Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
New Products from ViewSonic at CES 2011
CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is one of the biggest electronic conventions in the world. Every year people bring their newest products to CES in order to show them off and start generating buzz. Well, ViewSonic has a whole lot of new products that they will be sharing at CES 2011 and are heading into the show with a ton of momentum.Over the past month, ViewSonic was one of the first companies to bring to us a dual-boot 10" and 7" Android tablet when they debuted the ViewPad 7, ViewPad 10 and the gTablet. The ViewPad 7 is currently available for pre-order while the gTablet is currently shipping, and the ViewPad 10 is on track with ViewSonic's proposed Q1 release date.
ViewSonic plans on expanding its ViewPad product line to new levels at CES 2011. ViewSonic plans on unveiling screens that range from 4" to up to 65". This plan is in hopes of giving users access to thousands of open-source applications on a completely customizable interface.
At the 2011 CES ViewSonic will present their VX2739wm, a 27" full HD monitor with a very fast 1ms response time. The cool thing about this device is that it was recently awarded CES' Design and Innovation Award, and the 3D 3DPF8 multimedia frame is one of the top contenders for Last Gadget Standing.
ViewSonic also plans on expanding their business in 2011 to newer technologies. New devices that ViewSonic plans on showing off include all new ViewPad solutions running open-source Android OS as well as 3D cameras and video cameras. 3D digital photo frames with no need of glasses will also be revealed as well as connected LED HDTVs and 3D TVs and HD home theater projectors.
According to Jeff Volpe, Vice President and General Manager for ViewSonic Americas, "For nearly 25 years, ViewSonic has been at the forefront of visual display technology. From our beginnings in CRT computer displays, we've evolved into a global corporation that offers LED PC displays, HDTVs, projectors, small form factor and mobile computing devices and consumer electronics. With over 30 million products used around the world, you can literally find ViewSonic anywhere."
ViewSonic looks like they will have a lot of products to show off at CES 2011. If you love technology and you have a liking of ViewSonic, then you do not want to miss CES 2011.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Epson's New EB-1700 Series Projectors
Epson has just unleashed a new ultraportable business projector, perfect for the always traveling businessman. This new series of projectors is only 45mm high and weighs a light 1.7kg, allowing it to fit in the same bag with a notebook, making it great for presentations.The projector, known as the EB-1775W, gives customers a fully automated setup which includes everything from horizontal and vertical keystone correction to a one touch "screen fit" button which resizes the projected image to fit the screen automatically.
The EB-1770W, EB-1760W and EB-1750 all come with automatic vertical keystone correction as well as source search, auto detection of RGB/Component connections, multi-screen color adjustment, password protection, auto iris on/off, internal speakers, normal and ECO power modes and even three pre-set color modes.
The EB-1775W, EB-1770W and EB-1760W, in order to match the screen aspect of many laptops, all project a WXGA widescreen format. This allows presentations designed on your laptop to run smoothly and be displayed in their full size with no edges missing.
Epson even allows you the option of eliminating unprofessional and complicated cabling across the desk or floor by connecting your projector to a 802.11 b/g/n wireless network. If that wasn't enough for you, Epson offers the option of using a USB Quick Wireless COnnection key which enables quick peer to peer connections to a laptop for added simplicity. This comes included on the EB-1775W and is optional on the EB-1770W and the EB-1760W.
Every single device in the EB-1700 series can display presentations with image, audio and mouse controls via a connection to a PC using a simple USB cable. In addition to that, you can also create and even display images directly from a USB memory device. This makes it possible for you to give a presentation without need of a connected computer.
Epson does give other input and display options. All the projectors in the EB-1700 series have HDMI (aside from the EB-1750), VGA, Video (RCA), USB Type B, USB Type A and Audio (stereo mini) ports.
All models come at varying prices with the EB-1775W at $1,999, the EB-1770W at $1,699, the EB-1760W at $1,399 and the EB-1750 at $1,199.
