NEC held its 25th anniversary Technology Showcase in New York City on October 24, showcasing some of its new products in real-world situations by teaming up with partners such as Peerless-AV, Extron, Draper, and Legrand, amongst others. Some of the areas covered in the Showcase included broadcast, retail and restaurants, education, transportation, command and control, and the office of the future. In addition to NEC’s latest direct-view displays and projection technology, it also showed off its new Analytic Learning Platform (ALP), which is designed for retailers.
Highlights included:
Suspended Projection
One of the more striking features of the Showcase, which was filled with eye-catching demonstrations, was the 6-foot x 12-foot screen suspended from the ceiling that I initially though was an LED because of its brightness, but was revealed to be a screen partnered with the also-suspended PH3501QL 3-chip DLP RB laser projector, which features 40,000 center lumens (35,000 ANSI).
Projection Mapping
The impressive projection mapping demonstration that made up the top of the back wall was composed of 12 10,000-lumen PX1004UL single-chip DLP projectors—six for the background and six for the circles in the foreground.
PX1005QL
The new, now-shipping PX1005QL 10,000-lumen, single-chip DLP projector was exhibited in an office video conferencing setting, with the screen showing two 1080p split images. It features eight lens choices, from short-throw to long.
Analytics Platform
The ALP system—designed for retail—uses a camera to determine the age and gender of those passing by to promote items they may be inclined to buy on a digital display (the Showcase demo featured a 65-inch screen). The demo worked as promised, because when I stood in front of it, the content adjusted to promote a man’s anti-wrinkle cream, which is right on, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt…
All of the products on display are shipping, with the exception of ALP, which should be available in January 2019.
