projectors

By anders pearson 08 Sep 2003

i’m apparently way ahead of the curve.

TechTV is finally <a href=”http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/products/story/0,24330,3516143,00.html”>catching on</a> about something <a href=”http://thraxil.org/nodes/2449”>i’ve been doing for over 2 years</a> (and my friend Obert has been doing even longer).

mine is a <a href=”http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sony-VPL-CX1_SuperLite.htm”>Sony VPL CX-1</a> that i managed to find (2 years ago) for about $1500. it does full XGA (1024x768) resolution so i also sometimes use it as my computer monitor. i haven’t really looked at projectors since then to see how the technology has improved. my hope is that newer models are quieter and brighter. from my occasional glances in catalogs and online listings, prices really seem to have stayed the same for the last 2 years. i still only very rarely see an XGA projector comparable to mine for under $2000. CRT and LCD monitors have both been getting progressively cheaper but projectors haven’t (i guess that’s good from my perspective since my investment hasn’t depreciated).

i’m <em>really</em> waiting for white LED technology to get to the point where they would be suitable for use as a projector bulb. the bulbs are really the achilles heal of current projector technology. they are extremely hot which necessitates loud fans, and are very expensive to replace when they die (mine is supposed to last about 2000 hours and costs $300 to replace. i’ve had the projector for 2 years and have used about 1000 hours of bulb life.) LEDs produce almost no heat, last forever and use less power. if they could just get them bright enough and down even to the $100 range, i think projectors would suddenly become a more realistic option for a lot more people.

(link via <a href=”http://goatee.net/2003/09#_07su”>goatee</a>)

Tags: technology led projectors