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MillimeterThe Controversial INFOCOMM "Shootout" is Finally Laid to Rest
Dec 18, 2001 12:00 PM, By Peter H. Putman, CTS
The official announcement had been anticipated since June of 2001, and last week the ICIA confirmed what everyone expected: The Projection Shoot-Out would be no more. Declining participation by major manufacturers over the past two years and a widespread perception that the event had outlived its usefulness finally did in the "World's Largest Showcase of Projection Technology", as it was billed annually.
Shed no tears for the Shoot-Out. As conceived in 1990, it was a side-by-side comparison of front projection technology, dominated by CRT imaging. Back then, one could easily see large differences between competing models of CRT projectors, and later CRT projection and direct-view monitors.
Today? The CRT is all but dead in the Pro AV and IT markets. The widespread use of transmissive and reflective LCD imaging, plus Digital Light Processing and plasma, have driven size, weight, and price points down so far on projectors and monitors that a purchase decision is now based on the lowest price in a given resolution/brightness category. Image quality doesn't really factor in anymore.
The hammerlock that Sony and Epson have on transmissive LCD imaging also took a lot of steam out of the Shoot-Out. It wasn't unusual to see 75 to 80 percent of projectors in a given category all using Epson LCD panels and optical components. The same holds true for DLP, where many super-small projectors were basically variants of the PLUS single-chip DMD projector.
Among the large venue crowd, it became apparent that a good showing didn't necessarily translate into orders, but a bad showing could be harmful (if not fatal) to sales. (Many large-venue projectors are sold via private manufacturer or dealer demos, anyway.)
Add in the cost of participation ($2500 per entry, plus inventory mark-downs of the resultant B-stock goods, shipping, insurance, and set-up/strike labor), and the bean-counters at Sony, NEC, Epson, InFocus, JVC, Digital Projection, Barco, and Christie Digital all came to the same conclusion: Save that money, and instead put it into the trade show booth, parties, dealer and sales training, etc.
In short, the Shoot-Out simply became irrelevant. For the last few years, the powers that be at ICIA protected the Shoot-Out with zealous fever, fearing that its demise would severely harm INFOCOMM. Not a chance! This show has become one of the must-attend events of the AV industry, and still offers a strong combination of seminars, exhibits, and networking opportunities.
As the late George Harrison once sang, "All things must pass......"
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.