Epson is happy to announce today the launch of their new Promethean’s ActivInspire teaching and learning software. The product is available for all past, present, and future customers who purchase one of their BrightLink series projectors. The BrightLink series includes a wide array of interactive projectors. The software provides an easy way to add curriculum software into interactive learning environments. Epson is providing the software now for only $299.

Epson Now Offers Promethean Software to Deliver Complete Interactive Learning Solution for K-12 Classrooms

Promethean ActivInspire Software Now Available for New and Current Epson BrightLink Interactive Projector Customers

May 14, 2013

LONG BEACH, Calif. – May 14, 2013 – Epson, the number-one selling projector brand worldwide1, today announced Promethean’s ActivInspire teaching and learning software is now available for purchase for both new and current customers of Epson’s industry-leading BrightLink® interactive projectors. Educators in the United States and Canada now have an easy way to add curriculum software into interactive learning environments.

“Teachers are continually looking for robust tools and resources to increase student participation and enhance learning in the classroom,” said Heather Litus Johnston, product manager, K-12 Education Projector Marketing, Epson America, Inc. “By offering Promethean’s intuitive software with our popular BrightLink interactive projectors, we are helping to transform classrooms across North America.”

Epson is now selling Promethean ActivInspire with a suggested retail price of $299, either when purchased with an Epson BrightLink interactive projector or for existing BrightLink customers, providing educators more options as they transition to collaborative, interactive classrooms. Both Epson and Promethean will provide their world-class customer support for their respective products, giving educators full confidence and support as they convert classrooms and learning spaces into interactive environments.

“Our partnership with Epson provides educators with quick, easy and integrated platforms and interactive tools to create next generation lessons that engage students,” said Cathy Zier, vice president of strategic alliances, Promethean. “Epson is an important partner and the combination of their projectors with ActivInspire will support collaborative and active learning, allowing teachers to conduct real-time assessments and allow all students to flourish.”

About Promethean ActivInspire

Promethean software provides educators with a flexible and easy-to-use authoring and presentation platform that they can use to design differentiated lessons filled with rich, hands-on activities that captivate students’ attention, and is supported by Promethean Planet, an online community of 1.5 million members. Promethean’s award-winning teaching and learning software ActivInspire is used by millions of educators world-wide, including members of Promethean Planet, an online education community where teachers can share and access instructional content, lessons and supplemental resources for an interactive learning environment. Epson customers will also have access to Promethean ActivOffice, a new innovative software solution that adds a range of interactive features to Microsoft PowerPoint®.

About Epson BrightLink Interactive Projectors

The award-winning Epson BrightLink line of short-throw and ultra short-throw projectors offers an interactive projector and pen combination with advanced connectivity options to project onto any existing whiteboard, wall or other smooth, light-colored, hard surface. BrightLink interactive projectors offer dual pen support and boast built-in annotation technology that allows teachers and students to instantly interact directly with a projected image from a variety of sources beyond the PC, including tablets, document cameras, Blu-ray players, VCRs, and more. This cost-effective BrightLink models deliver a large interactive learning area with variable image sizes from 53 to 116-inches diagonal (WXGA) and includes HDMI connectivity.

About Epson

Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and 3LCD projectors to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to commerce and industry.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 81,000 employees in 97 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, Inc. based in Long Beach, Calif. is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: www.Epson.com.

If you are one of the many who don’t have a Wi-Fi connected projector then you might be interested in this new product from ViewSonic. The WPG-370 Universal Wireless Gateway provides any projector with wireless connectivity to the internet. It comes with a variety of connection options including HDMI, composite, VGA, USB, and a LAN connection as well. “We have eliminated the cables with our WPG-370 while adding multiple operation modes such as media streaming for extended flexibility,” explained Roger Chien, ViewSonic product manager. “As such, this product supports more mobile devices than any other wireless presentation solution, for the effortless sharing of presentations, images and videos.” The WPG-370 is available now and is priced at $209.

[via Projector Point]

Christie is happy to announce today that they will be presenting their new exhibit “My Christie Home” at the Youngjin Demo Center on May 13-16. The show will detail the journey taken to enhance the Big O installation at Expo 2012 Yeosu, Korea. The roadshow was made possible with the help of several Christie DS+10K-M projectors creating a walk through environment that ends at a unique Aquarium Zone where guests are immersed in a digital aquarium. The DS+10K-M features 9300 ANSI lumens, a SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) resolution, and 10000:1 contrast ratio. “Thanks to our professional team and valued partners, Christie is recognized in Korea as a renowned brand not just for the cinema market but a wide range of visual applications. A strong testament is our appointment by the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea organizing committee as one of the contents sponsors. Our participation enhanced our credibility in large-scale installations by supplying close to 250 visual solutions for many pavilions at the Expo site,” said Lin Yu, vice president, Christie Asia Pacific. “To strengthen our commitment to Korea, we’re pleased to organize the event of ‘My Christie Home’ to share our experience of visual application with the local user community.”