Friday, November 19, 2010
BenQ's New SP890 Installation Projector
BenQ is one of the biggest names in the projector manufacturing industry by far, and they always have a tendency to come up with some really great products in a wide variety of styles and uses. The company's newest projector comes in the form of the new SP890 installation projector which is specifically designed to be used in somewhat larger venues like conference halls or auditoriums.
Like most of BenQ's products, the SP890 is packed with a ton of awesome features and good specs that make it a worthwhile device. The SP890 has full HD and HQV picture quality with full 1080p HD as well as 4000 ANSI lumens brightness. The SP890 also has a 50,000:1 contrast ratio and an optical zoom of 1.5X. These specs make it the perfect type of projector to use in large venues such as business meetings and trade shows or even in a large college classroom.
According to BenQ, the SP890 offers five times more detail than your average 480p projectors. The projector has HQV processing which is very sophisticated. This renders HD video in true 1080p HD quality. BenQ also added that lower resolution video sources including 480i (digital and analog) will be automatically converted by the SP890 allowing it to achieve full HD picture quality.
This projector uses BrilliantColorT Technology. This offers users a high-speed, 6-segment color wheel. The color wheel delivers a great deal of balance between your projector's brightness and color levels. With the SP890's horizontal and vertical lens shift features, 1.5X zoom and independent color management, it is safe to say that the SP890 is one of the top projectors currently in the installation projector market.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The Problems with Pocket Projectors are Being Solved
Pocket projectors are becoming much more advanced and useful. They are now beginning to feature more lumens, increased resolution, and better battery life. These are definitely some of the reasons why the pocket projector industry is showing rapid growth, which will most likely only continue as the projectors improve even more.
This past spring DisplaySearch reported on the pocket projector market in Pocket Projector Technology and Market Forecast Report. They predicted that by 2018 there would be more than 140 million pocket projectors in use. The company had said that there needed to be some serious improvements in pocket projectors' brightness, resolution, and battery life. Since there have definitely been some improvements in these areas, DisplaySearch feels that by 2018 there will most certainly be pocket projectors that are leaps and bounds ahead of the ones that we see today, and due to their portability and convenience, there will therefore be a great increase in pocket projector sales.
DisplaySearch had already predicted that brightness and battery life would greatly improve from 2009 to 2012. In 2009 the pocket projector only featured a brightness ranging from 5 to 50 lumens. The average device then only had 15 lumens. This year HP released a pocket projector that featured 100 lumens of brightness, but unfortunately, it does not run on batteries. DisplaySearch has said that they believe in 2011 that all pocket projector models will be above 20 lumens, and in 2012 there should be models with 200 lumens.
Battery life has also improved. In 2009 the battery life of pocket projectors ranged from 30 minutes to 2 hours, with the average projector coming in at about an hour. By 2011 DisplaySearch claims that all pocket projectors should feature a battery life of over an hour, and by 2012 there should be models with a battery life of more than four hours.
Some of the newest pocket projectors that have been released show that the devices are definitely moving in the direction that DisplaySearch believes they will. 3M has recently announced two of their newest models, the MPro160 and the MPro180, that feature 30 lumens and two hours of battery life when in standard mode. Both of these devices will be available in January of 2011. These new projectors show significant improvements over some of their previous models. The MPro110, which was released at the very end of 2008, featured only 10 lumens, and the MPro120, which was released in 2009, had only 15 lumens of brightness. The MPro180 not only has improved in the amount of lumens it has, but it also features a 2.4-inch LCD touchscreen, much better resolution, and many other things.
3M is not the only one that has been improving their pocket projectors though. Philips has recently released three new pocket projectors, the PPX 1430, the PPX 1230, and thePPX 1020, in their PicoPix line. All of the projectors feature 400:1 contrast ratio, 20 to 30 lumens of brightness, and 2.5 hours of battery on the 1230 and 1430 models.
All of these advances show that pocket projectors are moving in the right direction. They are featuring more lumens, better resolution, and much longer battery life. It will be great to see how they improve them in the future. Hopefully, it won’t take too long. I guess we’ll just have to see if DisplaySearch is correct that by 2018 more than 140 million pocket projectors will be in use. With the direction that things are going in, it seems like they could definitely be correct.
