PRESS RELEASE
May 30, 2002
Terry Shea, Griffin Public Relations
& Marketing
(212) 481-3456
PLUS® ANNOUNCES NEW PIANO HOME THEATER PROJECTOR WITH ENHANCED PERFORMANCE & NEW FEATURES
New Piano Avanti HE-3200 projector uses DLP™ technology and offers HDTV compatibility, zoom lens and progressive signal support.
NEW YORK, May 30, 2002 - The award-winning PLUS® Piano video projector that established a new benchmark for value in home theater projection has been upgraded to now include HDTV compatibility, a zoom lens, and progressive signal support, yet remains one of the most affordable projectors available.
The original PLUS Piano won critical acclaim for its combination of high quality DVD playback and modest cost. The new PLUS Piano Avanti HE-3200 takes that formula a step further by offering significant performance and convenience enhancements in a projector that remains the world's smallest and lightest home theater model and costs just $3,299.
The Piano Avanti HE-3200 uses the Texas Instruments DLP™ Widescreen (480p) Component Set for native 16:9 projection. As with the original Piano HE-3100, the HE-3200 features a built-in Silicon Image progressive scan converter, high contrast ratio of 700:1 and a 4X/six-segment color wheel. To these features PLUS Vision has added 480p, 720p and 1080i inputs for playback of high definition television programming, a 1.2X zoom lens to enhance projector placement flexibility, support for both interlaced and progressive scan signals to deliver the best possible picture from all DVD players and satellite/cable TV sources, and the addition of an RGB-15 input along with component, S-Video, composite and DVI-D inputs.
"We drew upon our pioneering work in DLP technology-based projectors for the business market in developing the original Piano, and were very pleased with the enthusiastic reception it received," said Tom Oishi, PLUS Vision Corp. of America President. "The HE-3100's combination of high performance, affordable price and small size broke new ground in the home theater projector market. We believe we've done that again with the HE-3200 with the addition of key features that deliver substantial benefits, while retaining a price that remains competitive with large-screen direct view TVs."
The PLUS Piano uses DLP™ technology developed by Texas Instruments to deliver the high contrast needed for rich color reproduction and the blackest blacks rather than the gray tones typically found in home video viewing. It also features other innovative electronics and video technologies that contribute to its performance capabilities. In addition, the PLUS Piano's cooling fan is exceptionally quiet - a feature that's especially important if it's to be used on a coffee table rather than permanently installed in a cabinet.
Technical highlights for the Piano Avanti HE-3200 include:
- HDTV compatibility, with inputs for 480p, 720p and 1080i signals,
based on single-chip Digital Light Processing™ technology developed by Texas Instruments, and excellent gradation expression to provide the best-quality images for movie viewing wherever the Piano HE-3100 Home Projector is set up.
- Support for progressive and interlaced signals ,
to extract the best performance from the full range of video sources, including DVD players, satellite receivers and cable TV tuners.
- Short-focus manual zoom lens ,
that makes it easy to place the projector in virtually any size room and project a large image on-screen. For example, at a distance of just 8.3 to 10 feet, the HE-3200 can project an 80-inch image.
- High contrast ratio of 700:1 ,
and excellent gradation expression to provide the best-quality images for movie viewing wherever the Piano Avanti HE-3200 Home Projector is set up.
- Built-in high-performance Silicon Image Sil 504 progressive scan converter.,
A highly integrated, single-chip solution, the Sil 504 features a deinterlacer that ensures high quality, vivid, color-rich images from interlaced DVD outputs, with no additional image-enhancing components required. It also allows 3-2 pull-down detection. Combining this converter with the Piano Avanti HE-3200's special motion compensation feature produces clean, realistic images that are extremely faithful to the original movie.
- Native 16:9 projection - the most popular format among DVD system users -
is provided by use of the DLP™ Widescreen (480p) Component Set developed by Texas Instruments. The DLP™ Widescreen (480p) Component Set features both a native 848 x 480 resolution-mode that permits the Piano Avanti HE-3200 to project 16:9 aspect ratio images with no scaling required, and an 800 x 600 resolution mode that permits the Piano Avanti HE-3200 to project 4:3 aspect ratio images.
- Four-times, six-segment RGB sequential illumination -
illumination is also provided through the use of TI's new DLP™ Widescreen (480p) Component Set, which features support for a 240 Hz color scan rate. By featuring higher-speed (240 Hz) color wheel operation, the new HE-3200 is able to minimize color separation artifacts.
- Superior movie quality -
is made possible by the extremely fast response of the Digital Micromirror Device at the heart of DLP™ technology, which also enables the smooth imaging of constantly fast-moving events such as sports matches.
- Superior fan noise reduction -
to 32 dBA, thanks to the high air throughput of a sirocco fan, ensures distraction-free listening during a movie, especially during intense scenes calling for completely focused attention.
"We very much welcome the announcement of the HE-3200 from PLUS," said Bharath Rajagopalan, Manager of Home Theater and Portable Entertainment Products at Texas Instruments DLP™ Products division. "It showcases our recently-announced DLP Widescreen Component Set, which was designed to help bring the large screen viewing experience to consumers at new levels of affordability. We expect the HE-3200 to enjoy considerable success."
The Piano Avanti HE-3200 home theater projector measures just 9.3 in. wide by 7.8 in. deep by 3.6 in. high and weighs just 4.4 lb., and so can be maneuvered easily to make any location in the home a movie theatre-like viewing experience. In addition, it will be available in a choice of five colors (silver, black, white, red, and yellow).
The original PLUS Piano HE-3100 remains available, and now carries a price of $2,699. The new PLUS Piano Avanti HE-3200, at $3,299, will be available in July. Both projectors can be purchased directly from PLUS at www.PlusHomeTheater.com, or through a network of PLUS partner dealers. A list of partner dealers can be found at the PLUS website.
Headquartered in Allendale, New Jersey, PLUS Vision Corporation of America is an industry-leading manufacturer and marketer of sophisticated, ultra-lightweight, and ultra-portable digital projectors, full featured electronic copyboards, and real-time interactive whiteboards. With an unprecedented level of performance, PLUS communication and information products are designed to provide a high degree of value to today's mobile professionals, including corporate presenters, medical and legal professionals, educators, trainers, military/government professionals, and technical consultants. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of PLUS Vision Corporation of Japan. The PLUS Group has a 50-year-old history and consolidated revenue of $1.5 billion from its presentation, office and communications products.
DLP is a trademark of Texas Instruments.
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