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…

The InFocus people have been especially great. I wandered into their booth a little shagged out from all the running around and I was immediately standing amid their people, all of whom were ready to answer my questions. The really nifty thing about what they have now is that with USB connectivity between their projectors and a laptop, you can send the external monitor signal to the projector without having all of the usual VGA cable problems; bent pins and so forth. That would really be a great thing for me on my university campus where I have to replace at least half a dozen busted VGA cables a week amid 88 classrooms. They’re also planning to get with me on possible firmware upgrades to deal with the problems that occur with projectors of all makes and models shutting down in response to short electrical transients. That’s what I call service!!

Among all the big screens at Samsung‘s booth was one eye-catching display that involved rear projection. A tiny projector (and I mean tiny – look at the picture in which I compare it to a standard Bic pen) was shooting imagery onto a translucent 3M Vikuiti Screen mounted on glass.

This is the new P400, a single DLP model that employs an LED light as a lamp, offers about 150 lumens. The P400 creates an image up to about 40in. Samsung’s shown tiny LED-driven models before, but the last model only squeezed about 50 lumens out of its lamp. This new model, which ships this summer, should find many homes in cutting-edge retail environments. It goes for about $800.

Panasonic‘s 103in. plasma screens are displayed in all their glory at the company’s booth (C2401) as those big, bad boys continue to proliferate into the digital signage realm. We covered one of their earliest applications a while back at a California casino, and now company officials are offering up several case studies involving those screens. It’s all part of moving them into what Panasonic calls “high impact spaces” for digital signage–using giant displays in digital signage situations that consumers can’t possibly be used to from their home or business interactions with flat-panel displays. They told me about the first ones going into public mall spaces recently–one in New York (The Westchester Mall in White Plains) and one in New Jersey (the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City), and promise more are on the way. more…

PLUS Vision Corporation of America, a premier provider of leading-edge digital projectors and electronic copyboards, announced the launch of its new PS200 and PV100 series of projectors to be highlighted at InfoComm 2008 this week in Las Vegas. Both TAXAN series feature Texas Instruments’ new DLP BrilliantColor technology, which provides unprecedented lifelike color reproduction and vibrant images. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Sony always offers a bracing start to InfoComm with its annual 8 a.m. press conference on the first day of the show. This year the focus was projectors, digital signage, and new installations of the company’s super-high-end SXRD 4K and 2K projectors.

Sony is introducing 10 new projector models here at the show, including four in its VPL-E compact series. Designed for classrooms and conference rooms, these range from 2000-2500 lumens and shoot an 80in. image typically from about 7.5ft. There’s a new widescreen model, a first for Sony in a compact. more…

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America’s Presentation Products Division, known for its award-winning, high-quality presentation and display products, has introduced its newest wireless projector, the XD530U. This XGA resolution (1024 x 768 pixels) projector is perfect for on-the-go presenters such as salespeople and teachers. For rooms with high ambient light, the XD530U blasts 3000 lumens of brightness. A center-lens design provides easy symmetrical set-up, and its instant shut-down feature makes this new projector easy to use in all types of environments. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room