Affordable laptops, cheap projectors, and growing rave/club culture drove the 2000s VJ boom

The article identifies three converging factors behind the rapid expansion of VJing in the 2000s: (1) affordable and faster laptops capable of real-time video; (2) a drop in video-projector prices (accelerated by the dot-com bust flooding the market with surplus gear); and (3) the emergence of strong rave scenes and international growth of club culture, which created more performance contexts needing live visuals. Together these produced an explosion of new VJ artists and styles, and also enabled a less visible movement of artists making algorithmic, generative visuals.

Examples

After the dot-com bust, companies offloaded projectors cheaply, bringing them within reach of individual artists; combined with faster laptops, a VJ could now carry a full rig to a gig instead of relying on hardware mixers and tape decks.

Assessment

List the three main factors the article gives for the proliferation of the VJ scene in the 2000s, and explain how each lowered the barrier to performing live visuals.