Every year during the Chinese New Year, the annual CCTV (China Central Television) Spring Festival Gala Evening entertains more than 700 million viewers all over the world. This year, the event is made possible thanks to six Christie Roadster S+20K projectors that will be displaying serene and magical images of spring. The Roadster S+20K features an amazing 20000 ANSI lumens, SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) and 1800:1 contrast ratio. It was also to main projector used during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Sha Xiaolan, the chief lighting designer, said, “The Christie projectors performed superbly. Their performance and reliability are the main reasons why we chose them for the show.” One of the highlights of the event was a ballet performance called, “The Butterfly Lingers over the Flower.” During the ballet, the Roadster displays a dream-like sequence onto a mist screen, which helped reinforce the dramatic effect of the entire performance.

[via Christie]

The Panasonic PT-LW80NTE is one of the company’s quality business projectors. It features 2600 ANSI lumens, a WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution, and a 500:1 contrast ratio. Recently, the writers from ZDNet got the opportunity to take a closer look at the PT-LW80NTE. Right from the box, the first thing the writers didn’t like was the design. The white chassis and minimal style makes this projector not the prettiest at the ball. One of the features that the projector excelled at was with the color. The writers thought that it easily held up to LCD’s reputation of bright color outputs, although it did suffer with poor green reproduction when compared to blue and red. One of the biggest concerns with the picture was the contrast. The blacks where very dull and the whites where not as sharp as some of the model’s competitors. The best part about this model was the brightness. The 2600 ANSI lumens, performed wonderfully and was able to shine even in dimly lit rooms. Even though there were a lot of problems with this projector, the final though was, “PT-LW80NTE does the most important thing right – it produces a great image.”

[via ZDNet]

The 3D Revolution is inevitable and to help it along, Christie has announced that they were selected by Kerasotes Theaters to convert 35 theaters to project 3D movies. The cinemas will receive a complete 3D-enabled Christie digital cinema projection system that included a CP2000-ZX projector. All 35 theaters are expected to be finished and operational just in time for the release of Walt Disney Pictures’ “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.” This movie documents the Jonas Brothers while they were on their latest concert tour, “Burning Up.” The movie will feature back stage footage, new songs from the band and it will be the first concert movie to be displayed in 3D. The CP2000-ZX projectors used features 9000 ANSI lumens, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and a 2K (2048 x 1080) resolution, which is much better than full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. The projector also uses 3-chip DLP display technology, which eliminates the dreaded rainbow effect that is common in single chip DLP projectors. Craig Sholder, vice-president of Entertainment Solutions at Christie, said, “We look forward to working with Kerasotes Theatres as it continues to convert to the latest generation of digital cinema technology. We have the right solution for every size screen and the ability to resolve every installation challenge at the fastest timetable because we bring 80 years of experience working with exhibitors, anticipating and meeting their needs.” The movie premiers today in theaters everywhere.

[via Christie]

CeBIT 09 is only a week away and as part of a campaign add, ten of Taiwan’s biggest manufacturers will be coming together for a presentation they call “Taiwan – Bringing Innovations to the World.” This presentation will display some of the best products to come from Taiwan based companies including the Optoma Pico projector. This projector has been around for a few months now, but the device is so impressive it deserves to be among the many products being displayed at the presentation. The Pico is only the size of a candy bar and it features 9 ANSI lumens, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and a 480 x 320 resolution. The Pico uses DLP display technology that was provided by Texas Instruments and is capable of displaying up to a 60 inch display from a distance of only 8.5 feet. Also, the projector comes with an internal battery that can run for about 90 minutes. Some of the other major presenters include Acer and Aiptek, however, the products they will be displaying has not been announced yet.

[via Business Wire]

NEC is proud to announce the release of two new portable projectors, the NP52 and NP62. Both projectors are incredibly similar, featuring XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, a 1600:1 contrast ratio, and DLP display technology. The only difference is that the NP52 has 2600 ANSI lumens, while the NP62 has 3000 ANSI lumens. Both projectors come with your standard RGB, composite, and s-video connections, but they also come with a USB port to connect your flash drives for a “PC-Free” presentation. Most of the design of these two projectors was focused around keeping the cost of ownership down to a minimum. NEC fitted both projectors will long lasting lamp that can run for up to 3500 hours. Also the projectors are programmed to turn off when there is no input signal. This feature helps reduce the energy used and helps save the lamp. Unfortunately, this release is only limited to Europe right now, but the NP62 is also available worldwide.

