---   CHOOSING A PROJECTOR   ---


Help With Choosing a Projector
 -- Jim Gelder, Projectorian.com


When hosting your business meeting or presentation, visual aids often help illustrate abstract concepts and drive home the points you wish to make.


Creating flashy and colorful graphics can help gain attention, but even if you only use the projector to illustrate basic bullet points, the usefulness is still there.


Retention is always greater when your audience sees something on the big screen at the front of the room.


But projectors have come a long way since the old days, and there are a lot of options and extra frills that can make an ordinary presentation much more exciting. Choosing the right projector rental is no longer as easy as calling up your local equipment rental company, and saying, "send over a projector."


Before looking at all the bells and whistles, consider the specs. One of the most important aspects, but also one of the most frequently overlooked, is the brightness of the unit, which is measured in ANSI lumens.


A projector with a lower lumens rating may work fine in a small room with the lights dimmed, but when you find yourself needing to move to a larger conference room to accommodate more people, you may find yourself with a dark and fuzzy picture. Projectors with the highest lumens ratings will suit larger rooms, and will permit the light to stay on during your presentation.


Another consideration is resolution. If you are projecting a display from a computer screen, your projector's resolution should match that of the computer monitor. If you are using an ordinary desktop computer to display ordinary graphics and text, SVGA resolution is probably adequate, but if you are projecting highly detailed graphics, you will need SXGA resolution for the image to be clear.


The contrast ratio is not as clear a factor, since there is no industry standard metric for contrast measurement. But in general, if your displays have a great deal of detail, a higher contrast ratio is desirable. Other desirable factors that may be useful, depending on your needs, include wireless capability and remote control.


Consider the type of presentation you wish to make. Some projectors allow for computer, video, and audio inputs for more sophisticated and seamless presentations. Some also include a built-in smart card, which lets you download your presentation so it can be presented without having to connect to a computer at all.


If you do plan to incorporate audio, make sure that it also has an audio output, so you can use external speakers big enough to accommodate the size of your room.


The form factor is just as important as the technical specs, especially if you plan on moving your projector from room to room, or even building to building. If portability is important, select a projector that is lightweight, and opt for one that comes with a hard roller case to make it easier to move around.


Lastly, once you have chosen your projector, don't forget about the screen. Like the projectors themselves, not all screens are created equal, and you will need to choose a screen that has a gain that suits the light output of the projector.


A high-gain screen is more reflective, and if your projector has a high light output, your image will suffer. A low-gain screen will diffuse light more evenly; a high-gain screen is best when used with projectors with a low lumens rating.





If you are looking for tips on choosing a projector specifically for use with a home theater system, you may want to check this page out. I also found a great guide on choosing an LCD projector at hirtech.com which was extremely useful and detailed - complete with drawings and charts for the techies.