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For the last several years, the carrot dangling in front of much of the projector industry has been the design of smaller and brighter models. Manufacturers have responded with refreshingly portable conference-room and small, screening-room projectors that have shrunken from boat anchor to briefcase size, without losing brightness. No longer do the lights have to be dimmed or the shades drawn. However, the drive toward brighter and lighter seems to have reached a plateau over the last year. What's important in projectors is shifting.
In this roundup that features more than 300 projectors, nearly one quarter of products weigh between 5lbs. and 7lbs. The 2lb. leader has been available for more than a year. Are projectors now small enough? In addition, most of the 5lb. to 7lb. projectors have a brightness specification between 1500 and 2200 lumens, which is plenty to cut through most ambient-light situations. Are projectors now bright enough?
The 5lb. to 7lb. range has emerged as a sweet spot in volume projector sales, but not because it's an ideal size. Instead, the selling prices on these seemingly outdated chassis have fallen to less than $1,000 on several models. With sizes and brightness at sufficient levels, the market is now focusing on value, at least for portable-class projectors.
There are other trends. Resolution is increasing to match the increased interest in high definition. Once the purview of larger models, we now see three manufacturers with SXGA or wide-SXGA resolution models weighing less than 9lbs., including a new LCoS model. There is also the continuing battle between Texas Instruments' DLP technology and LCD. Not surprisingly, DLP still dominates the smallest sizes, but it is also the technology in 40 percent of projectors in the 6lb. to 10lb. range. Conversely, LCD remains the technology of choice for the desktop and install classes. It is used in about half of the 4lb. to 6lb. models.
Understanding the Charts
The charts are organized by projector class, which ranges from the tiniest microportable class up to large venue heavyweights. Within each projector class, I have grouped projectors first by native resolution, including breaking out widescreen resolutions from 4:3 aspect ratios. Within those resolution groups, I have sorted by the ascending physical weight of each projector.
Ideally, one would be able to search these charts by brightness specification or price. However, those specifications are less reliable. Today's manufacturers' brightness claims regularly exaggerate lumens by 10 to 20 percent. At 2000 lumens, that can mean a difference of 200 to 400 lumens. Since contrast specifications are even more exagerrated, I believe it would be inappropriate to put a company at the top of a list simply because it inflates numbers. What's more, strict brightness levels are no longer as critical as they once were when sunlight through a window could dramatically wash out an image.
Prices are more difficult to read now than when dealers regularly discounted MSRP by around 30 percent. You'll see prices in the charts that look surprisingly high relative to others. That is often a function of dealer channel pricing. Fortunately, the industry, particularly in the desktop class and smaller classes, has moved increasingly toward retail and online sales. Several manufacturers, for example, now acknowledge either a minimal difference or no difference between the MSRP and the street price. However, finding consistent street prices can be difficult due to online sales, particularly when many "etailers" advertise a street or selling price that ultimately requires you to purchase add-on merchandise or package deals.
Microportables (6lbs. or less)
Over the last six years or so, the microportables category has been the glamour class. As these minis have steadily shed pound after pound, from 6lbs. all the way down to 2lbs., we have ogled in amazement - maybe even lust - at the increasingly slender electronics. Manufacturers proclaimed that soon everyone would have, or at least want, a projector in their pocket for on-the-spot presentations. Certainly, reducing projector sizes has grown the market.
Yet, the rapid miniaturization of projectors has slowed over the last year. While InFocus' 2lb. LP120 has been available for more than a year, few competitors have raced to match its svelte figure. Instead, the majority of innovation in the higher-volume classes is now centered around the 4lb. to 6lb. range with ease-of-use features like autofocus, auto-keystone correction, and USB ports for easier PC-free presenting.
While there is and always will be a market for the smallest, coolest projector, consumers have said that small can't substitute for brightness, quality, and a low price. Of the 67 products listed in this category, about one third weigh more than 5lbs., and almost half have a brightness specification of 2000 lumens or more. Only 10 projectors weigh less than 3lbs. About two-thirds are XGA resolution, but that still leaves more than 20 SVGA models, suggesting that there is still an attraction to more affordable - bulkier - SVGA models.
Ultraportables (6.1lbs. to 10lbs.)
When the microportable category burst onto the scene with the first 6lb. and 5lb. projectors, ultraportables were left pining for attention. However, over the last year the spotlight has returned to this otherwise pedestrian class. Admittedly, the arbitrary microportable and ultraportable weight limits are a little awkward: The sweet spot for mass volume projector sales has settled between 5lbs. to 7lbs. It's not based so much on size as it is on cost. That size projector now yields buyer pricing of less than $1,000 for SVGA models and less than $1,500 for XGA models.
Three-digit pricing, as well as similar discounts in other size classes, has kept SVGA projectors in the mainstream when they might otherwise seem obsolete. Of the 162 projectors under 10lbs., nearly one-third are SVGA or less, i.e., wide-VGA. Of course, many of those lower-resolution projectors are LCD-based. Now that higher resolution DLP chips can match LCD affordability, SVGA may be on the way out.
Resolutions are now moving above XGA, even in this ultraportable class. The numbers are small now - four projectors from Canon, Christie, and Digital Projection - but this is just the first glimpse of higher-resolution ultraportables. Canon's new Realis SX50 marks the first sub-10lb. LCoS projector on the market. Perhaps in a year's time, both of these short lists will grow.
Portables (10.1lbs. to 15lbs.)
It probably doesn't seem like the exciting news it once was, but this group of desktop and small, conference-room projectors still makes great strides with brightness increases: up 20 percent in just the last year. The large majority of these projectors now achieve a remarkable 3000 lumens and often for less than $4,000. There are even a few - Boxlight, Epson, and NEC - that top 4000 lumens (at least by spec).
For the most part, these portables are a fairly heterogeneous group: All but a few have native XGA resolution and most use three-panel LCD technology. However, JVC has squeezed two of its D-ILA projectors into this class, including the DLA-HD2K, the lowest weight, full-HD (1920x1080) projector. Admittedly, the $29,995 list price still may reside in a different category from the rest of this class, but form factor has been one of the constraints of LCoS/D-ILA technology and getting the HD2K to weigh less than 14lbs. That, combined with Canon's Realis SX50's weight at less than 9lbs., represents a promising development.
Desktop Install (15.1lbs. to 30lbs.)
This category is really an extension of the portable class and has very similar raw statistics. Almost all are XGA resolution and are built on three-panel LCD technology. The brightness bumps up to 3500 to 4500 lumens, with Epson's PowerLite 8300i and Sony's VPL-FX51 even topping 5000 lumens (by the specs).
The primary difference in this class is an increase in features, such as powered zoom and focus, extra connectivity options (almost all have a digital input), optional lenses, and a few dual-lamp projectors. While it doesn't conveniently fit in such a large chart, built-in networking options, such as remote administration and monitoring, are found in this category.
Fixed Install (30.1lbs. to 50lbs.)
History and the relentless miniaturization of projectors has left this category rather sparse. The clumsy, high-brightness projectors once found here now more comfortably reside in the smaller-weight classes. However, what has replaced most of the older models are units with higher resolution. Out of 20 projectors in this category, 12 have SXGA resolution or higher, including Barco's UXGA Ultra Reality 7000, and three more are wide-SXGA. Almost all the fixed installation projectors have redundant and/or dual-mode lamps, and all are suitable for small- to medium-venue use.
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