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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from CNET Asia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Quick guide to buying a projector
By Philip Wong
07/03/2007 URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/projectors/0,39037580,39220653,00.htm From conference room to living room, digital projectors are quickly coming to the fore as prices fall and acceptance grows. Whatever your needs, our quick guide helps you identify the key features that matter most when shopping for a projector.
LCD vs DLP You'll hear these two terms bandied around most in projectorspeak. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and DLP (Digital Light Processing) are the two main display technologies currently available in the market.
Profile: Road warriors and business travelers Type: Ultraportable DLP projectors below 2kg Est. Price: One of the most significant improvements made in projectors over the last few years is the form factor. Portable models, traditionally pegged at anything below 3kg, now weigh under 1kg, considerably lightening the load of mobile presenters. Size has also become less of a constraint as manufacturers seek to engineer increasingly more features into a compact package.
Shopping specs  Brightness
Measured in ANSI (American National Standards Institute) lumens, this is a key feature to consider during purchase. For portable users, the projector has to be relatively bright, at least 1,000 lumens, since it has to cater to different lighting conditions. Do note that walls are poor reflectors of light, so always factor in extra brightness for presentations without a proper projector screen. Just remember: The brighter the room, the brighter the projector has to be in order to project a sharp image. Resolution
If your presentations are mainly PowerPoint slides and simple graphics illustrations, an SVGA (800x600) projector will offer the best value. If there's a need to display small details such as numerical data on an Excel spreadsheet, an XGA (1,024x768) unit will be a better buy. The trick to achieving the best image quality is to ensure that the projector and notebook both have the same native resolution. So if your laptop has an XGA display, the projector should have a native XGA resolution for best projection results. Keystone correction
Sometimes it may not be possible to align the projector to the center of the screen. As a result, the projected image becomes distorted. Keystone correction helps correct this problem. Most projectors offer vertical correction features while some come with the additional function to make horizontal corrections. Zoom lens
Many mobile presenters will find this handy in a projector as it lets them adjust the image size to fit the screen without having to physically move the unit. Most ultralight projectors are fitted with zoom lens with a 1.2x rating, which translates to a 20 percent maximum magnification of the native projected image size. Other nice-to-have features
Profile: Presentations in meeting rooms for five to 50 people Type: Projectors from 2.5kg to 8kg Est. Price: Whether it's for a sales presentation, a management meeting or even a training session, the projector has become an indispensable tool in many offices today. Portability takes a backseat here since the projector is likely to stay within the office. This allows it to offer a wide variety of input connectivity options and relatively intuitive user interface to meet the needs of the boardroom crowd.
Shopping specs Resolution
With most notebooks equipped with XGA screens these days, the natural choice for most offices is a projector with XGA native resolution. At this resolution, the projector is often capable of displaying details such as small numbers and complex illustrations. Opt for a model with an SXGA (1,280x1,024) or higher resolution only if a high level of image detail is needed. Brightness
The optimum brightness in an office projector depends on three main factors: The size of the room; lighting conditions; and screen size. Pick a projector that's rated 1,500 lumens and above as this is generally sufficient for normal meeting rooms and classrooms with a fair amount of ambient light. Those who frequently use the projector in conference rooms with large projection screens or a brightly lit environment should consider models with at least 2,000 lumens. Connectivity options
One aspect of projector technology that has improved tremendously in recent years is the connectivity options. For a decent machine, you can usually find composite video, S-video, analog computer (or VGA) and sometimes even component video inputs. Increasingly, you can also find models sporting multiple ports for the same video inputs plus DVI digital inputs and wireless LAN connectivity which facilitates convenient switching among multiple input sources plugged into the same projector. Ease of use
This is an important feature that many buyers tend to overlook. Studies have shown that office projectors with an intuitive user interface not only save time and effort but tend to break down less often since they are less likely to be misused. Other nice-to-have features
Profile: SOHO users and freelance lecturers Type: Multi-use projectors not more than 4kg Est. Price: Multi-use projectors, which are designed to handle simple presentations at work as well as DVD movie playback at home, have become an extremely popular choice among SOHO users and freelance lecturers. Reasonably priced, these projectors usually offer a good compromise of weight and features and come with user-selectable screen aspect ratios.
Shopping specs Brightness
Depending on the type of home theater setup and presentation crowd, the brightness of multi-use projectors generally ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 lumens. In most cases, 1,500 lumens is a good bet for those looking at no more than 20 people in a relatively well-lit room. Look out for models which can scale the lumens rating to generate less noise from the projector's cooling fan. Resolution
XGA is naturally the preferred resolution choice for projectors today as it produces the best image quality from current notebooks with XGA native resolution. However, if cost is a priority, SVGA projector models may be more economical. The only tradeoff for SVGA models is the limited resolution which may affect the image quality for some computer presentations. Otherwise, there is hardly any degradation in DVD movie quality. Contrast ratio
The higher the contrast ratio, the richer the black appears on the image. If you are using your projector for video purposes, choose one with a high contrast ratio to deliver the best-quality images. DLP technology is typically found in multi-use projectors because it offers significantly higher contrast ratios (about 2000:1) than LCD (400:1). Aspect ratio
Most multi-use projectors come with two user-selectable aspect ratios: The standard 4:3 and the widescreen 16:9. This provides the flexibility to switch between the 4:3 aspect ratio for computer presentations and 16:9 display for letterbox movies. Other nice-to-have features
Profile: Movie buffs and avid gamers Type: Home theater projectors Est. Price: These days, people turn to projectors when setting up a home theater system simply because it is an affordable large-screen alternative to plasma and LCD TVs. Compared with getting an
Shopping specs Brightness
Contrary to popular belief, the optimum amount of brightness required for home theater projectors is usually lower compared with those designed for presentations in the office. The reason is simply that most people watch movies in a darkened room environment where good images up to 100 inches across can be produced with just a 1,000 lumen projector. Resolution
Most movie projectors in the market today are 480p model which should provide more than sufficient resolution for the mainstream crowd to use for DVD movies, regular TV broadcasts and the occasional console game. There are higher-resolution projectors out there but they won't make a difference in image quality unless you are receiving High Definition Television (HDTV) signals. DLP over LCD
DLP technology is usually preferred for movie projectors because of its high contrast ratios which produce images with richer blacks. In addition, DLP projectors are widely recognized for their smooth video quality and less visible pixelations over their LCD counterparts. Aspect ratio
The majority of home theater projectors offer 16:9 aspect ratio as most movie buffs buy a projector in order as to watch widescreen DVD movies in their full 16:9 cinematic glory. However, if you're using the projector mainly to catch TV broadcasts and movies in the standard 4:3 aspect ratio, it may be worth looking at non-widescreen projectors. Other nice-to-have features
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