Making Projector Rental A Smart Option

It's true, having high end professional equipment, such as a great top-of-the-line projector for your presentation will definitely impress your clients. However, you don't necessarily want to break the bank during the process, which makes ideas such as a projector rental a smart and viable option.

Renting your computer equipment and accessories may also help you to avoid making mistakes, such as using a plasma rental that is actually too big for the room. This can be avoided because normally the rental companies also offer advice from expertly trained technicians who can help you make the right choices.

Different projectors are sometimes necessary to obtain the quality that you are seeking. The LCD projector is a Liquid Crystal Display and the DLP stands for Digital Light Processing.

If your presentation will have moving images and video, then DLP usually provides a better picture, but for a PowerPoint type of presentation, the LCD projector rental is normally your best bet.

Whether your business is in charge of a large corporate function, a major industry trade show or a software training session, or you are just holding a small marketing or sales meeting, a projector rental is available to help ensure the success of your event.

Most of these companies offer flexible rental terms; not just for a projector but for other computers accessories as well. They may offer more of a discount if you rent additional equipment.

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Finding Trusted Projector Reviews Online

Choosing a new home theater projector is sort of like buying a new computer, digital camera or other gadget. You want to do your homework by researching, comparison shopping and reading reviews.

After all, you want a video projector that will endure, not one that will become obsolete the following year. The good news is that there are a number of excellent sites where you can read unbiased projector reviews written by experts and real consumers.

Some people pay for quick, at-a-glance projector reviews at www.consumerreports.org. On one hand, there is a lot of free literature on buying video projection units to read. On the other hand, if you want more than easy-to-read generalizations, then you'll need to pay either $5.95 for a month's access to unlimited reports or $26 for an annual subscription.

This independent, nonprofit organization has been giving consumers reliable information for over 73 years and they have garnered more than 8 million subscribers. On the site, you can read about "How To Choose Front Projectors" or "Front Projection TV Recommendations," among other things.

Buying digital projectors will surely take a few hours of research and reading projector reviews, but you'll be glad you did it. Imagine the frustration of buying a projector lamp bulb that will die after a few months of use, and all because you didn't realize a new technology enabled LED lights to provide over 60,000 hours of light source power!

What if you bought a DLP projector only to find it didn't have the shadow detail the LCD projectors have. By becoming educated, you'll get the best home theater projector for the best price.

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Rear Projection TVs Are More Affordable

Will the rear projection TV market shrivel up and die? On one hand, the rear projection television is an attractive item because it provides high quality images with larger screens, and at a lower cost, to boot. Yet, on the other hand, major manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba and Philips balked at the market and opted out of the rear projection TV market.

As they search for ways to make LCD and plasma screen TV sets more affordable to the masses ($9,000 being a little out-of-range for most people), the theater projector TV models may one day become extinct. Even so, Samsung and Mitsubishi are offering some great products for the gotta-have-it-now crowd.

Panasonic is another popular name-brand in the rear projection world, even though they've received much more praise for their plasma HDTV sets. It's LIFI (Light Fidelity) flagship offers a super long-lasting video projector bulb, which carries a lifetime guarantee.

Other benefits of this rear projection TV is its color accuracy, its quick turn-on time and its stable brightness performance. However, there are a few drawbacks; notably the lack of depth in their black shade. Even so, the 56-inch Panasonic PT-56LCX70 LIFI 720p HDTV is a solid entry level set that continues to sell.

Rear projection TV sets can get you the biggest size for your money, with the 50-inch Samsung HL50A650 retailing for less than $1,000 and the Mitsubishi WD-73736 for less than $2,000. Generally, the bigger your rear projection TV is, the more you'll save. All rear projection TV sets come with a native display resolution of 1080p, which gives you greater picture quality.

Even though you'll save a lot of money, you should not take your theater projectors decision lightly because a home theater is still a large expense. Additionally, you'll want to ensure you won't have to buy new bulbs or pay hefty repair bills in the future after rushing into an impulsive decision.

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Projector Accessories To Maintain Your Investment

In addition to the basic video projector unit, one of the projector accessories you'll need to buy is the projector screen. They come in fixed, pull-down and motorized varieties. Then you'll also have to choose between a white matte, a gray matte, a high contrast white surface or a high gain screen.

High contrast gray screens are good if you're using an LCD projector with lower contrast. High contrast white is good with a DLP projector. In addition to projector screens, you'll need lamps, mounts and other accessories to create your perfect home theater.

You'll know its time for one of these projector accessories when the image starts to dim. Some projectors let you monitor the hours of your usage so you'll be able to budget your movie watching if you don't have an extra $350 lying around.

The life of many projector lamp bulbs is about 2,000 hours, though many of the high-end models are harnessing unlimited bulb life. To get this lamp life, you should use your video projector no more than 3 to 5 hours per day in a clean, dust-free environment and change your air filter every 3 months.

Projector mounts are another of the projector accessories you'll need to consider besides projector lamps. You'll need to choose a mount that is easy to install but also safe. Most projector mounts are attached to the ceiling and come with pre-assembled hardware pieces, although a few mounts can come with accessories to attach it to the wall instead.