[via Projector]

After a long and patient wait, Microsoft is finally releasing their Microsoft Surface to the consumer market. The only catch is that it is integrated into a multi-million dollar yacht. At the Miami Yacht and Brokerage Show this month, Lazzara Yachts is showcasing their newest model, the LMC 76. This vessel is fully loaded and comes with its very own Microsoft Surface. At the show, demonstrators were using the Surface to show off the LMC 76 and all its features, similar to the BMW product navigator. Customers could see pictures, detailed specifications, and even video of the vessel. In addition, Guests to the booth could even use the surface to customize the interior of the ship by placing wood tiles onto the surface. The onboard Surface is expected to include a variety of applications like a nautical way finder with GPS, an interactive tour guide, an onboard ship management and controls, and a social networking feature that allows you to share photos and activities with friends and families both on the ship and back on land. The LMC 76 Yacht complete with Surface will be ready for sailing starting in June.

[via Engadget]

Sony has recently announced that they have reached an agreement with RealD to distribute 3D digital cinema systems to exhibitors. Sony has recently developed a new 3D dual lens adapter that will allow their 4K projectors to deliver crisp 3D images to screen up to 55 feet in width. The 3D lens maximizes the projectors’ amazing 4K (4096 x 2160) resolution technology, which allows each eye to see a full 2K (2048 x 1080) resolution. The terms of the agreement gives RealD exclusive rights to purchase the 3D lens adapter to install into exhibitor’s existing Sony projectors, or to install Sony’s projectors with the 3D lens already attached. In addition, RealD will also provide hardware and software, including its Cinema System and 3D EQ “GhostBuster” technology, for 3D playback on Sony 4K digital cinema systems. The 3D EQ technology enhances the separation of the left and right eye images that are needed to create the 3D effect. In the past, this process was incorporated into the master by the studios; RealD’s new approach incorporates the technology into the digital cinema server and therefore simplifies the distribution process without sacrificing the optimal 3D visual experience. “Combining Sony’s phenomenal 4K projector with RealD’s market-leading 3D technology simply made sense,” said Joe Peixoto, president of worldwide cinema at RealD. “With RealD having the world’s largest 3D cinema network, and more and more 3D content hitting theaters, we’re excited to be working with Sony to help exhibitors implement this high-quality 3D experience in an easy and cost-effective way.” The merge of the two technologies is expected to be available in March and will be competitively priced in the marketplace.

[via PR News Wire]

http://www.vimeo.com/3340611

Microvision has made a name for them selves since they have been displaying their SHOW WX projector at all the major conventions. Recently Mobile Industry Review got an up close look at the tinny projector in action. The SHOW projector is only about the size of an iPhone and about half the weight. It uses three colored lasers (one red, green and blue) to scan the image pixel by pixel onto the screen. This new technology is only found right now in the SHOW and guarantees that the image will always stay in focus and allows the projector to project up to a 100 inch display. The Show can even project on curved surfaces and corners with out any problems. Microvision has not yet released this technological marvel yet, but they do expect it to release sometime during the summer this year. They also expect the retail price to be between $400 and $500, with the price expected to eventually fall below $300 depending on popularity.

[via Mobile Industry Review]

How would you like to have the entire galaxy in your control? Well with Microsoft’s new Interactive Omnidirectional Projector, you can come closer than ever. This week at TechFest, Microsoft is demonstrating their newest project, which allows a user to control and manipulate 360 degrees of data displayed on the ceiling and walls with voice and hand gesture commands. The system is designed to be simple and easy to build. The entire system is composed of a projector pointing upwards in the center of the room. Around the lens are IR camera sensors that can detect the hand signs that the user makes. By making hand puppets above the projector’s lens, a user can control the world around him. The most popular program being displayed with the projector is an interactive virtual display of the Galaxy. The user is capable of flying past stars and zoom in on planets or even zoom out to show the entire Milky Way or even zoom out to the Big Bang. Unfortunately, the Omnidirectional Projector is still in development stages, but Microsoft intends to make the system be able to work in a standard room instead requiring a domed room.

[via Reuters]

Vivitek is announcing the release of two new portable projectors, the D825ES and D825EX. Both of these projectors are incredibly similar, featuring DLP display technology, 2600 ANSI lumens, and a 2200:1 contrast ratio. The only difference is that the D825ES features a SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, while the D825EX features a better XGA (1024 x 768) resolution. Both models come with a limited connection panel, including only a RGB, composite, and an s-video connection. These projectors do however come with an extra lamp that can last for up to 4000 hours. Both models make excellent portable projectors because of their small size and they weigh less than 6 lbs. The D825ES and D825EX are both available through Vivitek and retail for $719 and $819, respectively.

[via The Journal]