It is no surprise that the flat panel industry has been really hot over the last couple of years having enjoyed double-digit growth (even triple-digit in some segments) in consumer as well as commercial products.   In mid 2006 we experienced the radical decline in both plasma and LCD panel prices at the consumer levels with name brand 42" plasmas or 40" LCDs available for not much more than $1,000.  From this flurry of activity and price fluctuation you would think the display market was all about flat panel displays.  Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth.   Projectors are alive and well and there is a flurry of noteworthy activity.

Alan Brawn
Insight MediaConsultant

One significant piece of news is that Japan-based NEC Corp. is set to merge its projector business with its large-screen LCD business to create one integrated business under the moniker NEC Display Solutions Ltd. Yoshiaki Tsuda will head up the new company, which is scheduled to start operations in April. The visual system division of NEC Corp. of America currently markets NEC’s projectors, but after integration, NEC Display Solutions of America will lead the visual display business including projectors, plasma displays and LCD monitors in North America.

"The merger of these two NEC organizations will not only increase our operational efficiencies but it also enables the new company, NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. to offer a portfolio of products and display technologies unmatched by any supplier in the world," TJ Trojan, president and COO at NEC Display Solutions of America, said in a statement.

Taking a different tack, Panasonic has recently spun off their projector division into a separate group with the intention of providing more focus on their projection technologies versus their "sister" division’s plasma flat panel displays or professional broadcast products. According to Tom Zitelli, the president of Panasonic Projection, "the idea is to focus our projection research and development and to expand our product lineup to meet the needs of an expanding market without the distraction of other display technologies."

Proof of this focus rests in a new lineup of integration-oriented projectors that is referred to as their F100 Series and also a high-end 10K lumen projector that features 4 lamps and 4 power supplies and a completely liquid cooled chassis. All of this light output is wrapped in a compact yet rugged package that comes close to the DCI color space standards!

Perhaps the biggest scoop in the world of projection technologies is that the good folks at Samsung intend to expand their presence in projector market with a full lineup focusing on the commercial and home cinema markets. The new lineup will join the existing single chip DLP projector that they currently offer. My contact at Samsung told me that, "our projection lineup will emphasize performance and value blended into each projector. We will use all the experience that Samsung has gotten from the last 30 years in the display industry that in 2006, resulted in Samsung becoming number 1 for the first time in the consumer television business." Stay tuned for more from Samsung.

Other bright notes are that Epson just reported significant earnings increases based primarily on their printer and projection business. Sanyo continues to do well in projection, as does Mitsubishi who is one of the leaders in the compact 1080p projectors with truly innovative products. The LCOS camp is represented by JVC with their outstanding D-ILA projectors and Sony with their SXRD models. But Canon also uses LCOS in their new REALiS projectors that are gaining market traction. The bottom line is that projection industry is alive and well. The glamour and all the press about flat panel displays should not blind us to the evolving world of projection technologies.