Bright spots forecast for projectors

Solid-state illumination, digital cinema, home theatre and new-era integration to spur sales

Projector sales globally are forecast to expand 18 per cent to 11.4m units this year, driven by several especially strong emerging technological areas.

The figure is from the latest research by projector market analyst Pacific Media Associates (PMA), which is based in the US but has analysts globally, including in the UK.

"There are some especially bright spots in several industry segments which are expected to contribute significantly to this growth," PMA wrote in its announcement.

Machines featuring solid-state illumination are tipped to outperform other segments, with several additional manufacturers entering the market, even though budget restrictions will continue to hinder sales to education institutions in the US and western Europe.

Major cinema conversions to digital – known as d-cinema – are slowing globally but cheaper digital cinema projector models are appearing that will better suit smaller, independent cinemas and other public venues. This is driving the segment forward faster than previous predictions have suggested, especially in emerging markets, including China.

Home theatre will also do well and is expected to continue to grow solidly as well as what PMA describes as the new-era integrated projector segment, referring to projectors integrated into mobile phones, cameras and camcorders.

"PMA has forecast a very strong 68 per cent growth rate for this segment to over 1.4m units worldwide in 2013, and expects unit volume to again more than double in 2014," the analyst said.