As video projectors become more affordable then more people are
using them both at work and at home. You might be thinking that
projectors are all alike and the more you spend the better it
will be. Well this is not strictly true. The more expensive
projectors will be of a higher standard, but you might not
experience any benefit if you do not choose the correct model.
This is why we have written this article to try and guide you
and help you choose the model most suited to you.
Before any purchase it is important to have a think about what
you will be using it for and in what kind of environment. The
business user will have very different requirements to someone
wanting to set up a home cinema. Companies are now marketing
hybrid projectors that claim to be able to be used for both home
cinema and business. These two environments are very different
though and will need projectors designed specifically to be able
to handle these two very different uses. As you read the rest of
the article you will begin to understand what you need to look
out for when purchasing your video projector.
LCD or DLP
Both are excellent formats and which you choose will depend on
your use. The business user will be more suited to an LCD
projector due to the increased brightness. The home user on the
other hand would be better to opt for a DLP projector as these
will give a more cinematic experience.
Brightness
Think about the level of ambient light in the room where you
will be using your projector. In the home cinema you will
hopefully have control of the level of light so this will not be
an issue. If you are using a room at home that has ambient light
then you will need to opt for a brighter projector. In the
business arena you are likely to be presenting in very bright
rooms with standard office lighting and windows. A good
projector for business use will need to have a high brightness
level.
Brightness is measured in ANSI lumens. For home cinema you
should be looking at projectors that have around 700 ANSI lumens
brightness and for business projectors you will need between
1000 and 1500.
Color
The color, gray-scale performance, and video playback, are only
really important to the home user as they will give more natural
and detailed videos.
Contrast
There is no point spending money on a high contrast video
projector for business use or use in a room at home that has
significant ambient light as your eyes will not notice the
benefit. If you have a dedicated cinema room at home then it
will be worth looking at projectors with contrast ratios of
400:1 or higher. If you are looking for a projector for business
use then there is no point by one with a ratio of higher than
400:1
Portability
This will probably only be an issue for a business user. If you
travel around a lot and take your projector with you then the
more compact and light the better. It is possible to buy
extremely light projectors.
The home user may not be concerned too much with size and
weight, but it is worth considering how you will set your
projector up at home. Will it be fixed to the ceiling or on a
stand? If you have it on the ceiling you should look for a
projector which comes with a remote control as this will make
adjusting settings a lot easier.
We hope that this look at the differences with video projectors
will help you make your decision.
About the author:
Find more articles by Steve Jones at
http://www.a1-lcdprojector.com
