At Infocomm in Las Vegas this week, Optoma announced a couple of new projectors – a mid-range professional model with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and one that can project a 100-inch 4K image from just two inches away from the wall.
The 4K model, which doesn't have an official name yet, may not have any specifically new features, but it is the first to combine several types of technologies. It's a laser phosphor projector, meaning it's far more efficient and provides a sharper picture than a lamp-based projector, and while 4K versions of these have been around for a while – Sony's flagship LSPX-W1, for example – none have managed this on a throw ratio as tiny as Optoma's, at 0.18:1.
In practical terms, as mentioned earlier, it will throw a 100 in image on a wall or screen from a mere 2 in (5 cm) away, where many in the ultra-short throw category need to be about 20 in (51 cm) from the wall for a screen that size.
This projector has 3,300 lumens, supports content encoded in H.265, and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. It's due for release in the first quarter of 2017, and is designed for digital signage and home theater.
The second projector does have a name, but it's not very catchy. The Optoma ZU510T is made for more public use, in board rooms, auditoriums and the like. Its throw ratio ranges from 1.2:1 to 2.16:1, thanks to a fixed lens capable of horizontal and vertical lens shift, allowing it to mimic the function of several swappable lenses, without the swapping.
With a zoom of 1.8 x, and at 5,500 lumens, Optoma claims it's plugging a hole in the professional market for a mid-range laser phosphor projector with WUXGA display – that's an aspect ratio of 16:10, slightly higher than 1080p.
The ZU510T will be priced somewhere between US$4,500 and $5,500 when it launches later this year.
Source: Optoma
