Projectors for Business

The cost of projectors for business, education, and government continues to fall. In recent months the drop in prices has been quite significant, more than 25% in some catagories so much so that projectors are now available for less than £300+vat.

Overview of the market:

There are about fifty "manufacturers" out there, although not all build their own product, in fact many simply relabel product from other original manufacturers or make very minor changes, and sell the products under their own names. Here is a short list of the top selling brands that actually design and build their projectors. Who is number one varies depending on the research source.

Entry Level Projectors (Performance - Not Price)
There are three main resolutions to consider

Low Resolution - SVGA (800x600)
Standard Resolution XGA (1024x768)
High Resolution SXGA (1280 x 1024)

SVGA projectors start from as little as £275+vat and even the XGA machines are now as low as £399+vat, and falling all the time. SXGA projectors still command a slightly higher price but nevertheless are becoming more and more affordable.

The lower resolution SVGA projectors comprise about 40 percent of US projector sales, and the bulk of those are purchased by schools. The primary reason, is that projectors are treated more and more as commodities, which they are. As a result expertise is hard to find. And buyers are often not aware of the practical and significant differences between the two resolutions. This is where e flat minor can help you as we have knowledgable staff who have many years experience in assisting clients with the purchase or projectors and will ensure they understand your needs first before recommending a particular projector.

Physical attributes of Entry Level projectors:
Most weigh at least 2 or 3kg, and up to 6kg or more. (By comparison the lightest projectors are just under 1kg.)

Other attributes:

Typically these projectors have a single computer input

More than half of these models are LCD projectors, the rest are DLP projectors

Typically they have two video inputs (S-video and composite) -the lowest quality

Some will also accept component video (high quality), but watch out, usually that means connecting component through the computer input, so you can't have a computer and a component video source hooked up at the same time.

Monitor out (to drive a computer monitor) mostly only be found on some entry level models - those targeted to the K-12 education market. If you are using a desktop computer, you'll want a monitor out, so you can also see what you are projecting on the computer's monitor.

Audio - typically a single audio input, or maybe two (one computer, one video), the exception again would be projectors designed for the school market, where you may get extra audio inputs

Remote controls, some projectors will have credit card sized remotes, others will have "full sized". Credit card sized remotes usually offer no, or very limited "remote mousing". They are also typically limited to about a 20 foot range.

Final advice for choosing entry level projectors: You will need more lumens on a DLP projector to overcome ambient lighting, than would be required of an LCD projector.

Mid-Price/Performance Projectors: Moving up from Entry Level

SVGA resolution projectors: While the largest single projector segment consists of entry level SVGA models (and schools buy a large percentage of these), you can spend a few hundred more - say £400 - £600 and find more full featured SVGA models, typically with 2000 to 2500 lumens. Very few SVGA projectors offer more than 2000 lumens, and there are only a handful with more than 2500.

XGA resolution projectors: The XGA segment above "entry level" is dominated by 2000 lumen projectors, although you'll find them from 1600 lumens up. Most sell for under £1000 There are DLP projectors under £600 that offer up to 3500 lumens, and LCD's with up to 3000 lumens. For business purposes, please note that DLP models don't do quite as well as LCD models of the same lumen rating, in well lit rooms.

There is a wide range of projectors in this segment There are extremely small projectors (as light as 1kg.), and projectors in this group can weigh up to 6kg.

If you really want small and light, there are plenty of XGA projectors today under 2kg. Most are DLP, and the smallest/lightest (under 1kg, are mostly 1000 lumen models - but other than the "1kg. collection" no one builds projectors that dim (1000 lumens) anymore. Most people are demanding at least 1500, and mostly 2000 lumens these days.

Mid-High end Projectors

Priced from over £1000 - to £1500+ Most of these weigh in over 4kg (but not all), they start at 2500 lumens but mostly are 3000 lumens or more, and most offer interchangeable lenses. There are many interesting features found on some of these projectors that just don't show up on less expensive projectors.

Until recently the projectors that offered more than 2500 lumens pretty much were all over 5kg. and offered optional interchangeable lenses (for longer or shorter "throw" than the standard zoom lens). This is changing as the lightest projectors get more powerful. Today, you can find high power projectors without paying the price - in weight and dollars, for being able to change lenses.

Key features found in High Performance Projectors

2500 lumens or more
Interchangeable lenses
Optical lens shift
Multiple computer inputs
DVI (digital) input
Power zoom and focus
Auto focus (rare)

High Performance Machines

Most of these projectors sell for over £3000 (up to £30,000), offer at least 5000 lumens, interchangeable lenses, etc. Many offer dual lamp (or four) for redundancy and reliability. Almost all will have optical lens shift, which will also allow two projectors to be "stacked" together to virtually double the brightness.