From displays to destination

• Features

• 20/04/2026

Ask May Lin Tan what’s changed in projection and she’ll give you three answers and none of them are about resolution. Compact form factors. Serious brightness gains. And a sharp reduction in heat output.

She says: “When I joined the industry with Epson, we were talking about a maximum of maybe slightly more than 12,000 lumens. Now we have the Phenom projector going all the way to 30,000.”

She continues: “Projectors are getting brighter, more compact, and more eco-friendly. It’s no longer just about showing content — you’re able to interact with it and become part of it.”

The eco angle matters more than it might seem. With energy costs, and scrutiny, on the rise across the region, the fact that Epson projectors emit significantly less heat than previous generations is a genuine commercial consideration for large venues and commercial operators.

Tan notes: “Electricity consumption is an area that commercial spaces can no longer ignore.”

But the most significant shift isn’t technical, it’s conceptual. Projection, Tan argues, has moved from passive display to active experience. The Singapore Flyer Time Capsule installation is the latest example where multiple projectors work in concert abd audience members are pulled into the story rather than seated in front of it.

She explains: “What Singapore Flyer really wanted was to pull their audience into the storytelling , to have the audience participate in the whole showcase. They become a part of it, not just passively looking at it.”

That brief, she says, crystallised something Epson had been seeing across the region. The large canvas is no longer enough and the experience has become the focal point.

So where does Epson see the growth? Tan identifies two areas and is deliberate about naming them.

The first is education. In a standard classroom, she points out, display size is a genuine equity issue. Children seated at the back need to read PowerPoint slides and Word documents just as clearly as those at the front. Projection delivers that large-format clarity at a price point that flat panels simply can’t match.

Tan says: “A large screen enables children to see clearly wherever they’re seated. Projection can deliver that at an affordable cost and that’s where it continues to matter most in emerging markets.” 

The second is public experience spaces such as museums, tourist attractions, and cultural venues. The Singapore Flyer project sits squarely in this bracket, but it points to a broader pipeline of opportunities as venues across APAC look to distinguish themselves through immersive, participatory experiences rather than conventional display.

For integrators working across the region, the message from Epson is clear: projection is no longer a compromise technology waiting to be replaced by something better. It’s the centrepiece. And in the hands of the right partner — with the right brief — it’s capable of making an audience forget they’re looking at a screen at all.