Some mounts have one point of attachment, while others come with multiple. A quick-release feature can be very handy if you need to replace a filter or a lamp. Be sure to choose a UL listed mount that has been tested to hold four times' its load capacity. The mounts come in everything from aluminum metal finishes to wood finishes. Check out Visual Apex, Projector Point, Perfect Mounts or Eastporters to find a wide range of mounting devices.

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Home Theater Projector

A home projector isn't for everyone. After all, you'll need to finagle installation, which isn't always easy, and find space for the enormous screen. You'll also need a completely dark, windowless room with dark walls to make the lighting work.

You'll hear the noisy whirring of the video projection and you'll need to buy accessories like projection screens and a projector lamp -- not to mention replacement bulbs. However, the experience of a home theater is so cushy, so professional, and so brag-worthy that you may not care about these drawbacks at all. For some consumers, nothing beats the home theater experience; provided that you've got popcorn on hand, of course!

Next, you must consider resolution for your projector. Resolution refers to the number of pixels used to recreate an image, so naturally the higher the resolution, the more pixels it has, the more detail you see and the more money you pay. The resolution comes in a two-number format, such as "1280 x 720," with the first number indicating the horizontal pixels and the second number indicating the vertical pixels.

The most high-end theater projectors come with 1920 x 1080 (the 1080p model), which shows all the lines of the signal in all its native, uncompressed glory. If you're just looking for a mid-priced all-around good buy, then you will likely be satisfied with a 1280 x 720 (720p model), which delivers excellent high definition images from both HDTV and Blu Ray disc players. If you want your system to work as a data projector too, then a 1280 x 768 is a good selection.

One last thing to consider when buying a projector is your installation process. Many home theater projectors now offer zoom lenses and lens shift to help the unit work with the surrounding space. A zoom lens can make the image smaller or larger. A lens shift can change the location of the projected image by moving the lens up or down.

You'll also need to consider accessories like screen mounts, cables and speakers. While this may sound very confusing, often times, you can get someone to come out to your house and calibrate everything just right to be sure you're getting the most out of your home theater experience.

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The High Performance Rear Projection TV

Electronic stores frequently display walls and walls of plasma and LCD flat panel television sets. It seems that everyone wants to have one of these mammoth entertainment systems for their homes nowadays, no matter how expensive they are.

However, the rear-projection TV has emerged from the shadows to offer lower prices and high performance. While shopping around, you will come across CRT, LCD and DLP technology, so here is all you need to know.

The LCD rear-projection TV offers an excellent picture at a far lower price than LCD flat panel television sets. You can get a 37-inch or an 80-inch projector screen to offer a larger viewing field for less. The LCD projectors are ideal for HDTV viewing and playing video games since the contrast/color saturation is so good and there is no danger of burn-in from static images, like station logos or video game settings.

A rear projection TV system's downfall, generally speaking, is that there may be a limited viewing angle. If you're seated directly in front of the TV at eye-level with the set, you'll be just fine. However, the quality may diminish if you have stadium seating or if you're watching from the side.

The third type of rear-projection TV is the Digital Light Processing (DLP) system. Like the LCD projectors, DLP projectors display images on a chip, although the type of chip used is a micro-mirror. Some movie theaters use DLP technology when showing digitally converted films stored on a hard drive or optical disc.

High resolution DLP projector chips have the ability to recreate an image as though it's on 35 or 70mm film. The color accuracy, low power consumption and high contrast makes the DLP system an attractive selection. The downside is that it will require an occasional bulb replacement.

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Overhead Projector For Academic And Business

An overhead projector is a large box that contains a light source, a cooling fan and a large lens to focus the light. Most overhead projectors also have a mirror that redirects the light forward, rather than up and transparent film is placed over the lens for display. The image is then projected onto a screen for an audience to see.

There are many things to look at when purchasing an overhead projector. To extend your lamp life by 20% and get flicker-free images, look for the "electronic soft-start power supply" feature. You may also appreciate "built-in AC outlets," which provide added connection options so you can connect to computers or LCD panels.

The "hi/lo economy switch" lets you change your brightness settings to reduce lamp stress and keep your bulb lasting longer. If storage space is limited, then you might want to look for a "fold-away design" for your multimedia projector. A "rotating head" is important if your presentation venue will change.

In high stakes presentations, an "automatic lamp changer" switch is very handy for quick, easy projector lamp changing so you don't miss a beat. In terms of brightness, something between 3,200 to 4,000 lumens is ideal, although some windowless rooms can get by on 2,000.

You can save a lot of money going with an overhead projector, rather than a home theater projector or multimedia projector. However, it's important that you consider your audience. More often than not, overhead projectors are used in academic settings from grade school to university level.

Business professionals may prefer a more advanced data projector for their advanced presentations. It's important that you consider reliability, manufacturer and warranty in whichever model you choose.

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LCD Projector For Home Theater Illumination

The LCD projector was invented in 1984 by Gene Dolgoff, a New York inventor who wanted to create a projector that surpassed the 3-CRT projectors of the time. He believed improvements could be made in terms of brightness and smoothness.

