In Conversation with Eric Wei, ViewSonic

Recently, Times Now’s Siddharth Shankar had the opportunity to interview Eric to get a better understanding of the projector market in India, the impact of Covid-19 on the demand for projectors, the penetration of projectors in the consumer segment, the possibility of projectors being used as a replacement for televisions, and the latest technologies ViewSonic is planning to bring to India. Read on to find out what Eric had to say!

Excerpts

Siddharth: How does the Projector Market in India look like? Has the market seen a drop in demand post covid?

Eric : The projector market has witnessed an unprecedented transformation in the past ten years. As a result, India is one of the essential markets for projectors. The top players in the projector industry have advanced the projector market by providing best-in-class technology, updating their features in line with market demands, and creating products that are easy to use.

Earlier, projectors were primarily used in corporate or business settings. But with time, projectors are becoming integral to the smart classroom and education ecosystem. To make the classroom interactive, educators use projectors which enhance the quality of content displayed and seek interest amongst the learners. For instance, our LS series is compatible with the features of a smart classroom.

Our home entertainment projectors enhance the viewing experience in the broader space by delivering a cinematic experience perfect for home entertainment enthusiasts. Our M series M2e LED portable projector and the award-winning X1000-4K+ LED Soundbar Projector has seen a significant interest amongst the audience, which has proven beneficial to our business. In quarter two, our market share was 62%, and we are India’s number 1 LED projector brand.

Siddharth: Apart from the corporate, and academia usage, what is the penetration of Projectors in the consumer segment.

Eric : Home theatre projectors are becoming one of the most preferred categories under the projector segment. Home theatre set-up became the most suitable and comfortable choice when people were compelled to stay indoors due to the pandemic. Projectors proficiently drive this essence, and as mentioned, our recently launched X1000-4K+ LED Soundbar Projector and M2e LED portable projectors are compatible with providing a home theatre experience. The demand from customers for projectors offering 4K resolution, perfect audio, superior colour display and crystal-clear visual has been widely in demand. Understanding the crux, our experts have developed products that adhere to industry standards and consumer requirements and are user-friendly. Furthermore, we enhanced our technology and brought lamp-free technologies into some of our projectors, making them more durable, longer life, value for money and environmentally beneficial.

Some of our recent entertainment freak products are:

Possessing world-class design, X1000-4K+ LED Soundbar Projector is perfectly blended with metallic paint and speaker cloth and mesh with elegant curves, creating a minimalist, unique modern piece of art. Furthermore, the product comes with a 40W Harman Kardon-customized soundbar, delivering room-filling, crystal-clear audio perfect for music and flicks. Combining projector and soundbar in a package that blends interior design elements with high-tech appeal, the projector features also include enhanced brightness and superior colour display (125% Rec. 709), with a lifespan of 30,000 hours.

Siddharth: Can LED and Laser based high brightness projector be a Television replacement?

Eric : With the shift in the trend and evolution in the projector segment, projectors are becoming an important product enhancing the concept of smart home essentials. Television and projectors have different applications and usage demands, but projectors have significantly gained high demand.

As mentioned, the evolution in the projector segment has made it possible for us to shift our entertainment experience from TV and theatre to magnified smart projector screens. More and more people seek larger displays to deliver more immersive and engaging entertainment experiences as 4K becomes the industry standard for home theatres and video games. The projector is mainly considered a heavy device throwing an image on a plain white surface; however, it has now been transformed into a new and evolved product. Projectors are available for every category, from premium to affordable range. Nonetheless, the projectors are now equipped with user-friendly features and technologies such as LED, lamp-free, portable, smart projectors across different shapes and sizes with evolved features.

As we observe a new approach toward entertainment especially creating a theatre-like experience at home, these ergonomically designed projectors are gaining significant popularity over TV, offering better and enhanced viewing experience in the comfort of home. Moreover, lamp-free projectors are becoming highly prevalent as they are considered affordable, eco-friendly, less hazardous and are equipped with better brightness that performs in bright living room conditions. On the other hand, LED, Laser, and smart projectors are substantially more modern and compact in size.

Adding more quality to the projectors, the products are now in-built with sound bars giving acoustic audio and best-in-class projector screen-enhancing visuals. The idea of projectors taking the place of TVs is becoming increasingly popular, and in the coming days, we may witness a considerable shift in consumer preference.

Siddharth: What new technologies are you planning to bring to India in the projector segment?

Eric : In our projectors, we are incorporating new technology, such as LED. In addition, we develop projectors considering other elements along with technology, such as design and audio-visual performance. Our projectors are available under various segments, such as home entertainment, business, gaming and education.

A shift towards LED technology is becoming widely prevalent in visual products and solutions. With the recent advancements and upgrades in new technologies, LED technology has become a boon to the projector segment. We pioneered LED technology for projection as the technology possesses more efficiency, reliability, and durability, and the lifespan becomes 4-10 times more than the traditional lamp projector. It also possesses less maintenance and low power consumption, making it cost-effective. As a result, LED technology has been beneficial and promotes a greener and safe environment.

This year we launched Lamp Free LED Projectors LS500WHP and LS550WHE offer 3500 and 3000 ANSI Lumens, respectively, leveraging high brightness and a 125% Rec.709 vibrant colour gamut. Being lamp-free WXGA projectors, both products benefit the business and education sectors. Its other highlights are instant power on/off, which effortlessly give light to your presentations and its 360° tilt angle projection, enhancing flexible setup in small-to-medium-sized meeting rooms/classrooms.

