Epson set to dominate the entry level home entertainment market

September 2002

Sydney 28th September 2002 - Epson Australia Limited (EAL) today announced the release of the best value multi-purpose entertainment projector on the Australian Market. The launch of EMP-30 heralds the first vendor in the market to deliver top quality home entertainment technology at a retail price point below $3,000 for home theatre lovers.

Packed with features normally associated with high-end theatre projectors, the EMP-30 is a brand leader in the entry-level market. For the first time in Australia Epson have brought a feature rich projector to the consumer market for a recommended retail price under $3000, without compromising quality or features.

Director of Marketing for Epson Australia Paul Betts said:

"With the EMP-30, Epson makes a statement about our intent to capture a significant share of the home entertainment market. Epson is the world's leading manufacturer of multimedia projectors by volume, although I don't think a lot of Australian's know that! We have the number one market share position in most countries, due to the quality of our products and our focus on customer service and value for money."

Home use was the design inspiration behind the EMP-30 from the beginning. Every aspect of its design is intended to make it easy to use and simple to connect. With three simple buttons for source select, keystone correction and focus, the EMP-30 makes set-up a breeze. For the more technical user, the mini remote allows access to the on screen menu and a wide variety of settings, but the aim is to get the user up and running quickly by using the set top buttons.

A simple basic set of input plugs with clear, easy to understand labels make it a snap to plug in your VCR, camcorder, computer game or PC.

In the home market it is often a case of setting up the console on a coffee table and projecting on the nearest wall. This means projecting the image upwards resulting in a "trapezoid" image instead of a square one. This is easily solved with the "keystone correct" button on the top panel.

Projecting a large image onto a nearby surface is a breeze with the EMP-30; a 127cm image can be projected from as close as 1.5 meters, while maximum image size is up to whopping 7.5m.

"That is why I'm pleased to launch the EMP-30 - the best value home projector on the Australian market. The EMP-30 puts the benefits of a multimedia projector in the hands of Australian consumers for the same price as an entry-level wide screen TV. In effect the EMP-30 opens up an entire new market for Epson, and we're very excited about it," Mr Betts said.

Historically data projectors have been designed for high contrast and vivid brightness. This was a result of the output types expected from a PC PowerPoint show and the need to operate in variable light conditions when presenting a road show or seminar in many different venues. This high contrast nature of most data projectors produces an "overbright" and "pixelated" image when watching DVD or VCR movies. Epson's engineers thus developed the Epson Cinema Filter a simple UV type filter that easily snaps over the projector lens and softens video images to produce a better movie experience.

The Epson EMP-30 Home Theatre Projector will be available to purchase from Epson's internet site at: http://www.experience.epson.com.au from December 5th 2002.

SEC predicts that within 3 years, projectors will make up 60% of the home theatre market (including rear projection).

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