Projecting the Future of Projectors

I remember, when I was a kid, reading a Sports Illustrated issue that had a cover-article about the future of home theater in sports. There was a picture of a couple buddies sitting on a bleacher seat watching a football game. Except, they weren’t AT the football game. They were just a few inches from their wall at home. The broadcast was being projected onto the wall and the picture was so sharp, to them it felt like they were actually sitting in the stands of the stadium. Oh, man I was so excited. I loved going to games with my dad, but having that experience at home…? Just the thought of being able to go to my own bathroom instead of the stadium’s urine trough was thrilling enough!

Now, as a adult, I realize that although current at-home projectors are better than ever, it’ll never feel exactly like being at the game. First of all, there’s no way I’d be taking my two screaming kids to a football stadium in a 10° snow storm. Watching at home would “simulate” that nightmare. Just getting hit in the face by a Barbie doll once would take me out of the simulated reality immediately.

So, the best I can do is get excited for how CLOSE I can get to it feeling like the real thing. And boy we are close. Right now, there are so many fantastic projectors out there to choose from. Lighting and picture quality continues to get better and better. As long as you have a wall or a screen, you can buy one of these babies and turn any room into a legit home theater.

There’s some great projectors available today. But where are they heading? What does the future hold for these one-eyed boxes of bright entertainment? After doing some research, I realized that, once again, I cannot wait for the future to get here!

When it comes to the future, the manufacturers that produce projectors are focusing on 2 factors to take their product to the next level: the source of light, and it’s black and white contrast.

Normally, home projectors have been made with light bulbs. Future projectors will replace those light bulbs with LED or lasers. This feaure can increase the projections size up to 120 inches, as well as expanding the life of the light source to up to 15,000 hours!

When it comes to black and whites, future projectors will have an incredible contrast between the two. The brightest whites and the deepest blacks will no longer look like a pixilated grey…in horror movies, nothing is scarier than when the victim walks into a pixilated gray room!

So, what does this mean for me?

Well, my experience as a stay-at-home dad has taught me that watching Moana on the same TV screen 300 times in a row takes the excitement away from it. Now, if you told me I could project that same Moana movie onto a 120 inch wall and have it be the same quality as watching it in the theater, then I’m ready to return the heart of the ocean with Maui once again! Now if you told me I could project that same Moana movie onto 120 inch wall and have it be the same quality as watching it in the theater, then I’m ready to return the Heart Of Te Fiti once again with Maui!

But, there’s more than just large beautiful projections to look forward to! Inserting lasers will turn the standard wall projection completely upside down. Imagine being able to project from directly above a table. Then, add touch-screen capability to it! NOW we’re talking. Do you know what it’s like playing a board game, such as monopoly, with two young children? I find houses and hotels under my furniture for the next three weeks. What if those pieces and even the whole game didn’t really exist? What if it was just projected onto the table and we move the pieces with our fingers? Sign me up.

The kids could also learn math, play piano, drums, solve mazes and even draw pictures touching a table surface…all without requiring me to buy a piano, a drum set, or clean up any mess that comes along with it.

It’s obvious the future of home projectors is not only exciting, it’s right upon us.

I may still have Barbie doll smack me on the side of the head as I watch the big game, but I’ll rest easy knowing I’m nice and warm, clean, and I can go pee alone in peace.