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CEDIA Expo 2006: Highlights - Part 1 Page 3

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Sim2 HT5000 1080p 3-chip DLP front projector

Panasonic says the PT-AE1000U offers the highest contrast ratio (11,000:1) in its class and comes with a new optical path that includes the company's aspherical glass lens system, which purportedly reduces light dispersion to help produce crisper, more vivid images. It also incorporates a waveform monitor that measures the brightness level from video signal source so that users can verify whether the device is exploiting it full dynamic range and adjust it if necessary. Thanks to a 2X powered zoom and its large lens-shift range, the projector can throw a 100-inch diagonal image from as close as 5 feet, Panasonic says. The PT-AE1000U will be available in November at a price yet to be announced.

Speaking of projectors, Optoma hit CEDIA with very aggressive prices at both ends of the spectrum: a two-piece 1080p DLP model, the HD81, priced at $7,000, and a $999 720p model, the HD70. The latter uses Texas Instruments' DarkChip 2 DLP technology for a rated contrast ratio of 4,000:1. The HD81, which has an outboard video processor based on Gennum's VXP technology to scale incoming signals to its 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution, uses a DarkChip 3 DLP chip. A seven-segment color wheel and three HDMI inputs round out the package.

The company is also showing off its 100-inch custom in-wall rear-projection system, called Big Vision BV3100. Dealers must be pre-qualified by Optoma to install it.

SIM2 is at CEDIA with a slate of new 1080p projectors, including the HT5000, among the first three-chip projectors to use TI's 1080p DarkChip DMD chipset. All its new three-chip models will be available in single and dual 300-watt lamp configurations, both as standalone units or packaged with the company's DigiOptic Image Processor. The company is also showing three new single-chip projectors based on the DarkChip3 DMD chipset. The HT5000 will be released in the fourth quarter, with pricing to be announced later this fall.

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