projector for school-classroom...?please, any comments are welcome.

[mumla]

Hello,:shrug:
I’m looking for the projector for school-classroom. I’ve heard that short throw type is suits for the education purposes.
What about their lamps, as I see to replace the lamp is cost a lot /easy to by new projector/.
Does anyone are using short throw projectors at school, which one? Could you tell me how do feel about, what are their differences, advantages- disadvantages?:cool:

[munchie21]

Hi! Actually, yeah my Sister is currently working at my old middle school and she told me that her school recently got a new projector for her classroom, after she complained repeatedly to them that the existing one was too old and unpredictable!

Anyway, I've been to her class a couple of times, and they are currently using the benq MP512 ST, it's a short throw projector so it doesn't need much space! It's pretty well lit as well! My sister says she uses it ever day in her class (Math Class), to do problems in front of the class for her students. She says the new projector is so much better than the old one, not that she had much else to compare with, but yeah! :clap:

[munchie21]

Oh yeah! Let me know if you want to know more, I can ask my sister about the projector as she knows quite a lot now since she had to research on her own to buy a new one through the school.

[visionco]

For classroom presentation you want a projector with at least 10,000 AL. Here at the school where I work we use Infocus and Sony projectors. They work great for rooms that have light coming through the windows.

[munchie21]

Wow.... Visionco sounds like he/she knows a lot more about what their talking about. Probably better to listen to Visionco.

But hey, Visionco, so are you saying the Benq one isn't good? I'm no professional when it comes to projectors, speaking from not much experience either, but when I saw the performance of that tiny thing in the classroom, I was really surprised! It really looked great, like clear, bright, and everything!

I'm kind of curious, so it'd be sweet if you could give me some advice too! Thanks!

[zbo]

I dont know anything about projectors but I can help you on OCF in general.

Firstly "HI! Welcome to OCF. We hope you enjoy your stay".

Also rather then posting lots of new posts to add information to somthing you've written if you hit the *Edit* button under your post you can jump right in and change it.

*EDIT* < see useful
I do know one thing about projectors.

When you see "Black" that they are projecting its really white. All Projectors get projected onto a white screen, now you can't make that any darker - so to it look black the projectors make it makes everything else really bright. Weird huh?

[munchie21]

Hi Zbo! Thanks for the heads up! I will definately keep that in mind! Sorry for the unusual behaviour, as you know I am newb to all this hahaha! Am trying hard to get used to things fast though!

I didn' tknow that about projectors either. Interesting fact, hahah!

[letsdance]

@visionoco: projectors with 10,000 AL and more cost anywhere from USD 10,000 to USD 100,000. This will definitely blow any schools projector budget.

[||Console||]

I have used these in a work app , I liked it http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Projectors/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&cs=cadhs1&sku=222-1451

[munchie21]

@visionoco: projectors with 10,000 AL and more cost anywhere from USD 10,000 to USD 100,000. This will definitely blow any schools projector budget.

OMG.... really?! Who would buy those then? Theaters? That's ridiculously expensive... What are they usually used for?

[BobbyBubblehead]

I`ve used a fair few projectors (Used to do lighting and decor for night clubs and such)
The wider the lens will expand and the greater the keystone vertical axis will adjust the better because you can get closer to the screen your projecting onto.
Another pointer if you have room, is to project from behind the screen. There are materials used in theater production as screening for light effects and there rejection ratios vary from 1 to 100% absorption/reflection so its possible to project from the rear if a clear line of sight isn't possible.
realistically price/afford ability v performance you need to find something at least 2000 / 2500 lumen's output minimum to avoid the need for a total black out.
should note I'm not very up on current performance but DLP projectors are in my opinion the best as there the only ones that operate in a complete digital domain.
And I think they can push the projected lumens further with DLP because its a chip and not an LCD display.

DLP = Digital Light Processing - think texas instruments came up with it.

