The
projector market in India has grabbed the
limelight recently, partly thanks to the significant
growth in the opportunities for the channel.
The
global projection technology is passing
through an exciting time. It was not
so in the recent past. Now, there had
been an array of pretty familiar players
in the market, each touting the specific
performance advantages provided by their
much-vaunted products. However, with
the arrival of liquid crystal display
(LCD) and DLP (Digital Light Processing)
during the ’90s, the projector landscape
has witnessed momentous changes which
are truly mind-boggling.
It can be said with certitude that the
projector market space is one of the
fastest growing segments in the technology
industry worldwide. According to Mountain
View, a California-based market research
firm, Pacific Media Associates, a leader
in demand-side marketing information
on large-screen displays, the worldwide
projector market grew by 19 per cent
from 2004Q1 to 2005Q1.
Of late, projectors have entered the
mainstream. Prices on every technology,
from plasma and LCD monitors to front
and rear projectors have come down.
This has seen an increase in the sales
volumes of the projectors.
As India is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world, it is obvious
that the country cannot remain untouched
by this euphoria in the projector scenario.
The second most populous nation, the
country is one of the biggest marketplaces
and is on the minds of many projector
manufacturers.
Over the past couple of years, projectors
have made major strides in both projection
quality and to add innovative features
that go a long way in making the task
of making a presentation simple.
There are many types of projectors serving
different purposes – LCD projectors,
home theatre projectors, video projectors,
film projectors and multimedia projectors,
to name a few. While multimedia and
digital projectors with high resolution
are perfectly suited for PowerPoint
presentations, a home theatre projector
provides you the comfort of a real theatre
experience in your own home. Last but
not the least, a good projector is incomplete
without a good screen. In order to experience
a unique viewing experience, it is necessary
to have both of them.
Among the established manufactures of
projector equipments, inFocus, Acer,
Epson, Canon, Sharp, Epson, HP and NEC
find a special mention. Each of them
offers different sorts of projectors
with interesting and useful features.
These projectors take the viewing experience
to an entirely new level.
The question which merits attention
is: What is the projector market scenario
in India?
In India, the total sales of projectors
is expected to reach 40,000 units in
2000. This includes business and home projectors.
DLP is almost 45 per cent of the total
market. “The Indian market has been
growing at about 30–40 per cent per
year and we expect this growth to continue
for the next two years,” maintains Dhuria.
The proliferation of projectors in recent
years in India is now a reality. These
days, no business presentation is complete
without the use of the product. Digital
projectors are making their presence
felt in the university and college lecture
halls, and are moving into smaller classrooms.
Schools as well as government agencies
are also adopting projectors at a steady
rate.
“There are three prime movers responsible
for the accelerated growth of projectors
in the Indian market: increased IT development,
upgradation of educational infrastructure
and affordability.” says V. Rajendren,
Associate Vice- President - Sales &
Marketing, Imaging Products & Solutions,
HCL Infinet Ltd.
“Picture quality has been constantly
improving even as projectors get smaller
and more portable. Consequently, the
market for projectors has opened up
tremendously here in India. Earlier
restricted only to large corporates,
projectors are now within the reach
of small and medium enterprises as well.
Specific segments like education have
also been responsible for driving the
rapid growth in India. Home theatre
projectors are also opening up as a
market and are now ready to be tapped,”
says A. K. Harish, Business Manager”–
Projectors, Epson India.
There is still a fairly low concentration
of trademarks in India’s projector market,
and market shares are well dispersed.’“The
projector market remains a highly fragmented
market with 20–30 players operating
in it,“ says A. K. Harish.
These days, the consumer is spoilt for
choices while buying projectors. The
presence in the market of a wide number
of models rich in features has contributed
to this phenomenon. So, the customers
have to make sure what features they
simply must have. It makes an easy buying
and equips the consumers with the satisfaction
of getting the projector that will most
likely meet their requirements. While
projectors can be pricey, there are
options that are relatively inexpensive.
However, if you do not compromise with
quality, then be prepared to spend a
little extra.
So, it can be safely said that when
it comes to finding the right projector,
prior homework is an absolute must.
Purchasing a projector should not be
taken lightly. So, knowing the requirements
should be given paramount importance.
The leading provider of projectors,
Epson, has a range of projectors to
suit any need and requirement. Projectors
of the company start from 1200 ANSI
Lumens and go up to 5200 Lumens. “Our
products are positioned considering
the end- user’s requirements. The current
range covers Ultra-Portable, Portable,
Desktop, Installation and Home Theatre.
In October, we have several new product
introductions planned,” says A. K. Harish.
The company excels in both home projectors
and multimedia projectors.
