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[Dabbie Wolfheizen]

Hello experts, I'm helping out with a school project. I volunteered to help them revamp their presentation room and one thing they are in need of is a digital projector. Been searching online https://bzbexpress.com/tvs/projectors/ with the cheapest here for around $400, we also checked on Amazon, some as low as $50. Honestly, I've never purchased a projector before and I'm not sure about paying $50, is this for real? I don't want it work for a day and have to call tech support or return. I'm just not sure, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[Nathan Riddle]

Post with your real full name and then we can help.

[Tim McCulloch]

Hello experts, I'm helping out with a school project. I volunteered to help them revamp their presentation room and one thing they are in need of is a digital projector. Been searching online https://bzbexpress.com/tvs/projectors/ with the cheapest here for around $400, we also checked on Amazon, some as low as $50. Honestly, I've never purchased a projector before and I'm not sure about paying $50, is this for real? I don't want it work for a day and have to call tech support or return. I'm just not sure, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

NO, $50 is not "for real."

It sounds like you need a vendor that does this for a living.

That said there are plenty of good projector brands out there, some very expensive and others not as much.  Epson, Christie Digital, Barco, Optoma, ViewSonic, several more.

But you're starting from the wrong end of the equation.  You need to know how big the projected image needs to be, the distance from the screen the projector can be mounted, the amount of ambient light in the room, the gain of the screen... and THEN you can determine how much output (in Lumens) the projector needs.  The source resolution is important - you don't want to down-scale/up scale if you don't have to.

Other considerations are lamp life, projector imaging (LCD, DLP, laser) type, frequency of cleaning and maintenance (and access for those).

Find the projectors that fit the needs and come back and ask if there are user impressions...

[scottstephens]

Dabbie,

You need professional help for the projector. You need to know the lumens (how bright it needs to be), how far is it projecting, what's it projecting onto? and few other things.  Brand names like Sony, Panasonic, Benq, or Epson are ..$1000-$10,000. Used could be a few hundred.

Scott

[Glen Kelley]

Hello experts, I'm helping out with a school project.

Epson has purchasing programs for schools in the US. You might try reaching out to their education division. They will have resources to help you choose the correct projector, as well. They will then put you in touch with a vendor for the purchase. You will likely need to spend more than $400, but there are small-room solutions that are less than $1000 that may meet your needs. Epson projectors have been very reliable for us.

If it needs to be permanently installed, don't forget that you will also need a projector bracket, the above-ceiling mount, a drop pipe (depending on the style of mount), electrical receptacle, and properly rated cable if the ceiling is plenum space. If you are planning to use HDMI signal, you might need an HDBaseT extender, which can cost more than the projector itself!

[Dabbie Wolfheizen]

This is really good advice, thank you. Yes, we are still doing research and we will actually need to extend the HDMI signal, i'm actually shopping for those now.

NO, $50 is not "for real."

It sounds like you need a vendor that does this for a living.

That said there are plenty of good projector brands out there, some very expensive and others not as much.  Epson, Christie Digital, Barco, Optoma, ViewSonic, several more.

But you're starting from the wrong end of the equation.  You need to know how big the projected image needs to be, the distance from the screen the projector can be mounted, the amount of ambient light in the room, the gain of the screen... and THEN you can determine how much output (in Lumens) the projector needs.  The source resolution is important - you don't want to down-scale/up scale if you don't have to.

Other considerations are lamp life, projector imaging (LCD, DLP, laser) type, frequency of cleaning and maintenance (and access for those).

Find the projectors that fit the needs and come back and ask if there are user impressions...

[Dabbie Wolfheizen]

Thanks Glen, I actually took your advice and reached out to Epson. I'm waiting for them to confirm if our situation qualifies for the program. I have been looking at hdmi extenders, wow, they are expensive. now i have a new problem to solve.

Epson has purchasing programs for schools in the US. You might try reaching out to their education division. They will have resources to help you choose the correct projector, as well. They will then put you in touch with a vendor for the purchase. You will likely need to spend more than $400, but there are small-room solutions that are less than $1000 that may meet your needs. Epson projectors have been very reliable for us.

If it needs to be permanently installed, don't forget that you will also need a projector bracket, the above-ceiling mount, a drop pipe (depending on the style of mount), electrical receptacle, and properly rated cable if the ceiling is plenum space. If you are planning to use HDMI signal, you might need an HDBaseT extender, which can cost more than the projector itself!

[Nathan Riddle]

Thanks Glen, I actually took your advice and reached out to Epson. I'm waiting for them to confirm if our situation qualifies for the program. I have been looking at hdmi extenders, wow, they are expensive. now i have a new problem to solve.

If under ~60-80ft run they aren't needed.

Atlona is a decent brand for HDBaseT.

To go a bit cheaper, Decimator MD-LX HDMI over SDI cable (RG6 variant) will probably work for your situation.

Cheapest is Amazon $60 hdmi over cat6 converters, they aren't as robust as the others, but they do the job.

[ProSoundWeb Community]