Consumers of front projectors from the US storefronts and direct marketers (web and catalog) are increasingly choosing smaller, sub-500 lumen brightness, "New Era" projectors, according to Pacific Media Associates (PMA).
In the January 2011 issue of PMA's retail projector tracking service, 13% of all units sold through the retail channel for the month were in the New Era category, more than double the figure of only two years ago.
"Because Texas Instruments' DLP technology lends itself particularly well to small projectors, the growth of the overall New Era category has closely tracked with the growth of sub-500 lumen DLP-based projectors," said William Coggshall, president of PMA. "Nearly 8% of the 13% New Era portion sold by retailers during January 2011 incorporated DLP technology, compared with about 1.5% for LCoS technology."
The principal segments within the New Era category today are pico projectors, which are battery-powered models typically weighing 0.5lb. or less, and personal projectors, which are powered by "power bricks" plugged into wall outlets and typically weighing 1.5-2lb.
"Pico projectors get lots more attention today because of their mobility; in fact, the market-leading 50-lumen WVGA-resolution Optoma PK-301 model commands a street price almost as high as the best-selling 2700-lumen SVGA ViewSonic PJD5122. And PMA's research found that the 100-200 lumen SVGA-resolution personal projectors sold for street prices in the range of US$395-590, higher than the US$364-534 range of the larger 2500-2700 lumen SVGA-resolution models," said Coggshall. "Buyers are clearly willing to pay more for more compact models. And with the Optoma PK-301 ranking number six overall in January, manufacturers are now looking much more closely at the New Era category."
Article translated by Yvonne Yu
