Key Factors in Selecting a Projector - The Ultimate Projector Buying Guide

More and more people in Nigeria are seeing the need to use a projector. That’s because Nigerians are becoming more aware of the helpful role of projectors in business presentations, religious worship, evangelism, teaching in educational institutions and training facilities, and entertainment at home and in event centres. With the visual impact of a projector, the message undoubtedly registers more vividly.

The fact is that projectors get used with great advantage in many presentation situations. In business review meetings and strategy sessions, slides, graphics and other visuals from a projector can deliver your point with a lot more punch. In selling proposals to prospective clients, a projector can add much flair to the delivery. Corporate training rooms and conference venues use the visual support of projectors to enliven presentations and capture the enthusiasm of the audience.

For churches, scripture passages, hymns and other key messages of the worship can be clearly projected to the congregation to achieve more participation. Large screen displays at big crusades also help to extend the reach and enhance impact. Move over to educational institutions and it’s a whole new world of possibilities when the teaching process brings in good visuals and interactive learning, often with dramatic improvement in participation and understanding.

Back to the home and entertainment centres, home theatre projectors hold sway as the ultimate experience in home entertainment, bringing large screen cinema experience to the home and recreation spots. The use for this purpose is definitely increasing, as individuals see the need to enjoy big screen entertainment at home, whether watching movies, sporting activities or other content. Commercial viewing centres are also sprouting at many locations and projectors are adding to the magic.

Many uses, different requirements! The good thing is, whatever your requirement, you can find a projector that best serves that purpose

The Challenge of Choosing the Right Projector

Many people who want to buy a projector are doing so for the first time or hardly know much about what gives a projector some bang. Because projectors cost quite some money, a prospective buyer is worried about getting it right.

That is not so easy for the untutored person. One, there are many manufacturers and brands of projector. Two, there are many models coming out of each brand’s stable. Again, each projector has many features and specifications that could leave the intending user hassled and confused as to what is most important. Still, there are the different projector technologies used by different manufacturers, which could further compound the choice for the buyer. Then you consider personal factors like the user’s purpose for the projector, the intended manner of use, the available budget, etc.

Obviously, that’s a lot to chew. How do you decide if to use a DLP, LCD or LCoS projector? Or whether to choose Dell, Epson, Sony, NEC, Acer, Optoma, Infocus, Christie, Hitachi, Panasonic, Casio, or another of the many other projector brands? How do you choose from the many available models that these brands offer? Will it be a short throw or long throw projector? What features – lumens, resolution, contrast, connectivity, etc – should matter to you and how much of each do you require?

A Projector Buying Guide for You

You can see there are many difficult questions to process in this. That’s why we have done this guide for you. Hopefully, it helps throw some light on the various critical issues in projector purchase and makes it a bit easier for you to make a choice. For that purpose, we’ll do our best to keep it simple. This projector choosing guide is targeted at the average, non-technical intending buyer, who needs help to navigate the fairly crowded market and to make an informed choice. Note that, as a general guide, it may not exactly deal with your specific requirement. That is why you are free to contact us for help, any time, if you need to.

Key Factors in Choosing a Projector - Projector Selection Factors Examined

Many factors will matter when selecting a projector. Let’s examine some of the most important ones, though not in any particular order of significance:

Projection Technology

Projection technology refers to the imaging technology of the projector – the image creation technology used by the manufacturer. There are a few options, but three are dominant: DLP, LCD and LCoS, with the first two being more widely used. DLP stands for Digital Light Processing, LCD is Liquid crystal Display while LCoS is Liquid Crystal on Silicon.

A DLP projector produces the projected image by a reflective mechanism, using a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device). The LCD process is transmissive, passing light through a liquid crystal panel. The LCoS technology is a sort of combination of the LCD and DLP processes.

There are some upsides and downsides to each technology and you won’t find any of them being adjudged the best technology in all circumstances. DLP projectors generally offer better contrast in image quality, yet LCD is believed to deliver better colour saturation and colour accuracy. While DLP projector could experience “rainbow effect”, LCD will tend to have panel degradation over time, affecting display. LCD seems to use less power and outputs less heat, but needs filter cleaning and replacement.

