CI EXPO 2015 Industry Insider Report

This section has all the flat screen TVs shown.

Starting with LG. They showed their new Curved 65″ Curved OLED 4K TV at what I think is an amazing bargain of only $2999. Picture was amazing. I have to admit this is about as small a diagonal I would consider for a curved screen. They did say they also offer it in a Flat screen format, which I prefer, even at the same price.

John Bolin, another old friend of mine was there showing one of the thinnest TVs I have seen: Sony‘s new 55X900C edge lit LED 55″ 4K flat screen TV with their new X1 Chip installed. It retails for $2800. The 2015 BRAVIA range features the 4K Processor X1, delivering stunning clarity, color, and contrast across everything that you watch, and upscaling every source to its best 4K resolution.

Epson was the only projector company showing out in the lit area of the show. They had a screen set up near the entrance in nearly full light and as you can see the image was very clear and bright.

They showed their PowerLite 1985WU, a 1080p projector with 4800 ansi lumens at only $1999. It was surprisingly good for the money.

At the back of the exhibit area were two closed areas with multiple projectors set up in dark rooms.

JVC was showing their new DILA 4K projector model #DLA-X750R. With a retail price of $7000 it is in the middle of their 4K line, with the $4000 DLA-X550R below it and the $10,000 top-of-the-line DLA-X950 above it. I got up and personal with it and can honestly say that I could not see any pixels on a 100″ screen from 18″ away. I was very impressed.

Just across the room was Digital Projection‘s Insight 4K Series with a Stewart fixed tension screen. This is a huge unit. At 12,000 Lumens and 148lbs I could have sworn it was designed for a commercial movie theater. But considering it also sells for $120,000 it obviously is not for the average consumer. They do offer their E-Vision Series projector at a much more affordable $4500.

Steven Lester (Sim’s local Rep) showed a beautiful white glass SIM2 Nero 3 pure LED (at $14,000, one of their more popular models) with a generic folding screen. He promised a new screen vendor for next year for a better look. On static display was SIM2 Lumens 20th Anniversary and Super Cube in blue glass. The picture was clear and crisp with very good color balance.

Sony was displaying their latest 4K projector as well, the 6000-lumen VPL-FHZ65.

The last unit on display was the Wolf Cinema GRAYWOLF 4K SDC-12 Full HD 3D Projector, which boasts 1300 Lumens, and a 70000:1 Contrast ratio. Again it is a large unit weighing in at 60 lbs. They explained it is based on a JVC 0.7″ D-ILA Projector that has been significantly modified. The MSRP is $12,000. It had a great picture — nothing short of what I expected from Wolf.

What I discovered is that the picture quality across the board was excellent. There are some excellent value 4K projectors available. And for the connoisseur that is willing to spend huge amount of money, one can achieve performance to match the best available from any THX rated movie theater around.

About CEDIA

CEDIA, the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, is the leading global authority in the $14 billion home technology industry. CEDIA represents 3,500 member companies worldwide and serves more than 22,000 industry professionals that manufacture, design, and integrate goods and services for the connected home.

About the author

Marc Silver is a retired audio shop owner. He travels to various shows in his retirement to keep his wife sane. We are delighted to publish his show reports.