Household appliance veteran Paris Rhône is breaking into the home entertainment sector with a 4K UHD ultra-short-throw laser projector that can output big-screen visuals from a few inches away, while also rocking its own powerful sound system.
The French company was founded way back in 1915, and its cooling fans, cleaning appliances, kitchen equipment and other electrical goods have since been sold across Europe, North America, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. The PE-LT002 4K (3,840 x 2,160) Laser TV marks two firsts for Paris Rhône – its first audio-visual product, and its debut on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
The 16.73 x 13.19 x 3.94-in (425 x 335 x 100-mm), 15.4-lb (7-kg) DLP projector has a throw ratio of 0.222:1, which means that viewers will be able to enjoy an 80-diagonal-inch image from just 5.4 in (13.7 cm) away from the wall or screen, or up to 150 diagonal inches from 18.8 in (47.7 cm) away.
Like the XGIMI Aura we reviewed recently, the Paris Rhône model is built around the ALPD 3.0 light engine for the promise of "a wide color gamut, high brightness and contrast." It can handle HDR10 content for more detail in the shadows and highlights, there's support for 100 percent of the Rec.709 color gamut and a native contrast ratio of 3,000:1, plus 2,000 ANSI lumens output could have you watching movies during daylight hours without closing the blinds, though the best results will be produced after dark.
The PE-LT002 runs Android 9.0, so users should be able to access the Play Store and install favorite entertainment apps, and it comes with a 60-Hz refresh rate and an input lag of 50 milliseconds to appeal to casual console gamers. MEMC motion smoothing should help to sharpen up fast-action scenes, too.
Connectivity shapes up as two HDMI ports (one of which is ARC compatible for easy integration into a home theater audio setup), an Ethernet LAN port is also included, along with USB and an audio jack, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 are cooked in too.
As well as being home to the laser projection unit, the housing also hosts to an integrated 50-watt sound system that supports Dolby Audio and DTS HD decoding for the promise of an immersive listening experience to go with the big-screen visuals.
Paris Rhône reports that the light source should be good for up to 25,000 hours of use, which translates into more than 12,000 two-hour movies, there's eight-point keystone correction available plus electronic focus, and motion sensors dim the light source when someone approaches to prevent eye damage.
The Indiegogo campaign page notes that the PE-LT002 is already in production, and pledges start at US$1,799 for the first hundred early birds, before rising to $1,999 for the next batch. The suggested retail price will be $2,399. Tiers are also available with included Ambient Light Rejecting screens. If all goes to plan, shipping is estimated to start in October.
Source: Paris Rhône
