Though primarily known for cameras and office equipment, Ricoh boasts that its lenses are the preferred choice of top projector makers around the world. So it's no surprise that its latest laser projector makes use of Ricoh glass "to deliver high-quality, color-rich 4K images from just centimeters away."
Announced through its subsidiary PFU America, the Ricoh PJ UHL3660 ultra-short-throw projector is designed for use in boardrooms, classrooms, museums, live entertainment venues and other medium-to-large spaces, as well as high-end home theaters.
It's built around Ricoh's twin laser and phosphor wheel technology to deliver 6,500 lumens of brightness, which means that users shouldn't have any washout issues in well-lit rooms or during daylight hours. Ricoh says that its OptiBright tech also "maximizes light efficiency and brightness while maintaining low power consumption" while offering up to 40,000 hours of usage.
Four-way pixel-shifting makes for 4K UHD visual performance, and a 0.24:1 throw ratio will see it match the display size of an 85-inch TV while sitting just 0.4 inches from the wall or screen. If you want to pull the unit out to almost 15 inches away, and have a wall or screen large enough, the maximum display size is 160 diagonal inches.
The projector is reported capable of 5-million:1 dynamic contrast, and a HDR mode massages the contrast of compatible content for "visuals with even more realism."
Though UST projectors are generally positioned on a stand or table close to the ground, to throw imagery up onto a vertical display surface, the UHL3660's 360-degree mounting options, portrait projection capabilities and multi-image blending chops allows for more flexibility.
Horizontal and vertical keystone adjustment is cooked in, along with four-corner and six-point alignment and a bunch of image presets, to help make setup a relatively painless affair. A Wall Color mode can also optimize the image for non-white surfaces.
This is not a smart model, so users will need to feed in content via HDMI or Ethernet LAN, though Miracast is supported for wireless screen-sharing from Windows or Android devices.
The unit is able to resist ingress from dust to the equivalent of IP6X standards, and features "an advanced cooling system" that keeps the show going even in temperatures as high as 113 °F (45 °C).
"This highly versatile new 4K advanced laser projector delivers stunning visuals that will 'wow' any audience, even in limited space environments, and provides an efficient and cost-effective projection solution with easy and maintenance-free performance," said PFU's Daisuke Kutsuwada.
PFU America is making the UHL3660 available through its partner network in the US, we're told that the price tag will be US$6,000.
Product page: Ricoh PJ UHL3660
