Leica is now making a Cine 1 laser projector that sits just inches from the wall

Today, Leica — yes, the camera company — announced its first ultra-short throw (UST) laser projector at the big IFA show in Germany, capable of producing a 4K image of up to 100 inches with Dolby Atmos sound.

This isn't Leica's first foray into digital projectors, which were once sold under the Pradovit brand. It has also collaborated with other projector makers, including this obscure UST model from last year.

The announcement was light on details, so my colleague John Porter demonstrated an early Cine 1 prototype at a Leica booth. What we learned from Ross Slavov, head of product management at Leica's newly formed Smart Projection business unit, is the company's current thinking regarding specs, pricing and delivery dates, which Slavov warned would come from release. . may change earlier.

The first thing to know about the Leica Cine 1 projector is that there are actually two of them in development, both using Leica lenses. One can produce about 2500 lumens to project a 100-inch 4K 60Hz image at a distance of 30cm (about 12 inches) from a display wall, while the other produces 2100 lumens to project an 80-inch image from a distance of 15cm Can do. , about six inches). Leica notes that each projector is tuned for each display size and does not recommend moving them toward or away from the wall. USTs look best with ambient light rejection (ALR) screens, which Leica will also be happy to sell you for about $1,800 for a larger screen, or about $1,600 for an 80-inch screen.

As for ports, the prototype has three HDMI totals (one HDMI 2.1 port with eARC), one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0, a built-in TV tuner, and a Common Interface slot. The US version will "probably" run Android TV. Leica is hoping that the projector will come with 4.2 Atmos-certified audio.

Remember, all this is the company's current thinking and is, therefore, subject to change. Leica is targeting a Q2 2023 release for Europe, Q3 for China, and Q4 for the US.