Projector

The popularity of 3-D cinema is skyrocketing and 3-D-capable TV sets are heading for our living rooms, but almost every 3-D ready technology still requires that you don a set of special glasses. Microsoft has developed lens which could help change all that. With the ability to keep track of the position of viewers and send separate images directly to each eye, the new prototype display eliminates the need for 3-D glasses. Read More

One of the most frustrating aspects of giving presentations is finding the perfect spot for the projector. Too close to the screen and the image is too small to be of any use, too far away and some unwelcome shadow puppetry may creep in. Sanyo has announced the forthcoming availability of the world's shortest focus projector, the PDG-DWL2500J, which may help overcome such issues. Placing it less than an inch away from the screen, wall or blackboard results in a comfortably viewable 80 inch projected image. The unit happens to be 3D ready too. Read More

A chance meeting at 35,000ft some three years ago between a movie studio executive and a Polaroid eyewear product development manager has resulted in the first Designer 3D collection of frames that are RealD approved and certified (RealD technology is used in most 3D applications). During an international flight, Rhett Adam from Look 3D Eyewear was given a “heads-up” by a studio exec about the impending 3D onslaught and quickly identified a new market. By the time he’d landed in his native Australia, the then 35-year-old had put in place plans to quit his job and embark on a new adventure. From those humble beginnings, Look 3D Eyewear was born and the company now has four series of passive 3D viewing glasses that come in a huge variety of styles. Say goodbye to looking like a nerd while viewing 3D content. Read More

Just the other day we brought you the story of SUNLIGHT, an art project featuring a giant solar-powered projection of the sun. It was designed and is being installed by Brooklyn artist Adam Frank. Upon looking over Mr Frank’s website we found an interesting little projector-type thingy-ma-jig that you can set up right in your own home. It’s called REVEAL, and it simulates the sun-cast shadows of a window frame and swaying tree branches on your inside walls. Just the thing for that dingy basement office. Read More

Sony has announced the development of a highly efficient RGB laser light source module that, thanks to its high scalability, is suitable for use with projectors of all sizes and promises outstanding performance as well as power efficiency. The module incorporates high-power lasers with a combined output power of 21W in a single, small package. Read More

Over the years, we’ve profiled some pretty fancy video projectors here on Gizmag, but this one ... well, it ain’t one of them. But that's the point. The Ultraprojector has no sound, no menu or controls, and a screen resolution of just 320x240 pixels. On the plus side, though, it doesn’t need to be hooked up to a video source when projecting, it runs silently, it’s weather-resistant (not waterproof) and it’s cheap...ish. Read More

Board games aren’t necessarily bound to become obsolete - at least, not if researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada have anything to say about it. They will change, however. Queen’s Human Media Lab (HML) recently unveiled a prototype board game that uses traditional flat cardboard tiles (i.e: cards), but the images on those tiles are projected onto them by an overlooking digital projector. The images stay on the tiles as they’re moved around by the players, courtesy of an overlooking camera that tracks their movements. This means that the tiles could display moving video, that their display could change entirely depending on what’s happening in the game, or that it could be customized by the players. Monopoly night may never be the same. Read More

Today’s projectors are great at bringing to life big screen movies in the home or creating large visual point-of-sale displays for the general public in retail environments. However, a couple of downsides to projectors are the noise the fans inside them make as they cool the lamp, and then there’s the difficulty in changing a blown lamp because of inaccessibility to the unit (which usually means balancing on a ladder with your head pressed against the ceiling. Norwegian projector manufacturer Projectiondesign has created the FR12 Remote Light Source (RLS) projector – launched at Integrated Systems Europe 2010 (Feb 2-4) - which relocates the lamp from the projector to a rack-mount enclosure up to 30m from the projector head. Light from the RLS illuminates the projector head via an innovative Liquid Light Guide (LLG) lead. Read More

If you’ve seen a digitally-projected movie in the theater, then chances are you’ve seen the work of Texas Instruments’ DLP projection system. With a resolution of 1920 x 1080p, DLP’s exceptionally sharp, clear picture has made it a favorite of the film industry. Soon, that same high-end technology will be available on consumer cameras. Read More