Ricoh entered the US projector market with one projector less than 3 years ago.
It was an ultra short throw design that we reviewed, and really liked. It didn't stay a one projector line-up for very long.
At Infocomm in Orlando today Ricoh showed off ten, yes, that's right, 10, new projectors, as well as showing 5 existing models. All the new models are DLP projectors although Ricoh's three brightest projectors which have been out for a while, are LCD designs. It's nice to see companies that use both technologies.
Three we’ll call value projectors, each with different resolutions with WXGA being the highest. They are all either 3000 or 3100 lumens claimed, have have HDMI of course.
Ricoh WX2240 - Ricoh's widescreen WXGA value portable
The PJ S2240 is the low end unit at $462 MSRP, while the PJ X2240 is $587, And the widescreen WXGA PJ WX2240 is $700 MSRP.
These are true portables – only 4 inches tall, and with a footprint of 12.5x9 – weighing in at only 5.75 pounds.
Now let’s turn to the other seven newly announced Ricoh projectors.
Ricoh has expanded its offerings in the Ultra Short Throw projector category. Before I get into more details, I’ll start with the throw distance.
They can produce a 60” diagonal image from only 2 feet, (very suitable for wall mounting above the screen, or over a table top and projecting on to it) while putting up a powerful 3300 lumens on the screen. While Ricoh is definitely targeting the education market with these two models, they will work very well in business and also in special applications including some digital signage. The two models are the RICOH PJ X4241N and RICOH PJ WX4241N, both producing 3300 lumens.
Ricoh's Very short throw WX4241N - suitable for wall mounting above a screen
The feature sets are hefty to say the least. There’s Miracast for peer to peer wireless, but also standard wireless and wired networking. There’s even an optional pen for more interactivity. There’s also a built in media player for video files. I’m sure there’s more, but that’s about all the press release shared. There’s even 360 degree operation allowing for presenting on table top or floor (or ceiling). Sounds impressive.
The press release didn’t state whether their networking supports Crestron Roomview. I’ll find out at my meeting with them. Bright, feature laden and mid-priced, the XGA RICOH PJ X4241N is $1,175, while the WXGA PJ WX4241N is only slightly higher at $1,250.00.
The PJ X3351N and PJ WX3351N are the next up, these Ricoh calls Desk Edge projectors. Their very short throw designs let’s you put them in front of the conference table or desk rather than on it, freeing up space, reducing noise and heat around the participants. How short throw you ask? Well you can fill a 40” screen from 2.5 feet, but more practically, that works out to a 60” diagonal screen from 3.75 feet – 45 inches. With smaller screens these should be wall mountable.
PJ-WX3351N "desk edge" (short throw) with 3500 lumens
These two are mid-priced with MSRPs of $1,165.00 for the RICOH PJ X3351N - And $1,275.00 for the WXGA PJ WX3351N.
That brings us to the “heavy metal” projectors. Well, in this day and age, I guess their 4000 (or 4100) lumens is hardly massively bright (nor are they the brightest Ricohs), but that’s plenty of brightness for most conference rooms and K-12 classrooms. These may find homes in some of those larger university classrooms and large training rooms as well.
The 4500 lumen PJ WX5460
The flagship of this standard series is the the RICOH PJ HD5450, Ricoh’s first full HD projector with 1080p resoutions. The other two models are the XGA PJ X5460, and the WXGA PJ WX5460. These “high bright” systems claim 4000 hours in eco mode. Not bad, just remember, that in most projector line-ups, the brightest models are also those with the shortest lamp life.
Pricing on these three is fairly aggressive. The XGA comes in at an MSRP of $1020, while the WXGA is $1188, and the HD – 1080p is $1435.
BTW, on the lighter side, kudos to Ricoh to price their projectors without forcing the prices to $..99.00, or $..95.00 (Which usually makes us think they are rounding upward.)
All but the three “entry level” projectors offer up “big sound” with a 10 watt speaker system.
And important to note: all Ricoh projectors come with a 3 year parts and labor warranty!
I would expect that we’ll end up reviewing two, or possibly three of these over the next year. I'm leaning to starting with the PJ WX5460 as the first in for review.
