[Merged] This can't be for real, could it??? (Apple Projector)
From MacRumors:
Apple Front Projection TV???
You almost have to believe it would be true because how could anyone even think this up?
Apple Front Projection TV???
You almost have to believe it would be true because how could anyone even think this up?
Comments
Some projectors are absolutely stunning.
You have to have a dark room though for optimal picture.
The new DLP based projectors are very nice.
Originally posted by msantti
From MacRumors:
Apple Front Projection TV???
You almost have to believe it would be true because how could anyone even think this up?
Is this all referring to a front projection screen or something more akin to a presentation projector? That and a nice big suburban wall would make a nice way to watch all of your iMovies
Originally posted by segovius
Yeah I'd go with that. Can't see the projector really.
Slightly OT but the comments in that forum are a rather frightening example of the depth of people's (lack of) knowledge about Apple - that one guy going on about proprietary connectors and adaptors....
Ummmm. what on earth is ADC if not a proprietary connector?
I have to use the DVI-->ADC adaptor to use my 17" Apple screen with a Powerbook, or any other type of PC gfx card other than an Apple one.
Originally posted by ipodandimac
what could apple possibly hope to gain by releasing a projector? though this could be the 600-700 dollar mystery product from a while back.
This would be most unusual. High quality projectors are much more expensive.
Introducing the Apple Projector (rumor)
This is the first 'Apple Projector Rumor' ever posted (near as I can remember) and was posted by Alan Gouger (site Admin) over at AVS Forum - AVS is NOT exactly your source for Apple rumors by a long shot... But a cool site none the less.
AVS is AV Sciences and the forums that they run are all about ... AV gear. HDTV, LCD,CRT,DLP Projectors, Audio Gear etc etc etc... The folks who post range from 'arm chair AV folks like myself who want to get really good system that still fits a budget to folks that wouldn't think twice about spending $20k on a video projector (or more).
Anyway...
Alan Gouger is the Admin over at AVS and also sells projectors and such (from budget line to big money systems) and knows the AV BIZ real well.
Alan is also NOT a Mac user...
Okay enough with the history...
Alan posted the following: LINK -
Another big player enters the projector market.
A friend who's in the biz "under NDA" mentioned in a few months
Apple will be announcing a new FP. He said the launch is part of their 20th anniversary and they are launching a new product line and will get aggressive entering the market.
He saw a demonstration of this projector and said it was one of the best hes seen, he was really blown away. He would not go into detail on what technology they were using. He sells a lot of 3 chips so he knows what a good picture looks like.
Not knowing what he saw (it could of been a LCD projector for all I know) its interesting we have another big player about to enter the market.
Along with Epson and others the competition among manufactures is really getting fierce but for the end user this all adds up to more choice and better pricing.
Anyone have any inside info on what they were demonstrating?
Some Defs are in order:
- "FP" (as written above) is short hand for "Front Projector"
- "3 Chips" is short hand for 3 Chip DLP Projectors (WAY EXPENSIVE STUFF)
So, Alan's friend (who is accustom to very good/best quality projectors) was 'really blown away'... So hey if it's true then it sounds like they have a hit on their hands...
Couldn't come at a better time too since the bulb in my old projector just died (a violent death too) and it's gonna run me $450 for a new bulb (not cheap) so maybe an upgrade is in my future!
Funny thing was at first ... it seems as if he attributed the company as Microsoft but then corrected it and said "Hey guys, I made a mistake...the party in question is Apple, Mac. Ive edited my post, sorry for the confusion."
So I told you this was outta WAY left field...
EDIT...
Notice a trend?
iTunes/iCal/Address Book = iPod
iChat = iSight
Keynote = 'New projector'?
Dave
Originally posted by vinney57
Why on Earth would Apple produce a projector? This ain't right
Why on earth would Apple release an mp3-player?
Keynote.
I'm not surprised over this rumor, excited however. I've got at gut feeling this is for real.
Prototype has been made = 100%
It's comming out = 80%
on their 20'th anniversery = why not?