Dolgoff was credited with starting the first company specializing in LCD projectors, creating the US HDTV standards using digital projection and co-developing the ANSI standard for measuring brightness, contrast and resolution of theater projectors.

In the $4,000 to $6,000 range, the $4,895 Sanyo PLC-XTC50L is a great choice. With an ANSI rating of 5,000 lumen, it's on the higher end of the brightness spectrum. While it may be a little heavier than comparable LCD projectors, this Sanyo LCD projector comes with maintenance-eliminating features like a dual lamp system, an active maintenance filter, lens shift and noiseless operation.

The color saturation is as impressive as the luminance. This unit is not generally used in home theaters, as it's better suited as a multimedia projector or data projector.

Compared to a DLP projector, the LCD projector specializes in home theater illumination with eight segment color wheels featuring two sets of red, green, dark green and blue filters, for color accuracy and saturation. LCD also delivers slightly sharper images and better resolution when placed side by side with DLP projectors.

Also, LCD projectors consistently produce brighter screens. All the projectors with the highest ANSI lumen ratings (3,000 - 6,000) are LCD, except for one DLP model by Optoma and one by ViewSonic.

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Finding Better Projector Screens

Much attention is given to choosing the right home theater projector. Do you want an LCD or a DLP projector? Will you buy a cheaper lamp that will burn out after 2,000 hours or a costly high-end lamp that is guaranteed for at least 60,000 hours?

Which manufacturer will you select? However, buying the projector is only one component of your home theater. Almost equally important are the projector screens, which affect resolution, contrast and color accuracy.

Next, you will have to consider screen surface to determine how sharp and bright your projected image will be. Matte white surfaces are the most popular option, offering fine and vivid detail. Smooth silver or white pearl surfaces are sometimes also used for the sharpest image for video or computer, although they're not recommended for overhead projectors because hotspots may appear.

Glass beaded surfaces may be used for video, slide and film projection, but cannot portray sharp minute detail needed for computer projection. If you're in a classroom with window light and you need a screen for video and slide projection only, then lenticular surfaces may focus projected light and deflect ambient light in the best way possible.

Now that you know what to look for, let's talk about some of the top projector screens below $500 on the market. The Elite EZ Frame White is a popular projection screen on the market for $420. Setting up the screen is easy and takes just over a half hour. The surface is perfectly smooth, although the seam in the horizontal frame bars is a bit unsightly.

The Elite White doesn't reflect very much light and is 17% brighter than comparable products, although the color balance is slightly cooler. Other top performing projection screens include: Grandview Fixed Frame White, Da-lite Screen Company's Affinity HD or the Stewart Grayhawk RS.

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Finding Online Home Theater Projectors Reviews

It's clear now that high definition is certainly the way of the future. America is full of film buffs, so it's natural that nearly every household would love to have a fancy big-screen HDTV. Unfortunately, the hefty price tag of LCD television sets and plasma screen TVs are still out of reach for many consumers.

Home theater projectors can cost up to $10,000 just for the projection unit; however, there are also high-quality units that cost less than $2,000 and rival the television technology. Let's take a look at a few of the models that have garnered positive feedback this year.

Another review site, www.projectorreviews.com, wrote up a report of the best 1080p home theater projectors out this year. According to site editor, Art Feierman, the best video projectors under $2,100 are: the Epson Home Cinema 6100 3LCD, the InFocus X10 DLP projector, the Mitsubishi HC5500 3LCD, the Sanyo PLV-Z700 3LCD and the Optoma HD806 DLP projector.

The best projectors between $2,100 and $3,500 are: the BenQ W5000 DLP projector, the Epson Home Cinema 6500UB 3LCD/7000/7500UB, the Optoma HD8200 DLP projector, the Panasonic PT-AE3000 3LCD, the Mitsubishi HC6500 3LCD/HC7000 3LCD, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 3LCD, the Sony VPL-HW10 LCoS or the Viewsonic Pro8100 DLP projector.

As for luxury projectors from $3,500 to $10,000, Feierman recommends the BenQ W20000 LCoS, the JVC DLA-RS10 LCoS/JVC DLA-RS20 LCoS, the InFocus IN82/IN83 DLP projector, the Optoma HD8000-LV DLP projector, the Planar 8150 DLP, the Sharp XV-Z20000 DLP projector or the Sony VPL-VW70.

There are several new technologies for home theater projectors that have come out in recent years. One of the most significant is creative frame interpolation, which reduces motion blur. If you watch a lot of action flicks or sports, try the Panasonic PT-AE3000, the Epson Home Cinema 6500UB, the Epson Pro Cinema 7500UB or the Sanyo PLV-Z3000.

Anamorphic lens emulation is another noteworthy feature found in the Panasonic's PT-AE3000, the Epson Pro Cinema 7100 and the Epson Pro Cinema 7500UB. This lens can stretch an image further horizontally to fit the screen for HDTV content and wide screen movies. A less expensive pseudo-anamorphic lens can be found in the revolutionary Panasonic PT-AE3000.

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