Choosing A Projecter

Choosing a projector can be a daunting experience and one that can easily become very confusing. The thing is, what was once an exclusive product available to only the wealthiest consumer has now become more and more accessible to everyone, with honestly amazing results. This post will hopefully make your purchase a little easier.

The first thing I would suggest is to buy your projector from a speciality store as opposed to the Internet or large chain store. Professional advise is priceless, as is follow up advice and support. Our consultants will take into account your circumstances and present you with the best possible solution.

Okay, so let's look at a few basics of projectors

Brightness
A very common mistake people make is judging a projector on its brightness alone. Yes it's an important factor but it's one of many and not as important as you may have thought.

The brightness of a projector is measured in ANSI Lumens (American National Standards Institute) Projectors come in a wide range of ANSI lumens.

Basically the darker the room that the projector is going to be in, the less lumens you will require. If for example, you have a dedicated cinema room with no windows or draw curtains then you can use a projector that has a lower lumens rating. If, on the other hand, you will have trouble blocking out external light, then you may need a higher lumens rating to be able to throw a quality picture despite external light.

The size of the room and the amount of people viewing the picture also determines how many lumens you will likely require. The bigger the image you require the further away the projector will be, hence it will need higher brightness levels to obtain a quality image.

Resolution
Resolution basically equals the number of pixels (picture elements) the projector will throw to your screen. More pixels= higher resolution= better picture. A high resolution will give you a sharper and crisper image with well defined edges.

Resolution is usually stated as two numbers e.g. 1920x1080. The first number 1920 refers to the number of pixels horizontally across and the second number 1080 is the number of pixels vertically from top to bottom. The term "native resolution" refers to a projectors total resolution e.g. 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels total.

Again the resolution you will require all depends on your room and your needs.

Contrast Ratio
Contrast Ratio refers to the darkest and brightest areas of the image. High contrast ratios deliver whiter whites and blacker blacks. Your projector could have a great lumens rating, but if the contrast ratio is low, your image will look washed out. Contrast ratios of modern projectors can range from 3300:1 to 72,000:1 and even higher.

Once again, the contrast ratio you will require really depends on your situation.



To sum up, projector technology has come a long way and our team have years of hands on experience and have watched projectors evolve into what they are today.

There's no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to projectors. A projector that is perfect for one person will not necessarily be the right one for you. To get the best product, which doesn't always have to be the most costly, come and see us at Audio Solutions in Mascot to receive the service and advice that money just can't buy.