This edition of ISE was not the same as all the others, partly because of the new location and partly because of the desire to restart after two years of health emergency. This was also underlined by the authoritative voice of Carla Conca, whom we met at the Epson stand.
“Getting back to see each other with colleagues, customers and journalists has a unique flavor, it almost seems like a new thing, we’ve been missing it for a long time!”
Thus begins Carla Conca, Epson’s Business Manager for video projection, when we meet her at the company’s stand in Barcelona. “We got used to it” continues Carla. “For us at Epson, moreover, it’s an important moment, because we present a new platform of high brightness projectors, ranging from 13.000 to 20.000 lumens in very light chassis. To give an example, the new 20.000 lumen model is 50% less heavy and 73% smaller than the previous model, with the obvious advantages: weighing less than 30 kg, it can be operated by one person only, and it’s much easier to pack, ship and assemble.”
But, given this brilliant debut, the question cannot be missing: how were the two years of the pandemic for Epson? Carla Conca curtly replies: “Since the rental sector was one of the most affected, given the block of events, we worked a lot on the Educational part, for remote meetings and didactic activities in particular in universities. We have a range that allows us to always find the product that best suits the application. Now we can finally start working again for rentals and installations, but we have always tried to stay close to our customers over these two years. Let’s say that if many things have stopped, others have started thanks to the pandemic! Knowing how to interpret the needs of the market has allowed many companies to survive and in some cases even to thrive beyond expectations… For example, consumer and entry level products have done very well. In our case, the printers sold out great during the lockdowns.”
The Epson stand, however, was focused on the news in the projection field. And on this, Carla Conca offers us an interesting market reflection: “Projectors, screens and LEDs are not necessarily in competition, in my opinion. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. The projection, for example, can be moved and adjusted more easily than a LED system which, moreover, is energy-intensive, where the projectors are more environmentally friendly. Of course, outdoors a projector doesn’t work as well as an LED. But our distributors also deal with LEDs and monitors, which means that they are areas that integrate, do not compete with each other: it depends on the application. The path of the future is integration, I don’t see why a common path cannot be found.”
Epson, however, and Carla Conca confirms it, continues to focus openly on laser video projection, for all applications. Among the most interesting innovations presented at ISE 2022, in addition to the aforementioned new range of small and bright projectors, there is also the new EH-LS12000B, 4K 3LCD laser projector for Home Cinema applications, with HDR10+ functionality. The stand, in fact, was divided into different areas according to the applications of a single, great technology: laser video projection. “We continue to focus on projection and laser technology” – says Carla Conca. “We are both designers and manufacturers of our products, and the company philosophy is sustainability: use of recycled materials, ease of disposal, low energy consumption and so on. In contrast to many other manufacturers, Epson has always aimed to build products that last a long time.”
To complete the visit to the Epson stand at ISE 2022, the “laboratory area” was also very interesting, where it was possible to appreciate all the features of the new projectors, also thanks to Epson’s proprietary management software, which allows Edge Blending and other complex and fascinating forms of projector installation. Finally, an “immersive area” was dedicated to Corporate and Educational, environments that always focus more on interactivity and the immersion of collaboration, meeting or teaching experiences. Here are the interactive projectors, which are certainly not lacking in the Epson catalog, even in innovative self-propelled solutions, in special customized “cabinets” that can be placed at will in the rooms. In short, Epson has definitely taken full advantage of the restart ISE, to launch innovations that will mark the market in the coming months and to re-establish contact – even physically – with customers and distributors.