Sanjay
Dhuria Country Manager, NEC
Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd
Manu
Sharma Country Category Manager
– Imaging Products, Hewlett-Packard
India Sales Pvt.
Anil
Sodhan National Marketing
Manager, Sharp Business
V.
P. Sajeevan Manager – Projector
& VC Products, Canon Indian Pvt.
Ltd.
K.
Harish Business Manager –
Projctors, Epson India
The range of Sharp’s projectors starts
from 1100 ANSI up to 4000 ANSI Lumens.
The 1100 ANSI Lumens Projector is the
smallest in its category, which can
fit into a ladies purse. “Sharp is one
of the few vendors which have both LCD
& DLP projectors in their lineup,” says
Anil Sodhani, National Marketing Manager,
Sharp Business Systems India.
All of Canon’s projectors are bright
enough to be used in fully-lit rooms.
The company offers an impressive array
of portables and ultra-portable projectors.
They can be carried effortlessly from
boardroom, to office, to classroom,
to home theatre. Each is a seamless
blend of performance and functionality.
“With the XEED SX50, the consumer gets
the perfect combination of brightness,
sharpness and portability. Canon has
tied up with global audio leader ONQ
which makes viewing experience to the
other world,” says V. P. Sajeevan, Manager
– Projector & VC Products, Canon Indian
Pvt. Ltd.
The leading global projector maker,
Acer, is also a force to reckon with
in the projector market in India. The
company offers projectors that combine
low prices with high picture quality.
Very recently, the company has offered
a complete Home Cinema Centre, offering
an Acer PD113P wide screen DLP projector,
bundled with the Philips Home Theatre
System, which has 5.1 surround sound
speakers with amplifiers and a DVD player.
“This offering will also allow our retailers
to graduate from selling PCs to selling
home entertainment products and become
a one-stop shop for consumers,” said
S. Rajendran, GM – Sales & Marketing,
Consumer Products Group, Acer India.
InFocus has recently launched two models
– InFocus X3 and InFocus LP 600. “The
InFocus X3 is a multi-featured projector
that can be utilized to present complicated
data, including charts, graphs and detailed
lesson plans in the office or classroom
as easily as with family and friends
at home watching a blockbuster or playing
a new video game in a theatre-like experience,”
says Rajendren.
“The highly portable LP 600 offers a
blend of power and mobility in addition
to a breakthrough feature that enables
users to simply copy files onto a USB
flash drive and plug it in to present
their content without a computer.”
BenQ, an emerging force in the projector
marketplace, offers projectors with
low prices but high picture quality.
Competitively priced, InFocus projectors
are mainly based on DLP-based technology
and are easy to use. The projectors
of Panasonic combine portability, high
brightness and cutting-edge technology
at a very reasonable price.
Though NEC offerings cater to the commercial
market, the company has some specialized
model for Home Theatre for mid- to high-end
consumer market. The company also takes
pride in being in the league of select
few that have multimedia projectors
in both LCD and DLP technologies. “We
cater to all segments of projector market
with our big line-up starting with Value
series for price-conscious customers
to LT & MT series with high-end features
like Wireless & Wired LAN, Automatic
Focus, Automatic wall colour correction,
USB & PCMCIA storage,” says Sanjay Dhuria,
Country Manager, NEC Solutions Asia
Pacific Pte. Ltd. “Our GT series of
projector are focussed on high brightness
requirement like an auditorium or large
conference room.” The projector vendor
is about to launch its new offering
in mobile projector in India with less
than 2 Kg of weight and advance features
like Direct Power Off, Auto Focus, etc.
These projectors are expected to be
available by the first week of November
for sale in India.
For years, the majority of projector
manufacturers have catered to business
professionals displaying presentation
slides rather than movies, video promos,
or sporting events.
The projector market is dominated by
two prominent technologies: LCD and
DLP. And the war between the two continues.
Now, the obvious question arises: which
one is better?
A proprietary technology developed by
Texas Instruments, DLP works quite differently
than LCD. However, it must be said that
both technologies have advantages, and
both have their own share of weaknesses.
Neither of them can claim to be perfect
for everything. In this technological
war, the consumer is the clear winner.
Apart from these two, some companies
including JVC and Hitachi are also developing
a third light engine technology called
LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) which
has been used in manufacturing some
very outstanding home theatre projectors.
Notwithstanding the competition among
the three technologies, their effective
differences are increasingly becoming
less significant to the average home
theatre viewer.
The Indian market, LCD based projector
still holds the lead over DLP technology.
When it comes to giving presentations,
LCD projectors make a good choice. Be
it a business meeting or an academic
programme, these projectors top the
popularity chart. Being less expensive
than the DLP projectors gives it that
crucial edge. However, if brightness
is taken into consideration, DLP fits
the bill.
