Shifting Consumer Preferences for Projectors in India

Gone are the days when projectors were merely for official use and screening movies at theatre. Now Indians are using projectors at home, office, school for leisure, work, studies, and so-on. These new change in users is giving a new picture to the projectors trend in India.

According to Taiwanese vendor Acer, apart from being used for projecting data, Indian consumers are now using it to project movies, videos and games as well.

Young consumers are more inclined to purchase high-end products like video projectors to have their own movie screening experience in a special home theatre room.

Various research agencies have estimated the projector market in India to grow at around 30%. There are also various emerging segments, which are booming with demand for projectors.
The overall changing picture of projectors usage in India is compelling projector making companies to eye India as a big market.
Echoing the same, Giselle Wu, Director - Worldwide, Business Management & Product Marketing, Acer Inc, told that India’s consumer needs cannot be avoided as it is one of the top seven markets across the globe in the projector segment.

The market leader BenQ, which was rated as the number one player in the Indian projector market with 19.11 per cent market share, is also catering to same trends. Rajeev Singh, Head and General Manager, BenQ India has said that BenQ would continue to focus on home entertainment segment through their living room video projectors while reinforcing leadership position in education though our wide range of short throw & ultra short throw and XGA projectors.

According to leading industry players, the consumers want small internet-connected projectors, which are simple to use and easy to maintain—all this without compromising on the features and performance. The top trends are projectors with 3D and HD capabilities, mobility, light in weight, low maintain ace along with cost effectiveness.

The 3D and HD effect

With increasing popularity of watching sports on a large screen, many consumers have started purchasing projectors specifically for enjoying a game of cricket or football with friends and family.
“With the latest HD and short throw projectors, home entertainment is a fast growing segment,” told Giselle Wu, She also told that 3D projectors are also making this category more attractive due to an increase in 3D gaming and entertainment in India.

Innovation and wireless connectivity

Wu pointed out that the Indian consumers are looking for innovative products that are both cost-effective and efficient. The Acer LumiSense+ enabled K138ST is LED projector equipped with an intelligent ambient light sensor. This allows the projector to optimize image brightness and color saturation based on ambient lighting conditions.

The accumulation of dust over time can cause a projector to not function properly and lose its original brightness. With Acer Dust Shield, projectors can defend against the detrimental effects of dust, allowing them to work better, for longer, and requiring less maintenance. This innovation particularly important for India, which has a diverse environment and dust issues in both major cities and villages.

Wireless projection, which is available via Acer wireless adapter, provides flexibility and features a hidden dongle design to maintain the projector’s neat appearance, explain Wu while discussing about how Acer is aligned with the current consumer trends in India.
Considering the same, Ricoh India recently unveiled India specific models to cater to exiting phase of projectors in India. Ricoh’s new age projector models - TS 100, RX 300 and PJ X 4340 are a new advancement in the projection category which allows bright and rich visuals, further enabling users to operate the device from multiple networks. The three new projectors come with features of wireless and network connectivity.

TS 100 provides eco mode and illuminates crystal clear imaging, RX 300 (entry level short throw projector) weighing less than 2.8 kgs and PJ X 4340, PJ X4241N and PJ WX4241N are short throw projection systems which prevent shadow formation on the board and allow free movement, essentially turning the projection system into a whiteboard.

Easy-to-use and cost effective projectors

While Indian consumers need easy to use technology, they do not want to burn a hole in their pockets. Owing to the same, Canon India also redefined the Indian projector market with the launch of its nine LV and XEED series projectors equipped with advanced technology. The new series will provide image quality to fulfill the diverse needs of customers like better projection of images of precise colors; lower operational costs, ease-of-use and energy efficiency.
“The new Canon projectors are equipped with high quality optics to cater to such needs. We will be reaching out to potential customers across major metros and aim to capture 10% market share by 2017,” said Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India.
Canon has also introduced its proprietary LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology, used in XEED series, which make possible projections that are free of the ‘lattice effect,’ a phenomenon in which a faint grid pattern appears over the projected image.
The Canon projectors are targeted at sectors like large corporate, education, medical and government. The XEED series of projectors can also be leveraged by the simulation industry.

Eco-Friendly models

Since enterprises and as well as consumers are keen on going green, Canon also introduced eco-friendly features, which include an enhanced lamp lighting system and a standby mode consuming only as low as 0.7W (in network off mode) thereby significantly reducing CO2 emissions. These features add to environmental reservation as well as help in reducing running cost.

Education, still the largest picture

With tech-savvy government in the central, classroom education is becoming increasingly interactive. Large immersive displays at affordable price points have made a big impact in Indian education market.

“Currently short throw and ultra short throw projectors have gained tremendous popularity, as have the interactive projectors, especially in the education segment,” added Wu.

According to Wu, the projector market in India has seen a considerable amount of growth with the latest trends. The education vertical and government sector continue to be the largest demand source for projectors, she said.

Acer is looking to specifically target the growing demand of classroom projectors due to increase in smart classroom concept across schools and colleges.

“One of our biggest successes has been our long standing relationship with a state owned electronics enterprise where we have supplied over 3000 units of Acer Projectors in the last 24 months. We also have a successful partnership an education vertical focused leading System Integrator, to whom we have already supplied over 200 Projectors in 2015 alone,” Wu elaborated.
As per the latest PMA reports, Acer’s worldwide projector market share has reached a historic-high of 8.3% in Q4 2014 and 7.9% for 2014, ranking third among all market players.

“We are offering solutions to the customers based on their needs covering everything from PICO, LED, SVGA, XGA, WXGA, 1080p and short throw projectors. These projectors offer quality and brightness along with lower operating costs enabling both businesses and end-users to deliver optimum results at a minimum cost,” said Wu.