Available in the coming months from ViewSonic are three 3D-enabled DLP projectors (DLP Link and Nvidia 3D-Vision compatible) with 120Hz refresh rates. The PJD6211 and PJD6221 output 1024×768 XGA resolution with up to 2700 lumens and a 2800:1 contrast ratio. Both come with composite, S-Video, VGA inputs and a VGA out. The 6221 includes an RJ45 jack as well.
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The holidays are approaching and consumers that still have available balance on their credit cards are going to be looking at all those fancy flat screen TVs. But the larger models are still pricey. Samsung still makes and sells DLPs – ‘member those? – that offer a huge HD picture at an affordable price. According to HD Guru’s industry sources, the company is set to slash DLP prices by $200 to $600 this coming Sunday.

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Such a tease you are, Mitsubishi.

When this hit my inbox I thought it was one of those small pico projectors crammed into a BlackBerry or something like the 3M MPro110, but it’s a 3.3-pound 7.5- x 8.1-inch projector for business types. It’s a DLP type so that’s a plus and it manages to throw a 2200 ANSI lumens 200-inch 1024×768 resolution image with a 2000:1 contrast ratio. The XD95U will retail for $1,495.

I love how Mitsubishi says this is an economical choice because it’s filterless and has an estimated 3000-hour lamp life (low mode). But then again we are in a recession.

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Large venues like outdoor theaters, churches, and the CrunchGear home office might wanna look at Toshiba’s TDP-WX5400U DLP projector. This bad boy sports dual lamps and even an interchangeable color wheel that shoots out a 1280 x 800 16:10 image. When the two lamps are powered-on, the projector is capable of 5,400 ANSI Lumens. If ambient light isn’t a problem, it can run off just one 2,700 ANSI lumens lamp. Since this projector isn’t meant for the home theater/cinema, it lacks an HDMI input and opts for DVI instead. Even still if you have a bright room you need a projector in, all this can be yours for $6,299 right now from authorized Toshiba dealers.

If you’re a teacher or a business suit type and like to bore students and colleagues with boring video or presentations then ViewSonic has three DLP projectors for you. The 62 series all have 2×5W speakers, RGB, composite and S-Video inputs on top of the closed captioning functionality. Like whoa. With a native resolution of 1024×768 and 2000:1 contrast ratio with brightnesses of 2300 (PJD6220), 2700 (PJD6230) and 3200 (PJD6240) the 62 series of projectors are out of this world! There’s even an Eco Mode that reduces fan noise and extends the life of the lamp to 4000 hours. The projectors start out at $899. They’re “straight fire” as John would say.

Digital cinemas are astounding and everyone from common folk to AV nerds can see a huge difference. The problem is that the systems are expensive - damn expensive – like a 100k a screen. Through a $1-billion financing deal signed by Universal, Paramount, Disney and Fox, the nation’s top movie-theaters are going to get JPMorgan Securities backing to install these systems on more than 15,000 screens. They say it should take three years to complete the rollout, so chances are you are going to get more digital cinema options near you shortly.

BTW, DLP.com lets you search for a digital cinema near you.

Dell’s latest DLP projector is tiny. Well, not that tiny, but it’s still small enough to fit into your wanna-be a corner office bigwig briefcase. The whole package measures in at 3.64″ x 4.12″ x 1.46″ and weighs less than a pound. You aren’t going to enjoy all of Blu-ray’s HD with the M109S, but it still shoots out a 858 x 600 SVGA picture with a 800:1 contrast ratio that’s good ‘nough for an impromptu gaming session. Best of all, if you happen to be touting a Dell Latitude or Vostro laptop, this projector can leek off its power so you can keep the projectors power brick back home. Yours for only $499 and is currently available from Dell direct.

Delta Electronics took the IFA global stage and announced the companies first LED-powered DLP projector. The initial specs sound good – expect one, keep reading – 1080p, large color gamut, and 20,000 hours on the LED unit. The company didn’t announce pricing yet, but it will be at CEDIA next week so I’ll hit ‘em up with some questions then.