Each manufacturer tends to incline to a particular technology. For instance, while Sony and Epson would use the LCD technology for most of their projectors, Dell and Acer will largely use DLP. Yet, all of them do have good projectors!

The bottom-line is that you can get excellent overall performance from a good projector model, whether DLP or LCD or the more expensive LCoS. So, you may focus less on projection technology and more on the quality and features of a projector, brand preference, and how the projector matches your requirement.

Projector Resolution

Projectors have a native resolution, which is the fixed array of pixels that it can project to define the image. That is the true physical resolution of the projector. You may find a maximum resolution also stated by the manufacturer. That one indicates the limit of resolution signal that the projector can process and get displayed. It uses a scaling process to convert such other signals to its native resolution.

The projector resolution, which defines the number of pixels the projector is capable of displaying, is important for image quality. The more pixels (dots) that define an image, the sharper it is. So, higher resolution is better. Resolution can be stated as a single number, but it’s more often stated as the number of horizontal pixels by the number of vertical pixels.

Most entry level (cheaper) projectors in the market have SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. In today’s context, cheaper is in the price range of, say, N100,000 – N150,000. Here are the projector resolutions that you are more likely to come across:

    SVGA (800 x 600)
    XGA (1024 x 768)
    WXGA (1280 x 800)
    WUXGA (1920 x 1200)
    HD 720p (1280 x 720)
    Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080)
    4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160)
    Native 4K (4096 x 2160)

 
From our experience, just four of these resolutions will count most in the Nigeria market, as of today.

SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) Resolution - 800 x 600 pixels (480,000 pixels), 4:3 Aspect ratio:

This is more dominantly available in our market, because they are more affordable. Many SVGA projectors will deliver good enough display performance for basic presentation needs in room settings and small venues.

You will also find those with other attractive features, including digital connectivity (HDMI), keystone correction, widescreen display, WiFi, etc. When your budget is tight, an SVGA projector with good features will prove a good choice.

XGA (Extended Graphics Array) Resolution - 1024 x 768 pixels (786,000 pixels), 4:3 Aspect ratio:

XGA is higher resolution (and sharper image) than SVGA and to be preferred over SVGA, when you can afford it. Problem is, they cost more than SVGA. Again, other features of the projector are important, but XGA resolution clearly points to higher specs in other areas, than an SVGA projector. Native aspect ratio is 4:3, like for SVGA.

WXGA (Wide Extended Graphics Array) Resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels (1,024,000 pixels), 16:10 Aspect ratio:

This is Wide XGA. It is a display standard of high resolution XGA with wide aspect ratio. This resolution is higher than XGA, meaning even clearer display and can project to a wider screen. The aspect ratio is generally 16:10 (or 16:9).

WXGA projectors will cost more than XGA (other things being equal), but other factor to consider is if your source is 16:9/16:10 or 4:3. If you are using primarily for video, WXGA will be better, as it suits the video format.

Full HD (or 1080p) Resolution - 1920 x1080 pixel (2,073,600 pixels), 16:9 Aspect ratio:

The image comes out even sharper in Full HD, which is currently the gold standard for Blu-Ray, digital television, and most HD videos.

Two variants can be seen here. The HD display (or HD Ready), which is 1280 x 720 pixels and also called 720p resolution is the lower range HD resolution. There’s also the Ultra HD or 4K image resolution, which, as of today, is still the ultimate display resolution most users long for. While higher resolutions, like 8K, are already available, prohibitive prices put them out of reach of ordinary users. Even 4K resolution projectors are still far too expensive for users in our environment and not readily available. 720p is high enough, obviously, but most HD projectors now come as Full HD 1080p. For home theatre, that’s the ideal resolution to go for, when the user can handle the budget. Other uses, including large venues, are also better off on Full HD projectors, when budget permits.

WUXGA (Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array) Resolution - 1920 x 1200 pixels (2,304,000 pixels), 16:10

The WUXGA resolution goes a notch further in widescreen display and pixel content. Higher brightness is what you get. They are also able to natively display 1080p HD signals. Projectors of this resolution level are still few in our market, however.

Projector Brightness (Lumens Capacity)

You probably think this is the most important feature of a projector, but it isn’t really so. Projector brightness has its role, especially in large spaces or where there is significant presence of ambient light. Still, every situation is different. Too much brightness in a fairly dark room can be discomforting to the eyes! So, while you’ve come to believe that you need very high lumens, that is not really so.