[via Christie]

The Optoma HD20 is one of the company’s many home theater projectors. It comes with full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and 1700 ANSI lumens. Today, the writers from SBWire release their review of this model. The writers thought that the projector displayed high-quality images easily. They thought the quality was vibrant and lifelike. They didn’t really list any major problems with the HD20’s performance. But they did highlight the projector’s connection panel. The writer’s said, “For those who want a high-definition and a top quality projector, Optoma HD20 High Definition 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector is the perfect choice. It will bring a whole new experience to anyone’s multimedia perspective, as the 1080p resolution and the rich colors can be adjusted to specific needs, providing a life-like visual experience.”

[via SBWire]

Christie is a global leader in digital solutions. Today, the company was happy to announce that they will be retaining their role at this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. Christie will be providing several of their 2K and 4K DLP Cinema projectors for screening this year’s films. The festival will have 20 digital auditoriums and each one will be equipped with one of Christie’s Solaria series projectors. All of these models can display both 2D and 3D and the brightest model displaying up to 34000 ANSI lumens. The festival is celebrating their 66th year and will run from May 15th – 26th.

[via Christie]

Airflex5D specializes in multi-projector stacking processors. Today, the company unveiled their new Airflex5D-60 stacking system. This product can combine up to three standard projectors and add edge-blending for a seamless display much bigger than a single projector could provide. The company is also offering an optional kit that provides professional theater-grade passive 3D performance. The system alone retails for just under $5000, but with the 3D addition it will cost you just under $6000. Both packages are available now.

[via TWICE]

One of the new 3D projectors from Epson is the EH-TW5910. This device comes with a 20000:1 contrast ratio, 2100 ANSI lumens, and a HD (1920 x 1080). Today, Expert Reviews released a review of this device. The writers first state that this device is the company’s mid-range projector, which means it sits in the middle between high quality and low budget. The projector is a little bulky and the writers recommend mounting it to the ceiling instead of setting it on a coffee table. They didn’t really see any problems with the image quality for both the 2D and the 3D. The writers stated that it provided vibrant colors and amazing contrast. The only real complaint the writers had was that there were no 3D glasses included with the projector. They also thought that while it is a mid-range model, the price tag is still rather high compared to similar projectors. But in the end, the writers stated, “Overall, the Epson EH-TW5910 is an outstanding projector, but our main concern is the price. At just under £900, it’s £100 more expensive than the equally brilliant Optoma HD25 and doesn’t come with a pair of 3D glasses like the HD25 does. This just edges it out of Best Buy territory, but if you’re particularly susceptible to the rainbow effect produced by DLP projectors, then the TW-5910’s 3-LCD technology is the clear choice.”

[via Expert Reviews]

There are a lot of houses that don’t have rooms suitable to be converted into home theaters. That was the case with this home owner who only had a 12 x 29 foot room. The owners wanted something that the entire family could share before the kids ran off to college. The designers had the challenge of turning this long and narrow room into a suitable home theater. One of the obstacles was that the room got a lot of light from the stairs that were right next to the room. To solve this, the designers created a custom made blackout shade that would lower when the theater was in use. The theater was given a 96 inch screen and a ceiling mounted JVC DLA-RS56U projector. This model provides the new UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution, a 90000:1 contrast ratio, and D-ILA display technology.

[via Electronic House]

The NEC M271X projector is one of their latest M series models. It features 2700 ANSI lumens, a XGA (1024 x 768) resolution and a 3000:1 contrast ratio. Recently, the writers from PC Magazine released a review of this device. They start by first noting that the projector comes with a long lamp life of 5000 hrs. This is good to help reduce the cost of ownership. The projector’s low resolution is ideal for traveling purposes, but wouldn’t suffice for a home theater setting. The projector doesn’t support 3D, which can be good if you don’t want that feature. The writers would have liked to see some more brightness from the projector though. They thought that the 2700 lumens weren’t very bright compared to competitive projectors. But in the end, the writers stated, “All told, the NEC NP-M271X offers a potentially attractive balance of portability, data image quality, video image quality, audio quality, and price. Its brightness is a touch lower than typical today, but it’s bright enough for an appropriate size image in a small to medium size conference room or classroom. Although most projectors at this price offer higher brightness, few offer the convenience of a 1.7x zoom or a 10,000-hour maximum lamp life— two features that make the NEC NP-M271X stand out from the crowd and also help make it a potentially attractive choice.”

[via PC Magazine]

One of the downsides to owning a projector is replacing the lamp. This can be a costly expense since most lamps cost a few hundred. But to help their customers out Digital Projection unveiled today the launch of their new Lamp Freedom program. This limited time offer allows owners of the company’s HIGHLite and TITAN series projector to order a replacement lamp for free.  To qualify, clients must purchase and take delivery of HIGHlite and TITAN 3-chip projectors by June 30th. This qualifies them to order one set of replacement lamps, at no cost, in each of years 2 and 3.

[via CEPro]