Ricoh is not a name you often associate with projectors, but they've actually made an extremely fine short throw model with a unique optical system that delivers exceptional uniformity.

Allan Abbott's review of the Ricoh PJ WX4130N has just been posted. If you're looking for extreme short throw, as in right up against the wall, don't overlook this one.

People keep asking when or if passive 3D is ever going to hit home theater. The appeal is obvious--the glasses are much lighter weight, like sunglasses, so you don't feel like you're wearing a helmet. Not to mention passive glasses are dirt cheap compared to the active LCD glasses.

As it happens, Bill is currently evaluating an aftermarket passive 3D system that works with any DLP projector. So he'll be able to report all the pros and cons of this solution, and finally answer that question as to when passive will be here. If all goes well, that will be posted next week.

Someone wrote in to ask when the home theater projector release cycle occurs during the year. The answer is that September used to be the big release month for new models due to the perpetually unfortunate scheduling of the CEDIA home theater systems convention during the week of Labor Day. However, in the last couple years, many manufacturers have been trying to get a jump on CEDIA, and we've begun to see new home theater projectors appearing around mid-summer. The objective is for vendors to catch the wave of the new football season and the fall holiday buying season, which is when the bulk of home theater projectors are sold.

At any rate, we expect to see the first of the new season's home theater models being announced in the July timeframe, with more in August leading up to the CEDIA show.

Evan Powell
Editor