This past week a prominent AV industry blogger wrote on the demise of the projection screen market.
Gary Kayye of rAVe Publications said, essentially, that the projection screen market is dying, and it’s going to be a quick death. You can read his post by clicking here.
Gary said projectors are becoming so powerful that they no longer need a flat white (or grey) projection surface. He said the new breed of projectors will work fine with a wall—any wall—because they can overcome texture, color, and, through projection mapping, even obstacles on the wall.
To be honest, when we first read this, we were a bit perplexed.
We respect Gary’s opinion, as do many people in the AV industry. But on this occasion we have to disagree.
Gary is right about one thing. The projection screen market is changing—there’s no denying that. Flat panels have made undeniable improvements in size and performance, especially in smaller applications. But what about large venues? What if there is no wall where you want to project? And how about projection environment problems that a wall isn’t designed to solve—such as ambient light?
Yes, the screen market is changing. But changing doesn’t mean dying. Death in a market occurs when you don’t change. We’ve been listening to our customers’ demands and concerns—for current technology and future issues as well—and developing new technologies to meet their needs.
We sat down to write out a snappy response outlining these points and more. But another well-known AV blogger, Mark Coxon, beat us to the punch.
Mark delivered a well-reasoned, convincing, and respectful argument about why Gary is wrong. So, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we want to share with you Mark’s thoughts on this question of the survival (or not) or the projection screen industry. Click here to read his take.
We agree wholeheartedly, Mark. Well done, and kudos to you.
But also, well done to Gary. While we disagree with his opinion, it’s important to keep asking questions about the future. It’s by looking ahead that we find new solutions and technologies that will be needed.
It’s called being ready for the future, as we discussed recently in this blog post.
Are you curious about the future of projection screens? Leave your questions and comments below.
People want to paint walls or buy huge ugly space grabbing TVs for home . I’d rather have framed piece of artwork.
In my house the best place for my tv /movie viewing was in front of a 108″ wide picture window. My Draper pull down screen makes perfect sensee I can’t project on a bay window with vertical trim.
The only death re my projection screen is when the movie’s good guy captures the bad guy!
dont fall for click bait journalism- just ignore. There seems always to be a hidden agenda with this North American AV business consultant / self claimed media guru. I bet Draper ads will appear on that very blog site in the near future….
Hi Terry , I am glad I noticed your retort to Gary Kayye