Projectiondesign (Fredrikstad, Norway) (www.projectiondesign.com) debuted its first projector at the Projection Industry Summit Conference (PISC) in Las Vegas. It is the first single-chip DLP projector with SXGA (1280 x 1024) resolution -- and at 6.5 pounds, it is one-half to one-third the weight of its nearest competitors. The projector also impressed PISC attendees with its high brightness - 3,000 ANSI lumens..

We believe that all front projectors using Texas Instruments' SXGA DLP chip have been three-chip implementations designed for large-venue applications. While single-chip projectors using TI's 1280 x 720 chip have been developed for home theater applications, this is the first one-chip front projector aimed at commercial markets with SXGA resolution.

Company officials say the F1 SXGA unit is targeted for higherend applications in medical, engineering, architecture, CAD/CAM, immersive 3-D and the financial industries. "Twenty percent of Dell Computer's notebooks already have SXGAresolution flat-panel displays, so we are also targeting this unit for attachment to notebook computers," notes Thierry Ollivier, projectiondesign's director of Sales and Marketing.

projectiondesign's F1 SXGA Unit

The electronics include Faroudja deinterlacing with 3:2 and 2:2 pull down, and it can support display in a native 1280 x 720 mode. Since it is equipped with HDTV component inputs, it can be used to project high-definition TV video too.

Powering the projector is the latest generation SXGA panel from TI. This 0.9-inch device is fabricated on TI's 6-inch wafer line, and features the DoubleData Rate (DDR) interface and a 10-degree mirror tilt. A 250W UHP lamp provides the high brightness. Contrast is rated at 600:1, as there is no dark metal layer on a DMD device. A 1.3X zoom lens is standard, but optional wide-angle and short-throw lenses are available too. Moreover, the unit is quiet at 28 dB.

Projectiondesign has its own production facility in Norway and intends to ship the unit in September at MSRP pricing of $15K, but it hopes to lower pricing to less than $10K within a reasonable time frame. It is also looking to establish OEM relationships with other projection makers and resellers. -- CC

Projectiondesign, Thierry Ollivier, [47] 408-00196, thierry.ollivier@projectiondesign.com

Chris Chinnock, chris@insightmedia.info

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