Projector brightness (amount of light emitted) is stated in ANSI lumens. A point of observation is that, as of date of this post, most projectors available in the Nigerian market are up to 3000 lumens, with just a few exceptions. That level of brightness is high enough for most regular uses. So, from the brightness angle, it’s so easy to get a projector that delivers good results in today’s market.

Some requirements will dictate higher brightness, which comes at additional cost. Those are more advanced uses in larger, more illuminated spaces and more sophisticated environments.

The average user will be well-served by available projectors of 2700 lumens, 3000 lumens, 3200 lumens, 3500 lumens, 3600 lumens, etc, which are readily available, and relatively more affordable. So, there isn’t much to fret about regarding lumens.

Projector Contrast Ratio

There is the tendency to focus more on the lumens capacity, but picture quality depends more on other factors. Like colour contrast. Excellent colour contrast is important for good image quality. Without good contrast, an image is generally flat and uninspiring. Good contrast defines the depths and the heights of the picture, that is, the whiteness and darkness of the image.

The contrast ratio is a statement of the proportionate relationship between the whitest whites and darkest darks of the image that the projector will display. More contrast means the projector is bringing out more of the shades of whiteness and darkness of the image, thus displaying with more clarity.

When contrast ratio is 1000:1, it means the whitest white that it will show is 1000 times brighter than the darkest dark it shows.

Higher contrast is better, but could mean more cost. As a guide, from 2000:1 should provide good pictures. Though manufacturers are often accused of misstating contrast ratio in a manner that misleads the consumers, it’s good to note that most projectors in the market boast of up to 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Any of those should be suitable for a good display.

Projector Aspect Ratio

You can see from the resolution review above section that resolutions are associated with aspect ratio and different resolution levels have different aspect ratios. But what is aspect ratio? It is the ratio of the width to the height of the image projected. So, while aspect ratio defines the shape of the image that is projected, the resolution tells the number of pixels projected to that space, to display the image. A projector can project to multiple aspect ratios but its native resolution will dictate the aspect ratio it’s best optimized for. Summarising the aspect ratios listed for the resolutions, here’s what we get:

Projector Resolution

Some important points to take away here: One, all projectors won’t display to the same shape. Display shape depends on aspect ratio. To get the best display results, try to match the resolution of your computer or other input (Blu-ray, DVD, video game console, etc) to that of the projector to buy. If you can’t, you will still get a meaningful display with scaling, but not necessarily the best display. You can also reflect that in your choice of screen size.

Projector Connectivity / Input Options

You need to connect your projector to your input source. You don’t want to discover that you can’t do so or that you will have to search for converters to be able to connect. That can affect signal quality. So, be sure to go for a projector that provides the primary interface(s) that you will require. Multiple connectivity options also mean more flexibility. Here are connectivity options to consider:

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface)

This digital interface combines high-definition video and multi-channel audio and is a high fidelity interface. Many input devices – laptops, DVD, Blu-ray, etc – now have HDMi, which assures quality transmission of HD video and audio. HDMI will slightly add to the cost of a projector, but if you can afford it, it’s better to have it.

VGA
That 15-pin port on your PC or projector is a VGA port. VGA is an analogue connectivity and so of lower quality to HDMI, but it’s still widely used especially to connect PCs and projectors. You will find it in most projectors and PCs, so it is handy. The cable is also cheaper than HDMI cable, if you need to buy one. In a tight budget situation, a VGA connection may just be enough. Interestingly, most new projectors come with a short VGA cable in the pack.

USB for PC-less Display
If your projector has this, it enables you to make certain presentations without a PC. Such display is straight from your USB flash drive, digital camera or other USB drive. Simply plug you flash drive into this USB port of the projector and you can show compatible materials on the drive. You may not need this, but if you do, ensure the projector you want to buy has got it.

USB Plug 'n Play
This is different from the USB for PC-less Presentations. It is a USB connection between projector and PC which allows transmission of image, sound and signal controls, using USB cable. If your projector has this, you can quickly connect by USB and get going.

