I wandered into the screening room at the 3LCD booth yesterday. Happening inside was a presentation by a representative from Lumita, a research, consulting, and product dev firm that focuses on color science. Earlier this year the firm put out a report that proposed a new metric for projectors: color brightness.

The 3LCD consortium has touted this report for obvious reasons: the color wheels of 3LCD projectors do not incorporate a white light section. DLP models do have that section. So though white light certainly pumps up a projector’s ANSI lumens count, it would do nothing to enhance a projector’s “color brightness.” more…

Elite Screens, an innovative company that specializes in affordable high quality projector screens, announced the Kestrel projection screen. It is a premium grade mobile electric floor-rising screen designed for executive presentations, formal functions or residential home theater rooms that require a flexible alternative to fixed wall or ceiling-mounted installations. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

A company known for its imaging prowess, Canon was already making its own glass for AISYS optical systems that are found in its Realis line of LCoS projectors. But now Canon has taken another piece of the imaging puzzle in house: The panels themselves. The results of that move should hit the market soon after the show with two new Realis projectors, the WUX10 and the SX80.

The WUX10 is a WUXGA projector (1920×1200) with the native 16:10 aspect ratios found on most computers. Not only will it project the native resolution of 1080i HD video, but the WUX10 will also the desktops of the highest resolution computer monitors pixel-for-pixel. The projector offers 3200 lumens and a 1.5X powered zoom lens. At around $12,000 MSRP, the WUX10′s the target market is the higher-end corporate boardroom. more…

Gepco (Booth C3419), an industry leader in the manufacturing of professional audio and video cables, is expanding its fiber cable assembly offerings to include Neutrik OpticalCon and Amphenol TAC-4 and TAC-12 cable assemblies. Gepco’s complete line of fiber cable assemblies will be on display at InfoComm 2008, June 18-20. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Sanyo really wanted to impress; somehow the four-piece orchestra didn’t seem to fit though, but it was a nice relaxing touch at the end of the day. After a delayed start and ironically multiple mic checks, the presentation got under way. Company VP Keiichi Yodoshi gave the storied history of the company’s projector timeline; Sanyo released its first projector model in 1989, and last year, the company released its first super-short-throw projector, with many milestone models sprinkled throughout. It really signified how far the company and the technology has come, and just where the company is headed: 8.8 million Sanyo units are projected to be sold in 2010, working from a steady 15 percent yearly increase average of projector market saturation the company has seen. more…

The big news over at Hitachi‘s booth wasn’t just projectors; it’s done that well. This year, the company is taking on more of the interactive whiteboard share, combining both the company’s short-throw projectors and interactive touchscreen technology. more…

Nothing is changing the retail experience like digital signage, but add interactivity, and it’s a whole new ROI playing field. DT Research (N7425) announced the expansion of the WebDT Signage System to include 12in. (DS1200), 42in. (DS4200), and 65in. (DS6500) displays, all with the ability to go interactive.

The DS1200 includes a built-in media player, but it’s the touchscreen option that really zeroes in on what Director of Business Development John Ochoa says is a new trend: combining interactive kiosks-type devices and digital signage players into one unit. more…

Avocent is certainly blowing the wireless technology horn when it comes to possibilities for digital signage. The company introduced Wednesday its Emerge MPX 1500T HD multipoint extender transmitter as its latest offering in this category. Basically, it’s a smaller than ever before wireless transmitter for distributing HD content from one source to multiple destinations.

Avocent executive Matt Nelson told me improvements in such technology in recent months have made wireless a much more attractive option in the signage game, largely because of the speed of deployment of such systems and improvements to Avocent’s web interface and system management software, allowing long-range management. more…