This week at CES, Casio debuts its Green Slim Projector, equipped with mercury-free laser and LED hybrid lighting that can achieve brightness up to 3,000 lumens. This means it can be used for data projection in well-lit rooms – removing the need to draw the shades or switch off lights.
Up until now, any projector brighter than 2000 lumens has required a high pressure mercury lamp. Casio’s Green Slim Projector does away with the use of mercury, and achieves tremendous brightness and contrast.
Moreover, the light lasts tens of thousands of hours longer than any traditional projector currently on the market. Because it uses the technology of energy-saving light bulbs that don’t emit heat, no cool down time is needed after use.
The Green Slim projector’s light source uses blue light emitted by a blue laser, green light converted from blue laser light using a fluorescent element, and light emitted by a red LED through a DLP chip. The resulting light means a room no longer needs to be darkened for data projection, with Casio stating that the hybrid LED, laser and fluorescent light source improves the purity of color compared to traditional mercury lamps.[adsense]
Maximum brightness is possible in eight seconds, with no cool down required, and an auto-correct function does away with vertical distortion should the projector be nudged. Energy efficiency is big on the agenda with Casio promoting the life of the lightsource to be approximately 20,000 hours – almost ten times that of conventional Casio projectors.
The Green Slim is also smaller than any previous models. It’s 1.7 inches thick and weighs just five pounds. Although pricing and availability are yet to be announced, the Green Slim range will be available in nine variations, with four of the slim 1.7” models set to accommodate WXGA Real Display resolution of 1280×800. Another four of the lightweight 5lbs projectors will have the ability to communicate wirelessly via 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, while several models incorporate PC-free projection through a USB 2.0 host function.
While the Green Slim range is aimed at business presentation use, Casio is planning to further develop the line of products incorporating the hybrid LED and laser light source to include smaller projectors for personal use.
“Casio is thrilled to introduce this entirely new lineup of eco-friendly Super Slim projectors,” said Toshiharu Okimuro, chairman of Casio America. “The advances we have made to provide superior brightness and energy-saving features make it the perfect tool for the road warrior, instructor, gamer and general consumer for home entertainment.” [adsense]
The Casio XJ-A255 will be one of the first Green Slim projectors available. Here are some of the specs:
-High-brightness projection at 3,000 ANSI lumens
-Laser and LED hybrid light source
-2.3kg lightweight body
-Superior color reproducibility
-Quick powering on and off capability
-Wide-angle 2X optical zoom lens
-HDMI terminal
-Wide picture in real display at 1,280 x 800 resolution in 16:10 aspect ratio
-Wireless communication with up to 4 PCs
-USB 2.0 host connectivity
The Casio product is one of many showing at the Consumer Electronics Show that promise to bring gadgets into a new, energy-saving age. According to Solve Climate, many hope that CES will provide “energy-efficient game changers” for consumers. (www.casio.com)
