At Optoma we are looking towards the coming year with great enthusiasm. Optoma is the first brand which has introduced the LaserTV projector worldwide. The Product was introduced in 2019. Even today, when we talk about projectors, Optoma is the worldwide leader in the 4K and DLP projector segment. Our market share for 4K UHD space is more than 50 percent and we have two products in that category, one is P1 Pro and other is P2.
These two models come in different colours of white and black and give a lot of flexibility to the consumers. This segment is fastest growing in projectors and is giving tough competition to the TV industry. When we see the per inch cost of a projector versus the TV, projector TCO is much lower. In 2022 we will see another round of models coming up in this Laser TV Projector segment, this segment is going to be a game changer in the consumer industry. With the new model we will bring affordability in the segment so that it could also focus on medium range segments along with the high-net-worth category.
With a new generation of Ultra Short Throw Projectors like Optoma P2 to achieve 120” big screen is merely a matter of a few inches from the wall. The installation related issues are taken care of with smart APP’s and highly flexible products which can be bought off the shelf and installed just like television. Smart Projectors are also able to take voice commands and are compatible with Alexa and Google assistance. The projected screen is customizable. This means that a high-end projector could cater the needs of a small family movie night as well as a group of 20-25 people as the output & projected location can be changed easily to suit the requirements. Another factor that comes into play in favour of the projector and AV segment is the cost-benefit analysis. Unlike traditional televisions, projectors have the lowest cost (on a per-inch of screen basis).
Typical 4K content is best enjoyed at 120” plus which can only be provided by a Projector whether it is movies, OTT programs, and large-scale sporting events like football world cup or Olympics games they are best enjoyed on large screens.
India is the third largest projector consumer market worldwide, and brands like Epson, BenQ and Optoma take top three positions in India. Prior to COVID, the consumption was good in education, government and home categories. Education segment alone contributed a total of 60 percent of business and during the pandemic, the demand for projectors were shortened in schools and colleges and this 60 percent suddenly dipped to 0 percent, which no-one has ever thought of. All the projector manufacturers came under tremendous pressure, also this happened in March which was a peak time for education segment buyers. Most of the large brands including Optoma were under great pressure at that point of time. The only segment which surged during COVID time is the home segment as customers started bringing entertainment in their homes, because cinemas were closed and the demand suddenly increased in the home segment. Primary drivers were 4k Content and OTT Platforms which were readily adopted by the consumers. Earlier, demand for the home projector segment was limited to metro cities, but during the pandemic, demand started to increase from tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well. People have started investing in large screen entertainment because of affordability and flexibility, lot of IT and other professionals moved from metros to tier 2 and tier 3 cities creating the spike and have given a lot of room to all brands to focus on this growing segment. This was the only segment within the projectors that saw growth and has almost grown by 300 percent year on year and that was a welcome change.
– The above article is authored by Mr. Vijay Sharma, Country Head India, Optoma Corporation.
