Tips for buying a multimedia projector
One of the best pieces of computer peripheral hardware today is a multimedia projector. You can use a multimedia projector for a multitude of tasks, such as: presenting at conferences, presenting in boardrooms, projecting videos onto a wall in your home for watching movies, and more. There are various types of multimedia projectors on the market today. The main question is which projector should you buy? There are many brands and four main types of multimedia projectors.
Brands and types of multimedia projectors
There are many brands of multimedia projectors to choose from: Panasonic, Optima, Epson, NEC, Infocus and many more to choose from. Types of multimedia projectors include:
- Digital Light Processing (DLP): Has a deeper, more portable black background
- Liquid Crystal Display (LCD): Best for color
- Active matrix TFT (Thin Film Transistor): a form of LCD
- HDTV Home Theater: 480i, 516i, 540p, 720p, 180i, 1080p, 1080i, 1125i (i = interlaced video and p = progressive scan)
The main consideration is the purpose of the multimedia projector and the uses in the home or business; this will help you select the features you need. Features to consider include:
- Image brightness: range from 130 lumens to 6500 lumens
- Desired viewing area 5 to 6 feet: 500 to 1000 lumens
- Desired viewing area 8 to 10 feet: 1000 to 1500 lumens
- Desired viewing area from 12 to 25 feet: 2000 lumens or more
- Wireless: remote operation from the computer
- Digital zoom: for projections in large rooms
- Trapezoidal correction: compensates that the position of the projectors is not perpendicular to the screen
- Slim size: business portability
- Projector mount: required for permanent, ceiling or wall installations
- Bulbs: Typical UHP, UHE, Halide Lamps, 1,000 to 4,000 Hours, Long Life
- Commercial use: movie clips, animation, photos
- Home theater: LCD, HDTV, high resolution, high contrast, brightness 1000 to 2000 lumens
Resolution is the number of pixels that the projector is capable of displaying. Higher resolution projectors produce a better quality projector image because there are more pixels per square inch. A lower resolution projector will have a grainier image, since there are fewer pixels per square inch. The resolution comes in a variety of selections; your choice of resolution is based on how you use the projector.
For basic PowerPoint presentations only, you can use a low-resolution projector. If you use a lot of color and video, you’ll need a high-resolution projector. The projector resolution ranges from 854 x 480 to 1280 x 1024.
Contrast is the ratio between the lightest and darkest areas of an image. You will need to select a multimedia projector with a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher. Contrast ranges from 350:1 to 6500:1.
Buying a multimedia projector
Once you’ve narrowed down your multimedia projector choices, visit your local store and check out their features:
- Projector Controls – Ease of Use
- Remote control: ease of use
- Light bulb: long life, light bulbs are expensive
- Connections: cables for PC or MAC, DVD player, cable box, satellite box
- Mounting bracket: if required for permanent installation
- Wireless: compatible with your computer
- Operation: the seller demonstrates the use and observes the quality of the example projection
- Sound: is the fan making noise?
- Size: Size does matter when it comes to portability
- Weight: Permanent installations are not really a concern, the heavier models are not suitable for portable uses.
- Carry Case – Provides protection when dragged through airports etc.
- Prices: Ranging from under $630 to $17000 and up
Characteristics and considerations of resolution and contrast.