Choosing the right projector to fit your needs and taking into consideration
what your company's growth will be in the next 2-3 years can be confusing. Surfing
the net we find dozens of projectors with dozens of specs with endless price
points and specials that spin your head. Features listed in graphs, comparison
after comparison that makes all of us dizzy. So we've designed this simple,
5-step process for you…
brightness
features
weight
resolution
price
Step One: Brightness (ANSI Lumens)
Where you're presenting; how large a room, how bright the room is and how many
are viewing will dictate the ANSI lumens needed to complete the task.
Here's some examples.
If there are 3-5 people in an office or 1/2 classroom setting, choose 300-500
lumens.
For an audience of 5-50 with moderate to regular light, choose 600-900 lumens.
For an audience of 50-200 in a double classroom to small theater setting, choose
1000+ lumens.
For all other applications of larger rooms to auditoriums, choose 2000+ lumens.
Step Two: Features
Mouse: Most projectors come with a wireless mouse unless it's an entry
level unit.
Zoom: The most important basic feature is the zoom lens. It gives you
the flexibility to adjust the size of the picture form anywhere in the room.
You must feel confident that any room you walk into will accommodate the equipment
you possess. Ease of operation makes for this confidence. If your budget allows,
buy a projector with a zoom.
Aspect Ratio: All projectors come with a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. This
is the way a picture is presented on the screen. 4 inches across the top of
the screen for every 3 inches down the screen. In addition to the 4:3 ratio,
many new projectors will now project in HDTV format, which is 16:9. If HDTV
or DVD playback is in your future then maybe you need to consider this format.
Note: All newer projectors display video and audio. If the LCD you are considering
doesn't, then you don't want it.
Enlarge: This feature is a great tool for segmenting a portion of a picture
and enlarging it for easier readability. For example, if you had a spreadsheet
on the screen and you only wanted to show rows 1-4 and columns A-D, the Enlarge
feature is for you.
Glitz encompasses many of the other less used features such as PCMCIA
slot, writing tablet, etc. Any additional features which you may deem important
for your application.
Step Three: Weight
Determining the weight of your projector is fairly simple.
For installed or fixed units, 14+ pounds may suffice.
The portable category typically is the 7 to 13 pounds units.
Ultra portables are under 7 pounds.
Step 4: Resolution
It's a question of when do I jump up to the next higher resolution. VGA was
transplanted by SVGA (800 x 600) three or so years ago as the dominant resolution.
When will XGA (1024 x 768) be the dominant resolution supplanting SVGA? The
price of an XGA projector of equal quality is approximately $1500.00 more than
SVGA. Given that by changing from SVGA to XGA, or visa versa, can be done in
the control panel settings of your laptop, can you afford to buy a XGA or do
you need to? Knowing the changes that happen every few years, it's just a matter
of time before we will have this conversation between XGA and SAGA (1200 x 1024).
Step 5: Price
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could purchase a 1000 lumens LCD projector for
only $2000.00? But as you know, that's impossible! The budget your school or
company works with is significant. To this end, RnB Enterprises has chosen the
best projectors in the SVGA and XGA categories to offer you. We have put together
a "good, better, best" scenario of these projectors where you can
view their features and price range. These are the best projectors now available
within the given price range for small business, fortune 500 companies and educational
institutions.
Use the "good, better, best" scenario along with the above selection
process as a buying guide. Visit our Top Picks
page for our recommendations.
