Digital Trends

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to spend time with the good folks of Optoma learning about their company and their products. Today, Optoma is a leading manufacturer of award-winning digital display products and home entertainment projectors for consumers, businesses, education, professional audio/video (Pro AV), and C.E.D.I.A. (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) channels. Primarily, it manufactures front video projectors for both the commercial and home entertainment markets utilizing Texas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology. In fact, they have quite an impressive line-up of 720p and 1080p projectors and have just returned from C.E.D.I.A EXPO 2006. Previously, the company had also produced high-quality rear projection DLP HDTVs, but simply couldn't compete with the likes of Sony, Samsung, and others and as a result left that segment of the marketplace.

However, Optoma did not abandon rear projection DLP HDTV all together. They simply made it bigger and better. Someone, somewhere had the idea to take one of their 65-inch rear pro sets and put them in a wall for the built-in look. The idea for their proprietary BigVizion was born, and it's now available in three identical model sizes. BigVizion is available in 80-inch, 90-inch, and 100-inch in-wall sizes. I had a chance to spend time with the 100-inch model, and, at $30,000, it's worth every penny.

Granted, a 100-inch TV is not for everybody. BigVizion was created for that person who truly wants “the Big Picture." Now, you ask, who would buy it? First of all, probably anyone who is thinking about Panasonic's new 103-inch Plasma HDTV, since that display costs $70,000. It could also be the person who is planning on spending tens of thousands of dollars on a state-of-the-art front video projector from a larger and possibly more recognizable company. However, front video projectors, while capable of producing some awe-inspiring images, can only be viewed in a darkened room and also require a scaler and screen (both of which can add several more thousands of dollars to the package).

BigVizion, on the other hand, is a complete system and can be viewed in all lighting situations. And, unlike either the plasma or front video projection high-definition displays, BigVizion is upgradeable. Yes, that's right. It's upgradeable. So, as the technology changes or chipsets are improved, it's a simple matter to replace them, from chips in the scaler to new chips from Texas Instruments (TI). Upgrading chipsets will be a lot less costly than replacing components or display systems. This makes the BigVizion unique in its own right.