The Education committee is looking at getting 2 new projectors for 2 new classrooms. The Epson we have in Lecture hall is truly fantastic. That was about $5 grand. In the few short years, prices and tech have improved in our favor.
We need your input as to what to get. Plus screens.
Why a projector over Monitors? Large monitors do not scale well enough for large rooms. Text gets hard to read very quickly.
Please let me know your thoughts.
cheers! john. Education Chair.
Some questions to better gauge the right solution.
What display size?
What is average viewing distance? Max distance?
What is the throw distance? Will it be drop pole mounted, back wall, or does it need to be short throw?
Does the classroom have Windows/direct sun light?
Does it need audio?
What input types (will it have a video matrix for multiple inputs)?
And finally, what’s the budget?
Off the top of my head we want a laser projector like an Epson pro series, but will also have factor in screen, control unit, audio, etc into the cost.
Are you dead set on a projector? I would be happy to show you commercial large format displays of comparable size/cost that are easy to read at long distance.
Which two of the new classrooms? Lobby classroom, and which other one? Thanks.
I would suggest looking at Starpower. While they may be overpiced on many things, they have ridiculous deals on “open-box” projectors that have been used for one trade show. They get all the open box projectors as they are the largest volume dealer. I bought my projector for my home there and received it at 50% off retail value. They may even work with us as we are an educational non-profit. Epson is a great brand and at this point you should be able to get high quality for under or close to $1,000. I don’t think it is worth paying extra for 4K, we don’t need it.
Laser projectors are ABSOLUTELY worth the extra cash.
Knowing the max brightness of the room is very important to the selection.
Distance to the furthest viewer generally determines the screen size.
And therefore the required lumens on the projector.
I recommend Laser or other solid state light source. Over the life of the projector it pays for itself, and it means we don’t have to change out lamps (that require recycling). Panasonic makes great stuff. Sony and Epson do too, but they tend to be less cost competitive, I think. My go to, which works in most rooms, is the Panasonic PT-RZ570. Lots of lens shift and big zoom range. Bright enough for a moderately lit room for sizes up to 135". Laser light source, sealed optics, and DLP means no planned maintenance for the life of the product (about 20,000 hrs). Hang it and don’t think about it again for 10 years.
Up to ~80" LCD Displays are the best option these days. Projection if you need bigger.
$1000 would be a winner. 75" monitors are still $1500 and up even when on sale.
You’re not going to get an image bright enough for ambient lighting in a large classroom for under $1500, much less with a screen.
You are forgetting the cost of the screen and other parts. Even at $1k for the projector, you are looking at $500 for a quality screen, extended cables (at a minimum) $100, etc.
Home theater projectors or residential panels are not designed with the life expectancy or brightness that commercial grade are. Not to mention that consumer grade display equipment’s warranty is null and void as soon as it is powered on in a non residential environment.
That’s kinda why I asked about the budget, it really will dictate what is the best option for the money as “cheapest” is not always the right answer.
I stand by my original comments: