Projector newbie - which specs are most important

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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Hi all,

Hoping you can help me out as i kind of need to purchase a projector fast. This will be used in a funeral home to simply play slides shows of the deceased. I'm not sure what specifications are critical to a projector so your guidance would be much appreciated.

Which specs should i pay most attention to when buying this projector?

It might help to mention that I'm hoping to spend somewhere in the range of $1000 - 1500, so maybe that gives an idea of what my max specs could be.
 

SKoprowski

Member
Oct 21, 2003
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I would say Lumens would be the most important- resolution second. I would get at least a 2000 lumen projector. I assume you're going to leave the lights on during the presentation so buy as much lumens as you can afford. Why a projector though? Why not get a 42 inch plasma for around a grand and then loop a dvd of pictures on it? My in-laws own a funeral home and they loop pictures on a TV. Projector's bulbs are not cheap- but then again I know how much mark up there is in the funeral business, so $$$ may not even be an issue :)

 

Phynaz

Lifer
Mar 13, 2006
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Don't put a hot, noisy projector in a funeral home.

Go with a LCD Panel.
 

craftech

Senior member
Nov 26, 2000
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You need a business projector, not a home theater projector. Most HT projectors work best in a pitch black room and as a result are generally of relatively low lumens in favor of contrast ratio.

Look at this list:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/conference-video-projectors.htm

My recommendation would be the Sharp XR-10XL which is widely available and well under $1000 at present.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sharp_PG_Series-XR-10XL-prices.htm

Put the difference into a spare lamp. That will cost an extra $300.

John


EDIT: Wait a minute................... You stated:
"to simply play slides shows of the deceased"

Are talking about a SLIDE PROJECTOR and NOT a video projector??? Or a video projector like this one http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic-PT-P1SDU.htm that can take an SD card??
 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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Originally posted by: craftech
EDIT: Wait a minute................... You stated:
"to simply play slides shows of the deceased"

Are talking about a SLIDE PROJECTOR and NOT a video projector??? Or a video projector like this one http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic-PT-P1SDU.htm that can take an SD card??

I'm talking about a video projector -- a projector that will play video and can be connected directly to the VGA output of a PC. Software can create slide shows out of the images supplied by the customer.

Isn't a SLIDE projector the kind of thing used in classrooms and sometimes office presentations? You must manually click the controller for the next slide to show? If so, that is it not what i'm looking for.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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Yeah, get a 4:3 business projector unless you intend to turn the lights down and the deceased have widescreen images of themselves.

The projectorcentral site has some screen size / distance calculators for specific models that should be useful for figuring out what your placement options will be.
 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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I know Viewsonic makes excellent CRT monitors. Are they a good choice in video projectors? I'm wondering about this model in particular.
 

craftech

Senior member
Nov 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: Wedge1
I know Viewsonic makes excellent CRT monitors. Are they a good choice in video projectors? I'm wondering about this model in particular.

Not a lot on that projector. Not even a lot of user views at Projector Central or Amazon:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/ViewSonic-PJ658.htm

http://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-PJ658-X...F8&s=electronics&qid=1173874596&sr=8-1

The Newegg reviews seem good.

Have you checked out the ones I linked above in that price range? Lots of info on those.

John



 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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Will check them out thoroughly tonight, thanks. I'm just not sure what I should look for except that I know I need a business projector with a good contrast ratio and 1500+ lumens. Oh, and 4:3 aspect ratio along with a decent resolution.
 

craftech

Senior member
Nov 26, 2000
779
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Also in addition to the Sharp XR-10XL, the Sharp XR-20XL is still under $1000 and is brighter with more features.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/sharp_XR-20X_projector.htm

http://www.projectorcentral.com/conference-video-projectors.htm

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sharp_PG_Series-XR-20X-prices.htm

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sharp_PG_Series-XR-20X-user-reviews.htm


Long discussion regarding XR-10XL at the AVS Forums:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=638598

For a screen go out and buy a 4 x 8 sheet of Wilsonart Designer White D354-60 from Home Depot, Lowes, or a kitchen place. You may have to order it. It is like Formica, but don't substitute. Frame it and it will equal a $900 screen. Should cost around $50 or so.

John

 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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craftech, your help is appreciated. I have researched this model a bit and i think i am sold on it, but i have a little more time before i make the decision.