It's not like it's a new technology, they could have had ample time to make this thing cool, easy. I think it's an almost certain.
The real question are the...well if it's true then how... questions. Would they make a projector and then not enable it to work with ALL Mac's ? Hardly. That would be like making an iPod that you couldn't plug any earphones into...
What will all this mean?
The Video pod idear gets a new dimention IF this projector is portable, but still a bit weird. Who would carry around a video pod and stop in the streets and throw their latest homemovie up on the wall of a Dell building???
It would have to be something people could use instead of their TV. Maybe it could wirelessly project your iPhoto's from your Mac? This way Apple would in a BIG way enter the entertainment industry. In a very Big Way indeed.
I've pretty much given up trying to figure out the way Stevens head works, he's too clever
(Projector for sure, but on Saturday?..... we'll see)
"Announcing the new Apple Cinema Projector. Available now. One week before that big sports event next week.... hint, hint."
Just thought of something else... what are a couple of the biggest problems with projectors? Finding a proper flat surface, and getting the projector oriented.
Several years ago I worked on a military flight simulator that projected inside a 24' sphere of reflective material. The pilot sat in a mockpit directly in the middle of the sphere. Quite amazing.
BUT... the projector system had to be hand calibrated for warps in the sphere - they were all custom made, transported, and hand-assembled, and no two were the same, and no single one was perfectly round. So the projector had a real-time map of the sphere interior and it would warp the projected image to counteract surface warping. The image the pilot saw was always crisp and undistorted. The calibration system when I got there was a bear, and took a couple of days of crawling around the outside of this thing on a harness. Well... we whipped up an auto-calibration system. Turn the projector on, it spun around, projecting a known pattern, and had a camera to register the difference from expected. Then the map was auto-generated.
I'm thinking... take a top end DLP projector, add an iSight-level camera, toss in ColorSync, and you have a projector that auto-adjusts for angled or warbled walls, paint, what have you.
Crazy? Sure. Doable? Yeah, right now.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=37044
Originally posted by kim kap sol
Aren't all projectors sucky? I can't even imagine a market for those machines (well only a small market).
Goodness no! It's amazing how projector technology has developed, especially in the last five or so years. Just to compare the three major projection technologies (ignoring DILA and a couple of other less-used methods):
LCDs quite possibly have the worst image of all of the projector types out there -- they suffer from "screen door" (a hatching pattern on the projected image) and very non-black blacks.
DLPs don't have screen door or pale black issues, but they do suffer from the scourge of the "rainbow" effect -- which can be significant enough to cause headaches even after a short view time.
CRT (the old, clunky-looking three-gun 150+ pound boxes) give, by FAR the best image. Absolutely the highest resolution (2500 X 2500 or higher in many cases), and perfect color and black display. The cons, of course, are lower brightness, they're huge and they weigh a ton.
Overall, even in a relatively small room you can get AMAZING results without breaking the bank. If Apple were to release a DLP or DILA projector I can be certain it would be a high-quality unit that offered "just a bit more" (see: iPod) than the more generic competition ... might even convince me to replace my Electrohome Marquee ...
-J
Originally posted by si_flippant
mmmm, duplicate thread? this one was posted a few hours earlier...
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=37044
This is a prime reason why Thread Titles need to be more descriptive. I recommend a Thread Merge.
Originally posted by T'hain Esh Kelch
Why on earth would Apple release an mp3-player?
Keynote.
Oh I see! Silly me. Its going to be a projector that only works with Apple Keynote. There's going to be an iKeynote Store where you can download the millions of fantastic Keynote presentations that middle management drones have slaved over for minutes and its going to give Apple a monopoly in the ultra-competitive downloadable business presentations market that will ensure Apple's relevance to the mass market for years to come.
Give me a break.
Apple Digital Camera
Apple printers
Pippin
iSight
Newton
How many of those really became a succes? And what did Steve swear when he returned?
What can Apple offer to a projector? ADC? "Intuitive and beatiful menues"?
Sorry but this is a no-go