My TV’s as big as my wall!

It could be due to the high prices of televisions these days or due to the buyer’s luxurious outlook towards home entertainment that projectors are now starting to become an easily accessible option rather than the luxury they once were.

With television shipments and sales expected to fall next year, this seems like the right time for projector manufacturers to step in and let consumers know that they are still around.

Information released by research firm IHS last month reported that this year shipments of flat-panel TVs are expected to decline by 9 per cent to 34.1 million from 37.3 million in 2012, following a 6 per cent loss in 2012 — two straight years of a decline in TV sales.

Speaking to GN Focus about the regional sales, Manish Bakshi, Managing Director of BenQ Middle East and Africa, says that the third quarter of 2013 saw an improvement in BenQ’s projector sales, registering 217 units in the UAE. A notable increase considering its previous sales figures were limited to 40 to 50 units each, in the previous few quarters.

Bakshi agrees that there are numerous misconceptions about projectors and it is due to lack of awareness on the advancements in projector technology that the products are not doing as well as they should.

Contrast ratio matters

“What consumers have to keep in mind when buying a video projector is that resolution does not matter at all. It is the contrast ratio that matters. The contrast ratio has to be more then 10000:1. All our projectors are more than 10000:1, we have a few that are 50000:1 as well. This means that you can use these projector in rooms with a high amount of sunlight without a problem at all,” advises Bakshi.

“There are three types of technology found within projectors today — DLP, LCD and LED. About 90-95 per cent of our projectors are running on DLP and just a few models on the LED technology. Despite LED projectors being more expensive, there are many advantages of using an LED projector including a lamp power life of more than 30,000 hours,” he adds.

Concerning the slight slip in television shipments over the past two years, Rakesh Sapru, Product Manager — Peripherals, Acer Middle East, says that projector vendors have already started targeting the home cinema segment.

Sapru adds that consumers still believe that you need a totally dark and dedicated space to use a projector and worry about maintenance costs, lamp life, connectivity issues and first-time costs. However, the advancements in projector technology have eliminated most, if not all, of the misconceived notions that buyers usually have towards projectors.

“Projector sales in the UAE have seen a 45-50 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter. For 2014, the overall total addressable market for video projectors shows an uptrend and for us, Acer, it will continue to be a key focus segment targeting a double digit year-on-year growth,” says Sapru.

Projector can’t replace TV

When asked if projectors will eventually replace televisions, both the men from Acer and BenQ replied saying it will not.

“They both can coexist and have their own markets and customer acceptance. I will never buy a projector to replace my TV, however if I choose to watch a movie, a cricket match or a big football final once a week, I would use my projector, because they are now far more accessible to the consumer than they have ever been,” says Bakshi.

Sapru adds that it would not happen due to the differences in room sizes and set-up difficulties. Also, the lack of inbuilt audio support might turn off a casual buyer.

Perhaps, projectors will not eradicate televisions for now, but this minor shift in the market marks a change in the home entertainment industry that will probably develop into something bigger over the next few years.

Regardless of what happens, with high-quality professional video projectors starting from Dh1,000 to Dh2,000 and upwards, there has never been a better time than now to start working on the home theatre you have always been dreaming of.