Spec me... a meeting room projector

GravyMonster · 4 Aug 2010 at 10:39

The boss is after a new one to replace our aging (and frankly, crap) Benq projector.

The problem with the old one was that it didn't show blue at all, red was yellow and yellow was grey. ******.

Another problem we had with the old one was that it became quite hard to see unless the room was as dark as possible. Ideally we'd like to not have to faff with blinds etc. Obviously there will be some problems in a bright room, but will a good projector help to alleviate this?

Anyway, we have a budget of £500 which opens a lot of (rather confusing) options, which is why I've come to you, good people of OcUK

*edit*
Forgot to mention, this will be connected to a PC only (VGA? DVI? RGB?) and we're looking for as high a res as possible (1280+)

rubberduck · 4 Aug 2010 at 22:15

Not sure how much response you'll get here as presentation projectors tend to be very different from home cinema projectors. Can you confirm that the problems with the colour on your old projector are due to a fault with the projector and not the source/cabling.

Projecting in a bright room is never ideal but a brighter projector can always help.. looks on the specs and try to shortlist those with a higher lumen rating. The screen is important as well... off-white/grey screens will give better contrast in light environments.

Caged · 5 Aug 2010 at 00:57

With regards to the old one it sounds like the lamp is shot, have you run it past the recommended hours?

You won't get a projector that you can see in a bright room for £500.

lucid · 5 Aug 2010 at 23:47

Actually you can get projectors for £500 that you can see quite easily in a bright room.

Presentation projectors tend to run on smaller screen sizes, so the light is concentrated on a smaller surface area. The image content (spread sheets & PowerPoint) will use lighter colours than video. And the projector lamps in presentation projectors chuck out more light (ANSI lumens) because black level, contrast and noise aren't such high priorities.

Spec'ing a meeting room projector on a tight budget (because £500 is still pretty much in the entry level end of the market)...

If it's a choice between resolution and brightness, then go for brightness 1st. Set up your projector correctly and 1024x768 @ 2700 ANSI lumens will look more impressive than 1280x800 @ 2000 ANSI.

Make the most of what you have: Learn how to adjust the PC or laptop's VGA output so that it drives the projector at the correct (native) resolution of the panel, and not the highest resolution the projector will accept. Avoid using digital keystone. It softens the image and knocks 10-15% off the brightness. If your projector can't be installed in a position that doesn't need digital keystone then look for a projector with Optical Keystone (A.K.A. Lens Shift).

Pay attention to noise figures at full power. 32dB is audible, but not noisy. 35dB and above is noticeable.

GravyMonster · 6 Aug 2010 at 08:49

Awesome, thanks for the info Lucid.

I'll have a look around for some that match what we're after - but upping the budget a bit.

Cheers guys.

Westyfield2 · 6 Aug 2010 at 09:45

As the others have said; lumens is what you want. I hate it when the blinds have to be shut to read the projector!

For somewhere (not my work actually) I got a Sanyo PLC-WXU30 for portable use (1280x800, 3700 ANSI) and for a fixed installation two Sanyo PLC-XP100Ls (1024x768, 6500 ANSI) cross-shooting each other.

Would fully reccomend either of those two, but I don't know if they're still current models

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Caged · 6 Aug 2010 at 11:00

2700 lumens isn't enough to run with lights on / blinds open. You have to remember that's the brightness they start off at without eco mode or anything like that. The lamps will quickly start to lose brightness as they age as well. Obviously it depends on your opinion of what a bright room is, but you need to be looking at 5000 lumens and up.

lucid · 7 Aug 2010 at 16:20

Sorry Caged, but I don't agree with that as a blanket statement.

Take a look at most of the classroom projectors used with electronic whiteboards. Only a few short years ago teachers were actively campaigning for nothing brighter(!)than 1200 ANSI

Look at the hire stock from many of the AV rental companies. Their small meeting room projectors aren't a minimum of 5000 ANSI. It's just OTT.

Sure, if you want to go up against direct sunlight... but then I'd argue that 5000 ANSI isn't enough. However, I'd also ask why on earth anyone would do a presentation in such adverse conditions? It would be like trying to hold a sales meeting in the mosh pit at a concert

Westyfield2 · 7 Aug 2010 at 19:02

At school the projectors they had were absolute crap.

Without spending loads you're not going to beat direct sunlight. I find that the pair of 6500 ANSI Sayno's can cope with pretty much any amount of ambient light but will still be beaten by direct sunlight.

I'd love something like the Sanyo PLC-XF47 with its 15000 ANSI though! And the things I'd do for a Christie Roadie HD+35K :cool:

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