Every year the Toy Industry Association releases their Toy of the Year. However there is one group that is against toys who are called the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. These people are highly against the fact that advertisers aim most of their products towards their children because the children will remember the ads easier and be able to influence their parents to purchase the products. To help their stance they have been giving out their own award that they call the Toys Oppressive and Destructive to Young Children Award (TOADY). The award is given to toys that promote violence and/or sexuality to children under 12. The award is also based on how much the product pushes branded entertainment at the expense of children’s play. This year out of the five entries one of them is last year’s Jakks Pacific EyeClops mini projector. This tiny LED based projector uses D-cell batteries and can easily travel with kids virtually anywhere. The members of CCFC have put the harmless projector onto the list because they claim that it prevents kids from exercising and playing. Instead they say it distracts them from the activities surrounding them. For example: kids could go camping and use the projector to display a movie onto the walls of the tent when they could be roasting marshmallows on an open fire, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and telling scary stories that will keep them up all night long.

[via The Fast Times]

Researchers at McGill University have developed a way for a floor to track your every step. The system includes several floor tiles that have motion and pressure sensors underneath. The floor tiles are part of an augmented reality system that uses projectors to create a virtual environment. The projectors not only shine onto the walls, but also the floor. by clicking the link below you’ll be able to see video of the tiles being used to simulate a frozen pond. By walking slowly and gingerly over the ice, the user moves across with out causing cracks. When the user is more careless the ice begins to crack and the fish under the ice start to scatter away from your feet. The cracks are not only displayed on the floor, but also can be heard through the room’s audio system. The harder you jump on the ice, the louder and bigger the cracks get.

[via Technology Review]

Projectiondesign is one of the many companies that will be on display at InfoComm this year. And this year the company is looking to display a wide array of their new projectors. Top of the list of products is the F12 series, which are the first digital projectors to come with an external lamp source. This allows the users to mount their projectors onto high ceiling mounts and still be able to change the lamp with out having to scale a latter. Also on display with is the high resolution F35 wqxga projector. This model has an 8000:1 contrast ratio, 6500 ANSI lumens, and a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) resolution. This 4.1 megapixel output is more than double the amount of pixels that is used in other high resolution projectors. Lastly, Projectiondesign plans to display their F82 series. These projectors are designed for medical rooms, classrooms, and boardrooms and can display 10000 ANSI lumens and high resolution images. Anders Løkke, International Marketing & Communications Manager, says, “projectiondesign is again committed to showing innovative and revolutionary products that will be ‘game changers’ for the AV industry. We will demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing products, education and support to our partners, and enable them to plan future investments and develop their business. At InfoComm we will continue to vitalize the entire audio-visual industry.”

[via Projectiondesign]

The World Expo has always been a sight to see. This year Barco has returned to the expo to provide illumination through the entire show. The company plans to use over 250 projectors that will be distributed over 16 pavilions. One of the pavilions that will be highlighted this year is the Belgium pavilion, which will feature fifteen FLM HD20 projectors that will display the interior of a brain cell in order to show Belgium’s rich achievements in science and art. The model features an 1800:1 contrast ratio, 1080p HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and 20000 ANSI lumens, which is bright enough even for outdoors at high noon. “Barco always puts great emphasis on the Expo, establishing a highly professional team to support the construction of the different installations”, JP Tanghe, Senior Vice President of Barco says. “By not only offering great products and techniques, but also the most skilled persons to do the job, we succeed in meeting the extremely demanding requirements for the creative designs.”

[via Barco]

Projectiondesign designs, manufactures and markets a range of high performance projectors for professional, business and consumer applications. Today, the company was proud to announce that they will be one of the major technology sponsors at this year’s FMX/ Expo. The company will not only have a presence at the show, but they will also be providing their Cineo series projectors for the conference rooms and during the 2nd Invazion awards. The awards are designed to recognize the greatest and latest in 3D products and development. Anders Løkke, International Marketing & Communications Manager at projectiondesign said, “Being at fmx/10 demonstrates our commitment in providing our tailor-made display solutions for the fast-changing and specialist fields of digital entertainment including animation, visualization, visual effects, post production, grading, 3D compositing and delivery. We’re looking forward to supporting this event for the second year in a row.”

