September 13, 2006

Hi folks,

The CEDIA trade show exhibits open tomorrow and runs through Sunday in Denver, and a lot of new projectors will be unveiled. We will have a full overview of the show posted later next week. But here is a taste of what is coming ....

Optoma aggressively takes 720p DLP below the $1,000 price point with the new entry level HD70. Our review of the HD70 is posted here.

Panasonic has announced the PT-AX100U, the next generation projector to replace the popular AE900. The AX100U is a native 1280x720 LCD projector with 6000:1 contrast and up to 2000 ANSI lumens of brightness. It has the capability to dynamically reconfigure itself to optimize image quality in any ambient light conditions. It retains the 2.0x zoom range, lens shift, and Smooth Screen technology for pixel-free imagery that have been key features of the earlier AE700 and AE900. In addition, based upon our preliminary look at it, black level and image sharpness are substantially improved. The AX100U carries an MSRP of $2,999, and street prices much lower than that. We expect it to be one of the hot sellers of the fall season.

Today, Mitsubishi will announce the first native 1920x1080p projector to drop below the magic $5,000 price point. The model is the HC5000BL. It features long-life inorganic LCD panels and carries a contrast rating of 10,000:1. This is a loaded unit with powered lens shift, powered 1.6x zoom range, and a 5000-hour lamp life in low lamp mode. The retail price is a remarkable $4,495. Never has anyone been able to buy this much for this little.

There will be numerous announcements in the next day or two including an aggressively priced 1920x1080p product from Panasonic. We will be reporting the full array of products on this site as we gather the data and are able to compile it for you.

Thanks for using ProjectorCentral,

Evan Powell
Editor