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On what optical principle does Hitachi's "Starboard" (or other "short-throw projector

On what optical principle does Hitachi's "Starboard" (or other "short-throw projector

On what optical principle does Hitachi's "Starboard" (or other "short-throw projector

(OP)
Hi!
I'm the guy who posted a thread back in '08 regarding acute angle projection & the Scheimpflug principle. That particular item has recently come back to me for development and I'm curious about a recent technology that we have observed in our very own conference room. We have Hitachi's starboard projection system- which is a pretty neat gadget in itself, but what's prompting this question is the unique optics involved. This projector overhangs a white screen, and projects a large, high resolution desktop onto it with a very focused, and balanced image. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to take it apart- but the optics I can observe externally illustrate what appears to be a fisheye lens projecting through what appears to be a nodal lens of some sort, and finally reflecting off of another convex nodal mirror before arriving flatly and in focus on the entirety of the screen.

This is probably going to be the result of years of devoted optical engineering and development as well as expensive & precision optics- however I'd like to learn more about what principles are at work here as an alternative to the Scheimpflug principle I was attempting to leverage on my last go-round. Any help figuring that out would be appreciated, even if only to provide some search terms to better define the lenses (I improvised the term "nodal lens" to indicate the lens/mirror with one vertical line of symmetry, but without a radial profile).

Thanks for any help!
Some examples:

http://www.dynamiccom.co.za/products/interactive/projectors
http://blog.svconline.com/briefingroom/2008/12/08/university-of-idaho-utilizes-hitachi-starboards-to-create-21st-century-educational-experience-in-science-classes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4HktVZmcKE

RE: On what optical principle does Hitachi's "Starboard" (or other "short-throw projector

Hitachi has a throw distance calculator: http://www.hitachidigitalmedia.com/includes/common/projectorwizard_v2/index.jsp?projector=207

see also:
http://optinvent.com/slim-zoom-optics.php

TTFN
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RE: On what optical principle does Hitachi's "Starboard" (or other "short-throw projector

(OP)
Thanks! That optinvent website looks great. I'm definitely giving them a call on Monday!

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