LAS VEGAS, April 23, NAB SL4944 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SANYO's newest Tabletop XGA LCD projector, the PLC-XF46, offers outstanding improvements in both performance and reliability. The XF46 uses three large 1.8 inch, 1024 by 768 pixel LCDs to produce startling amounts of light on the big screen -- up to 12,000 lumens -- with 4 UHP lamps, each producing only 300 watts of power. If two of these light weight (36.5 kg) Tabletop projectors are stacked and aligned together -- with motorized zoom, focus and shift lenses -- they can produce a total of 24,000 lumens on screens up to 600 inches in diagonal size. If the XF46 is operated in the two-lamp mode, a single projector can still produce 6000 lumens with an overall lamp life of more than 4000 hours (single lamp life of 2,000 hours in normal mode or 2500 hours in a lower power "Eco mode"). With four lamps, you'll never be left without a projected image -- the XF46 can automatically switch to a long-life, low power, "Failsafe" mode whenever a single lamp defect is detected. Plus the use of low power, low cost UHP lamps results in overall running costs about half that of other systems in the same high brightness class.

The XF46's outstanding brightness comes with a highly impressive image quality. SANYO uses a colorful three panel LCD and optical block design in the XF46 which provides up to 1200 to 1 contrast ratio along with naturally smooth color and grey scale variations, all of which means that the XF46 can produce life-like, virtual reality images on any big screen. Of course it takes more than outstanding optics to make excellent image quality -- it takes advanced image processing ICs too. The XF46 has special circuits that provide Dynamic Auto Gamma Processing. These circuits optimize the dynamic range of the luminance signals by adjusting the gamma setting and offset in real time, according to the projected image. Put that together with SANYO's automatic circuits for Vertical and Horizontal Edge Enhancement and you get images with realistic depth and sharp detail even in areas where the image signal is shallow or would otherwise look washed out or harsh.

However even that is not the big story. What really sets the new SANYO XF46 apart from other projectors is its outstanding reliability.

In the past, some projectors experienced problems by attempting to pump out too much light through too small imager panels. SANYO made sure that those problems do not exist with the powerfully bright XF46 by utilizing newly designed, long-life "Biena 4" LCDs 1.8 inches in diagonal size -- without microlenses. That's right, where other systems need microlenses to make large amounts of light, the SANYO XF46 does not. Plus not using mircolenses helps to avoid any light damage on the LCD panels by eliminating any chance of dangerous hot spots -- or focused concentrations of light from the microlens. SANYO's new, long-life, Optical Block provides the best of both worlds -- high brightness and high reliability -- through the use of the "Biena 4" LCDs, along with better materials in the block system and with an additional "optical compensator" plate installed between the first polarizer and the LCD panel. The XF46's optical compensator corrects any disturbances in the polarized light coming from the first polarizer and thus provides more contrast, brightness and higher reliability. The SANYO XF46 is ideal for use in venues that require long operating hours such as stadiums, airports or train stations -- and like other SANYO projectors, the XF46 has almost all of the option, network and installation features you need to seamlessly integrate the projector into your operations. The MSRP of the PLC-XF46 is $27,995.00 and will be available in mid-May.

Based in Chatsworth, CA, SANYO Fisher Company is a leading marketer of high-quality multimedia, consumer audio and video, communications, security video, office automation, air conditioning and home appliance products. The Presentation Technologies Division, through its parent company in Japan, is one of the world's largest producers of LCD projectors and digital cameras. The company is a division of SANYO North America Corporation, a subsidiary of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:SANYY) (Japan), one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers.

For more information on SANYO's complete line of LCD projectors, please call 888.337.1215 or visit www.SANYO.com.

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