DisplayPort
DisplayPort is also a digital interface for video and audio, with similar performance as HDMI. DisplayPort is largely found in highend projectors, not cheaper ones. If a projector you can afford has HDMI, you wouldn’t have to bother about DisplayPort. If your input has DisplayPort but no HDMI, you can use a Dual-Mode DisplayPort adapter to connect to HDMI. But if your projector has it, nothing is lost!

Wireless LAN
Wireless enabled projectors can connect to compatible input devices wirelessly, eliminating cable presence. If a tidy, cable-free presentation environment is a priority, this connectivity option will be imperative. It does add to the cost of the projector, meaning you should go for it only if a necessity.

Wired Networking (LAN)
With LAN connectivity, you can project content from multiple PCs, which may be at different locations, to one projector. In some corporate usage environments, this may be necessary. Or, you need to remotely monitor and control projectors in a network. If you will need network connection, ensure the projector to buy is network-ready.

Other Connections
There are still other connectivity options like DVI, Composite Video, S-video, etc. It doesn’t mean that your projector must have all of them. Once the primary connections you need are in place, you are home and dry.

Putting it together, a VGA interface seems standard in most projectors and shouldn’t be an issue. HDMI connection would seem a necessity in today’s use, especially in home theatre and other uses where high quality display is important. Except for financial constraint, it’s good to insist on HDMI. WiFi is cool, but comes at still additional cost. While you may find devices that can make non-wireless projectors wireless, it makes sense to buy one that comes with built-in wireless access. If you have HDMI but not DisplayPort, you are still digitally covered. But before you buy, ensure you know what connectivity you will need and figure that into your choice-making process.
Projector Throw Ratio

Throw ratio is given by the distance between the projector and the screen (Throw Distance), divided by the projected image width (Distance/Width). If you know the image width you want and the throw ratio of your projector, you can calculate at what distance to place it. If you know where you want to place it and the width of image you want, you can determine the throw ratio of the projector to buy to achieve that. It’s probably something to leave to your installer, but before buying, you should know that the projector throw matters. You should know about the choice between projector types that arises from throw ratio.

Three projector throw types you can choose from are Long Throw, Short Throw and Ultra-Short throw. The difference is really from the lenses they have.

More projectors are long throw than short or ultra-short. Long throw projectors project large image from a good distance from the screen. There has to be room enough to accommodate such positioning. Installations in large venues and reasonably sized rooms are easily served with long throw projectors.

If space is tight, like in a small room, a long throw projector may prove unsuitable. You will need a short throw projector. Or an ultra short throw. Short throw projectors are able to project large image from very close to the screen, say less than 3 feet. When there isn’t much space to move the projector away from the screen, a short throw is the answer. Part of the benefit is that it minimizes the chance of shadow casting on the display. Also, the presenter hardly has projector light shining into the eyes. School classrooms, small home spaces and small offices are good candidates for short throw projectors. Short throw projectors generally cost more than long throw equivalents.

Ultra-short throw are even more powerful, achieving a large image from extremely close to the screen surface. Because of their much higher price tag, these are usually for commercial applications.
Projector Lamp Life

Lamp life refers to the expected operating lifespan of the projectors lamp, usually stated in hours. The brightness of the projector comes from its light source and in the case of majority of projectors which use lamp, it is that lamp. You worry about lamp life because replacement of lamp costs money and increases your cost of owning the projector. So, you want to check that the lamp can last long enough.

As you’d expect, this is more of an estimate – based on a bell curve. Typically, it’s when 50% of the produced batch is expected to have reached end-of-life. Also, be aware that projectors with high lumens will burn out their lamp faster, meaning you should expect relatively lower lamp life figures from them.

Many projectors show a full-power (normal) lamp life rating and an eco-mode (low-power) rating, with the eco-mode rating usually much higher. Be sure if a number you are seeing is normal or eco mode.
Other Projector Features

They are still more features of a projector that are helpful to its performance or installation flexibility, etc. Some have facility to project from smart devices, for instance. Some have keystone correction, which helps in projector positioning. Some have instant-off capability, letting you shut down and go, without waiting for cooling. And much more.

The truth is that you can have everything, but the better quality product incorporate as much as possible. To be realistic, once you have the key specification you necessarily require, you should be good to go.