[via Projectiondesign]

InfoComm is one of the biggest electronic conventions during the summer. Among the many presenters, Casio announced that they will be displaying their new Green Slim projectors. The series includes several eco-friendly models, but the flagship for the series is the XJ-A245U. This projector features 2500 ANSI lumens, an 1800:1 contrast ratio, and WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution. This projector is ideal for classroom or boardroom presentations. It weighs only 5.1 lbs, which allows it to travel easily. The feature that makes the projector eco-friendly is its revolutionary lamp system that combines LED lamps and laser diodes. The combination brings the brightness of the LED and the high contrast and precision of the lasers. The XJ-A245U is already available for just under $1100. It will be on display along with the other Green Slim projectors at booth #C5870.

[via InfoComm International]

DreamVision is proud to announce today several new home theater projectors that will be joining their lineup. The new Starlight series includes three models, Starlight1, Starlight2, and Starlight3. All three models use LCoS display technology and full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. The Starlight1 also comes with 1000 ANSI lumens, while the other two come with 900 ANSI lumens. The major difference though is with the contrast ratios, which measure at 32000:1 (Starlight1), 50000:1 (Starlight2), and 70000:1 (Starlight3). The first model doesn’t come with many added features, but the second and third both come with an adjustable iris, digital keystone adjustment, True Cinema Black, and an expert calibration menu. The Starlight1 and Starlight2 projectors are available now through certified retailers and are priced at $6995 and $9495, respectively. The Starlight3 is sure to come out soon, but the date and price has yet to be announced.

[via Home Toys]

If you are looking for an inexpensive home theater projector then you may be interested in the Optoma HD73. Recently it was discovered that this projector’s retail price has been cut in half from $1300 down to only $565. The HD73 has been around for a while and it features 1300 ANSI lumens, a 6000:1 contrast ratio, and WXGA (1280 x 768) resolution. Maybe the reason why the price dropped was because you can find full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution projectors for under $1000. The HD73 is able to display HD content and even comes with an HDMI port. The other connections include a DVI, component, composite, and an s-video connection. For anyone who likes a simple home theater, there is also a trigger port that allows you to sync one of your automated devices with the on/off of the projector.

[via PC World]

Sanyo is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of LCD and DLP projectors. Today, the company unveiled their latest home theater projector, the PLV-Z4000. This high-performance projector features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, 1200 ANSI lumens, and an impressive 65000:1 contrast ratio. The main feature is that the Z4000 has been fitted with a TopazReal HD system, which helps enhance optical performance, and 3D color management. Sanyo has also included a plentiful connection panel that includes dual HDMI and component connections as well as an s-video, composite, and a VGA connection. “The high performance achieved by our TopazReal technology makes this projector an extraordinary value in today’s home theater projector market,” says Sam Malik, Vice President and General Manager of the Presentation Technologies Group in the Consumer Solutions Division of SANYO North America Corporation. “The PLV-Z4000’s ability to display very high resolution artifact-free images with superb color accuracy, while being easy to install in any home theater environment, make it a great choice from the standpoint of both consumers and installers.” Sanyo is looking to release the PLV-Z4000 sometime in May. It is priced to retail for $2495.

[via Sanyo]

One of the new projectors to come from NEC this year is the NP115. It comes with SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and 2500 ANSI lumens. Today the reviewers from PC Advisor released their experience with the NP115. The first thing they noticed was that the top of the machine had a lot of control buttons. This helps make controlling the projector without the remote just easy and quick. Even though the projector only has SVGA resolution, the writers were impressed that it was able to handle HD (1920 x 1080) resolution with out any problems. One of the problems they discovered was that the 7 watt speaker was not very loud. The best feature for the reviewers was the picture quality. The brightness was able to shine in ambient light conditions and still display a quality image. The final verdict the writers made was, “With good picture quality and easy-to-use top-mounted controls, the NEC NP115 enjoys a wide range of picture-tweaking options and a long bulb life in eco mode. We also like the NEC NP115′s image presets, but it has fewer connections than its rivals, and a tinny speaker. We also found that the NEC NP115′s image lacks detail in dark film scenes.”

[via PC Advisor]