Epson Adds Pair Of Signage-Focused Ultra-Short Throw Projectors; Inc. CMS Software

Epson has started marketing a pair of ultra short-throw projectors aimed at the digital signage market – using long-lived laser light engines and rolling in content management and creative software.

The PowerLite 800 series projectors can blast a 1080P image as big as 130 inches diagonal from an overhead set-up that looks a bit like a lighting sconce. There is a black one and a white one. I think they are the same, though the pix are a bit different.

It can do up to 5,000 lumens (so decently bright in conditions like retail) and uses lasers that should run for 20,000 hours. The laser aspect is a biggie, and the reason projectors for digital signage are relevant. In the past, projectors were touted but rarely used because they were lamp-based, lasted a fraction of the time as lasers, and were expensive and a pain in the but to replace.

Says Epson:

Ideal for in-store displays, gallery walls, restaurant décor and more, this versatile ultra short-throw digital signage projector easily delivers sharp, colorful images, even in small spaces, and includes comprehensive content management software for customizing displays with unique creative effects.

I believe these things support Miracast, so that you could cast visuals from something like smartphone or tablet to the projector. It also has normal signal inputs like HDMI.

Having a CMS is interesting, and something that seems to be increasingly standard for display and projection manufacturers. It won’t take the place of software from most pure-play CMS companies, but there are many use-cases where that would be overkill, given the need. The software includes remote management and control capabilities.

Epson already markets those nice LightScene projectors that look like track lighting, but the visuals they do are very different from these PowerLites, which are emulate/replicate standard displays.