Tag Archives: laser projector

Panasonic Projectors Light Up Disney World

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© Photo by Disney

Disney’s newest ride “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway”, has been brought to life with the help of Panasonic’s award-winning 4k laser projectors! This collaboration between Disney and Panasonic is currently featured at Walt Disney World but will soon make its way to Anaheim’s Disneyland in 2022. Senior Vice President of Imaging at Panasonic says ” Not only do our 4K laser projectors precisely and accurately reconstruct the specific color range of the actual Mickey Mouse cartoons, but they also enable visitors to become immersed in a world where the physical environment and visual environment are seamlessly blended together. This required flexible, reliable and customizable projection technology to meet the complexity of the attraction configuration.”

This isn’t the only time Disney and Panasonic have teamed up and used Laser projectors. Panasonic integrated 80 4k DLP- based laser projectors in Disney’s “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” Ride. The standard projectors, not to be confused with the pico and micro projectors in the consumer market, utilize their bright picture resolution to bring the Star Destroyer and other visual effects and battles to life!

Walmart Tests LED Projectors For Floor Ads

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© Photo by Talk Business

The grocery mega-giant known as Walmart has begun using LED pico projectors to test floor ads in order to boost sales. These mini projectors are a great way to draw attention to special price rollbacks, specifically on toys. During the test, the majority of shoppers (75%) said that the LED projections were more effective than traditional signage ads. The move to using LED projectors, both standard and pico, is extremely important to move for the company. Walmart hoping that this is the most efficient way to cover advertising real estate of its 5,000 stores that each have an average of 150,000 square footage. Stefanie Jay, vice president of the Walmart Media Group, describes the need for this type of advertising by releasing this statement, “With 90% of America shopping at Walmart every year and nearly 160 million visitors to our stores and websites every week, Walmart Media Group enables brands to reach more customers at scale and measure advertising effectiveness across the entire shopping journey”.

This much real estate needs multiple projectors not only portable in size but also equipped with a brightness that can project a high-quality image. Thankfully companies like Optoma, Epson, Sony, LG, and AAXA have made great progress in lumen outputs for their LED pico projectors. The mini projector market is the perfect solution to cover all this floor real estate. Their compact size, affordability, and high lumen output make them a great asset for this type of advertising.

Is LED Projection Taking Over The Projector Market?

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© Photo by Fat Llama

The constant evolution of projectors has caused a race to focus on image quality and brightness to deliver the clearest image. The projector market and even the pico projector market have projectors that have resolution support up to 4k. When it comes to whether to pick a laser projector or a LED projector the question becomes a bit skewed for the untrained consumer.

At the current time, laser projectors are bright than the LED projectors currently on the market. However, this brightness comes at a cost of two factors that may change your perspective on the laser projector. Laser projectors are more expensive and heavier than LED projectors. For a cheaper price, LEDs are able to bring a picture quality closer to that of a laser projector. AAXA’s 4k1 supports up to 4k resolution and is a small compact LED projector for under $800 while the VAVA 4k Laser projector is listed currently at $2,799. So when it comes to needing a portable mini projector that gives picture quality for a solid price it is safe to go for the more inexpensive model. That is because most LED projectors and micro projectors have an operating life of over 20,000 hours! So even though the laser projectors are the kings of the projector market, the LED projectors are close on their tail. So the question isn’t if advancements in LEDs catch up to the laser projector market but when.

AV Professionals In 2020 Are Still Choosing Standard and Pico Projectors Over Flat Displays

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© Photo by My Projector Lamps

In 2020, a time when cars have become electric and the bulky projectors you remember from grade school have been turned into micro projectors big enough to fit in your pocket. The AV industry is still choosing LED projectors over flat panels. You may ask yourself why is this? Shouldn’t flat panel displays be just as technologically advanced as the newest projectors? One answer to this question is simply the statement that sometimes size does matter.

While the graphics on flat-panel screens are impressive, that does not matter when you factor in size screen. When it comes to applications that require text and numbers to be displayed on-screen, screen size is the most important factor. Yes, I understand that there are currently TVs that support 8k picture quality. But something to take into consideration is that a good chunk of LED projectors and even pico projectors the size of your hand supports a picture resolution up to 4k. Companies like Acer, AAXA, Optoma, and others have created a product line of mini projectors that can not only cover a wall with an image or video enough to comfortably give a classroom of students optimal viewing but have also achieved a high lumen output in such a compact electronic.

Another factor that these projects particularly micro projectors have over traditional flat panel displays are there portable design. We all remember the days in school when the class would get a substitute and the poor guy or gal would have to roll in a zenith on a cart with broken wheels to play an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy. With pico projectors, AV professionals and teachers alike are able to carry a projector that can display a 200″ picture for there students that is the size of there hand. The AV professionals have it right with using LED and Laser projectors for a bigger screen. One day both standard and micro projectors will catch up to the picture quality of TV and maybe then the rest of the world will follow the advice of the AV professional.

CES: 100″ LG Laser TV Projector Arriving in March

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LG INTRODUCES TRULY CINEMATIC 100-INCH LASER TV

LG 100-Inch Laser TV Offers Full HD Picture Quality with Laser-based
Illumination to Create Brilliant, Space-Saving Home Theater Experience

SEOUL, Jan. 03, 2013 –- LG Electronics (LG) announced the launch of its 100-Inch Laser TV (Model: HECTO) featuring both Smart TV and Digital TV capabilities. An impressive home cinema system, the 100-Inch Laser TV includes an immersive screen and an external Ultra Short Throw (UST) projection unit capable of displaying images at extremely short distances. The unique system offers Full HD 1080p resolution and incredible contrast as a result of LG’s advanced laser-based illumination system.

