Due to technicality associated with projectors,
people who wish to hire or buy them often end up getting a wrong one.
The aim of the article is to help you in selecting the projector which
suits your needs perfectly. The information available on the
Internet often emphasizes on one aspect of a projector - lumens or
brightness of the projector. However, like cameras (resolution in
megapixels), projectors too need to be chosen taking into consideration
various factors like
Resolution Brightness
User friendliness Data and video quality Advanced features
Depending on the need of the end user, the importance of
each of the factor will vary. You need to analyze your needs, and then
decide which of the factor is most important. Of course the sales
personnel will guide you, but it always is a better idea to know certain
things beforehand. Resolution of the Projectors Before we tackle
the resolution aspect of the projectors, it is important to understand
what does resolution refers to in projectors. Projectors usually are
classified according to the native resolutions they offer, which can be
put down as follows
SVGA Projectors(800x600)
XGA Projectors(1024x768) Projectors with Higher than XGA resolution
(SXGA, SXGA+, UXGA)
Remember, native resolution has
nothing to with video resolution. Modern age projectors are supposed to
support resolutions higher or lower than the source data (video)
resolutions. A projector renders a perfect image if the native
resolution and source data resolution are same. Often, the image quality
is impeded if the source resolution is higher than the native
resolutions. Thus, always consider what would be the resolution of the
source data while renting or purchasing a projector. Another
component which is related to resolution is the aspect ratio of the
image. Most computers and TVs support the 4:3 aspect ratios. High
definition televisions, home theatre systems and some computers now come
with 16:9 aspect ratio supports. Thus, factor in these requirements
while making a choice.
Now, whenever you are selecting a
projector, you should take into consideration the laptop or computer
that you will be connecting with the projector. The aim is to ensure
that native resolution and the source data resolution are the same.
However, if you are planning to upgrade your computer system at a later
stage, then take into consideration a higher native resolution projector
that would match the new computer system.
What
Resolutions Projector You Should Get? Statistics suggest
that around 40 percent of the projectors sold today are SVGA projectors.
And the major reason is budgetary constraint. SVGA projectors are
perfect for schools where the computers are not upgraded for years to
come. If you do not fall into this category, it is highly recommended
that you should buy or rent a XGA projector. Of course SVGA projectors
would work well with large font presentations, but they are utter
failures if data on an excel sheet needs to projected on the screen. You
should consider this point seriously if you need the projector for
business presentations. In Meeting Support and Specialty Presentations,
an SVGA projector would be useless as it would not be able to support
the resolution requirements that excel sheets, internal documents and
word documents demand. Some SVGA projectors would claim that the
compression technology can take care of this problem, but that again
would mean that the entire document would not be displayed properly. No
compression technology can make-up for the loss caused due to reduced
screen size. Thus, avoid SVGA projectors at all costs (even if you need
it for home purpose) and embrace XGA or higher.
Summarizing Resolution Aspect If possible try to stretch
the $95.00 (rental) budget to $150.00 and opt for a XGA projector XGA
projectors have been developed keeping in mind the future advancements.
They even have forward support for WXGA and WSXGA resolutions, which
even the latest SVGA projectors do not have. Present generation
laptops do not work at all with SVGA projectors. On the other hand,
irrespective of the resolution, all laptops work seamless with XGA
projectors. Brightness of Projectors Brightness is another
important factor to be considered in a projector. Brightness for
projectors is measured in lumens and the requirement depends on various
parameters, which are Ambient Lighting Ambient lighting is the
amount of light that emanates from various sources within the room or
projector setting. For instance, a room full of fluorescent lights will
need a projector with 2000+ lumens capacity. The moment you halve the
number of lights, the lumen requirement also halves. Screen Size
Screen size and lumen are directly proportional to each other. Bigger
the screen size, higher the lumen requirement. Screen size is measured
diagonally. The moment the screen size doubles, say from 5 feet to 10
feet, the lumen requirement goes up by 4 times. Type of
Presentation Normal data presentation like PowerPoint, data sheets
requires less lumen. However, in case of videos or high contrast
pictures, the lumen requirements shoot up exponentially. Moreover, if
the video has some dark scenes, then ambient lighting would play a spoil
sport. In that case, brightness requirement would be extremely high.
You can determine the rooms lighting as follows -
Low
Lighting If you are able to read a newspaper with some strain Medium Lighting If you can read a book comfortably Bright Lot of ambient light coming from sources
such as fluorescents and sunlight
As a thumb rule, 1000-1200
lumen projectors can serve most small rooms with small screens provided
ambient light is limited. For medium sized rooms with medium sized
screens, 2000 lumens would be more than enough. In fact, the same
projector can serve a large room if ambient light is controlled.
Projectors with 3000+ lumens are suited for rooms with fixed
installations and are ideal for trade shows, convention centers and
large screen environments. User Friendliness Now, a projector
should not just be a projector. Once you start the projector, you have
to make a few adjustments to get the image right -
Tweaking the colors Control contrast and brightness Rapidly
change the sources of data Fully functional remote control which
also is user friendly Easy to clean or change the filter
If the projector is for home use, the end user will get quickly
accustomed to such user friendly features. But you should lay special
emphasis on user friendliness if the projector will be used at a
business premise and multiple users will be handling it. The point is,
accessing all these functionalities should be easy. Advanced
Features Would you be buying an iPhone if it was capable only of
making and receiving calls? So why should your projector be any
different. Although most of the advanced features mentioned below would
be beneficial for business users, they still are important and need to
be given due consideration. Interchangeable Lens
A lot depends on the lens of the projector. If the projector is moved
frequently and the room settings undergo frequent changes, then it is
better to get a projector with interchangeable lenses. Most projectors
with interchangeable lenses come with one long throw zoom and one wide
angle zoom lens. In some projectors, the lens can be changed real quick
(bayonet mount) whereas in most others, you need to unscrew the lens
holder and replace the lens. If you need to change lenses in between the
presentation, opt for quick release lenses. Networking
Capabilities Projectors that can be controlled from a
distance are said to be network enabled. Networking can either be wired
or wireless. Modern wireless enabled projectors can be connected
seamless through the regular Wi-Fi network to a laptop or a computer and
also can be controlled remotely. With a wireless projector, there is no
question of making complicated connections or changing sources
frequently. All can be done with click of a mouse. On the flip side,
considering the amount of data transfer, at times wireless projectors
tend to become slow. In case of video data, a wireless projector is a
real dud and cannot deliver seamless images. Thus, opt for a wireless
projector only if the presentation relates to documents. You also can
push the content from multiple sources directly to the projector. Annotation Tools Annotation tools are extremely
useful for business presentations as you can directly put arrows,
circles or any other pointers to highlight particular area on the
screen. All this is done with projector remote. The factors mentioned
above are mostly relevant for generic business users. What if you wish
to get the projector for a special purpose, in particular for contrast
and color rich architectural presentation? In that case, consider the
information given below Both DLP and LCD projectors have their own
set of pros and cons. But in general, LCD projectors fare better if you
are looking out for color dynamics. LCD projectors are also more ideal
for business presentations wherein videos and pictures are not used so
extensively. For smoother images and videos, opt for DLP projectors. If
color and contrast are major concerns, than the obvious choice should be
LCD projectors.
