Cinemas are being set up at home – Kommersant FM

Devices for projecting images have replaced cinemas for Russians. Retailers talk about a multiple increase in demand for such devices compared to 2022. Thus, according to Vedomosti, sales at Ozon and Megamarket increased fourfold, and at M.Video-Eldorado and Wildberries – five to six times. And according to the Fplus holding, approximately 65 thousand projectors were bought in Russia in six months – twice as much as during the same period last year.

Buyers are attracted not only by the opportunity to watch movies on the big screen, says Fplus business analyst Arthur Makhlayuk:

“Now sales of small projectors in units are growing. In the absence of Western films in cinemas, this is a pretty good option to watch what is not fully represented on the market in our country. Many manufacturers have compact projectors. The price from retailers is up to 25 thousand rubles. They are not always good in image quality, but their attractive price, availability and compactness are all that attract the buyer.”

Among the most popular manufacturers, retailers name Chinese Xiaomi, Taiwanese Acer and South Korean Samsung. Projectors have a good chance of occupying a certain niche in the market, says IT expert Alexander Baulin:

“This is not the first time that projectors have tried to penetrate the home theater. In the 2000s and 10s, projectors made a qualitative leap. They were cheap – under $1 thousand – and you could watch an HD picture from a distance of three meters. It looked quite interesting, and the device could be taken anywhere with you.

Then displays took a step forward, we got a bunch of cheap models, and projectors fell by the wayside. And now projectors are again approaching them in price. Nowadays you can buy televisions ranging in size from 32 to 65 inches cheaply. And above 75 inches, models are already becoming quite expensive – around 100 thousand rubles. And for $1 thousand you can buy a projector that will produce a 100-inch image. Due to the fact that people have a need to watch quality content, projectors can find a niche for those who want a very large picture.”

According to Fplus, most often Russians choose projectors from the entry-level price segment. They account for 40% of all sales. And on average, a projector costs about $1 thousand. But this is only part of the cost of viewing, says IT expert, editor-in-chief of vilianov.com Sergei Vilyanov:

“A good projector, which is not very embarrassing, costs about 100 thousand rubles. And if it’s really good, with the ability to play 4K video, HDR is 200-250 thousand rubles. Plus you’ll have to buy a screen. A good one costs about 50 thousand rubles. and even more. To have sound, you will have to pay another 10 thousand. It turns out that the minimum cost will be 120-130 thousand rubles. – so-so projector, so-so screen and some kind of sound.

For this amount you can buy a very decent TV, which will have HDR, a large diagonal, and sound. And the vast majority of people do just that. That is, a projector is fun for wealthy gentlemen with a nice big house, where there is a separate room for cinema. But for everything else, TV is so much better that it’s hard to even compare.”

At the same time, retailers are talking about a decrease in the average bill in the projector segment. In “M. Video-Eldorado” for the year it decreased by half, in “Citylink” and Ozon – by 10-12%.

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Ilya Sizov