If the consumer is to use a projector
as a mobile unit, LCD is more suitable.
However, if one is looking for a quality
projector, DLP is the answer.
LCoS projectors are characterized by
high resolution, though with a low contrast.
More pricey than LCD or DLP models,
they are generally larger in size and
manufactured by a small number of manufacturers.
A report by the Pacific Media Associates
suggests that projectors are moving
out of the boardrooms and into living
rooms. The Indian maket is no exception
to this rule. As a mater of fact, the
home entertainment segment is also showing
signs of growth.
“Home theatre projectors are opening
up as a market and is now ready to be
tapped.
Mindsets for display devices have been
limited to TVs, Plasma and Projection
TVs uptil now. Increasingly, people
are realizing that a home theatre projector
gives an altogether incomparable viewing
experience. Already, technology enthusiasts,
audio/videophiles, movie buffs, etc.
have embraced this technology. Very
soon, the rest will also adopt it too.
The move to a more wholesome viewing
experience has already begun,” says
A. K. Harish. “Home entertainment segment
is driving the project market in India
and it is going well,” says Sajeevan.
About the dilemma in choosing between
projector and TV, he is of the opinion
that “projectors have an edge over TVs
due to the Reflective System. Projector
offers original colour.””The emergence
of home theatre has enabled the viewers
to watch the latest release in the luxury
of their own home. An ever-growing variety
of front-projection home theatre systems
provide an experience worth cherishing.
In India, there is also a market scope
for sectors other than the emerging
ones like home, SOHO and education.
“Entertainment, advertising in public
places like railway platform and bus
stand, training are a few other important
areas. Entertainment is a big industry.
The high-end multimedia projectors are
being used in cinema theatres in the
metros as well as large video theatres
in villages. The hotels and pubs are
using these projectors to give its customers
a unique experience in ambience as well
as entertainment,” says Sodhani.
“Coprporates, BPOs amd government are
buying projectors much more aggressively,”
says Manu Sharma, Country Category Manager
– Imaging Products, Hewlett-Packard
India Sales Pvt. Ltd.
The emerging middle class in India is
also contributing to the growth of the
projector business in India. “With falling
prices and quest for better lifestyles,
people now look for having their own
home theatre systems. So, the home market
is also growing equally well, but still
this is a small part of the overall
market. This is in contrast to Plasma/LCD
displays, where now consumer market
is the driving force,” says Dhuria of
NEC.
“Education segment is currently one
of the bigger buyers for projectors
and we expect this segment to drive
the future growth. The total education
infrastructure in India is very big
and some states like Tamil Nadu have
taken steps in this direction,” he adds.
It was not so long ago that projectors
were sold by the audio-video resellers.
However, this product category is becoming
increasingly attractive to VARs. New
entry-level models are entering the
market and with low prices. The projectors
are chartering into to ever-larger markets.
As the digital projector market is hit
by a plethora of new products at regular
intervals and prices continue to fall,
resellers should thoroughly aim to know
the nitty-gritty of these feature-packed
projectors. Integrating them into their
customers’ networks should be the prime
consideration for the resellers.
While the continuing price erosion of
projectors may have lessened the profit
margins, it beckons significant surge
for the channel. The reason is not far
to seek. The low prices open these products
to consumers who could not afford them
before.
Recognizing the role of IT channel in
the projector market, A. K. Harish says,
“We operate through a national distribution
model for projectors. We have also been
engaging IT partners in between.”
Projector vendors in India are vigorously
engaged in the partner engagement process.
“We have three national distributors
in India for our projectors range with
different roles. M/s Solutions India
is our distributor direct and key account
sale, while Aveco Viscomm is our distributor
for dealer sales. M/s MCC are our distributor
for home theatre projectors,” says Sanjay
Dhuria. Adds Sodhani, “Sharp’s projector
business is mainly through a wide dealer
network throughout India. Continuous
dealer training on new products and
marketing strategies help our dealers
to perform better in this competitive
environment.”
We have key projector partners across
the country, who are part of the HP
projector club. We provide training,
programmes, leads, etc. to these partners,“
says Manu Sharma.
Partner empowerment and incentivization
find an important place in the scheme
of things of the projector vendors.
“We conduct regular training programmes
for our channel partners to upgrade
their products knowledge. These training
are conducted for both sales as well
as technical staff at various levels,”
says Dhuria.
“We do have incentive schemes which
are aimed at front end sales staff of
our channel partners. The aim is to
motivate the sales force rather than
offer incentive on higher volume, which
channel some time try to discount in
their prices.”
