BenQ Unveils Two New Laser Projectors

                                                                                BenQ America, one of the most popular projector manufacturers in the World, has just unveiled an all new pair of short-throw video projectors specifically designed for use in the education industry. In addition to that, both of the new projectors use mercury-free blue core light engines for increased safety and environmental friendliness.

The new projectors have been labeled the LX60ST and the LW61ST. Both projectors were designed for a low total cost of ownership by using the blue core lighting engine, which uses a laser light source as opposed to the traditional mercury lamp. This allows both devices to achieve as much as 90% less light source power consumption, according to BenQ.

The technology also optimizes the units' brightness while offering a longer life span, according to the company. BenQ also announced that both the LX60ST and LW61ST offer an average 20,000 hours of brightness and produce an ultra-high 80,000:1 contrast ratio. An instant on/off feature also saves you a lot of time on start up and powering down while a manual brightness-level adjustment accommodates different classroom environments.

The SmartEco Advanced mode, found in both projectors, automatically determines the optimal brightness level based on your input source. At the same time, a No Source Detected mode automatically lowers brightness to 10% when no display has been detected for more than three minutes. Also, an Eco Blank mode enables blanking out the screens for both projectors when not in use to redirect students' focus, while also lowering light source power consumption to only 10%.

Finally, the BenQ blue core light engine classroom projectors offer 2,000 ANSI lumens brightness, XGA / WXGA resolution and 0.6 / 0.49 short-throw projection. Both projectors also feature two 10-watt built-in speakers, as well as a microphone input, Apple iPhone / iPad wireless display support, LAN display, USB display and 360-degree titled projection. 


source(s):  http://theprojectorblog.blogspot.in/

I know you’ve been waiting for this quick look at Panasonic’s new super bright home theater and home entertainment projector, the PT-AR100U.

Greetings projector fans, movie fans, sports fans, TV fans, and the world in general.  I’ve had a couple of days now with the Panasonic PT-AR100U.  Not as much time as I would have liked, but that’s my fault.  This weekend I had a tough choice watching a dozen or so hours on the PT-AR100U projector, or heading to Las Vegas with an old friend, to catch a concert.

But, first things first.  Panasonic’s pricing has dropped dramatically since the PT-AR100U was first announced around the fall.  A quick look on the web the street price is obviously right around $999, despite an MSRP of $1999.  Panasonic is definitely getting aggressive, price wise.

Sorry folks, in this case, the PT-AR100U projector lost out.  The band, btw, that Eddie and I saw, was Alan Parson’s Project.  (Yeah, just about none of you have ever heard of them, even though they’ve had some huge hits over the decades.  Hey, even a lot of folks from the 60′s don’t remember Alan Parsons.  More about the trip below!

The Panasonic PT-AR100U isn’t your average home theater, or home entertainment projector.  It is simply the brightest of them all, at least of the ones I’m aware of that are true home projectors, not compromised cross-over projectors.

Mike’s picking up the AR100U in a couple of hours, to measure and calibrate it, but I just want to start out with some impressive tidbits for you, even though I can’t quote measured numbers yet.

   Panasonic PT-AR100U projector’s strengths

1. Major league brightness.  2800 lumens claimed! To find another home theater projector that has significantly more lumens we’re talking 3 chip DLP’s and a price tag at least 10x higher!  Well, if you are looking for one of these, a three chip DLP probably isn’t in your budget (or mine).
2. Great out of the box color!   I am truly impressed (regular readers know I’m quite often “impressed” and sometimes “very impressed” or “really impressed”, but rarely, every do I put “truly” in front of impressed.)  Even the really bright modes look really good out of the box. True, Cinema 1, and REC 709 are no where near as bright as Vivid Cinema, Standard (even brighter), and of course Dynamic, which is dazzling (and only slightly brighter than Standard).  I mean I can detect yellows as being a touch strong in Dynamic, and a touch more overall “contrasty” look, but not very much.  There’s a far smaller drop in color quality from Standard to Dynamic, than in most other projectors, including the Epson 3010 or 5010 projectors.   I’d have to say, that the Dynamic modes looks better than most LCDTV’s, PERIOD!  See the image from X-men, below, taken, with default settings using dynamic!
3. And paired with the right screen, and a not too terrible family room or living room, this Panasonic projector just might prove brighter than an LCDTV, and I mean, even at sizes of 100 inches diagonal.  (Yes, black levels will suffer somewhat, but sports – nice!)
   Wow!  I have to see how far I can push this projector – It’s going to be leaving my theater, and going downstairs into our extremely bright great room.  I need to shoot a few pictures for you – I’ll start with my light beige walls, since I have no screen down there, then I’ll break out an 80″ portable matte white screen, just to see.  But, you’d want an appropriate  screen in a family room or living room where there’s tons of ambient light.  Those pics will show up in the full review, in a few more days.
4. The amenities.   Lots of features, two screen triggers, Panasonic’s waveform analyzer, their auto adjustment for room brightness (Light Harmonizer), dynamic features, like CFI etc.  Lot’s of placement flexibility, good remote, lots of (good) picture modes
5. And: You get a dynamic iris, for better blacks.  Note:  I’m not prepared yet, for a really good assessment of the black level performance.  The 50,000:1 claim is a really good number, but, this projector is really not an ultra-high contrast projector in the sense of the Epson 5010, or Panasonic’s own flagship, the PT-AE7000 projector.  It may well offer better blacks than say the Epson Home Cinema 8350, a projector with a slightly higher street price, or their more expensive 3D capable 3010, but most likely its blacks are comparable to those Epson’s, and probably not as good as the Acer H9500BD DLP projector.  Remember, I’m watching a really bright projector – which means even really good blacks aren’t as black as a less bright projector on the same screen.  I’ll have it sorted out soon, in the full review of the PT-AR100U projector.