That said, another friend advised an LCD projector. Given the purpose I have stated, would an LCD projector be candidate for this job? i.e., why might I want an LCD over a DLP and vice versa? I noticed there is no LCD projector forum at AVS forum....perhaps an indicator that this is not for a real video enthusiast? A quick enlightening please.....
 

bigal40

Senior member
Sep 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: Wedge1
craftech, your help is appreciated. I have researched this model a bit and i think i am sold on it, but i have a little more time before i make the decision.

That said, another friend advised an LCD projector. Given the purpose I have stated, would an LCD projector be candidate for this job? i.e., why might I want an LCD over a DLP and vice versa? I noticed there is no LCD projector forum at AVS forum....perhaps an indicator that this is not for a real video enthusiast? A quick enlightening please.....


Both DLP and LCD projectors make nice pictures and both have pro's and con's. Since you will be showing mainly slide shows there won't be much of a difference between the two.

Text
This is an article that throughly covers the pros and cons of each.

 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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An LCD projector would eliminate the expense of changing a bulb every ~2000 hours or slo, correct?
 

craftech

Senior member
Nov 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: Wedge1
An LCD projector would eliminate the expense of changing a bulb every ~2000 hours or slo, correct?


No. The bulbs will blow out in the same amount of time, but it depends upon the model and the bulb itself. Sometimes bulbs don't last as long as others and it has nothing to do with DLP vs LCD.

The complaints some people have about some DLP projectors are flashing multiple colors on the screen. It is called a "rainbow effect". It seems to be more provalent with models that have less wheel segments.

Read the comments under the User Reviews at Projector Central.

Mine is an LCD projector, but it cost over $2200.

Buy a spare projector lamp when you buy the projector. You will be happy you did because you won't have to cough up $300 when the first one blows. You will be able to change it right away and the money will have long ago been already spent. A lamp that is ready to go will blow out when you first start the projector. In other words, when you are ready to start showing something to a whole bunch of people.

The lamps also dim with age. Also, the lumens output is far lower than the stated specs when showing video (in case you decide to do that). Another reason not to get too dim a projector.

There is a forum for both types of projectors at AVS forums. It is called:

"Digital Projectors - Under $3,000 USD MSRP "

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=68

John
 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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I think i'm sold on the XR10-XL model, after receiving a couple of other recommendations at AVS and reading some of the articles in the links of this thread.

By "spare projector lamp" i'm assuming that's the proper word for "bulb". Help me out here as I have no idea what I am looking for. What specs work for the XR10-XL?
 

thirtythree

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2001
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I don't know if this was covered in the reviews or not, but make sure the fan is quiet. We have a business projector from Sony, and it's kinda loud (if there will be people sitting right next to it anyway). EDIT: Oops, i see you already bought it. Good luck!
 

Wedge1

Senior member
Mar 22, 2003
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Yup, already bought it and i need a way to mount it. This projector will be mounted from the ceiling and inverted. There are four screw holes on the bottom. Do I need to buy a special set of screws provided by the manufacturer? If not, I am going to a machine shop today to create a metal bracket that will attach to a U-shaped bracket that is hanging down from the ceiling.

Anything I need to know beforehand? What about those screw holes? Proprietary screws required?
 

craftech

Senior member
Nov 26, 2000
779
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Originally posted by: Wedge1
Yup, already bought it and i need a way to mount it. This projector will be mounted from the ceiling and inverted. There are four screw holes on the bottom. Do I need to buy a special set of screws provided by the manufacturer? If not, I am going to a machine shop today to create a metal bracket that will attach to a U-shaped bracket that is hanging down from the ceiling.

Anything I need to know beforehand? What about those screw holes? Proprietary screws required?

Some use 4mm or 5mm bolts and some use 6mm bolts. Depends upon the threads yours has. Mine has 4mm mounting holes.

The least expensive fairly heavy duty ceiling mounts I have seen are from Monoprice:

There are two:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/produ...082803&p_id=3009&seq=1&format=2&style=

http://www.monoprice.com/products/produ...082803&p_id=3010&seq=1&format=2&style=

I have the second one but I haven't used it yet. It's very sturdy looking and will hold up to 44 lbs. Still using my homemade mount that I made from a white toilet flange for now.

If you decide to order from Monoprice see what kind of cables you need and look over the rest of what they carry. They are the best when it comes to quality stuff at bargain prices.

They ship from California.

John