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Church and H.O.W. – Forums for HOW Sound and AV - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Church and HOW Forums => H.O.W. AV Archive => Topic started by: Fred Dorado on September 04, 2009, 01:23:38 PM

Title: looking for new projector
Post by: Fred Dorado on September 04, 2009, 01:23:38 PM
our church is starting to look for a new projector. I think I got most of the main info about our situation, if I missed anything, please let me know.

any help is greatly appreciated. thanks

Our issues
Screen size - 70x50
distance - I think about 7 feet - measured and then didn't write it down:o
Lighting - medium - no direct sun or lighting on it, but in well lit room. 1 spot possible crossing paths with the throw
use - pictures, video, ppt presentations
Mount - upside down ceiling
connection - currently have a vga run of about 100-125ft directly from computer - I thought was too long, but seems to work. We can use something different, but difficult to rewire
special issues - the current projector is turned on and off at the breaker - probably continue this.

my questions -
1. What's happening with LED projectors? not replacing bulb would be great.
2. What lens specs should I be looking for?
3. What other specs should I be looking for? i.e. how many lumens is enough?

anything I missed
Title: Re: looking for new projector
Post by: Brad Weber on September 05, 2009, 08:13:43 AM
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide= 0&st=1&mfg=&p=&w=&r=&br=&ll=& ;t=&db=&dt=&c=&ar=4%3A3&dvi=&td=7&am p;i=w&is=70&sort=%24

70"x52.5" image with 7' throw distance and 4:3 native format.  Any of them will probably be of sufficient brightness, 2,500 lumens on that size screen is about 98fL.

I suggest finding a better way to control the projector power, the lamp need to cycle off properly and cutting the power to the projector prevents this.  You are likely shortening the life of the lamp and projector.  Maybe the handheld remote will work or you could look at an IR extension from someone like Xantech.
Title: Re: looking for new projector
Post by: Fred Dorado on September 05, 2009, 11:49:00 PM
Brad, thank you very much, that is very helpful.... definitely allows me to set a budget and some goals.
Title: Re: looking for new projector
Post by: Arnold B. Krueger on September 10, 2009, 07:30:30 AM
Fred Dorado wrote on Fri, 04 September 2009 18:23



1. What's happening with LED projectors? not replacing bulb would be great.



I don't see much changing soon. The last projector we bought had two bulbs. It looks like we'll have to repair the projectors light wheel long before we'll have to change the bulbs.

Quote:


2. What lens specs should I be looking for?



Something that allows the image to fit the screen given where you want to put the projector. There are tables and formulas online that can help you with this.

Quote:


3. What other specs should I be looking for? i.e. how many lumens is enough?



Unless your room has no windows, it seems like there never are *enough* lumens. Reality strikes when you see what happens to projector pricing when you cross the 6,000 lumen line.

You should know that there are two basic kinds of projectors - board room projectors and large venue projectors. Board room projectors have better price performance, but they are more inconvenient to use when you can't actually touch the projector in use.

If you want to see the difference, check the specs and features of something like a Panasonic 5500 and compare it to whatever they're selling at Staples this week.

Don't interpret this as me saying that you should never use a board room style projector hung from the ceiling - as I have one of each in my sanctuary. But, we thought out the applications very carefully, and for our main projector there was really no choice - spend the big bucks on the large venue style projector.

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