Belgium - Barco (www.barco.com) has recently signed a series of major deals. One of the eye-catchers is that with AED Display. The company purchased 18 HDX-W18, 24 ultra-bright HDF-W26 and 10 HDQ-2K40 projectors, thus providing its European customers with the world’s brightest projectors for the rental and staging market. The new range will be presented during demo days, including workshops, on 10 and 11 July next.
A long-term customer of Barco and part of the AED group, AED Display is a trendsetter in Europe’s rapidly changing audiovisual industry. The company provides AV professionals with both rental and installation services. Its broad rental pool, which comprises Barco’s full range of projection and image processing systems, is now being extended with the new compact HDX-W18, the very bright HDF-W26 and top-of-range HDQ-2K40 projectors.

Reliable and powerful projection
Barco’s HDX-W18 was introduced in January last, as the 18,000 lumens addition to the HDX range. The HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 high-definition, three-chip DLP projectors are part of a series of three that Barco launched this June during InfoComm. With a light output of 26,000 and 40,000 lumens, respectively, the HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 projectors display crisp images with rich colors even in venues with lots of ambient light. The projectors are fully ready to support 3D projection and allow for flexible scaling, thanks to Barco’s ImagePRO technology with Athena scaler. Much-appreciated extras include the wireless control features (smartphone or tablet), the modular design for easy installation and service and the ‘built-for-the-road’ ruggedness – the latter ensuring years of reliable service. What’s more; Barco’s HDX-W18, HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 projectors will be available with a unique adjustable brightness feature later this year. Thanks to this “light-on-demand” technology, rental partners will have full flexibility to tune the light output of their projector to the specific needs of their customer’s event. AED Display already ordered the ‘light-on-demand’ option for the HDX-W18 projectors it purchased.

Constantly stepping up brightness levels
“We are very excited about these new add-ons to our range. Our customers are constantly looking for new, better, brighter AV installations to impress the audience. As befits a pioneering AV supplier like AED, we wanted to be the first in the Benelux to offer these exceptionally bright and robust DLP projectors from our trusted partner Barco. Thanks to their 26,000 and 40,000 lumens light output and 2K resolution, respectively, the HDF-W26 and HDQ-2K40 display stunning images. They are bound to meet the requirements of the most demanding events. The HDX-W18, for its part, is sure to be popular for its compactness and light weight, without compromising resolution, brightness or contrast levels. And, of course, we are looking forward to the promising ‘light-on-demand’ technology,” said Thierry Heldenbergh, Managing Director, AED Display.

Strengthening foothold
Barco, for its part, is glad that its new products are so quickly finding their way to the rental market. Mark Bultinck, Vice President Sales W-Europe Entertainment Division: “Our R&D team designed the new projectors building on years of experience in the rental and staging market. The products meet the growing demand for exceptional brightness, while being easy to install and very robust – just what event organizers want. We are delighted that AED Display has understood this. We have been working with the AED group for many years now and appreciate their expertise, customer services, reliability and continuity. We are confident this investment will help both Barco and AED Display strengthen their foothold in the Benelux.”