We are also developing portable projectors that are highly suitable for home entertainment and travel freaks. Finally, advancing its audio system, we recently incorporated a Harmon Kardon Soundbar in our flagship model X1000-4K+, giving users a magnificent experience to view and listen to their favourite show without any external sound system.

With these innovations, we observe our projector segment growing globally and in the Indian market.

Siddharth: Gaming on projectors, with next-gen consoles like PS5 and XBOX, do you think large screen gaming has place in the country as 4K/120Hz televisions are equally expensive. Or do you think projectors can be used to gaming.

Eric : Yes, there are a variety of projectors tailored to the gaming needs and packed with features that every gamer wants when playing on the big screen. For example, features such as ultra-fast input capability and high refresh rate are highly capable advancing gaming experience.

Boosting this experience, our PX748-4K Projector is best suitable for gaming. It offers 4.2ms Ultra-Fast Input and hyper-responsive 240Hz refresh rate, plus the microsecond-level response time, ensures you to view with low delay and seamless viewing of fast-moving objects that will bring your sports-viewing-experience to the next level. The projector has the quickest input response time letting gamers decide if they want a competitive advantage at 1080p or incredible detail and HDR at 4K UHD resolution

Siddharth: ViewSonic’s expansion plan in the Edtech space

Eric : Being at the forefront of the education segment, we are happy to see that our products and solutions are evolving and enhancing our education ecosystem. Our integrated hardware and software ed-tech solutions are witnessing a significant interest amongst our educators and institutes globally. Our ViewBoard interactive displays and myViewBoard platform are being adopted by educational institutions and educators. We have also been the leading IFP brand since 2020, and in 2021, we gained a market share of 55%. With a user base of more than 7 million, myViewBoard established itself as a pioneer in its industry. Implementing and using our wide range of solutions benefit educators, learners, and institutes or schools. Over the last couple of years, we have primarily focused on positioning our Edtech solutions as one of the best, building a sustainable education ecosystem. Apart from this, we are aggressively engaging educators across India to develop communities which will extensively expand our reach amongst education institutes and educators.

As we aim to establish our presence in the Edtech space, we are aggressively developing the best solutions for every educator that positively impact the education ecosystem.

Seamlessly modifying hybrid or online teaching-learning methods, our Pen display and Whiteboard have been witnessing huge preference among learners and educators. For example, our ViewBoard Pen Display ID1330 helps learners write and manage notes, and it intuitively transmits content or queries in a digitized whiteboard handwriting format directly to the teacher. Similarly, our Whiteboard adds membrane to the entire classroom. It allows teachers to adopt their way of teaching, preparing and presenting engaging material that inspires students to participate and engage. Recently, we launched the Interactive Edtech ID2456 Smart Podium Solution with MPP2.0 Active Pen. This product eliminates mouse usage and gives free-hand work with a pen.

For Edtech, we also bring various myViewBoard tools; for instance, the myViewBoard Classroom tool augments the classroom environment. It is a robust solution, helping teachers streamline everything from taking attendance, facilitating students on tasks or sharing lesson materials from the dashboard. myViewBoard Sens, the AI-driven assistance enables that engagement by using an array of sensors to process data about the environment and students’ sensory states.

With developments in the Edtech space, we have recently won a tender to provide 1300 interactive flat panels (IFPs) for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) digital classroom project. Under this project, we installed 1300 IFPs with the myViewBoard software, allowing a seamless move to digital education and opening up new possibilities for educators and students. We are also strengthening our presence by contributing to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Government of India’s flagship programme in some states, such as Jharkhand and Bihar. Establishing ourselves as the leading EdTech solution provider with integrated software, we have helped over 1000+ classrooms with its interactive flat panels and software. Further, we aim to capture our presence across India and associate with state governments.

Siddharth: Since Projectors are more of an experiential product, what your plans for expanding touchpoints in the country

Eric : For any brand, user experience becomes crucial for building high or low brand value. Considering our innovative products and seamless services, we have been highly recommended by our Indian consumers. Witnessing a huge demand for our products, we felt the need to connect with our consumers directly. So, this year, we launched our first experience zone in Delhi, India showcasing our key products and solutions under one roof.

With the opening of the experience zone, we aim to provide an engaging and immersive experience, making it easier for our users to access all its AV and IT products and solutions. We are bringing all entertainment, gaming, business and educational solutions together under one roof and providing consumers and channel partners with an unparalleled experience. Further, it allows our consumers to experience innovative technology and redefine the visual experience with best-in-class products and solutions.

Our experience Zone also provides a first-hand experience with Hybrid Learning Classroom, strengthening our position as an Ed-tech solution provider. Witnessing our consumer interest and demand for the product, we expect to launch an experience zone in other metro cities and expand this further to tier 2 cities.

We also arrange various programs for our dealers and distributors across India. For example, to give first-hand experience of our product, we do demo sessions with our partners, which further benefits them in a detailed understanding of our products. We also arrange dealers meet state and zone basis and participate in B2B events which further gives us an opportunity to showcase our products and solutions.

With the industry trends and consumer needs, expanding our footfall and enhancing our brand image is imperative.

Siddharth: What should be few things consumers should look out for before buying a projector?

Eric : There are various factors that make a projector worth buying. Whereas it also depends on the consumer’s needs, i.e., what is the exact purpose of buying the projector.

The projector segment has grown and diversified into different segments and can be used for different purposes such as – Academic, Gaming, Home – Theatre and many more. The major factors that consumers should look out for before buying a projector are –