“LG’s 100-Inch Laser TV takes projection technology and makes it perfectly suitable for both the board room and the living room,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “In the coming year LG will continue to introduce the most innovative TV products to provide the best productivity and entertainment experience for our customers.”

Brilliant Home Theater Experience
The high-contrast images displayed on the 100-inch screen offer the closest sensation to a cinematic experience. In the past, considerable distance was needed to project such large images. The required space or “long throw” made projecting large images impractical at home. However, by utilizing UST projection unit. The device allows users to place the lens a mere 22 inches (approximately 56 centimeters) from the screen. LG’s Laser TV offers Full HD resolution at 1080p and 10,000,000 :1 dynamic contrast ratio, rendering vivid and crisp images that pop out in dark as well as lighter environments.

Smart TV Capabilities
The Laser TV supports LG’s Smart TV platform, which includes all the impressive features from its premium models, including Smart World, LG Cloud, Magic Remote and support for Intel’s WiDi technology. The system also includes a digital TV tuner and consumers can just as easily access SNS platforms such as Facebook and VoD services like Netflix in LG’s Premium Content zone. It can also manage personal content, such as pictures, home videos and music libraries via LG Cloud.

LG’s Smart TV platform provides a customizable dashboard and smart connectivity features that streamline access to content from smartphones, laptops, storage devices and the internet. With built-in WiDi and Wi-Fi, content from any compatible external device can be wirelessly shared with the TV. Navigation of services and external devices via the dashboard is made easy with the Magic Remote which utilizes four modes of control – voice, gesture, pointand wheel.

Home Cinema Design
LG’s Laser TV has two 10W built-in speakers embedded in the projection unit to support virtual surround sound for a more authentic cinema experience at home. The device itself features LG’s understated yet stylish Dynamic Arc Design, creating subtly curved surfaces that reach a mere 5.7 inches in height. The 100-inch screen adopts LG’s CINEMA SCREEN Design philosophy which makes it suitable for any interior décor.

Better Reliability, Lower Environmental Impact
The laser-based illumination system uses specialized lamps embedded in the projection unit, delivering superior picture quality while also eliminating the need for mercury. This system can run for 25,000 hours without replacement, five times longer than mercury-based lamps. Eliminating mercury is one way, among many others, that LG is working to make its operations more environmentally friendly, while providing the highest quality consumer electronics.

Exceptional for Small- and Medium-Businesses
The Laser TV also exceeds expectations when used for business applications. Its versatile features make it a prime candidate for video conferencing and advanced multimedia presentations. Video conferencing on a seamless 100-inch screen has the advantage of making all participants feel more involved and close by.

Acer Releases Hybrid LED-Laser Projector

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Acer has recently introduced its new hybrid projector, the K750. Yeah, that’s right, a hybrid projector. The technology mates LED’s with lasers, producing a crisp 1080p picture. The laser part of the technology helps keep the picture in perfect sharpness, no matter how much you move it around.  Furthermore, the contrast ratio is at an outstanding 100,000:1; Acer claims the brightness, saturation and fidelity are all notably better than mercury lamps, which are in most projectors these days. Furthermore, the K750 has an instant on/off feature that will appeal to those maximizing their productivity throughout the day.

This technology is definitely a step in the right direction for projectors. It just has to get cheaper first to be appealing to the general public. Getting one of these in your hands will leave a sizeable dent, $2,650 to be exact, in your bank account. Many projector companies have dabbled in laser technology, including AAXA with its L1 laser projector. A hybrid technology that takes the best of both worlds is definitely an interesting concept; definitely worth keeping an eye out for in the near future.

STMicroelectronics makes a bid for Laser Pico Market

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Semiconductor and MEMS maker STMicroelectronics  acquired the intellectual property (IP) of start-up bTendo, following a joint development effort with the laser technology company. ST hired the majority of bTendo’s staff, and will use the new assets to enhance its video-sharing technology offerings for smartphones and other portable consumer devices.

ST collaborated with bTendo to create micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) based projectors using bTendo’s Scanning Laser Projection engine. The resulting prototypes boasted small form factor and low power consumption for smartphone-, digital camera-, and laptop-based projection. Laser based engine manufacturer, Microvision is likely taking note along with Texas Instruments.

The Scanning Laser Projection engine produces a focus-free high-resolution output that will allow users to display their video, pictures and presentations virtually anywhere. The module is smaller than 1.7cm2 and Embedded projectors are emerging as a feature for next-gen portable consumer devices, and will open up new markets  said Benedetto Vigna, EVP and GM, ST’s Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group.
ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power technologies and multimedia convergence applications.

Using Pico Projectors to Control your Objects in you House!

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Imagine being able to turn on a light in your house or transfer data using a pico projector. That is exactly the work of Domink Schmidt, a post-doctoral researcher at the Human Interaction Lab in Potsdam, Germany who partnered up with Microsoft Research to make this happen.

Very literally they have turned ideas into reality by taking an off-the-shelf laser pico projector (Microvision ShowWX™) and using its projection engine to interact with distant objects using only light! Sounds great right? It is called PICOntrol and how it functions is by projecting an image onto objects, such as a lamp, and allows the user to remotely turn the lamp on or off.  It gets even better. Through PICOntrol, the user can remotely input information, such as telephone numbers, email addresses, select multimedia content, and even control objects such as robots .  Dr. Schmidt’s work may have ended the downward spiral that laser based pico projectors have been experiencing given the present trend towards brighter, cheaper LED projection technology.

 

Check the video, I highly recommend it.