  My first real take on the PT-AR100:

For those looking to forgo 3D, and just need a really bright projector – for almost any remotely suitable room, or for someone who just can’t live without a 160″ diagonal matte white screen, this Panasonic is probably the ticket.  It should easily outmuscle those other $1000 – $2000 home entertainment projectors, with only the Epson Home Cinema 3010 being bright enough to discuss as even “close” in brightness.

Panasonic PT-AR100U Projector - looks great, even in Dynamic mode (brightest).

At first I had the disturbing impression that the really bright modes are also a very high in typical image noise.  I normally expect to see more mosquito and other basic noise on DLP projectors than 3 LCD or LCoS.  In reality, I noticed a lot of noise  in Normal and Dynamic, but it turned out to be the default settings of the Detail Clarity control which was set for 3.  It provides an over-sharpened image, and in doing so, it magnifies the noise.

Can’t wait until Mike hands it back calibrated, and to do the whole photo shoot, and some side by side viewing.  In this case against the Epson 5010, as it’s the only projector I have here right now, bright enough to do a side by side with the AR100U projector.

For you gamers – we haven’t tested lag times yet, but that will be done in time for the full review.  Either Pete or Scott, my two gaming – projector bloggers, will get the projector to really run though its paces as a serious gaming projector.  Keep in mind Panasonic has been heavily focused on doing great gaming, on the predecessors to the PT-AR100U, such as the PT-AX200U, which this projector replaces.  Considering there’s even a Game mode, I expect lag times to be respectable.


source (s): http://www.projectorreviews.com/blog/2012/03/06/panasonic-pt-ar100u-home-theater-projector-a-first-look-review/

iProjection-Epson's First Projection App Announced

iProjection is Epson's first projection app that will allow Epson projector users the ability display their photos and documents wirelessly. It was introduced this week at the FETC Conference in Florida and is available for free download in the iTunes App Store.

With iProjection, teachers and business people on the move will be able to project from most iOS Apple devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iTouch. It also works in the cloud, supporting services like Dropbox and numerous email applications.

For teachers, the flexibility to move about the room and to integrate mobile content into their lessons is of paramount importance especially with the rapid growth of tablet and smartphone use. A word of advice: Check your Epson owner's manual to determine if a separate wireless module must be purchased to enable wireless connectivity.                                                                        source (s):   http://www.projectorcentral.com/education_blog.                                                                

Difference Between LCD & DLP Projector

The Technical Differences between LCD and DLP 

LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors usually contain three separate LCD glass panels, one each for red, green, and blue components of the image signal being fed into the projector. As light passes through the LCD panels, individual pixels ("picture elements") can be opened to allow light to pass or closed to block the light, as if each little pixel were fitted with a Venetian blind. This activity modulates the light and produces the image that is projected onto the screen.

DLP ("Digital Light Processing") is a proprietary technology developed by Texas Instruments. It works quite differently than LCD. Instead of having glass panels through which light is passed, the DLP chip is a reflective surface made up of thousands of tiny mirrors. Each mirror represents a single pixel.

In a DLP projector, light from the projector's lamp is directed onto the surface of the DLP chip. The mirrors wobble back and forth, directing light either into the lens path to turn the pixel on, or away from the lens path to turn it off.