Before I ask about price though, I want to know the brightness in terms of lumens. It curiously wasn’t announced and that one spec is the reason major projector players haven’t produced LED models yet. LED units tend to last longer than metal halide bulbs, but they also tend to not be as bright. Hear me right though, I’m not dogging the projector just yet, as I would love to see a demonstration and receive a full white paper on the unit before I do.

Delta via i4u

projectordesign’s been around the custom install market for a while now and their latest units should maintain top of the line appeal. The entire new lineup features Philips UHP VIDI lamp tech, along with projectordesign’s RealColor image management. All five projectors are going to be available by the end of the year but the company hasn’t announced any pricing yet.

Hopefully we can fill in some of the blanks next week at CEDIA, but click on for what we do know about each model.

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Viper: Planar’s first 3-chip DLP HD projector. Meant for 110-inch or larger screens, equiped with 10,000:1 contrast ratio @ 2,000 lumens, powered by a 10-bit independent dual image and motion adaptive processor, all rolled into a great looking bezel. The Viper has all the standard, high-end jacks –  HDMI 1.3a and RS-232 interface – that come on high-end, custom install projectors. But wait, this $15,495 projector  a 1280 x 720 native resolution picture. That’s right, 720p.

I’ll be the first to tell you that resolution is by no means the most important aspect of a picture. This projector better throw one hell of a 720p image to earn it’s keep though as 3-chip 1080p projector technology isn’t anything new. Granted, the Viper comes from the same family as Runco and Vidikron so the pedigree is good ‘nough. We’ll get a closer look at CEDIA, so we’ll hold off our judgement ’till then. 

Two more pics, along with the full press release, after the jump.

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We first broke this story earlier in the month and now there’s photographic evidence to back it up. Details are still still scant at the moment, but it looks like this tiny Dell projector weighs 1.1 pounds and is LED powered just like the pico projectors from Texas Instruments.

SIM2 makes some mighty fine projectors and the only deterrent the Italian company may have from grabbing a huge market share is the price of said projectors. But today SIM2 announced the Domino D60 DLP front projection system that outputs 1080p video for $4,995. With a contrast ratio greater than 10,000:1, a plethora of inputs/outputs (dual HDMI, component, RGB-HD), as well as a powered vertical shift lens and 50-200-inch screen, you can’t really go wrong. I need to start saving my pennies.

I first saw the Laser TV, LaserVue, at CES and was pretty impressed by it, but as with anything new, I was a bit skeptical. I saw the LaserVue from Mitsubishi the other day and I have to admit that it looks amazing. It was pitted against a plasma (presumably the Pioneer Kuro) and LCD and it was hands down the best of the bunch. The colors are absolutely stunning and so vibrant. A 65- and 73-inch Diamond LaserVue will begin shipping in Q3 with the former being the first to market. Each set is 120Hz and is roughly 10 inches deep. You’ll want to check one out in person just to see the difference.

Your next projector (or first projector?) may very well not have a lamp in it. Texas Instruments recently showed off some prototype devices using what it’s calling “PhlatLight” LED lighting. Cool, it’s like the “F” in FlatLight is actually “Ph” instead. That’s both radical and extreme at the same time.

Anyhoo, TI claims that this new technology will eliminate the need to replace projector bulbs and filters, so that oughta save everyone a nice chunk o’ change. Units containing the new awesomely-named PhlatLight technology will be shipping “in late 2008,” according to the company.

Texas Instruments also announced “the world’s first DLP 3-D front projector product,” which has a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,400 x 1,050 resolution. It’ll be used “for the demanding scientific visualisation, simulation and entertainment environments.”

Finally, those Pico-Projectors we’ve all been waiting for will finally be made into actual products. They’ll start to show up in Europe and Asia later this year, with the rest of the world to get them early next year.

When Devin and Matt were in town for the CrunchNetwork party we decided to go and see Iron Man on opening day. When I was picking the venue on Fandango I decided to opt for the DLP projection room and I’m glad I did. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but it just looked better. It was brighter and crisper. DLP makes good stuff.

Today, TI announced that the DLP group has implemented the world’s first WUXGA DLP chip into the F10 and F30 projectors. The new chip boasts a native resolution of 1,920×1,200 in a 16:10 aspect ratio. Hot diggity, TI.