According to Pacific Media Associates (PMA), the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, the worldwide front projector market grew by 16% in Q2 2011 compared to the same quarter last year.
PMA divides the front projector industry into three brightness ranges, each associated with its own set of buyer types and applications: New Era (under 500 lumens), Mainstream (500 to 4999 lumens), and High-End (5000 or more lumens).
The New Era range showed unprecedented Y/Y growth with a 195% uptick in unit sales vs. Q2 2010. Part of this phenomenal growth can be attributed to an increase in shipments of products with embedded pico projectors--such as camcorders, digital still cameras, and mobile phones. The New Era projector category also gained ground due to strong initial shipments of Wide XGA personal projectors.
In the Mainstream range unit sales dropped by 4% in Q2 2011 compared to Q2 2010. Education Markets remained strong and the number of interactive projectors increased dramatically in Q2, but corporate and home markets were still sluggish due to the world economic situation. "The year/year slowdown in the mainstream market was seen mainly in developed markets, many of which saw buoyant sales during last year's second quarter because of the industry's post-recession inventory correction, sporting events like Euro Football, and strong education technology spending from the US stimulus” said Michael Abramson, VP of Projector Research at Pacific Media Associates. “Despite the weak comparisons, ultra-short-throw projectors, including the emerging interactive models, continued to outperform the overall market, even in developed countries."
Sales of high-end models continued to outperform the overall market as volume rose 26% in the second quarter vs. the comparable quarter last year. D-cinema shipments registered another quarter of 50%+ growth, and the momentum is expected to continue the rest of the year with the announcement of many new financing and deployment agreements. The traditional high-end market for large venues also performed well with double-digit gains continuing in sales of Wide XGA and Wide UXGA models.
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