Sanyo's been a relatively large player in the
short-focus / short-throw projector game for awhile now, so frankly, this was inevitable. As everyone (and their third cousin, in fact) races to jump on the
three-dee bandwagon, the aforesaid company has just pumped out its first 3D short-focus PJ. The PDG-DWL2500J doesn't boast the most amazing of specs -- the native resolution sits at just WXGA -- but it
can project a 3D image from a distance as short as 2.4 centimeters. It also touts a maximum projection size of 110 inches, and it can be installed vertically or horizontally depending on your mood. There's also an HDMI socket, Ethernet port, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2,500 lumens of brightness, a single 10-watt speaker and a price tag that'll probably make you spit out your morning coffee. Word on the street has it that this one will launch next month in Japan for ¥450,000, and if that $4,868 conversion follows it stateside, you can bet only a handful will be lined up to drag one home.
posted May 18th 2010 10:41AM
I'm a bit confused, does this thing project holograms?
@GGG
better does it handle porn.
@GGG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throw_(projector)
@GGG
$4800 for 720p
for that price i could get an lcd, plasma or rear projection with huge screen and 1080p
@manofchao5 Right...I think the key is for people who live in places like Tokyo in small apartments with a very small area to put a projector. So I'm assuming this isn't really for anyone who has a normal sized place.
When someone can make a 3D image that is completely opaque and doesn't have a fixed POV then I will upgrade. Till that happens 3D is only a gimmick.
@dicobalt
There were 2 exhibits in Disney World that might be a good compromise to what you are suggesting in the 1980s. I'm talking about 360 degree panoramic 3D. You could face any direction in the room and see 3D video projected around you. The scenery of the whole thing of course moved how it was filmed, so you didn't have a completely free perspective, but much closer than your typical IMAX.
I'm guessing this thing runs at 120 or 240hz and that makes it "3D"? Does it come with any/need any glasses? Details on the 3D tech used here? passive/active glasses, parallax? does it work with normal projection screens?
@theJML Well if it is simply a high refresh rate projector (which would be the cheapest and probably best option), you'll just need active shutter glasses.
@Timmmmmm
The best option would be a dual projector, with different polarizing filters over each lens, like what is used in the theatres, for use with passive polarized glasses. 30Hz passive polarized 3D beats 1000Hz active shutter glasses any day of the week.
@theJML
This cannot be parallax. A parallax filter cannot be projected, it needs to be built into the screen.
@glugglug
Exactly. For this price, you can buy two 1080p projectors and put a polarizing filter over each lens. Put up a silver screen, and then a whole gang of people can watch for the low cost of polarized glasses. I would hope this projector has two lenses and polarizers, but they don't show the front (WTF).
Unfortunately, I've yet to see a 3-D-capable Blu-Ray player with two HDMI outputs, which is dumb. Every 3-D-capable device should have left & right outputs.
How about an affordable NON-3d short-throw projector? It's annoying that we can buy a 3500 lumen 720p projector from Dell for under a thousand bucks, but to get even 2/3 the brightness in short throw costs 3x-4x the price. It's madness.
Actually, I think that price is pretty good, not that I would be in the market for this. But cut that in 1/2 in another 18 months and it starts to look pretty reasonable. I'm in the middle of front projector upgrade for my home theater, and the cost (whether in $$$ or sweat) of installing a projector mount, and running a/v and power cables is worth considering vs. the ease of placing the projector on the floor right in front of the screen/wall
If they got really slick, the would use the power to (HID) pump solid state laser material then use the stunning color quality laser light against a mems controller like (DLP) to create a collimated light output that is focus free for the ultimate in short throw autofocus hue saturation color rendering goodness without all of that muddy funk from the light screening techniques employed hitherto.... they might be smart over their in Japan, but the constraining culture has a major hampering effect on the thinking outside of the box (creative process) critical to real innovation. Patent Thieves that excel at improving on and miniaturizing technology.
does it blend in 3D too?
Do they use these for rear projection screen setups?
If it's polarized 3D, it's really sweet! But I wonder why they won't show it from the front. By the little bump on the back it looks like one lense, but I guess there could be two lamps, prizmas and mirrors and stuff that could do all the polarizing before it goes through the same lense.
2.4 cm focus distance? Cinema for ants?
"the native resolution sits at just WXGA"
Whatever that means.
Use NUMBERS when talking about resolution, Engadget. Seriously, how many times does this have to come up? We left terms like EGA, CGA, CGA+ behind in the early '90s. WTF?
@Information Central: WXGA = 1280x768. But then, I'm sure you could figure that out easily.
@theJML & @palegolas: It's not a dual-lens (polarized) projector.
From http://sanyo.com/news/2010/05/18-1.html ...
*2 The only compatible 3D image signal is the “Frame Sequential” format. The Frame Packing and Side-by-side formats are not supported. Active Shutter format 3D glasses (sold separately) are required in order to view projected images in 3D. (DLP Link and IR formats are compatible.)
@tosvus: *3 For front projectors, as of the sales date, June 13, 2007
I agree that the cheapest, most practical and sensible home 3D layout is (still) two projectors with polarized filters, a silver screen and cheap "passive" polarized glasses for each viewer.
All this Active Shutter 3D stuff is crap. If I'm spending all that money, I expect to be able to seat 20 people in my theater without having to shell out big bucks for flimsy glasses.
@Information Central: We're mostly still using dual 15-pin DSUB (VGA is a resolution, not a connector) cables for 3D projection at work. Fortunately ripping frame sequential footage to dual left/right video streams is relatively simple. Now if only someone on the TorrentWebs/Newsgroups were uploading such ready-made 3D footage. ;)