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DLP heads down-market.
Panasonic's SXGA-resolution FT-D7600U front DLP projector attracted considerable interest at InfoComm 2002, and for a good reason. It and its companion XGA-resolution PTD7500U are the first installation front projectors to combine three-chip DMD imaging in a chassis that weighs less than 50 pounds (44 pounds without a lens, to be exact).
Until now if you wanted a three-chip design, you'd be looking at systems that weighed 75 pounds or more and used expensive, short-lived xenon arc lamps. That approach might be fine for certain applications like digital cinema but is overkill for the average lecture hall, classroom, or boardroom or even staging and rental jobs.
For that reason-and thanks to the premium that three-chippers add to the MSRP of an installation projector-three-panel LCD projector manufacturers have pretty much had the lower-priced installation market all to themselves for the past seven years. In particular, Sanyo, Eiki, Sony, Sharp, and NEC have been able to place lots of LCD projectors into facilities where the budget for "three
DMDs and a xenon lamp"just didn't exist
But all that has changed. The Panasonic
designs have managed to cut both cost and weight by doing away with the xenon lamp, power supply, and large blower, replacing all of that with a pair of UHM lamps and running a smaller power supply. For extra measure, Panasonic has made nine lenses available in the most desirable focal lengths.
OUT OF THE BOX
Box is a good description of the PT-D7600U. It's almost perfectly square, measuring 17 inches on a side and 8 inches tall. The base weight is 43.6 pounds before you add a lens, making the projector almost half the weight of comparable "small" DLP projectors using xenon lamps. There's not too much to see on this projector, either. It won't win any styling awards with its plain-Jane off-white housing, but there is an easy-to-use keypad on the rear of the projector to local control.
The front lens opening is protected by a rubber bib. To install the lenses, you insert them to match a keyed series of slots and protrusions and then twist into place and lock the lens. A small nylon connector attaches to the lens to enable motorized zoom, focus, and lens shift functions.