The PT-DZ21K projector series – designed for use at the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony in London – is to be discontinued
Panasonic has announced it will move its complete high brightness projection range to laser, with the discontinuation of the PT-DZ21K projector series, enabling lower maintenance and greater reliability in the rental and staging market.
Set to be discontinued in spring, the DZ21K was originally designed for the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in London, introduced a new platform for 20,000 lumens and helped Panasonic’s market share in the segment reach 80 per cent, a mark it claims to have retained today. Being half the size and half the weight of other products in its class enabled giant projection mappings like the Bucharest 555 celebrations in 2014, which featured 104 units or the Guinness World Record of Projection Mapping which saw 142 units used at the Moscow Circle of Lights festival in 2015.
Panasonic introduced its first laser platform in 2014, and launched its flagship laser projector, the PT-RZ21K, at ISE in 2017, providing the same level of brightness of 20,000 lumens in the DZ21K’s original compact housing.
“The DZ21K changed the market for 20,000 lumens, but the rental, staging and events market has fully embraced laser projection”
Hermetically sealed laser modules mean the RZ21K provides non-interrupted projection for up to 20,000 hours. This provides greater reliability and colour uniformity for rental companies, reducing the maintenance burden and the total cost of ownership.
A reference model for large venue and rental projectors ever since its introduction, the RZ21K projectors was used to illuminate the Eiffel Tower in the ‘Japonismes 2018’ anniversary of 160 years of Franco-Japanese friendship. In addition, six RZ21K’s were used in the performance of ‘Guidizio Universale. Michelangelo and the secrets of the Sistine Chapel’, transporting audiences into a 270 degree projection of the Sistine Chapel to display the artist’s famous works.
“The DZ21K changed the market for 20,000 lumens, but the rental, staging and events market has fully embraced laser projection,” said Hartmut Kulessa, European Marketing Manager at Panasonic. “The benefits in regards to the total reliability and lower maintenance of the laser platform are self-evident, so it’s time to draw the era to a close. With the laser technology, we will see the market further expanding with an increasing number of semi-permanent and permanent mappings that become commercially viable thanks to the improved operation of the laser projectors.”
The PT-DZ21K projector will be discontinued in March 2019, with the PT-RZ21K currently available for purchase.