While
Optoma has remained fairly quiet since it unveiled a
trio of PJs at CES, the company has finally struck back with a new pair of DLP projectors ready for your home theater. The EP1690 sports a DarkChip2 DMD panel, 1,280 x 768 native resolution, 2,500 lumens, 2,500:1 contrast ratio, 1.2x manual zoom lens, internal three-watt speaker, uber-quiet tunnel cooling system, DVI, VGA, S-Video, and composite inputs, USB / RS-232 control ports, and a wireless remote to boot. The all black EP780 does things in 4:3 rather than widescreen and only musters a 1,024 x 768 resolution, but still steps it up to 4,000 lumens and touts a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, DarkChip3 DMD panel, twin VGA ports to go along with the others, and stereo speakers built right in. Both units should hit the Japanese market in early July, and while the EP1690 will demand ¥450,000 ($3,713), the stealthy EP780 will run you a stiff ¥680,400 ($5,614).
[Via
Impress]
We didn't think that the soundbar market would one-up B&W's $2,200 Panorama model, but Leon speakers just couldn't leave well enough alone. For all the people who go to the expense of buying a flatscreen more than 100-inches big and yet can't be bothered to pick up some discrete multichannel speakers, Leon has added the OS (over-sized) soundbar to its Horizon lineup. Give Leon 3-5 days and $6,500 and it'll build your OS custom so it fits your display -- up to 120-inches wide -- in an LCR, L/R or center-only configuration. Leon says that the last install required a crane to lift the soundbar through an apartment window. We guess if you've already got a crane to get your display into the abode, you might as well make use of it for the speakers, too; but we'd recommend you skip the crane and put the $6,500 towards a nice set of speakers for real surround sound.
