Developed exclusively for Christie MicroTiles, Christie demonstrated its "Touch Environment" solution at IBC to show how interactive multi-touch can be used to bring a new dimension to sports commentary in a broadcast studio set concept. The Interactivity Kit differs from other gesture and touch based systems currently on the market by offering much faster responses times and up to 16 gestures pointing across the canvas at any one time.

The solution combines MicroTiles reconfigurable seamless display technology using true multi-touch 2D and 3D position-sensing developed exclusively for use with Christie MicroTiles by Baanto International.

The user interface developed by Nytric using Action Script 3 and authored in Adobe AIR runtime, is an icon-based touch and gesture controlled interface allows access to many applications or layers of media.

Able to take advantage of the reconfigurable and scalable nature of MicroTiles, the Touch Environment accommodates many different applications and styles for large screen interactivity in both broadcast and corporate applications.

The system showed how a scrollable video tool illustrates football highlights and plays, on demand, as the match is in play. Player and match stats will be displayed on demand, with on-the-fly annotation at any time.

Go Christie, The Interactivity Kit

Last week we ran a news item about a Samsung promotion at Emaar’s Dubai Mall. We’re repeating the photo here because it seems like we were duped by an over-zealous PR action.

True enough that Emaar Retail has signed a contract to run Samsung promotions at the Dubai Mall and broadcast over the large screen over the famous “ice rink in the desert.”

The release read "Bringing a new dimension to outdoor advertising, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink features a giant LED display of Samsung branding…”

“A a giant LED display of Samsung branding .” That apparently is true but only in the sense that in this promotion, Emaar Retail accepted money from Samsung (as part of a larger retail promotion) to throw a Samsung banner over a LED display made by Barco…

Hence the Samsung logo on top of the screen in the photo, as well as the Samsung logo showing on the screen…

Unethical? Definitely a lack of judgment on all sides: the PR company that deliberately added obfuscation, Emaar Retail as their client, and even the regional Samsung office for not recognizing they crossed the line between good promotion and bad taste.

Faux me once, shame on you. Faux me twice, shame on me.

Go Barco displays at the Dubai Mall

For the European Premiere of its live-streaming solution, Tridelity will present at VIRTUAL EFFICIENCY CONGRESS 2011 (VEC) in Germany an autostereoscopic Plug & Play 3-D monitor able to convert 2-D signals in real time. For the first time, says the company, it is possible to display 3-D independently from content; it does not matter if these signals come from TV, Blu-Ray, game console or a computer.

Its autostereoscopic 56” Quad HD Display allows displaying 3-D in four times full HD resolution without glasses. The QHD display receives the volume data with help of the “Tridelity TT-Drivers” which enable the visualization of 3-D content without prior conversion of the data. The driver supports the Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) and therefore most professional applications available on the market.

Go Tridelity

In Dubai at InfoComm MEA, Hitachi hopes to transform collaboration in business meetings with its new Hitachi BZ-1 Ultimate Interactive projector, a quick intuitive solution designed with corporate users in mind.

The BZ-1 incorporates built-in infrared and ultrasonic sensors that, when integrated together with the bundled Hitachi software or a customer’s existing interactive software suite, facilitate full interactive capabilities. By removing the cost of upgrading existing whiteboards, this approach opens up a world of interactivity for large numbers of business and commercial users.

In environments where people use systems relatively infrequently it is critically important that all aspects of operation are easy to learn and repeat, so for example, the BZ-1 features one-click functions for print and email. Users in meetings or any collaborative environment are productive immediately and can instantly capture ideas and detailed outputs. As the projector acts just like any other integrated device such as a mouse, users can carry out the majority of tasks and interact with most software without returning to a PC.

With a feature set specifically for the interactive needs of corporate users, the compact BZ-1, like the other models in the Ultimate range, is intended to be easy to install and easy on the environment.

Go Hitachi BZ-1

Toshiba announces what it says is the first large-screen glasses-free 3DTV at IFA 2011-- the 55ZL2, a 55" set with a 3D effect viewable from a large viewing angle.

The 55Zl2 divides the viewing area into x9 separate regions, using a number of lenses to redirect two different views in different directions per viewer.

However, the set requires setup before viewing-- face-tracking software needs to detect viewer positions before adjusting the picture accordingly.

It handles resolutions of up to 3840x216, boosting 2D content resolutions using Resolution+ technology.

Toshiba also includes Smart-TV functions, such as the cloud-based Toshiba Places platform and Personal-TV applications.

Go Toshiba 55ZL2

Especially for large LCD/plasma displays and large touch screen displays Vogel’s designed the PFFE 7110 motorized height adjustable trolley. It is ideal for use in schools, businesses, office centres and video conferencing. The operation of the PFFE 7110 is extremely quiet and smooth. The touch screen trolley can be used for displays up to 85 inches and 160 kg.

Two internal motors give the PFFE 7110 display trolley a height adjustment range of 50 cm. In de back there is space for a PC, cable socket and cable over length. The wide wheelbase and large casters make it very stable and safe. Add the Connect-it display interface matching your display. The display interface is not included as varies for each display.

Go Vogel’s PFFE 7110 motorized height adjustable trolley

According to Pacific Media Associates (PMA), 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” says 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."

Go DepthQ products

Christie adds the 12,000 lumen Christie LX1200 and the HD 1080p Christie LHD700 projector to its LCD line-up. The successor to the popular Christie LX1000, the Christie LX1200 is suitable for rental staging applications, boardrooms, high education facilities and houses of worship. With XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, the Christie LX1200 fills the market need for a high brightness, low cost projector providing radiant imagery and finer contrast.

Brighter and more advanced than its predecessor, the Christie LX1200 utilises the 4DColor technology that incorporates a fourth (yellow) LCD panel for more vibrant colours. The LX1200 also features a mechanical light shutter to block light when required, inorganic LCD panels for long life expectancy and increased performance levels, and top loading lamps for quick and easy replacement.

“The Christie LX1200 is a high brightness, 2-lamp system at 12,000 lumens that is more compact than other projectors in this lumen category. The LX1200 has one of the broadest ranges of lens options, allowing flexibility of placement in even the most challenging venues,” says Frank Anzures, product manager, Business Products. “And with Christie’s 4DColor technology, customers will experience vivid, dynamic colours that are unavailable with standard LCD panels.”

With optional input slots, the Christie LX1200 also supports additional video signals including HD-SDI, or a network input card for control and asset management.

“Customers and integrators benefit from this feature because it allows them to connect additional input sources without having to buy extra equipment – they can simply add input cards to accept video and data signals; and end users can ensure the projector meets future video and data source equipment needs,” adds Anzures.

The new Christie LHD700 is a 7000 lumen full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution projector using a single lamp and 4DColor technology that is ideal for auditoriums, corporate boardrooms, government, higher education, houses of worship, and fixed and rental staging requiring native HD content, high resolution data and superior brightness.

Its AutoFilter cartridge system monitors airflow for up to 10,000 hours while its extended lamp life minimises downtime. With optional input slots, the Christie LHD700 supports additional video signals including HD-SDI, or a network input card for control and asset management.

“…with Crestron’s RoomView and AMX Device Discovery feature, it is more integrator-friendly, removing the need to program from scratch,” says Anzures.“In this inorganic LCD product class, the Christie LHD700 offers the most portable and brightest 1-lamp projector available.”

Both the Christie LX1200 and Christie LHD700 come with a three-year warranty and ship in the Q4 2011.

Go Christie LX1200 and Christie LHD700