518-449-7213
sales@audiovideocorp.com
Pro AV Catalog

Digital Projection International

55 Chastain Road
Suite 115
Kennesaw, GA 30144
United States
Project List
DPI Takes a ‘Risk’ with InfoComm Booth
Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2012
DPI Takes a ‘Risk’ with InfoComm Booth

Digital Projection International (DPI) is known for its sprawling tradeshow booths that feature its high-performance projectors beaming onto screens in low-lit, theater-like settings. 

Not so at InfoComm 2012 where the Georgia-based manufacturer decided to think outside the traditional dark “black box” of a typical projection company tradeshow booth. Instead, DPI let all of its projector lineup hang out in the open, uncovered.

“Enclosing the booth in the black box of the past, is really a best-case scenario for showing how projectors will be used. Ninety percent of our commercial dealers work on projects where they can’t control the light or have ambient light settings,” says DPI director of marketing Michael Bridwell. “We’re here to serve the dealers, so we took a risk and exposed all of the screens to a ridiculous amount of ambient light - the worst-case scenario.”

The massive DPI layout at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall features 15 of its projectors - both single- and three-chip models - providing the imagery for 14 screens in what turned out to be a highly impressive display.

Only the 16-foot wide screen in the center has two projectors blending to create the image. Five screens that comprise the top row consist of images beamed from three-chip projectors in DPI’s DLP lineup, while the row under it features single-chip projection.

“The uniformity across the product line is what comes across here,” says Bridwell, who adds that the open-layout idea did not come without hesitancy. “It scared us, because we can’t simulate [installing all the screens in the tradeshow conditions]. But our philosophy was that integrators could look at that, get a good idea of the screen size and what projection is needed, and then basically just ask what kind of application, price point and luminance they need ... and here’s what it’s going to look like.”

Highlighted by the wide-ranging Titan line, which ranges from $35K to $89K, the gigantic screen setup at DPI’s booth certainly popped with color and achieved its aim of showcasing performance in ambient light. The company also had its new products from its high-brightness, high-value E-Vision series on hand. 

The booth layout made things easy for integrators to judge the individual projectors, and Bridwell says that the crowd has appreciated the setup, which will be much different when DPI sets up for CEDIA Expo in September and returns the focus to a darker, home theater setting for the resi integrators.

“They ‘get’ it,” he says of the commercial integrators’ response to the unorthodox approach at InfoComm. “The dealers so far have been thrilled.”

 

close