Dubai: Increasing demand for premium home entertainment featuring 3D technology — as well as a more sustained one for commercial display solutions — is putting the region's projector sales in sharper focus. So much so, it is averaging 25 to 30 per cent growth in recent quarters.

Of late, the consumer category is closing in on the traditional advantage the region's commercial sector — especially education — has had in unit sales. Currently, institutions make up 60 per cent of the demand for projectors, with the educational sector alone accounting for more than 30 per cent of it.

"3D is a feature — a needed one; no new units should be designed without it," said Manish Bakshi, the Middle East and Africa general manager at the Taiwanese company BenQ, which with 15 per cent has the second highest market share in the category after Epson.

Buyers will soon be looking for built-in 3D, interactive features and 2000-2500 lumens projection. Not by coincidence, more projector manufacturers are starting to cater to this side of the market as well.

Another category expected to gain ground relates to LED units incorporating HDMI technology. They are handy and come with small lumens compared to other technologies.

As home entertainment advances grow, one of the choices consumers will be faced with is opting between a LED TV or a wide-screen projector. Does one go the whole hog with a wide-screen projector or settle for an optimally large LED TV?

"There are benefits and pitfalls to both; but one thing is for sure, the technology you choose to view your favourite TV shows or movies must be the absolute best that you can afford," said Bakshi.

While a high-end 55-inch LED TV sells around Dh9,000, the owner is still limited to the 55-inch screen. To create anything bigger would add to the bills, not to mention what he would still pay for going to the movies.

In sharp contrast, a home entertainment projector delivering picture quality comparable to a high-end LED TV ranges from Dh5,000 to Dh14,700 and gives the viewer the leeway of a 90-inch screen, said Bakshi.

"That's the value of investing in a home cinema projector, with the ability to project high-definition content on to a surface of anywhere up to 90 inches."

According to research by Future Source Consulting, projector demand in the second quarter could be 109,387 units, nearly double from the 56,803 units during the same period last year. For the full year, 449,531 projector units would end up getting sold from the 345,793 units last year. Prices range from $450 (Dh1,650) to $4,000.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest regional market followed by the UAE and Kuwait. But in the UAE, around 80 per cent of the shipments end up as re-exports.

Global shipments, meanwhile, could grow by 24 per cent to 10.5 million units this year, according to Pacific Media Associates said. By 2015, this could reach 39.7 million units.

Salient features

  • Usually a two-metre distance is needed between the screen and projector. With the latest tech advances, the ShortThrow projectors have a 0.9 throw ratio lens that allows a 60-inch image to be projected from less than two metres from the screen. The UltraShort throw has a 0.3 throw ratio.
  • Another big draw for the projector's future is PointDraw, which enables a host of multimedia capabilities that lets teachers and students utilise an interactive pen to point, draw, and doodle on any projected surface without a whiteboard. One needs an infrared pen synchronised with the projector. Whatever is written on the screen gets saved on to the PC even if at a two-metre distance.
  • As the market matures further, pocket-sized pico projectors are likely to become standard accessories in cell phones or laptops, as has been the case of built-in cameras. Once sleek phones with built-in projectors hit the market, most likely from late 2011 onwards, unit shipments could be in for a significant demand spike.
  • In home projectors, the contrast ratio has gone up to 60,000:1 — the same as a standard TV set. — N.K.C.