Catching up with digital projection incorporated’s president mike levi
Digital Projection, one of the true innovators of video projection technology in the commercial AV channel and increasing in the home, is headquarted in Manchester UK, where all of its manufacturing and engineering is based. The company, which recently announced its “green” success involving more efficient manufacturing processes and recyclability of its products, also has a U.S. operations office in Atlanta, three China offices,
As with all of its platforms, Digital Projection can build the TITAN projector as a native 720p, SXGA+, 1080p, or WUXGA display. and one Singapore office as well. The company’s U.S. operations president, Mike Levi, recently answered our questions about his company’s on-going Green initiatives as well the future of projection technology, particularly 3D for the home.
How would you describe your biggest technical challenges?
Anticipating the technology and application trends that will be important to our customers two to four years down the road. Whether it’s the newest 3D technology, the next native-resolution standard, increasing lumens, or improving product efficiency, identifying and innovating new technologies is a process that never ends. Out of all the innovations we review, we must select the handful of technologies and development projects that we believe will enable future application trends, then we try to time the roadmap for the new products just as those application trends are emerging.
What are the biggest differences between what you provide to the commercial channel vs. the residential market?
In many ways the core products are similar, but specific model refinements result in commercial and home cinema product lines that are very different. Our product line architecture is based on key platforms—TITAN, LIGHTNING, dVision and iVision. These core platforms are highly adaptable. For example, we can build the TITAN platform as a native 720p, SXGA+, 1080p, or WUXGA display. We can then choose among four different lamp options, optical enhancements which emphasize either brightness or contrast, active 3D capability/ high-frame-rate connectivity, specialized optics (such as anamorphic lenses), and different mechanical configurations to best match a diversity of venues. The end result is a diverse line-up of TITAN models, some with capabilities specifically tuned to meet commercial applications, and others
“The most successful CEDIA dealers we work with are known in their markets as technically competent with integrity and a strong commitment to customer service.” —Mike Levi, President, Digital Projection Inc specifically designed to deliver the premier home cinema experience.
DP recently launched 14 3D projectors, and we have more to be launched. Three-D applications are already robust in the commercial world, but we see tremendous momentum moving 3D entertainment and gaming content into the home. While it may take a year or so before we see much high-quality 3D content available in the home, 3D gaming can be configured today.
Tell me about your company’s Green initiatives, especially as they relate to the “recyclability” of your projectors.
Efficiency has been at the heart of DP’s product development for the past five years. All of our products are best in class with respect to lumen-perwatt performance. DP customers benefit from the most efficient display technology available, consuming less power and generating less heat, which reduces HVAC power consumption. And, it has a lower long-term cost of ownership than other projectors on the market. Rather than follow our competitors, who nearly all use complex tooling to create injection molded plastic cabinets, DP broke from the crowd. All the cabinets for our TITAN and LIGHTNING 3-chip DLP models are constructed from sheet metal, the most rugged and easily recyclable material we could identify. Our customers can be proud that they own the most efficient and most recyclable projector in the world.
What’s next on the product roadmap for DP, particularly for the residential channel?
We have some new active 3D models and new resolution platforms in the works. For the residential channel, we have some important new product announcements (embargoed until CEDIA, of course). I can tell you that one of these announcements concerns some remarkable innovations in illumination technology. When we launch this new technology, our commitment to extraordinary image quality and efficiency will be demonstrated once again.
