New projectors use less power

By Theo Boshoff for Epson

Johannesburg, 22 Jun 2009

Printer and projector manufacturer Epson introduced a series of high-end large venue installation projectors at an event held in Paris last week.

According to the company, the EB-Z8000 series sets new benchmarks for brightness, flexibility and reliability.

Epson says the EB-Z8000WU and the EB-Z8050W projectors will offer businesses better quality projected images in full high definition on bigger screens.

The company's Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array (WUXGA) technology allows images to be projected in environments where lighting conditions are bright and complete darkness isn't an option, says Vincent van Rijn, product manager for Epson Europe.

He adds that the output for the projectors has been increased from 5 000 to 7 000 lumens, setting a new industry standard for brightness.

What makes this release special, says Koichi Kubota, chief executive, visual instruments operations division at Seiko Epson, is while brightness and picture quality have been increased, the projectors use less power, thereby reducing a company's total carbon footprint.

The projectors appear sleek and slim, as they were designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, according to Valery Riffaud-Cangelosi, Epson EMEA projectors senior manager.

Riffaud-Cangelosi says the need for brighter projectors and higher quality images is growing within the educational sector in particular, a key market for Epson. She adds that state-of-the-art installations are in demand as companies see the value these projectors present in terms of quality and lower power consumption.

Although the EB-Z8000 series devices are not light, weighing in at 22kg, they were designed with AV installers in mind, featuring two big handles within the casing design for ease of transport, and the projector does not have to be turned upside for mounting purposes, like other installation projectors on the market, Kubota says.

Mitchly says the EB-Z8000WU will be the first to market in September and the EB-Z8050W will be available in January 2010.