Has the Shoot-Out
Run of out Bullets?
5/2: Three major manufacturers confirmed, a number of others
rumored to be pulling out of INFOCOMM's long-standing attraction, the
Projection
Shoot-Out.
by Denise Harrison, Producer
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The Projection Shoot-Out
has long been one of the main attractions of the INFOCOMM show and has
been of tremendous benefit to show attendees and manufacturers alike.
Started back in the day, when CRT projectors were truly distinctive,
dealers and buyers could really make their decisions based on seeing
the projected picture on the screen. Image was everything and one could
see, at a glance, who had the best.
Times change, however, and boy, did they. Today, DLP and LCD projectors
project a far superior image with quality that no one back in the CRT
days could have foreseen. Quality that is totally meeting user needs
and quality that is almost indistinguishable from one projector to the
next. Add to that the fact that only a few manufacturers are OEM's to
the rest, and what is there to compare?
That pretty much reflects the feelings of NEC, Sony and Barco, who are
confirmed as non--participants this year.
"The Shoot-Out doesn't serve its original purpose anymore,"
explains Clint Hoffman, who was with Sony when they made their decision
to pull out of the Shoot-Out in 2000. "When the Shoot-Out first
started, you lined them up and shot on 100 inch screen side by side.
They were all big and noisy and difficult to set up, so you did things
to improve the picture quality.
"Today because it's all LCD and DLP, with only several manufacturers
of scan converters, lenses and bulbs, now
your buying decision is based on warrantee, fan noise, features and
functions and user interface, things you can't learn about the way the
Shoot-Out is currently set up."
Most of those who are confirmed as non-participants agree that you can't
get that information at the Projection Shoot-Out the way it is. But,
say most manufacturers, changes to the Projection Shoot-Out could mean
a duplication of effort of what's going on in the booth, which costs
money and drains manpower and other resources.
"Yet it's important to realize that everyone wants to fix it, no
one wants it to go away," Hoffman continues.
Jerry Dixon, national sales manager for BARCO Projection Systems, said,
"It's our position that for BARCO, the Shoot-Out has lost relevance
to our product line and we question whether it has real relevance to
the people who are going through the Shoot-Out given that all the images
look relatively good there. Today, it's not, we don't feel, necessarily
how good the image is but how good the manufacturer is, what's inside
the projector. Since it's so easy to make a good image these days, we
feel that the Shoot-Out has no relevanace anymore."
Dixon said the official cost per entry is $2,500 and the hard cost is
about $10,000 per entry. "But that's not the issue of why we pulled
out," he explains. "I want to be clear we have no disagreement
and we aren't protesting anything. We're a solid and supporting member
of ICIA, and basically we're in agreement with the organization. Just
not with the Shoot-Out."
Will attendance go down if the Shoot-Out were to ever run out of bullets?
No, agree Hoffman and Dixon. The dealers who come don't solely deal
in projectors, so other product categories are as important a draw for
them. And where else would they go anyway? INFOCOMM is still the best
and really only show for this market.
"If there were no Shoot-Out," suggests Dixon, "then attendees
would have to go to the booths, which exposes them more to the show
floor. And that is better for all the exhibitors."
InFocus will be participating, an InFocus spokesperson said today.
Christie Digital announced last year that they would not be participating
and are believed to be out of the Shoot-Out this year as well. There
are other major manufacturers who will also not be at the Shoot-Out
and our editors are awaiting return phone calls to confirm.
Click here for a statement given exclusively
to PresentationMaster.com from ICIA Executive Director Randal A. Lemke,
Ph.D.
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