AV Installs has been providing projectors and projector installation services for over 20 years now. We have put together the following Guide To Buying A Projector. We have seen many changes in that time. There are many factors to consider when purchasing a projector, depending on your specific needs. It would be impossible for us to write a guide for every application. In this post, we will cover the four fundamental things to consider when buying a projector.
Projectors’ brightness is measured in lumens, a standard unit of measurement for brightness. In the industry, we refer to this as ANSI Lumens, which stands for American National Standards Institute. For instance, the light source from a candle measures 14 lumens. One of the most critical factors in determining a projector’s brightness is the ambient light. In Short, the darker the room, the fewer lumens; the brighter the room, the more lumens. As a general guide, most home cinema, office, and learning spaces will require 2,000 to 4,000 lumens. When it comes to large-screen projection in halls and lecture theatres, you will need more lumens. The bigger the image and the brighter the space, the more lumens you will need.
Contrast is another thing to note that can affect perceived brightness. Contrast is the difference between the darkest dark and light light—the larger the ratio, the greater the contrast, which makes things appear brighter.
Firstly, the projector’s native resolution is the actual resolution of the panel, the highest it can be. Things have changed significantly here over the past few years, and projectors are now available in full 4 K HD. Secondly, the main thing to look out for here is that ‘HD-ready’ does not mean ‘HD’, and ‘4K-ready’ does not mean ‘4 K’. Always check the native resolution, as this is the proper resolution you will receive. If the native resolution is 1080p Full HD and it’s 4K ready, it just means it will accept the 4 K signal and scale it down to Full HD.
Below is a list of the most common computer and video resolutions, along with the pixel counts, working from the lowest to the highest resolutions.
Projector technology has improved considerably; for instance, the old days of a red, green, and blue bulb on a projector the size of a house have long gone. As a result, we now have a broad range of projectors that cater to nearly every need. Firstly, let’s look at the three main technologies available on the market at the moment: DLP, 3LCD & LCOS.
DLP (Digital Light Processing) was invented by Texas Instruments and first used in mainstream projectors in the mid-1990s, and it is still used extensively today. The DLP chip is made up of thousands of tiny mirrors that tilt to reflect different levels of light. This light is then passed back through a spinning colour wheel and then through the lens.
3LCD was invented in Japan by Epson in the 80,s and used in projectors from the late 80’s onwards. It works by splitting white light using mirrors into its component colours: red, green, and blue. Each mirror then reflects each coloured light to its own LCD panel, which receives an electric signal to control the light. All three chips then combine in a dichroic prism to produce the final image that passes through the lens.
LCOS projectors are a combination of both; they utilise the reflective technology found in DLP, but employ crystals similar to those in LCD to control the light. This offers a three-chip system that delivers blue, green, and red colours separately, rather than a spinning wheel. The result is a more dynamic range of colours and a larger spectrum from light to dark. LCOS is generally used in higher-resolution installation projectors.
The throw ratio, in short, is how far back the projector needs to be in relation to the desired projected image size. Using simple throw ratio equations, you can work out several useful factors. Firstly, if you take the width of your screen and multiply it by your throw ratio, you can get the throw distance. Another functional equation is to take the projector throw distance and divide it by the screen width, you will get the throw ratio. This is essential for the correct projector installation.
Out-of-the-box projectors are available with a variety of lens ratios, including Ultra Short Throw. Office and Home Cinema projectors generally have a standard throw ratio. Installation projectors have interchangeable lenses, allowing them to accommodate nearly all scenarios with the correct lens.
If a projector had a 1.5 ratio lens, it would need to be 1.5 meters back for every 1 square meter of projection. If we take a 2-meter-wide screen, the projector would need to be 3 meters back.
If you would like to read more about the history of the projector in greater detail, please take a look at our blog post on the evolution of projection.
AV Installs has been providing professional projector installation services to domestic, commercial, and educational customers for nearly 20 years. We have a wealth of knowledge and expertise which enables us to provide expert advice on any project. For more information, please contact us today. We would be more than happy to help.
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