In very expensive DLP projectors, there are three separate DLP chips, one each for the red, green, and blue channels. However, in DLP projectors under $20,000(90,000 Rs approx), there is only one chip. In order to define color, there is a color wheel that consists of red, green, blue, and sometimes white (clear) filters. This wheel spins between the lamp and the DLP chip and alternates the color of the light hitting the chip from red to green to blue. The mirrors tilt away from or into the lens path based upon how much of each color is required for each pixel at any given moment in time. This activity modulates the light and produces the image that is projected onto the screen.

source(s): http://www.projectorcentral.com

 4 Main things while buying a Projector     

1). There are 3 types of projector - LCD, DLP, CRT

2). The Lumens output (brightness) of lamp - 800-1000 is good for LCD, DLP at 1000 is good. Dont get it to high or colours will look poor, less than 1500 is really needed for good colour reproduction.

3). The Resolution. For optimal picture make sure to get XGA or WXGA. A cheaper method is VGA/SVGA, but if you can get XGA or higher you wont regret the moeny spent.

4). A very key point is contrast ration. 300:1 and less is poor meaning blacks look dark grey. 700:1 and higher is good giving darker blacks and whiter whites (contrast is difference between these two). 1000:1 + is excellent.  (source:  http://www.afterdawn.com/ )

History about LCD Projectors

The LCD projector was invented by American inventor Gene Dolgoff. He began working on it in college in 1968 as a way to produce a video projector that would be brighter than the then-available 3-CRT projectors. The idea was to use an element referred to as a "light valve" to regulate the amount of light that passes through it. This would allow the use of a very powerful external light source. After trying many different materials, he settled on liquid crystals to modulate the light in 1971.


It took him until 1984 to get an addressable LCD, which is when he built the world's first LCD projector. After building it, he saw many problems that had to be corrected including major light losses and very noticeable pixels (sometimes referred to as the "screen-door effect"). He then invented new optical methods to create high efficiency and high-brightness projectors (now used in most digital projectors) and invented depixelization to eliminate the appearance of the pixels.


With patents all around the world (filing the first LCD projector patent application in 1987), he started Projectavision, Inc. in 1988, the world's first LCD-projector company, which he took public on Nasdaq in 1990. He licensed the technology to other companies including Panasonic and Samsung. This technology and company started the digital-projection industry.


In 1989, he was awarded the first Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract – for US$1 million – for proposing that the United States high-definition television (HDTV) standard should use digital processing and projection. As a member of the National Association of Photographic Manufacturers Standards Subcommittee, IT7-3, he along with Leon Shapiro, co-developed the worldwide ANSI standard for measurement of brightness, contrast, and resolution of electronic projectors.


Currently[when?] the only remaining manufacturers of the LCDs for LCD projectors are Japanese imaging companies Epson and Sony. Epson owns the technology and has branded it as "3LCD". To market 3LCD projector technology, Epson also set up a consortium called the "3LCD Group" in 2005 with other projector manufacturer licensees of 3LCD technology that use it in their projector models.


Early LCD systems were used with existing overhead projectors. The LCD system did not have a light source of its own: it was built on a large "plate" that sat on top of the projector in place of the transparencies. This provided a stop-gap solution in the era when the computer was not yet the universal display medium, creating a market for LCD projectors before their current main use became popular.


This technology is employed in some sizes of rear-projection television consoles, as there are cost advantages when employed in mid-size sets (40- to 50-inch diagonal). This is not expected to have much longevity in the home-theater marketplace due to expected improvements in cost and performance of competing technologies, particularly in direct-view LCD panels at the lower range of sizes and DLP projection in the larger sizes.[citation needed] Another advantage of using this LCD-projection system in large television sets is to allow better image quality as opposed to a single sixty-inch television, although currently[when?] an equal of an LCD projector is the LG 100-inch LCD TV, still in prototype stages this television is a huge advancement towards projector-sized televisions. A common rule of thumb is that an LCD's image quality will decrease with a size increase.[citation needed] A workaround is to use a small LCD panel (or panels) and project them through a lens onto a rear-projection screen to give a larger screen size with a decreased contrast ratio, but without the quality loss.


In 2004 and 2005, LCD front projection was enjoying a come-back because of the addition of the dynamic iris which has improved perceived contrast up to the levels of DLP.


The basic design of an LCD projector is frequently used by hobbyists who build their own DIY (do-it-yourself) projection systems. The basic technique is to combine a high color-rendering index (CRI) high-intensity discharge lamp (HID lamp) and ballast with a condenser and collector Fresnel lens, an LCD removed from a common computer display and a triplet lens.

Meaning for Projector

Pronounciation for  projector - pro·jec·tor  


Noun form : An object used to project rays of light, esp. an apparatus with a system of lenses for projecting slides or film onto a screen.A person who plans and sets up an enterprise.