DLP PLUS SIDE

Higher contrast achievable.
DLP has sealed optics which makes them better for use in a dusty environment.
DLP projectors are generally more portable as fewer components are required.
It has been claimed that DP projectors last longer than LCD projectors


Disadvantages of DP
The 'rainbow' effect, appearing as a momentary flash of rainbow-like striping typically trailing the bright objects when looking from one side of the screen to the other, or when looking away from the projected image to an off screen object. Only some people see this effect, or you can create it for yourself by moving your eyes very quickly across the screen. There are two types of DP projector - the old ones had four segments on the color wheel, the new ones have six or even seven and spin faster, which means less rainbow effect and more saturated color.
The 'halo' effect (or 'light leakage'). It may bother some people using their projector for home cinema. Basically it's a Grey band around the outside of the image, caused by stray light being bounced off the edges of the tiny mirrors on the DLP chip. It can be a distraction, but can be overcome by having a black border a few inches wide around the screen, so the halo falls on to the border. However the halo effect is less evident in the newer DLP chips such as the DDR chip

Advantages of LCD
LCD is generally more 'light efficient' than DLP (ie. the same wattage lamp in both an LCD and DLP would produce a brighter image through the LCD).

With 3LCD projectors, you get beautiful color in clear, defined images - even in a bright room, and you get more than double the brightness on color luminance, compared to non-3LCD projectors. What’s more, 3LCD projectors can project bright, vivid images with a low output lamp.
Hence, with a data signal, if you put a 1000 lumen LCD next to a 1200 lumen DLP and showed a color image people would probably prefer the LCD for brightness.

LCD tends to produce a sharper image (ie. more precisely focused). This can actually be a bit of a disadvantage for video, where it makes the pixellation more obvious.


Disadvantages of LCD
Chicken wire effect causing the image to look more pixellated. Though with the recent advancements in 3LCD technology this is now barely noticeable.

Generally more bulky, as there are more internal components.

'Dead Pixels' - Pixels can become permanently on or permanently off, while this is barely noticeable with one dead pixel, if the projector develops multiple dead pixels it can be a irritation.

LCD panels can fail, and are very expensive to replace. DLP chips can also fail but as there are fewer parts in a DLP projector this is relatively rare.

I think a resolution of less than 1280x720 would be very limiting to displaying information as well.
just checked the modern opinion on lumens it seems 1500 to 2500 is good for your needs and its better to cut out ambient light to a degree to achieve a good image contrast but preserve some if you still need to maintain eye contact threw a presentation.
As I always found light across the projection surface at a near parallel angle is the worst thing for the image.

As for a make and model well I'm in the UK so I'm not really going to get a good picture of your market really - will have a look and see what I thinks a contender (also my hi-fi specialist guy installs them all the time - but I couldn't afford his range or ever justify it LOL) I will ask his opinion - he likes to slice threw the corporate smokescreen and pick out the gems.

[benbaked]

With 3LCD projectors, you get beautiful colour in clear, defined images - even in a bright room, and you get more than double the brightness on colour luminance, compared to non-3LCD projectors. What’s more, 3LCD projectors can project bright, vivid images with a low output lamp.
Hence, with a data signal, if you put a 1000 lumen LCD next to a 1200 lumen DLP and showed a colour image people would probably prefer the LCD for brightness.


This is true, I've compared both a DLP and LCD projector side-by-side at work and have noticed this. The DLP at work is rated for 1100 lumens while the LCD is rated for 800, the image on the LCD consistently looks brighter and more vivid. I enjoyed reading your informative post. :thup:

Both DLP and 3LCD put out nice looking images that will be more then adequate for a school classroom IMO. I was searching newegg today and found plenty of decent, portable 3LCD projectors for under $800. They were all native XGA resolution, I think that's fine for a classroom of 20-30 people. Look for one with a rated bulb life of at least 2,000 hours, in high power mode (sometimes they'll list a low power bulb life rating in the main specifications that can be misleading). :thup:

[BobbyBubblehead]

Its all a bit held together with sticky tape and rusty memories but I'm trying to relay what I know/knew #Chuckles#
You should note my Lumen's guess work and experience is UK based i.e. summers two slightly bright weeks in July then back to the wet season LOL

[x30Jx]

dude! get a SmartBoard.

it is like the coolest thing ever, and 2 of my classes have one, and ot really MAKES the class.

[munchie21]

dude! get a SmartBoard.

it is like the coolest thing ever, and 2 of my classes have one, and ot really MAKES the class.

Yes, but smartboards are extremely expensive and huge! Not every school has a budget for a smart board hahaha. It is very unfortunate, I know.

@BobbyBubblehead
Thank you very much for the more than knowledgeable and in depth explanation and differentiation between DLP and LCD. I've learned a lot just from your one post :)