Abhilesh Guleria, Head, Multimedia Product group, NEC India Pvt. Ltd, talks to Pragya Gupta about the growing popularity of projector technology in the education space and emerging trend of 3D projectors in India…
Tell us about your views on the projector market in the Indian education space.
The demand for projectors has been growing year on year. The growth trend is expected to continue. Currently, the education market is around 46 percent or so. The value of the units is gradually coming down. We introduced a new V3 projector this year. The V3 is specifically targeted at the education sector, and it is getting phenomenal response.
18 months back, we started our focus on education sector and we have already made significant progress. Our products are geared to give great performance and we also provide good service setup and backup. We can say proudly today that NEC Projectors are powering more than 7000 smart classrooms.
Can you throw some light on the awareness among academia about the advantages of having 3D projectors in the classrooms?
There has been a lot of excitement about how 3D technology can be used in the education sector. The most important thing is that when we use 3D technologies or 3D projectors, it is possible to enhance the scope of education that is being offered. It gives a special edge in the whole learning experience because it is exciting, it is immersive and it is also more effective than the conventional teaching method. Imagine showing a heart beating in 3D rather than reading the text and showing a 2D diagram. The students and the consumers are immersed in the internet technology, so they find it better if they are thought through projectors. The comprehension and retention of the students shows a marked increase when they are being taught through visual media.
What about your presence in Higher Education segment?
Higher education is a strong customer base for NEC. We thought about the value that we can bring to our customers and so we started these strategic alliance programmes, which focus on bringing in solution, based approach in our products. Universities like SRM University and Sharda University have adopted multiple power projectors. Almost all the IITs are hiring our Power Projectors for educational initiatives. We are also focusing on the 3D technology space.
What are the challenges that you are facing in generating and providing 3D content?
The main challenge is that all the education content has not been developed with 3D in mind. So the first problem is the development of 3D content. Earlier we had content which was contextual and the first step of digitisation was focussed on making that content digital. Later the incorporation of multimedia elements came into picture, and interactivity came into being. Now we are talking about 3D. Creation of 3D content is also going to be a gradual process. Content providers also understand that creation of 3G content is a critical area. They have now started working on it. The next few years are going to be interesting and we will see more and more 3D adoption happening in classrooms.
Can there be any side effects in students if they watch 3D content for extended hours?
The important point is that if an institute is deploying 3D technology, they cannot afford to cut corners. They have to get their equipment from best solution providers in the market. You cannot have a Chinese kind of a 3D glass which might have medical effects. I think today’s technology has evolved to a level where it can be deployed safely. I think during the next three years we are going to see much higher levels of deployment, when it comes to 3D projectors.
