Technology update Commercial potential


With the potential for su- per-high brightness, colour consistency, long product life- cycles and lower TCO, Kaiser is far from alone in his belief that laser projection is the fu- ture. For the average end-us-


laser lightsource can maintain this consistency over as many as 50,000 hours.


The universal appeal for con- sistent colour and low mainte- nance has persuaded custom- ers to adopt laser in markets where lower downtime and


Quantifying the saving with laser phosphor


Gerd Kaiser, Product Line Manager – Large Venue Pro- jectors at NEC Display Solu- tions Europe GmbH has cal- culated the relative costs over the lifetime of comparable lamp and laser phosphor pro- jectors:


The D13WHU-HS is Christie’s new flagship laser phosphor projector. This is described as Christie’s most versatile projector, designed to serve both rental and fixed markets by combining super-bright 1DLP technology with huge functionality.


er, it’s not just the potential for extreme brightness that appeals - it is also the consis- tency of colour and output. A


Review: Vivitek DU8090Z laser projector


20,000 hours of operational time; 8000 ANSI lumens; built- in edge-blending, warping and portrait mode projection; 3D compatibility and a wide range of interchangeable optical lens- es – and best of all, no replace- ment lamps. Is it worth the Euros 11K asking price? We think so.


If you are in the market for a large meeting room / lecture theatre projector, you are very definitely in a buyer’s market right now. The Infocomm show floor was awash with new laser phosphor models in the 8000 / 9000 lumen class, which the lampers are trying to counter with replacement lamp warran- ty offers to even up the total cost of ownership equation. Vivitek’s DU8090Z laser projector is described as the manufacturer’s first to use la- ser phosphor illumination (al- though we are just trying to recall the nature of technolo- gy providing the very first SSI product we encountered from Vivitek. It was the size of a caravan but with the light out- put close to that of a Maglite torch).


Early experiments notwith- standing, the Vivitek DU8090Z has none of that ‘still to be sorted’ feel that typified some of the models on show at last year’s ISE. Vivitek is a manu- facturer of increasingly sophis- ticated products that must now be considered along with the best in class. Prices, of course, reflect this


and the sums on laser phosphor v mercury lamp still require us- ers and resellers to make some assumptions about the future.


Head scratching


So let’s start at the beginning. Where the requirement is a pro- jector for large venue projector with power, flexibility and a du- rability, both laser phosphor and mercury lamp solutions could do a more than respectable job. The eventual selection will often come down to installation specific fac- tors, such as how often will the installer need to climb a ladder or rack up downtime for routine maintenance?


In other words,


it’s about more than adding the cost of the appropriate number of replacement lamps to the initial purchase price of the projector. The DU8090Z offers 20,000 hours of operational time (NB manufacturers. please stop de- scribing


the operational life


of a laser phosphor device as ‘amazing’ or ‘outstanding’ – the 20,000-hour figure is quoted by everyone. You’d have to have been living in a cave for the last two years not to know it.) When


DU8090Z was first


shown at ISE2016, there seemed to be a number of very similar (identical) models on the show floor. Nonetheless Vivitek, as the market-facing brand of parent Delta Electronics, is giving the DU8090Z a fair old push. We tested our review sample with a 2.8 metre screen in a room that was the largest available to us on the day, but which was still not really big enough to make full use of the projector’s 8000 ANSI Lu- mens of brightness.


Options


Fortunately, Vivitek has the fore- sight to supply us with the stan-


dard lens option which enabled us to achieve a good fit on the screen. The native WUXGA res- olution of this model leaves no doubt as to its intended use, but to be as comprehensive as time allowed, and being aware of the varied use that this type of projec- tor gets in education, we tried a range PC and video sources. Vivitek claims “strong colour ac- curacy” as one of the DU8090Z’s virtues and, with relatively little experience of testing laser phos- phor models, we were surprised at the ease with which we were able to colour match our ‘cor- porate identity' samples. This is obviously ‘a must’ for guardians of the corporate style guide, and strangely grating when you see familiar content projected on a mercury lamp model overdue for a replacement.


