Acer announced the availability of its Predator Z850 gaming projector, the "world's first" projector designed for gaming. If you want the new device to become the envy of your next LAN party or the cornerstone of your gaming sanctum, you'll have to cough up a considerable wad of cash—the Predator Z850 costs $5,000.
The Predator Z850 features an ultra-wide aspect ratio of 24:9, effectively displaying a 50 percent wider image compared to traditional 16:9 displays. The 1920 x 720 image can be stretched up to 120 inches (diagonally) from a distance as small as 18.5 inches, saving space requirements usually associated with projectors. The 3,000-lumens laser diodes provide an impressive 100,000:1 contrast ratio for rich and vivid colors, even at massive screen sizes.
To connect your PC, the Acer Predator Z850 sports two VGA inputs, two HDMI inputs and an RCA input. To save yourself from a potential mess of wires, the Z850 can be paired with an optional wireless HD kit to stream content.
Acer appears to be a lone wolf in a whole new market segment (which it seems to have created itself), and the $5,000 price tag could perhaps be the starting point for high-end laser projectors of this nature. Until a competitor presents us with an alternative, we'll have to assume Acer is giving us a somewhat fair price for the Predator Z850, since projectors aren't cheap; but we can't imagine we'll be seeing many of these in the wild anytime soon because of its steep cost. Still, it's nice to dream.
Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.
