Las Vegas — Sanyo unveiled at Infocomm here Tuesday night what it is calling 4LCD technology, which is said to expand the color reproduction of the display by adding a fourth color control device to conventional 3LCD engines.
The first projector to use the system — model PLC-XP200L (shipping in September at a $9,995 suggested retail) — will be targeted at commercial markets, but the company expects home theater applications to evolve in time.
The projector delivers 1,024 by 768 resolution, 7,000 lumens of brightness and a 2,200:1 contrast ratio.
The additional Color Control Device in the 4LCD optical engine automatically control the amount of yellow light in the image, producing higher luminosity with improved color accuracy and clarity, Sanyo said.
Sanyo said it developed a new high-speed image compensating LSI for the 4LCD engine. The combination of the 4LCD engine and the new LSI, Sany said, allows for up to 20 percent more color space than conventional projectors. With the controlled yellow light, the company’s Advanced Color Correction technology separates each color histogram for naturally rich colors.
The increased brightness of the projector is said answer the demands of systems integrators who install video displays in extremely large venues such as convention halls, conference rooms, auditoriums and houses of worship.
“As brightness levels increase on 3LCD projectors, there is a reverse effect in color reproduction. Colors become noticeably washed out, lacking vibrancy and realism,” Sanyo said in a statement disclosing the 4LCD approach.
The projector features a 4:3 aspect ratio, a NSHA 330W lamp, D-sub 15-pin input/output, DVI-D (HDCP) input, RGBHV , Y,Pb/Cb, Pr/Cr, Composite (BNC), Composite (RCA)/S-Video (mini DIN4)/Y,Pb/Cb,Pr/Cr video inputs, and stereo mini-jack audio inputs and output.
“This is just the first of many projectors we will release featuring our new 4LCD Engine. The increased luminosity and contrast ratio coupled with the dramatically improved color accuracy of this new design is going to revolutionize the capabilities of LCD projector solutions,” stated Mark Holt, Sanyo presentation technologies division VP and general manager.
Sanyo said the projector was designed for minimal maintenance and repair through the use of an Active Maintenance Filter (AMF), which is a single filter cartridge that contains 10 lengths of filtering material plus an airflow sensor to detect when airflow is obstructed by dust. The AMF system automatically advances a clean section of filter when needed.
When the last section of the filter material becomes obstructed an onscreen graphic appears telling the user to change the cartridge. Each filter lasts approximately 10,000 hours with a cartridge lifecycle of about two years (calculation based on 14 hours per day projector use, Sanyo said.
