, there may be news to report by the end of this year.

Longer-Lasting Lamps

Projector lamps have nearly doubled in lamp life over the past two years due in part to improvements in projector cooling systems. Manufacturers are including longer lasting lamps (up to 5,000 hours), and are even increasing the lengths of their lamp warranties. Expect to see more manufacturers offering six-month/1000-hour warranties in the coming year. InFocus already offers an optional extended lamp warranty with free replacement for the first year.

Economy Modes Become Standard

An economy mode is now available on most current projector models. This handy feature allows you to extend lamp life and lower the fan noise level with less loss of brightness. In some cases, the lower lumen output is a useful feature as well. As projectors get brighter, there are some applications where the brightest setting may actually detract from the picture, washing out black and darker colors.

More Options in Home Theater Projection

There are currently home theater options available from nearly every major projector manufacturer. That means more selection than ever before, and it may also mean fewer products in the previously popular "crossover" category. Crossover projectors are lower-cost models that are used for both business and home theater applications. A business-during-the-week and party-on-the-weekend product, you might say.

It's not that there are fewer options in this category, because most business projectors still do a good job displaying video for the casual viewer. However, as the technology improves, people are looking for products that can produce videophile-quality images at the same low price. Manufacturers have answered this need by producing more category-specific products, and more clearly defining specifications such as widescreen resolution and higher quality video processing.

Our Wish List

Based on our interactions with customers, here are a few wishes for future projection technologies from your Projector Experts:

Seamless wireless video (built-in or external solution)

Battery-powered portable projectors

Self-masking chips or lenses which adjust to elimiate black bars in non-native format

Greater zoom capability on more models for greater flexibility in installation or portable use

Switchable lumen/contrast outputs for day/night use. [ for example 2000 lumen 1000:1 contrast for day use, 1000 Lumen 2000:1+ contrast for night use]

True 1900 x 1080 projector under $3,000

5,000-10,000 hour lamp life

More flexible throw distances for easier installation.

Your Wish List?

We would love to hear from you about features and technology that you would like to see. We will pass along your ideas to manufacturer representatives during one of our regular training sessions. If you would like to share your thoughts, simply reply to this email, or send an email to [webmaster(@)projectorpeople.com].

projector, projectors, Home Theater, technology

Posted by Paul at 11:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (3140)

August 16, 2005

Feature on FOX's Renovate My Family

Shelbyville Residents Receive Movie Theater Donation from ProjectorPeople.com.

TAMPA, FLORIDA, August 16, 2005 – Projector People.com®, the leading projector reseller on the web, today announced a charitable donation of projection equipment to the community of Shelbyville, Texas. This donation is a part of an event which was documented by the FOX television show "Renovate My Family" which aired on August 15th, 2005.

The "Renovate My Family" episode "Martin/Community Center", produced by Rocket Science Laboratories, shares the poignant story of the Texas town of Shelbyville. In 1997, the wife of a local Reverend was struggling with the loss of her mother when she became overwhelmed with grief and turned to prayer. Those prayers let to inspiration, as she decided to reach out to needy children and offer the gift of a loving, nurturing, and stable home; just like the home her mother gave her.

This bold woman’s passion led to the remarkable transformation of the town, as many other families followed her lead and adopt more children, particularly those who were "hard to place" or "high risk." These kids would otherwise likely spend their entire childhood in foster care. Since 1997, the community of Shelbyville has adopted over 70 children into their homes. This humble community has put aside their financial concerns to give children who have never known a home the experience of a loving family. The Shelbyville story has been featured on Oprah and several other television programs; they are the recipients of the 2000 Essence Award and have received acknowledgment from their state congressman.

"We have witnessed many stories about the uniting power front projectors have in families and communities." said Kelly Lamison, Vice President of Internet Marketing for Projector People. She added "Projectors are not just for businesses anymore. They are finding their way into homes, churches, schools and community centers. They are more and more mainstream."

Together with Da-Lite and Panasonic, Projector People donated a top of the line movie screen and front projector. The screen, a new product from Da-Lite Screen Company called the Acoustical Imager screen, integrates a fixed frame screen with a JBL 5.1 Surround Sound (left, right, and center channel) speaker system into the frame. The front projector is a Panasonic PT-D5500, a large venue DLP™ projector with 4500 lumens of brightness with a dual lamp system.

"We hope the community theater will be well-used and heartily enjoyed by this special group of people" said Lamison. "We are just glad to have had the chance to make a difference."

For more information on ProjectorPeople.com®, or the "Renovate My Family" episode, please contact Jennifer Andrews at (800) 282-6733 ext. 2295. Projector People’s headquarters are located at 6313 Benjamin Road, Suite 106, Tampa, FL 33634.

Known as "the people who know projectors," ProjectorPeople.com® is the leading projector reseller on the web, and was the first online store created by a traditional AV reseller. ProjectorPeople.com provides the sale and repair of projectors from top brands like Panasonic, Mitsubishi, NEC, Hitachi, InFocus, BenQ and more. On the web since 1999 as the e-commerce division of Audio Visual Innovations, Inc. -- ProjectorPeople.com boasts over 25 years in business and millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Projector People’s direct sales model offers one-on-one relationships with professional account managers; telephone, fax, and online ordering at www.projectorpeople.com, and post-sales technical support. Additional information can be found at www.projectorpeople.com.

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About "Renovate My Family"

The new FOX series, "Renovate My Family" hosted by best-selling author Jay McGraw, son of Dr. Phil McGraw, takes the makeover concept to a new level. This redemptive, uplifting series will give a family the opportunity to make a new start toward a better life by providing the resources and expertise needed to address many important issues in their household. The selected families will receive the experience of top professionals who will pave the way for a successful future in the truest fashion of a complete transformation. Each hour-long prime-time episode on the FOX Network will focus on one family's transformation. More than just a quick once-over, Mom, Dad and the kids will go through a life changing experience designed to astound and engage the viewing audience.

About Rocket Science Laboratories

Rocket Science Laboratories is one of the most successful network television production companies in Hollywood today. The pioneering work done by Rocket Science Labs in the genres of documentary and reality has helped them to establish a reputation for creating high-quality, thought-provoking programming, while achieving landmark ratings. Under the guidance of founding partners Jean-Michel Michenaud and Chris Cowan, Rocket Science Labs has originated some of today's hottest network reality-based franchises, including the smash hits "Joe Millionaire I & II", "Temptation Island I, II, & III" and most recently, "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance". In 2003, Rocket Science Laboratories entered a multi-year overall production deal with the FOX Broadcasting Company.

About FOX Broadcasting Company

Fox Entertainment Group, Inc., the parent company of FOX Broadcasting Company is 82.1% owned by The News Corporation Limited (NYSE:NWS); is principally engaged in the development, production and worldwide distribution of feature films and television programs, television broadcasting and cable network programming. Fox has total assets as of September 30, 2004 of approximately US$31 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$12 billion. The Company's studios, production facilities and film and television library provide high-quality creative content, and the Company's broadcasting and cable networks provide extensive distribution platforms for the Company's programs.

projector, projectors, home theater, DIY Home Theater, home theater installation, FOX, Renovate My Family

Posted by Jennifer at 08:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (704)

August 04, 2005

What's New in Projection Technology?

The past year has brought change to the world of projectors. From lower priced projectors to longer lasting lamps, the latest in projection technology will lead to more projectors in the hands of the average consumer - from business to home theater.