Dual use projector -- Powerpoint and 1080p? (1 Viewer)

[stonesmith]

My company has a banquet/meeting room in which we want to install permanent A/V equipment. The windows are tinted with shades, but there is still considerable ambient light. Some groups will want to do presentations and some will want to show HD video. From my research, projectors seem to be divided into two pretty distinct groups -- presentation and home theater. Does anyone know of a projector that does both well? The room is about 25' x 50' with a high ceiling. The screen would be on a 25' wall. Thanks for your help.

 

[GeorgeAB]

What is the system budget, and which type of use is the highest priority?

 

[stonesmith]

Our budget for the projector is probably $2,000 - $2,500. It will probably be used more for presentations than for video.

 

[GeorgeAB]

How large do you want the screen to be? Does it need to be an electric retractable model? What is the budget for a screen? Type of screen has a very profound effect upon projector performance requirements.

Will you have an official AV technician set up and operate the room for each use, or will the system need to be idiot proof and automated for ultimate simplicity. Ideally, it would be better for you to be working with a qualified AV contractor, who can inspect the room, and work through all the details with your company. The design and specification process can be much more tedious and unreliable using a forum such as this one for guidance.

 

[stonesmith]

I'm about 90 miles from the nearest qualified AV contractor, so I was hoping to avoid that expense. I'd like to have a 120" diagonal motorized screen that drops from the ceiling. It does need to be pretty much plug and play. Our IT department will be the support for the system.


I'm not overly concerned with getting the absolute best possible picture. My primary concern is that I'll buy one capable of doing a nice job with vdieo and then it will look washed out when doing presentations during the day.

 

[GeorgeAB]

That is a large screen. Your projector budget is pretty restrictive. The larger screen will require a very bright projector to produce a decent computer image in a typically illuminated, presentation type, viewing environment. Increasing screen gain for more brightness would be at the cost of narrowing the horizontal viewing cone.

You should look for a brighter, business class projector. Such a display will provide a "watchable" (not optimum) video image. Keep in mind that rated lumen output of projectors is usually over stated by manufacturers, plus light output will diminish as the lamp ages.

 

[stonesmith]

Thanks for your input. I may drop the screen size some. The room isn't all that big. I'll look for a good business class machine with decent video.

 

[strangebeast17]

I was in the same boat late last year except I needed about a 10' screen with some ambient lighting. I first started off with the AAXA M2 micro projector - 110 Lumens. For $350 I thought it was a great deal and what really sold me was the onboard video player - 110 Lumens doesn't work in anything but complete darkness.


So here's the deal 25' with ambient light. Don't look at anything less than 5000 Lumens. For under $2k here's what I ended up with:


http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=BQSP870&id=BQSP870&l=FROOGLE


It's pretty good for presentations, etc. But I realized quickly that home theater and presentation does not mix, for hometheater you can use a 1000 Lumen 1080P projector in 16:9 aspect ratio, for banquet presentations 4:3 is cool and you really don't need the resolution - you need the lumens.


At 10' the Benq did well, at 25' it might be hit or miss. Unfortunately I am stuck bringing in a huge projector and laptop, but dems the breaks for the lumens you need.


Good luck!

 

[Jim Mcc]

I don't think the 120" diagonal screen size is the problem. The main problem is the "considerable ambient light". What I would address first is reducing the ambient light as much as possible. You have to be realistic here. If you have to hire a decorator to come in to pick out/install curtains, etc. it would be worth it. Otherwise you're just spinning your wheels.