Recognized worldwide for its cameras and lenses, Leica intends to shake up television codes with its Leica Cine 1, a high-end video projector developed in partnership with Hisense.
The IFA, which is currently taking place in Berlin, is an opportunity for manufacturers to present their new products. Leica, a historic manufacturer of high-end cameras and lenses, has teamed up with Hisense to enter a new market with the Leica Cine 1, a premium 4K projector available in two versions of 80 and 100 inches.
Absolutely high-end
Leica is not familiar with entry-level or mid-range products. It is therefore only natural that its first video projector aims to position the brand at the top of what is for the company a new market to conquer. The product’s aluminum case perfectly matches the aspirations of the brand and contains everything necessary to “fundamentally changing the TV screen market”.
Its “triple laser RGB” technology displays an image in 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) and a contrast ratio of 1000:1 (up to 2,000,000:1 in HDR), while Leica announces that it covers more than 95 % of BT2020 color space. The maximum brightness peaks at 2500 lumens for the 100 inch model and 2100 lumens for the 80 inch version. The German brand mentions a lifespan of 25,000 hours for its triple RGB laser. The whole goes through a Leica Summicron optic integrating aspherical elements. On the display distance side, Leica advances a projection ratio of 0.25, predicting a distance of between 50 and 65 cm.
The Wetzlar optician does not hide his ambition to fully replace a television and integrates all the equipment into his Cine 1 accordingly. On the connection side, the Cine 1 is complete, integrating a TV tuner, two HDMI 2.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 ARC port, two USB sockets (USB 2.0 and USB 3.0), as well as an optical output, an audio output and a port RJ45. To go along with the image, the Leica projector incorporates a complete Dolby Atmos audio system powered by two 20W speakers.
Leica has not yet communicated prices for its Leica Cine 1100 and 80 inches. However, the PX1-Pro, HiSense’s top-of-the-range projector, is positioned at €2,999 on the Old Continent. We must therefore expect a similar or even higher price for the Leica model, which should be marketed from the second quarter of 2022.