Beyond the screen: Why projection is becoming more relevant to modern experiences
For many customers, the starting point for an AV project is relatively straightforward: existing equipment needs replacing or a new space requires a visual solution for the first time.
The common challenge is making the available budget work hard enough.
That budget must often cover displays, audio, installation and ongoing support, with every element expected to deliver clear performance and long-term value. At the same time, customer ambitions are growing. A conventional one or two-screen installation may no longer be enough for a visitor attraction, educational environment or hospitality venue looking to offer a more memorable experience.
These two pressures may appear contradictory. Customers want to achieve more while maintaining control over cost, complexity and ongoing operations.
Projection can offer an effective answer to both.
Creating more with the available space
Projection is sometimes discussed as though it were simply an alternative to a traditional display. In reality, its greatest strength is often the freedom it provides.
A projected image is not restricted to a predetermined panel size or standard rectangular format. Light can be used to cover a much larger canvas, transform an unusual surface or create an experience that extends across an entire room.
This opens opportunities for environments ranging from classrooms and lecture theatres to museums, live events and hospitality venues. It can support conventional presentations and teaching, but it can also enable projection mapping, interactive gaming, sports simulation and fully immersive installations.
Walls, floors, architectural features and specially created objects can all become part of the visual experience. The technology is separated from the illuminated surface, helping to protect the projector while allowing audiences to interact more freely with the content.
For resellers and integrators, this flexibility creates an opportunity to think beyond the screen and consider how the customer’s complete environment could be used.
Balancing ambition with value
Not every customer begins with a vision for an immersive room. Many simply need to modernise outdated equipment or introduce AV into a space where nothing currently exists.
In these projects, value remains essential.
Customers need confidence that their investment will perform reliably and remain suitable as their requirements evolve. They may also need to create a large image without committing a disproportionate share of the project budget to the visual element.
Modern projection can make large-scale visuals more accessible while offering flexibility over image size, placement and installation. A projector and lens can be selected to suit the dimensions and practical constraints of the environment rather than expecting the space to accommodate a fixed-format display.
This can be particularly useful within education and the public sector, where project budgets may need to stretch across multiple rooms or sites. It can also help visitor attractions and hospitality businesses deliver greater visual impact without allowing the technology to dominate the physical space.
The conversation should therefore begin with the desired result. What should users be able to see, feel or do within the environment? How might the use of the space change? What will be required to maintain the experience over time?
Once those outcomes are clear, the most appropriate technology can follow.
Immersion is becoming a wider opportunity
Immersive experiences are no longer limited to specialist entertainment venues.
Museums and visitor attractions are using projection to bring stories and exhibits to life. Educational organisations can create more engaging teaching environments. Hospitality venues are exploring interactive gaming and sports simulation as new reasons for customers to visit and stay longer.
The Poolhouse installation demonstrates how projection can support this type of experience. Epson EB-PU2213B projectors were selected to help deliver high-quality interactive gaming, with flexible lens options and constant brightness functionality supporting the practical demands of the installation.
The example highlights an important point: creating an immersive environment is not only about visual spectacle. The technology must also fit the available space, deliver consistent performance and remain manageable throughout its working life.
This is where careful planning and specialist guidance become essential. Projection provides creative freedom, but the result still depends on factors such as room dimensions, ambient light, image coverage, lens selection, mounting positions and the intended interaction with the projected surface.
Efficiency now extends beyond power consumption
Sustainability and operational efficiency are becoming increasingly important within technology procurement.
Power consumption remains part of the discussion, but customers are also looking more closely at how equipment is produced, packaged, transported, stored and maintained.
The separation of projectors and lenses can support a more considered approach to specification. Rather than replacing an entire system when requirements change, organisations may be able to select or reuse the lens most appropriate for a new application.
This modularity can also be valuable to rental and staging businesses. Interchangeable lens fleets that work across multiple projector platforms can reduce the amount of equipment that needs to be stored and transported while providing greater flexibility when responding to different projects.
Compact hardware can deliver similar operational advantages. Smaller and lighter equipment is easier to handle, transport, rig and store, potentially reducing the resources required around each deployment.
These considerations demonstrate why efficiency should be assessed across the complete product lifecycle rather than through one measurement alone.
High brightness without the traditional footprint
The latest projector developments are helping customers achieve greater visual impact while addressing the practical demands of installation and rental.
Epson’s EB-XQ2030B is a 30,000-lumen 4K projector designed for applications including rental and staging, visitor attractions, immersive spaces, digital art installations and demanding fixed installations. Epson describes it as the world’s smallest and lightest 30,000-lumen 4K projector.
Its compact and lightweight design can make high-brightness projection easier to transport, handle and install. Interchangeable lenses also provide greater freedom when working around difficult room layouts, complex surfaces or restricted mounting positions.
For a rental business, reducing the size and weight of equipment can support easier fleet management and faster deployment. For a fixed installation, it can help integrators introduce powerful projection into spaces where access, structure or available mounting room would otherwise present a challenge.
The customer benefit is not simply 30,000 lumens in a smaller chassis. It is the ability to deliver ambitious, large-scale experiences with fewer logistical constraints.
Starting with possibilities rather than products
As customer expectations develop, projection allows resellers and integrators to approach projects from a different perspective.
Instead of asking how many screens a customer needs, the conversation can begin with the experience they want to create. Instead of assuming that walls and floors are boundaries, they can be considered part of the available canvas.
This does not mean every project needs to become an immersive attraction. Projection remains a practical option for customers replacing outdated AV or looking for a reliable, scalable visual solution within a limited budget.
Its strength is that it can address both ends of the requirement: straightforward communication and ambitious visual experiences.
Epson will be showcasing the EB-XQ2030B at Tech Xpo 2026, giving attendees the opportunity to experience its compact, high-brightness performance first-hand and explore how projection can support rental, fixed installation and immersive applications.
Visitors will also be able to speak with Epson and Midwich specialists about current projects, from upgrading existing AV environments to creating interactive experiences across education, visitor attractions, hospitality and live events.
Tech Xpo brings technologies, expertise and complete solutions together in one place, helping resellers and integrators consider how different elements can work together to solve real customer challenges.
Join us at Ascot Racecourse on 21 and 22 October 2026 to discover the latest from Epson and explore what projection could bring to your next project.
