Refinements Fit Projectors to New Purposes, Enhance Convenienience

摘要

Starting in July, manufacturers rolled out new front projection home projectors as they took aim at the year-end shopping season. By the first week of November, more than 16 new models were announced. And more are on the way. The overriding question, however, will be, "Will home theaters with screens 80 inches and larger become a standard fixture in living rooms?" Sales of projectors during Japan's year-end shopping season are expected to serve as a yardstick for forecasting the future of the large-screen home theater market in Japan. Not only have the number of new models increased but so have the number of units distributed to various sales outlets. That is in sharp contrast to just a few years ago. Of all the projectors announced in 2001, there were only two models distributed to several hundred retailers in time for their release. They were Sony Corp.'s Cineza VPL-HS1 and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.'s Casual Theater TH-AE100.