1. What’s the best format Projector to purchase? Is it 4:3 or 16:9/16:10 Ratio?
a. This all depends on the application, 4:3 is the traditional format similar the older square type monitors and TV’s that are quite quickly now being replaced with widescreen versions. If you’re replacing an existing projector which you already have a screen for then you would need to change the screen as well if you were to change to a 16:9 widescreen format. In most businesses and schools the 4:3 is the most favoured as you do in general get a bigger picture for the same distance and most applications / programs are still designed with a 4:3 ratio. On the other hand if you were wanting to get the best projector for showing movies and video then a 16:9 is the best as that the true ratio and won’t see the squashing on the playback like you used to get on the old larger TV’s.
2. What’s the difference between 720p/1080i and 1080P?
a. The main difference is the true resolution your 1080P projectors are capable of 1920x1080 resolutions. 720p/1080i units have a max resolution of 1280x720 with progressive scan. These sounds like large differences and don’t get me wrong it is something that you will see the difference side by side. The downside is the price of the 1080P units. Projectors such as the Optoma HD200x or Aver H7530D start at the £800ish mark with a brightness of 1500-2000 Lumens. For that same money you are able to get a 2500-3000 Lumens 720P unit which is going to combat against the light better and have a higher contrast ratio. That been said the quality on say a Sony Play station or Microsoft Xbox 360 is something out of this world.
3. Do I need a special projector to use in a ceiling application?
a. Almost all in not all now support flip and mirror features allowing you to front or rear project the image onto the screen.
4. What do I need to consider when purchasing a projector?
a. Distance from the screen and what picture size... this is key as it makes a big difference on the size, if you have a very small room then you will want to look at short or ultra short throw models to ensure a large image is achieved. Downside with these is that there is limited range and does increase the costs.
b. In the situation you are setting it up are you straight on the wall? Most projectors feature keystone correction. But on the lower models it’s only in one direction so to get a true square picture you need to be straight on to the wall. Is you are wanted to mount in a corner of a wall you are going to need Vertical and Horizontal correction to create a square picture.
c. What are you going to watching on the projector.....? By this I mean some people imagine a projector to be the same as a TV in that you connect a aerial to it and away you go. Unfortunately not quite that simple. You will require a Freeview\cable\sky box and typical a home cinema system for the sound. The Home cinema System will need to be next to TV Box ideally and then you just run a cable from that group to the projector.
5. What’s the difference between LED and LCD/DLP Type projectors?
a. LED – is a very new technology that uses LED instead of LCD Bulbs. The main advantage to LED is the unit life of the projector. Typically 20,000 – 30,000 hours which is the same as commercial TVs?
6. I’m looking for a projector for my living room; do I need to have a screen to display the projector on to?
a. We tend to advise customer to try and see how they get it in a home environment, as it cannot be the easiest situation to install screens and mounts etc to make these screen look “cosmetically pretty”. As long as the wall it’s white or like magnolia and very well plastered without lumps and bumps you should be fine and very happy with the picture that you achieve. Especially when you’re not using the projector
7. What do all these projector words mean?
a. You can find out what all the keywords and projector terms mean at our Projector Terms Dictionary.