“Continuous training on products and
selling aspects to dealers has been
one method of empowering our channel
partners. Our major channel partners
also develop their own resellers, train
them for increasing their reach,” says
Sodhani. “Sharp runs incentive shemes
for channel partners from time to time.
This can be in terms of trips to a destination
out of India. This actually acts as
a motivator as well as enhances the
bonding between the channel partners
and sharp.”
Known for its channel incentive programmes,
the leading projector vendor runs enormously
motivating programmes. “The programmes
are monthly, quarterly and half yearly. Some of
the incentives are overseas travel to
exciting places around the world and
commercial incentives,” says A. K. Harish.
Canon India has 37 CPPs and 118 CEPs
to distribute its products throughout
India.
While growth in conference room projectors
remains strong, there is a major trend,
which is represented by the rising use
of projectors for home theatres This
has resulted from low prices. The advertisement
has also played a significant role in
increasing awareness and adoption in
the consumer market.
Of late, fierce competition among projector
vendors has become characteristic of
the Indian market. A technological battle
is being fought among projector vendors.
The reason for this is simple. The emergence
of low-cost and high- performance projectors
is driving the market. The leading manufacturers
are always on the alert to come to terms
with the newer, high-performance and
low-priced products to remain competitive.
What is of paramount importance to them
is the right understanding of the requirements
of the specific users.
“The NEC advantage lies in offering
a combination of best quality product
with highest service in the industry
to give maximum value for money to our
customers,” says Sanjay Dhuria.
“Epson’s projectors are built on the
revolutionary and superior 3 LCD technology.
65 per cent of projectors sold around
the world use this technology,” says
A. K. Harish. He adds,”“In addition
to this, Epson projectors have technology
like the DCDI Faroudja technology all
of which make Epson projectors provide
images that are brighter, clearer and
with better colour reproduction. Our
projectors are also getting smaller
and lighter and the lamp life is increasing
all the time.”
“Sharp is one of the organizations who
is present directly in India. This means
that if the customer buys a Sharp product
sold by the Indian subsidiary, then
they are sure that the service is/will
be available here in India,” says Sodhani.
“Sharp’s reach all over India is very
good. We are present either directly
or through our authorized channel partners
from Srinagar to Trivandrum and Mizoram
to Mumbai. A corporate customer or a
government buyer is assured that we
will provide service to them irrespective
of the location of the equipment they
have purchased from us.”
While the competitive advantage of HP
lies in that it is the only vendor who
has service centres in 103 cities across
India.”“All our products come with exchange
warranty. Hence, should the projector
face any problem, HP replaces the product
during the warranty period instead of
lengthy repairs,” says Manu Sharma.
With a strong brand presence in the
multimedia projector market, Sharp has
redefined the entry-level projector
standards. With introduction of 2000
ANSI Lumens SVGA & XGA projectors at
a very good price/performance ratio,
the projector maker has made the product
the new entry-level projector in India.
While the strategy of NEC to offer the
“Best Value for Money” to the customers
in India. “We are not the cheapest brand
around, but we offer the latest in technology
with NEC quality assurance and high-class
after-sales support,” says Dhuria. “Our
focus is on corporate customers who
want quality product with high commitment
for services. We were the first to have
a specialized service centre for projector
and plasma in India.”
The focus of HP will be to create awareness
of the company’s digital projectors,
to get the HP IT channel to sell digital
projectors. The leading projector maker
also wants to address the key verticals
through its direct team.
“We try to create market awareness about
NEC Projectors by participating in audio
visual Expos, advertisements in business
newspapers and IT magazines,” says Dhuria.
The focus of Epson will be on the corporate
segment for data projectors.
“We will also increase focus on the
education segment by tapping into the
government’s initiative to introduce
the modern classroom – an Epson projector
in every classroom is our aim,” says
A. K. Harish.
The company also aims to create the
home segment for projectors over the
next few years and continues to make
projectors more affordable to all segments.
Finally…
The
market in India will continue to grow rapidly.
Data projectors will become de rigueur in
every office conference room. Projectors will
increasingly also enter the home as a preferred
cinema viewing experience. Prices will come
down further and the quality of picture will
get better even as projectors get smaller.
The amazing pace with which the Indian digital
projector industry has evolved from a nascent,
niche industry to its current state of early
maturity is truly mind-boggling. The outlook
for the projector market in India continues
to be good. The products are moving towards
systemization and planning. The application
region of projectors is set to widen in the
near future, thanks to the development of
the product. Projectors are showing signs
of gradual migration from business use to
home applications. It can also be said with
definiteness that the Indian projector market
will keep its development momentum at a good
speed.
