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Business projectors:
Making the right decision
The cost of projectors for business, education, and the Government
continue to fall. In recent months the drop in prices has been quite
significant, more than 25 percent in some categories.
There are about fifty projector 'manufacturers' out there, although
not all build their own product, in fact many simply re-label products
from other original manufacturers or make very minor changes, and sell
the products under their own names. Entry Level projectors come in two
varieties, SVGA (800x600) and XGA (1024x768). The SVGA projectors
comprise about 40 percent of projector sales.
What you can expect from your entry level projector: Anywhere from
1500 to 2000 lumens and most today will be at least 1800 lumens. Expect
to get more lumens from a DLP projector compared to an LCD projector for
the same price because you need a DLP projector to need to have about 30
percent or more lumens than an LCD projector to do a comparable job, in
rooms with ambient light.
Physical attributes of Entry Level projectors - Most weigh at least
five or six pounds, and up to nine pounds. (By comparison the lightest
projectors are just under two lbs.) Rarely would a projector below five
pounds count as entry level, as you are paying a premium for the reduced
size.
Other attributes:
* Typically these projectors have a single computer input
* More than half of these models are LCD projectors, the rest are DLP
projectors
* Typically they have two video inputs (S-video and composite) - the
lowest quality
* Some will also accept component video (high quality), but watch
out, usually that means connecting the component through the computer
input, so you can't have a computer and a component video source hooked
up at the same time.
* Monitor out (to drive a computer monitor) mostly only be found on
some entry level models - those targeted to the education market. If you
are using a desktop computer, you'll want a monitor out, so you can also
see what you are projecting on the computer's monitor.
* Audio - typically a single audio input, or maybe two (one computer,
one video).
Final advice for choosing entry level projectors - you will need more
lumens on a DLP projector to overcome ambient lighting, than would be
required of an LCD projector. That should give you a good idea of what
your investment will buy, in terms of portability, power, and features.
Courtesy: Information gathered from Projector Reviews |
