Class room Projector (20 to 100 people)

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:41 pm

So as the Tech forum mod, I'll try to liven up this place from time to time by asking questions from you guys for projects I"m working on at work. I'll try to keep them as open ended as possible so you can throw in info even if it doesn't directly apply to me and my requirements.

Today's question is about classroom ceiling mounted Projectors. Of course if you have experiance with any type of a business/presentation projector, I'm more then happy to hear about it.

This is our current one:
Hitachi XGA CP-X960
1024x768 Resolution
24 bit color/16.7m colors
~11lbs
4:3 aspect ratio

This is actually a really nice Projector that we picked up a while back from Gov. Auctions. We plan to use this projector in other places.

My current front runner is the BenQ PB8220.

Model: BenQ PB8220
Resolution: XGA (1024 x 768)
Color: 24 bit/16.7mil
Aspect Ratio: 4:3/16:9
Brightness: 2200
Lamp life: 2000 hours
Replacement cost: $399.95 (projectorpeople.com)
Inputs: All (RGB, Composite/RCA, S-video, etc.)
Weight: 6.8lbs
Warranty (proj/bulb): 3yr/90day
Reasons for liking it: Very good contrast (2000:1), brightest of all the ones in the sub $2k category, Not bad pricing, bulb is expensive, but still on the lower end.

Have at it. Any suggestions/questions are welcome. Also, any thoughts on going with a 40in or larger LCD Screen vs the LCD Projector?

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:34 am

I used to deal with them all of the time. The biggest thing is to get a bright one and those Zenon bulbs are around $700 a pop. You want the brightest lumens (sp?) for the buck.

When I was the high school network admin many of the classrooms had them sitting on a desk hooked up to the teachers' PC's. A few had them installed overhead. The bigger that audience, obviously needs a damn bright projector.

The prices are around $2000 for the ones that are decent quality. Don't even thinl about getting one under $1500.

Bottom line, bright = best. Pay the extra for the bulb.

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:27 pm

Yep thats basically the same line of thinking I've come to. Bright bulb, good contrast and good resolutions. Of course saving money on Bulbs is important too so the longer the life the better. I"m going to be researching deals on LCD Screens today. It seems like these projectors cover about 40in screen area so thats what I'm going to concentrate on. I just doubt they will want to throw down $4000+ when they can pay half of that.

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:49 am

You can always ask the company(ies) to send you demo models, have their people set them up, and let the decision makers make the call. That way you don't catch shit for your decision.

That's what I'd do.

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:55 pm

Yeah, I was planning on that. I am going to finish researching the 40in LCD monitors today and then see if we are even remotely interested in spending the money. I doubt we will be but I certainly wouldn't mind two of them in our multimedia room so I'll play along.