Aside from the standard lens, the Vivitek DU8090Z has a wide range of interchangeable lens op- tions to ease positioning and in- stallation, along with motorised focus and zoom. In addition, horizontal and vertical lens shift are provided for greater installation flexibility. Ten pre- defined lens positions which are registered in the Lens Po- sition Memory (LPM), although being limited to one room, one screen and one position we didn’t have the opportunity (or need) to test this feature.


Advanced functions


As part of our review process, we looked at typical appli- cations for the projector and we had to agree with Vivitek’s statement that this model is perfect for installations where the maintenance should be limited, like conference halls, auditoriums, theatres and all other large venue with difficult accessibility to locations where


the projector is installed. Not only is there no requirement to fit replacement lamps, an air- tight sealed optical engine re- duces the routine maintenance overhead.


But that is only part of the DU8090Z story. With built-in edge-blending, warping and portrait mode projection, the Vivitek DU8090Z is


capable


of much more. For the subjec- tive part of the review (always difficult this one), did we like what we got out if it? For those who might think that laser lightsource equals cold, sterile images favouring the blue side of the spectrum, nothing could be further from the truth. The 10,000:1 contrast ratio gave us good blacks and shadow


Vivitek DU8090Z Key features / specifications • Native WUXGA resolution


• 8,000 ANSI lumens of brightness with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio


• DLP and BrilliantColor


• No lamp maintenance thanks to the laser phosphor engine • Operational life up to 20,000 hours


• Flexible 360° operation and portrait mode projection • Wide range of interchangeable lenses as options • Built-in hardware edge blending and warping functionality • Powered zoom, focus and lens shift (horizontal/vertical) Great Connectivity • Full suite of display connectivity inputs and outputs in- cluding: HDMI v1.4a, DVI-D, Component (5 BNC) , VGA-In, 3G-SDI-In/Out, VGA-Out, HDBaseT


• HDBaseT interface with support for distribution of digital HD video content over standard CAT5e/6 LAN cable • 3D compatibility with DLP Link and HDMI 1.4 technology support (Blu-ray, side by side, frame packing, top and bottom) for dazzling and realistic life-like images


• Lens Positioning Memory (LPM) for quick recall of user de- fined lens positions (focus, zoom and lens shift) • Monitoring and control with Crestron RoomView •Network ready for integration and system administration via RJ45


detail. Courtesy of TI’s DLP and BrilliantColor, convincing flesh tones were easily achiev- able, colours in nature were rich and attractive while data screens, were pinpoint accu- rate and sharp.


Overall, this is a good pro- jector. With the advantage of being a lampless good pro- jector with five-year warran- ty (3 years on the laser light source or 10,000 hours of use - whichever comes first) your customers might well feel that the list price of Euro 10,990 ex VAT is justifiable


operating costs justify the cur- rent premium over lamp-based models. We anticipate an in- creasing rapid rate of adoption.


“Consideration of the To- tal Cost of Ownership (TCO) (or operational costs) brings huge potential for savings. A comparison between two comparable projectors (NEC’s laser-based PX803UL and lamp-based PX750U) demon- strates this very clearly: over a period of 20,000 hours, op- erational cost savings of more than 13,000€ is possible. These savings come from a lower power consumption, no requirement for replacement lamps or filters and limited maintenance, and in addi- tion, the initial purchasing price of lamp vs. laser based


models is quite similar.”


Apart from the lower TCO, Kai- ser summarises the other bene- fits of laser phosphor projector as follows:


• Virtually maintenance free for min. 20,000h hours, laser light source is less prone to failure meaning a more reliable operation and high operational safety.


• Light generated with SSL systems inherently has a lon- ger and more stable brightness level that decreases at a much slower rate than conventional lamp-based systems meaning its operating life span far ex- ceeds traditional lighting meth- ods.


• NEC’s filter-less design (LCD based


laser projectors still need filters which have to be


cleaned) brings even lower maintenance requirements since the completely sealed optical engine needs no filter cleaning or replacement.


• Laser projection brings max- imum installation flexibility with 360-degree installation in any direction meaning no more limitation to landscape orienta- tion, making it ideal for signage and unusual installations.


• Laser brings perfect image quality with high contrast, white balance and black level, and natural looking colours.


• With flexible brightness ad- justment (20-100%) laser of- fers perfect adaptation to am- bient lighting conditions.”


P14 AV News August 2016


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