When we were shopping 12 months ago we found the best combination of
price/selection to be at Tiger Direct - try this link
http://tinyurl.com/2bx4ev
You should be able to get a good fit for your needs for less the $750 and
probably closer to $500. But as I note below - watch out for supply costs.
As to your question re lumens etc. this was one of a number of sites I found
useful
http://tinyurl.com/yqzva8 - there's good basic information on how/why
to select different types. There are many sites out there with more
detailed data - but this gives a good intro to the topics.
The brighter (higher lumens) the projector the better it will work in
daylight conditions. If all you want to do is project in a meeting/board
room then just about any of the modern projectors will do the job.
Points to consider.
Determine what size image you want to project - all projectors have a
maximum and minimum images that they can project. Make sure to check at
what distance a given image size is produced. No good selecting a projector
that can produce a five foot wide image and then discovering you need to
knock a hole in the wall to get it far enough from the screen. Not
surprisingly a projector that is perfect in the board room will be
completely inadequate in a hotel ballroom. The image throw distances and
lumens are the factors involved here.
Zoom - make sure you've got zoom and focus controls. If the only "zoom"
option is to move the projector further from the screen it is a pain!
Focus - I'm not personally wild about auto-focus although it is much better
today than a few years ago. I prefer auto with manual adjustment.
Supplies - replacement bulbs and LCD panels can be darned near as expensive
as the projector. Make sure you know the costs before you buy. One of the
models we considered was available for less than $1,000 - replacement bulbs
were over $500!
Contrast ratio - the higher the better.
Color "trueness" - DLP projectors are usually the best price performance but
the colors are not as good as with an LCD. For our conferences we use DLP
units and they are more than good enough.
Sound - some models have built-in speaker systems - do you need it? And if
you need it, the quality of the sound and its volume capability will be
important. Some of the built-in speakers sound really bad.
Keystone correction - Absolutely vital in my book. Saves you worrying about
the relative heights of the projector and the screen.
Resolution - normally 1024 X 768 is more than good enough. Be sure the
figure you are looking at is native resolution. Some projectors are really
(say) 800 x 640 but will interpolate a 1024 X 768 image. Pay the extra and
get true 1024 X 768.
Brands: Epson and Viewsonic both seem to be good value for money in the
small and highly portable arena. InFocus have been a brand leader for years
and I've never had a problem with them. Our current units are Optoma and
we've been pleased with them (we have four) but they are designed for
conference work and are probably not as portable as you need.
Jon Paris
Partner400
www.Partner400.com
midrange.com
