Hewlett-Packard is entering the portable digital projector market arena with two “light and bright” products: the HP Digital Projectors xb31 and sb21, both targeted to mobile users and both due next week. They’re compatible with XGA, SVGA, VGA and Macintosh video signals from one DVI input terminal.
In announcing the products, Vyomesh Joshi, president of HP Imaging and Printing Systems, claimed that the HP Digital Projector xb31 offers the industry’s leading brightness in the three-pound class at 1,500 lumens. The HP Digital Projector sb21 is the lightest projector in the 1,000 lumens class, weighing only 2.2 pounds, he added.
Both projectors based on Texas Instrument’s Digital Light Processing technology, feature 1,800:1 contrast ratio, automatic image synchronization; shared connectivity cables; a wireless remote control featuring complete projector functionality, additional user-friendly keys and a laser pointer. Both devices have full multimedia capabilities, including support for PAL, NTSC and SECAM video formats, including HDTV (up to 1080i) compatibility. They have either 1024 x 768 XGA or 800 x 600 SVGA resolution, depending on the model.
The estimated street prices are US$3,699 for the xb31 and $2,499 for the sb21. For details, go to the product Web site.