Funai working on touch-sensitive projectors

In a few years, your projector-based home theater could literally be at your fingertips. Funai is working on projector technology that responds to touch: you wave your finger over the image, and the projector senses exactly where you're pointing.

The system uses Nippon Signal's MEMS scanner to detect when an object like a finger is pointing at something in the projection. A sensor tracks the intensity of the light being reflected by the screen, so that when an object gets in the way of the projection and the intensity changes, the projector understands it. As the technology develops, this could lead to motion-based projector controls, letting users wave their hands over the screen and navigate menus, change settings, and otherwise interface with the system as if they had a mouse or a remote.

Nikon's S1000pj camera-projector now shipping

If you have $430 in your pocket, you can order your new Nikon S1000pj right now and expect it as fast as retailers can ship it. According to Engadget, Nikon's camera-plus-projector is now shipping from various online retailers like Ritz and Beach Camera.

The 12-megapixel point-and-shoot camera is the first to feature a built-in digital projector. Its humble VGA imager and 10-lumens lamp won't let it replace any decent home theater projector (or even most pico-projectors on the market), but it does let users share their photos and videos with friends without handing off their camera, uploading their media, or otherwise dealing with things like "letting go of their new gadget."

JVC unveils a half-dozen new projectors

JVC has announced six new projectors at CEDIA, each one sporting a 120Hz refresh rate and 4 of them THX-certified. The new models are the DLA-HD550, DLA-HD950, DLA-HD950, DLA-RS15, DLA-RS25, and DLA-RS35. The HD-series are focused on the consumer market, while the RS series will be marketed by JVC's professional electronics group.

The HD550 and RS15 are the lower-end models, sporting 30,000:1 and 32,000:1 contrast ratios respectively. They use a 0.7-inch D-ILA imager and a motorized lens with +/-80-percent vertical and +/-34-percent horizontal shift, and feature a Silicon Optix HQV Reon-VX video processor.

Sonypalooza, Pt. 3: New projectors!

Among its other new products at CEDIA, Sony has unveiled a pair of new home theater projectors: the VPL-VW85 and VPL-HW15.

The VPL-VW85 is a new high-end home theater projector, a home installer-friendly model with a 120,000:1 contrast ratio, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 1.6x zoom lens with motorized horizontal and vertical adjustment. At $8,000 it's not exactly an impulse buy, but its flexibility for installations and included access to CEDIA-certified tech support sweetens the deal.

Epson unveils new 1080p cinema projectors

Epson has announced a quartet of new 1080p projectors for home theaters. All four models features 3-chip DLP imagers and dual HDMI 1.3a inputs.

The $1,599 Home Cinema 8100 is the least expensive of the new projectors, and the most modest, pumping out up to 1,800 lumens and sporting a 36,000:1 contrast ratio. At $2,299, the Home Cinema 9100 offers similar contrast and light statistics, but includes ISF calibration and color isolation for tweak-happy custom installers. Both projectors will be available in October.

The Home Cinema 8500 UB is the next step up in Epson's newest projectors. While it only outputs up to 1,600 lumens, it sports a contrast ratio of 200,000:1 and features a Silicon Optix HQV Reon-VX image processor. The Home Cinema 9500 UB sits at the top of the list, sporting all of the features of the 8500 UB, plus ISF calibration and color isolation, and a "vertical stretch" picture mode for use with an optional anamorphic lens, for displaying 1:2.35 and 1:2.40 movies without distortion. The two projectors will respectively retail for approximately $3,000 and $4,000. Both projectors will be available in November.

— Will Greenwald

Nikon's new point-and-shoot has a projector

Cameras have steadily become more and more integrated into home entertainment over the last few years. With big screens video support, often in high-def, and television outputs, it's become easy for point-and-shoot camera users to share their photos and videos. Nikon has gone a step further with the Coolpix S1000pj, a digital camera with its own built-in picoprojector.

Besides its relatively standard 2.7-inch LCD screen, the 12-megapixel S1000pj features a small projector that can display photos and videos on surfaces up to 40 inches across. At a scant 10 lumens and 640 x 480 resolution, the projector won't be showing any blockbuster films to crowded home theaters, but it still could be a handy little device for sharing vacation photos and family videos. This might be the first example of a picoprojector finding traction in the consumer marketplace. The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj ships in September, with a retail price of $430.

— Will Greenwald

SI's Reference Motorized screens are on the way

Screen Innovations has announced that its Reference Motorized projector screens are now shipping.

Like the name implies, SI took its Reference series of fixed screens and put it on a low voltage motor drive. Instead of feeding power directly to the motor, all it needs is 16-gauge, 2-conductor wire running from the gear closet/rack. It has a flush mount chassis, so it can be installed in-ceiling or on-ceiling with less bulk than other motorized screen systems.

The Reference line is SI's high-end series, boasting broad variety of choices for custom installation, including multiple sizes, shapes, and treatments. The Reference Motorized screens are available in Lunar HD .85 gray flat or weave, Gamma HD 1.1 white flat or wave, or Solar HD 1.3 white colors, and can be ordered in 4:3, 16:9/16:10, and 2.35:1/2.40:1 aspect ratios from 77 inches to 160 inches.

Because the screens are customized and have so many choices, SI hasn't released a specific price list. However, it can be expected that whatever size and shape the screen you want, it will probably fall under the category of Not Cheap.

— Will Greenwald

Samsung presents a plethora of projectors

Samsung has unveiled an entire collection of new digital projectors, ranging from portable, low-power models to high-end 1080p home theater models. The Samsung P (Portable), L (LCD), D (Data), and A (A/V) series offer a broad range of projectors, but for S&V readers the A series is the money series.

The A series focuses on home theater use, and includes the A400, A800, and A900 models. While Samsung hasn't released specifics about the A400 yet, it has announced that the A800 and A900 will be known as the "Joe Kane Signature Series," named after industry figure Joe Kane, and will feature a DLP optical engine that can produce 1080p video.

Samsung has not yet announced pricing or availability of the new A/V projectors.

— Will Greenwald

InFocus sold to holding company for $39 million

InFocus, one of the big names in digital projectors, has announced that it will be acquired by the Image Holdings Corporation. IHC will buy all outstanding shares at $0.95 per share, totaling around $39 million.

Both InFocus' president Bob O'Malley and IHC's head (and co-founder of PC company eMachines) John Hui are optimistic about the merger, saying that it will improve InFocus' status and brand in the market, and present value to investors.

— Will Greenwald

[Trading Markets via EngadgetHD]

Laser Projectors Hit Digital Cinema

Lasers have left science fiction movies and just gone to the movies. The Chinese Academy of Science has developed a projector with lasers as the key ingredient. Unlike plasma TVs that display about 50% of the color range visible to the human eye, or Xenon-based 35mm film projectors that display 60% of the color range, this laser digital cinema projector displays 80% of the color range visible to humans.

Previous attempts at using lasers were limited by a "speckling" in the image. But, by using DLP technology and three separate lasers for red, green and blue, the lasers cancel out the speckles created by the other colors.

Keep reading for more advantages to this new development.