If you are thinking about the purchase of an LCD projector there are some important factors that need to be considered. You will need to determine how, where and when you will use it. Will you use it in your home or for a business application? With the growth of Home Theater Systems many consumers are choosing to opt for an LCD projector. LCD projectors are becoming smaller and more portable every day and can be the integral part of any business meeting. LCD projectors and laptop computers, DVDs, Camcorders, and other video sources work well together in many formats.
The cost is one of the most important factors with today’s economy. The LCD projector is not a stand alone device. You will need to buy a dedicated screen for the image display. You will need to get the correct video or computer cables that will be necessary. The projector’s lamp and its brightness is a critical factor in the determination of the correct projector for you. If you will be traveling for business you may want to have back up cables and projector lamps available, just in case. LCD projectors may be getting smaller and more portable but they are still fragile. If you will be traveling for business you should invest in a good LCD projection case.
Many cases are light weight and come with wheels attached for easy mobility.
With all these considerations in mind let’s look inside the projector to see what makes it work and the difference in performance. Some of the technical terms to know a little about when shopping for LCD projectors are: resolution, aspect ratio, brightness, flexibility and contrast. All of these relate to the image quality. If you bring the projector home and find out that it does not meet the standards that you thought it would it may end up being a costly mistake.
The resolution of the projector is important. If you will be using it with your laptop it is best to match the resolution so that the signals will be compatible. A projector’s resolution is the amount of pixels it has to create an image. The pixel is the smallest point in an image. The higher the resolution the more pixels and the sharper more defined the image will appear. The resolution is displayed with two numbers such as – (854×480 low resolution) or (1920×1080 high resolution). The first number represents the number of pixels that are in the horizontal row of the image. The second number represents the number of pixels in a row going vertically. The higher the resolution the more the projector will cost.
The higher the resolution the more superior the image quality will be. If your intentions are to relax at home and watch DVDs you really don’t need a projector with an extremely high resolution. If you will be using it with a laptop for a presentation with a lot of text and graphics a higher resolution projector is recommended.
The brightness of the projected image is determined by the projectors output and lamp specifications and the reflective surface of the screen that the image appears on. Brightness is measured in lumens. The higher the lumens a projector can produce the brighter the image will appear. The light level in the room figures in
the brightness scenario. A room with low ambient light and a bright projector will help decrease the amount of contrast in the image. Room size and the distance from projector to screen will also come into play with the brightness of the projected image.
The contrast of an image is the amount or ratio of bright white to a deep black hue that makes up the image. A high contrast projector is best used for video or DVD formats. They deliver a rich, highly color saturated image with good shadow definition. A higher contrast will give the image depth and dimension. A projector with high contrast is best suited for Home Theater Systems where videos and DVDs can come to life. Using a high contrast projector is a waste if you will be using it for business showing simple text or graphs.
The aspect ratio describes the horizontal vs. vertical rectangular shape of the image on the screen. There are two standard aspect ratio formats. They are 4:3 used for standard TV and 16:9 used for HDTV. This calculated 4 units of width for every 3 units of height. However, you will find that many DVDs and videos come with many different aspect ratio formats and will not always fill in the whole rectangular image. There is no one solution or fix to this problem. First you must decide on what formats you will view the most and go with the knowledge that the downside of the image is marginal.
Other not so technical features that you may want to incorporate into you LCD projector. A zoom lens will be useful when setting up the projector for multiple functions in a variety of room sizes and settings. The lens shift is also useful. For the optimal image the projector should be at a height that is as close to the center of the screen that you are projecting onto. The lens shift will move the projector lens left, right, up and down without having to move the projector. If centering the projector to the screen is not an option. If your projector has it you should use keystone correction.
The projector using keystone correction internally corrects the difference of the angle between the height of the screen and the height of the projector. Moving the projector in some meeting rooms is impossible or must be dealt with prior to the presentation.
There also may come a time when you might want to hook up a second computer or DVD if so you must check out the availability of multiple external ports. Check to see if the projector has a built in speaker or look for ports that will give you the capacity to plug into an external system if need be.
One more factor is weight. LCD projector comes in all shapes and sizes. If your business takes you on the road you will need a projector that is portable and easy to set up and breakdown. There are now projectors that weigh less than 5 pounds. The lamp and the lamp housing are the main hold ups in shrinking the projector much further.
The lamp and its lamp life should be considered before the purchase of any projector. An LCD projector lamp is the most important portion of the projector that you will have to replace at one point or another in the lifespan of the projector. You can find lamps that have a long lifespan of 2000hrs. If you use your projection daily that time will disappear quickly.
Some projectors come with multiple lamp modes. In the standby mode the projector may still be turned on while the lamp is off. This mode is useful if your meeting is in one room and your lunch is in another room. The lifespan of the lamp can be extended using this mode. All you have to do when returning from a break is to switch the lamp into active mode. There are also projectors that have a secondary mode. In the secondary mode the lamp is not projected at % power. This mode can be used in a smaller room or setting where distance and brightness is not the top concern. The third mode should always be used when you are finished using the projector. This is the fan mode. You may laugh but this is an important mode. If you turn the projector off without giving the fan time to cool off the lamp may cool too quickly, resulting with a cracked lamp. Turning the projector on and off to quickly is not good for the lamp or the projector itself. Both of these action are not recommended if you want to have your new projector around for awhile.
If you take some time to do some research before you invest in an LCD projector you will end up with a better product to use and enjoy. I hope that the above material helps you get started on the road to your new projector.
By: peterc35
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