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recommendations for a work projector - AudioEnz Forums
Hi guys
We're setting up a new office for our company and one of the requirements is for a projector and screen.
The budget for each is $1500.00 and $600.00 respectively.
There is some discussion as to whether or not this is Aussie dollars but it will be ex-GST.
Given the excellent response from Panasonic on these forums I'm leaning towards them but I don't know if my budget would stretch to something nice.
I've also toyed with the idea of seeing if I can piggy-back on the deal and purchase an AX200.
Also, I think if we can live without an electric version, a decent enough screen can be purchased for much less than $600.00 so that could go to the projector budget.
It will be used mostly for presentations of software and powerpoint etc but I wouldn't mind being able to watch the odd footie match or DVD
Can anyone recommend a suitable machine and/or a dealer who will offer a good discount?
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I had a similar question at the start of the year.
http://www.audioenz.co.nz/forums/sho...data+projector
I was unable to demo a suitable projector anywhere, so in the end I based the purchase on internet reviews.
We ended up getting the Sony VPLCX21.
It does the job well, and also produces a good DVD movie image.
The only negative I have with the CX21 is the ommision of HDMI/DVI inputs
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Remember that data projectors usually rely on a very high light output (so that they can be used in an office or lecture theatre enviroments) This is always at the cost of contrast ratio)
Data projectors are usually native 4:3, Home theatre projectors 16:9.
If it primarily being used in the office you should buy a data projector that does a reasonable job of displaying DVD/Sport.
Not a home theatre projector that does a reasonable job of data.
Does that make sense?
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Also HDMI is not standard on data projectors as few computer devices (at present) output it.
They should have DVI/M1 though and that will do the job nicely
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Mitsubishi or NEC seem to be the industry standard in my neck of the commercial / light industrial woods.
You can sometimes get left standing on any warranty issues if you purchase an HT projector & install it in a commercial environment.
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Warranty and support is high on the list.
Panasonic and Mitsubishi seem to do well in these departments but their projectors are a bit expensive for our modest budget.
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Chopper's advise is spot on.
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I have been trying to look at this from the 'work' point of view - i.e.
It's a data projector first and anything else second.
I do think the two areas are starting to overlap more though.
Funnily enough one of the projectors that caught my eye for it's price was the Sony VPLAW10 which at $1800.00 seems to offer an awful lot.
It is however, clearly aimed at the home cinema market.
Points on my check list are :
1.
XVGA minimum.
2. Must be well supported locally and serviceable.
3.
Warranty - at least 2 years.
4.
Must be bright as we have a large window in our board room.
5.
Prefer LCD as still a bit unsure of the DLP rainbow effect - does it still exist?
Don't want attendees getting sick mid-presentation!
6.
Connectivity - a large number of varied connections.
7.
Ease of use.
8. Price - it's a modest budget but you do get a lot for your money these days.
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Perhaps a consideration should also be resolution.
If your "attendees" are up close and personal and quality is a concern then you can't really go less than 1080p or it's 4:3 equivalent (is there one?) and then you are already looking over budget.
Of course this also depends on screen size.
Here a chart.
http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/
For cheap quality screens look no further than Ambertec.
I use a manual pull down and sure the screen isn't completely flat but it's pretty close.
The fabric is quality and the image looks great.
http://www.computerstore.co.nz/proje...l-down-screens
Out of interest what kind of content are you displaying?
Graphics, Text Base or other?
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I messed-up the resolution on my previous post - what I have been looking at is XGA minimum (1024x768) and WXGA preferable (1280x720).
1080p would be out of the budget you're right, although that Sony projector I mentioned is capable of 1080p;
Whatever that means.
It's certainly not a native 1080p projector.
Content will be mixed but mostly textual stuff - i.e.
Windows type applications.
Attendees should be at least 2m away.
I was planning on placing the screen on the ceiling in front of the window - I figured as I'm very unlikely to get black-out blinds in such a room the screen would help block out some unwanted light but will also help to reduce fatigue by allowing some ambient light around it - much like the Philips LCD TVs.
What do you think?
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I would argue that the gap between business and home theatre is widening.
You really need to decide on what is the purpose of the projector.
If purely data and powerpoint type presentations then stick to data projectors.
Thats what they are designed for.
The data PJ design tends to be cheaper, bulbs tend to be cheaper.
Bulbs will be feasibly higher turn over due to the projector being banged about more than a home theatre design.
They tend to have shorter cycle times which also shortern bulb life.
If the room is bright, some light control still needs to be implemented.
Even the best can't defeat high ambient light.
If you however wish for colour accuracy then the home theatre designs can have better results(once calibrated).
Accuracy can matter in some fields like textile, clothing, photography, and even in marketing itself.
Colour can sell.
Look in the yellow pages for audio visual and or data projectors.
There are some well established businesses which specialise in business setups with well known brands.
Most if not all of these guys do rentals, i would possibly look at renting a system to find out what really suits your purpose and if a long term solution is required.
On the other hand I have been talking with the ex marketing manager of DTS(England) who now lives in Australia who has just setup a presentation theatre for a high end car sales yard.
He used Procella Audio which is what the official DTS studio uses, Screen Research Clearpix2(acousticlly transparent screen) and a high end theatre projector.
The main reason is for marketing itself, where clients of the high end cars can watch motor racing and other events on a high level system.
The point I'm making is buying for a business need is different to the personal need.
regards
Nigel
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Quote: : I messed-up the resolution on my previous post - what I have been looking at is XGA minimum (1024x768) and WXGA preferable (1280x720).
1080p would be out of the budget you're right, although that Sony projector I mentioned is capable of 1080p;
Whatever that means.
It's certainly not a native 1080p projector.
Content will be mixed but mostly textual stuff - i.e.
Windows type applications.
Attendees should be at least 2m away.
I was planning on placing the screen on the ceiling in front of the window - I figured as I'm very unlikely to get black-out blinds in such a room the screen would help block out some unwanted light but will also help to reduce fatigue by allowing some ambient light around it - much like the Philips LCD TVs.
What do you think?
I think you are probably going to have a good look around.
And tick off the list of things you wanted.
At least have some kind of curtain behind the screen to subdue the light otherwise there will be a lot of glare coming from behind the screen and you will be looking straight at it.
I think you should focus solely of projectors made for office environments.
Home Theatre projectors are designed for Home Theatre, black rooms and high contrast requirements.
Unless you pay big bucks you are not going to get anything near bright enough.
For your room you probably want at least 2000 ANSI rating for the projector and seeing as though the content is mostly text based and it's a bright room, contrast ratios won't really mean a lot.
There should be some quality products out there from manufactures that perhaps aren't associated with HT products, although I think Sony does have a wide array of projectors.
A way around the brightness of a projector is to get high gain screen.
HT screens are normally either 1.0 or 1.1.
You can get screens up to about 6.0 gain, I think this means that it reflects 6 times as much light.
The only problem with high gain screen is that your desirable viewing angle gets cut down.
If every body is looking pretty much perpendicular to the screen then high gain won't be a problem
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For that budget you are really looking at an entry level "presentation" projector.
You are unlikely to find anything with DVI or 16:9 for that sort of price.
Nearly every projector in this area of the market - and believe me there are a lot of them, will be around 2000 ANSI and XGA resolution (1024x768).
We have a rather nice feature in ours called Daylight View which plays around with gamma, contrast and colour to optimize it for high ambient light - and what's more it really works.
In terms of lamp life we spec 2000 hours in High mode, so it is similar to the home cinema models.
If you want to PM me I can let you know some dealers in your area, otherwise there are a bunch of good name brands out there that will do the trick I'm sure.
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