This past spring DisplaySearch reported on the pocket projector market in Pocket Projector Technology and Market Forecast Report. They predicted that by 2018 there would be more than 140 million pocket projectors in use. The company had said that there needed to be some serious improvements in pocket projectors' brightness, resolution, and battery life. Since there have definitely been some improvements in these areas, DisplaySearch feels that by 2018 there will most certainly be pocket projectors that are leaps and bounds ahead of the ones that we see today, and due to their portability and convenience, there will therefore be a great increase in pocket projector sales.
DisplaySearch had already predicted that brightness and battery life would greatly improve from 2009 to 2012. In 2009 the pocket projector only featured a brightness ranging from 5 to 50 lumens. The average device then only had 15 lumens. This year HP released a pocket projector that featured 100 lumens of brightness, but unfortunately, it does not run on batteries. DisplaySearch has said that they believe in 2011 that all pocket projector models will be above 20 lumens, and in 2012 there should be models with 200 lumens.
Battery life has also improved. In 2009 the battery life of pocket projectors ranged from 30 minutes to 2 hours, with the average projector coming in at about an hour. By 2011 DisplaySearch claims that all pocket projectors should feature a battery life of over an hour, and by 2012 there should be models with a battery life of more than four hours.
Some of the newest pocket projectors that have been released show that the devices are definitely moving in the direction that DisplaySearch believes they will. 3M has recently announced two of their newest models, the MPro160 and the MPro180, that feature 30 lumens and two hours of battery life when in standard mode. Both of these devices will be available in January of 2011. These new projectors show significant improvements over some of their previous models. The MPro110, which was released at the very end of 2008, featured only 10 lumens, and the MPro120, which was released in 2009, had only 15 lumens of brightness. The MPro180 not only has improved in the amount of lumens it has, but it also features a 2.4-inch LCD touchscreen, much better resolution, and many other things.
3M is not the only one that has been improving their pocket projectors though. Philips has recently released three new pocket projectors, the PPX 1430, the PPX 1230, and thePPX 1020, in their PicoPix line. All of the projectors feature 400:1 contrast ratio, 20 to 30 lumens of brightness, and 2.5 hours of battery on the 1230 and 1430 models.
All of these advances show that pocket projectors are moving in the right direction. They are featuring more lumens, better resolution, and much longer battery life. It will be great to see how they improve them in the future. Hopefully, it won’t take too long. I guess we’ll just have to see if DisplaySearch is correct that by 2018 more than 140 million pocket projectors will be in use. With the direction that things are going in, it seems like they could definitely be correct.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Paint Your Own Projector Screen
If you are one of those people who have decided that going with a high quality projection is a better deal than buying a high end television, then you are most certainly aware that a high quality projector screen will undoubtedly give you the most bang for your buck. The big name screen manufacturers out there like Da-Lite and Screen Innovation use special materials specifically designed to enhance contrast and color in their projection screens. The result you get consists of punched up white levels and deep blacks.The only problem with this setup is that screens like this are expensive and not everybody has the extra cash to throw around like that, especially in today's economy. There are also the crafty folks out there who would prefer to do a complete do-it-yourself project for their home theaters. Reports are coming in from all over about people who have figured out ways to create their own high-quality projector screens in their homes.
Some people have built impressive 120-inch diagonal screens using white ceiling paint from Home Depot and the ever popular 1x4s. Now everybody knows that painting a surface doesn't make it smooth. So, in order to get the smoothest surface possible you are going to need to sand away any imperfections in the surface area of the wall you are thinking about painting.
After that is done, you should apply two coats of primer followed by several layers of the ceiling paint. You can even paint around the screen in black to build a frame for your screen. The best materials to use, it seems, are Kilz primer and Home Depot brand white ceiling paint. The picture quality is incredible, rivaling some of the more top-notch and expensive brands out there.
With the price of screens out there and the money people don't have to spend on them, a do-it-yourself projector screen is ingenious. It is the perfect thing if you have a projector that you use frequently or instead of a television. So the next time you are thinking about upgrading your screen, don't. Just paint your own on the wall.
Source: The Projector People
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