Right this moment, Leica — sure, the digital camera firm — introduced its first ultra-short throw (UST) laser projector on the massive IFA present in Germany, able to producing a 4K picture of as much as 100 inches with Dolby Atmos sound.
This isn’t Leica’s first foray into digital projectors, which it as soon as offered below the Pradovit model. It’s additionally collaborated with different projector makers, together with this obscure UST model from final yr.
The announcement was gentle on particulars, so my colleague Jon Porter chased down an indication of an early Cine 1 prototype on the Leica sales space. Right here’s what we realized from Ross Slavov, head of product administration in Leica’s newly shaped good projection enterprise unit, in regards to the firm’s present desirous about specs, pricing, and supply dates, all of which Slavov cautioned may change forward of launch.
The very first thing to know in regards to the Leica Cine 1 projector is that there are literally two of them in improvement, each utilizing Leica lenses. One can produce about 2500 lumens to mission a 100-inch 4K 60Hz picture at a distance of 30cm (nearly 12 inches) from the show wall, whereas the opposite can produce 2100 lumens to mission an 80-inch picture from a distance of 15cm (nearly six inches). Leica notes that every projector is tuned for every show measurement and doesn’t advocate shifting them nearer or farther from the wall. USTs look finest with ambient gentle rejection (ALR) screens, which Leica can even be glad to promote you for about $1,800 for a giant display or round $1,600 for an 80-inch display.
The 100-inch Cine 1 mannequin is predicted to promote for $7,900, whereas the 80-inch projector will most likely value round $6,900, in accordance with Slavov. Sure, that’s costly for these specs, however that is Leica.
Leica partnered with Hisense for the triple RGB laser gentle engine, which is something of a trend because the originator of the laser TV. It makes use of a DLP chip from Texas Devices. Latency is round 30ms, which is okay for some informal gaming.
As to the ports, the prototype has three HDMI whole (one HDMI 2.1 port with eARC), one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0, a built-in TV tuner, and a Frequent Interface slot. The US model will “most likely” run Android TV. Leica is hoping the projector ships with 4.2 Atmos-certified audio.
Bear in mind, all of that is present considering on the firm and, due to this fact, topic to vary. Leica is concentrating on a Q2 2023 launch for Europe, Q3 for China, and This autumn for the US.
