Projector considerations other than Lumens?

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apocalypso

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#238166 5-Jul-2018 13:18

Hi, I am wondering if there are many Projector considerations other than Lumens? I Need to purchase a couple of new HD Resolution Boardroom projectors to replace a couple of old worn out Epson EH-TW3200's The logical replacement would be it's successor the Epson EH-TW5600 @ $1413 and 2500 Lumens

However for less cost the below models are available with much higher Lumen rating.

Viewsonic PX700HD @ $976 and 3500 Lumens
or the
BenQ MH534 @ $998 and 3300 Lumens

The room is quite bright so if either model was going to be brighter that the Epson and cost less then that would be a win. any advice from fellow techies?

Cheers

tchart

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#2049807 5-Jul-2018 13:51

Last place I worked replaced all Epsons with Viewsonic. Dont know the model but they were awesome and much better value than the Epsons.

We had them in various rooms including boardrooms and several bright rooms with white walls.

JimmyH

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#2050039 5-Jul-2018 19:07

Off the top of my head, you also need to look at:

resolution (1080p native, or higher, for media)
throw distance
keystone correction
the system used (some cheaper/slower colour wheels can cause an unpleasant "rainbow" effect for some people
the inputs that it has, and
bulb cost/availability and expected bulb life

richms

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#2050052 5-Jul-2018 19:30

Also look for flicker from single DLP with a wheel. This will drive many people crazy with it being a mess to look at, and stuff up any photos of it, making it look like people are infront of a slide promoting pride day.

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

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#2050054 5-Jul-2018 19:30

Beware lumens... it's a trick that sees many manufacturers measuring different things in different manners.

The highest number isn't always the best.

On entry level projectors, the ability to produce decent blacks AND bright whites is often compromised.

It bares to remember that the Epson you've mentioned is designed for home theatre, whereas other commercial oriented projectors may punch brighter but may struggle with motion / black levels... it's about choosing the right product for the job.

Re: lamp cost, the Epson costs under a hundy... and most of their range of genuine replacements is brilliant pricewise compared to a couple of brands on the market.

Oh yeah, I'd add to the comment regarding a business swapping out one brand for another and loving the result...

Often this happens when the lamps are shot on the projectors, naturally the replacements with brand new lamps smoke them, especially when they replace 7-10 year old models.

The issue typically is that comparing projectors side-by-side is tricky, especially for entry level business oriented products like these.

Masterpiece

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#2050867 6-Jul-2018 22:30

I'll reinforce, choose for the application and design purpose.
Home theater designs are better for contrast ratio and arguably better if you are demonstrating scenes, however you need to control the lighting. Generally for this use HT designs just don't work as well.

Also many are moving to large panels or panel arrays, 4 or 6 panels.
There are a lot of advantages to this approach, especially if the room isn't a large conference room, and most importantly if the room suffers from difficult lighting control(sunlight).

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