As the electronics show aimed primarily at the home theater custom installation market, CEDIA Expo always features a few over the top products and systems. And, despite a sluggish economy, this year is no exception. California Audio Technology, Inc. ("CAT") announced today at CEDIA that they have teamed up with Display Development, Inc. (DD) for a new projector line. Anyone have a few hundred grand lying around?
That's what it will take to get the basic CAT MBX projector. Prices range from $128,000 to $380,000. For that cost, you can get a built-to-order projection system that is tailored to your needs (duh!) -- for screens anywhere from 72 to 500 inches in width.
CAT says that each of the MBX projectors supports 3D (requires at least two projectors) and also features 12-bit video processing, which can upconvert DVDs, cable, satellite or broadcast signals for use on the (really) big screen. Aside from DCI (Digital Cinema Initiative) support, the MBX line also includes 35mm and 70mm film projection options.
"We take the most popular DCI projectors that are reliably performing in thousands of digital theaters around the world, and significantly improve upon them to create the look of natural analog film and the reality of HDTV," says Jim Burns, president of Display Development.
The company also invites those with extremely deep pockets to group together six of the same projector model for the best resolution and screen brightness money can buy. Speaking of money: Expect that kind of setup to cost a lot of coin. Prices for the six-projector setup range from $768,000 to a whopping $2,280,000.
Don’t expect to bring a truckload of rolled change to your local Best Buy. The CAT MBX projector line will be available exclusively through CAT MBX dealers. CAT previously partnered with Sam Runco for their first MBX projector back in 2002. For their new models, CAT starts with a Barco DCI DLP projector with a native resolution of 2048x1080 pixels. CAT and Display Development measure the room, analyze the color of the walls and furniture and capabilities of the screen and create a custom iris optimized for the projector in its specific environment.
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