The Buyer's Guide to LCD Projectors

The Buyer's Guide to LCD Projectors

by Je Ae Shin 
 
 

It wasn't that long ago that a projector was something you rented only on a need-to-use basis.  Nowadays, prices have dropped to where it makes sense to invest in one.  They are an invaluable tool for your presentations at client sites, and can be useful within the firm during in-house training or meetings.  If your firm has decided it's time to take the plunge, there are literally hundreds of portable projectors out on the market, and the differences between them can be subtle.  Understanding the differences between them is important so you can decipher which one will fit the needs of your firm in the short and long term.   

Buying the proper projector isn't supposed to be hard, but there are some things you need to think about before you start shopping around.  In this article, we're going to focus on the needs of a small to medium sized law firm, whose audience will be limited to less than a hundred people at a time.  The projector will typically be used to make presentations or teach a classroom via a laptop, and needs to travel well and be easy to setup.  To make it easier on yourself, you need to take some things into consideration. 

1. What is the maximum size of the room I will want to use the projector in?  The bigger the room, the brighter the projector needs to be.  Another factor is how much light is going to be in that room.  Projector brightness is measure in ANSI lumens.  The basic rule of thumb with lumens is as follows:

• Less than 1000 lumens – these are the cheapest projectors on the market.  Typically these low light output devices will require that the room be in darkness or very dim light to be useable.  Prices will start at $1000. 
• 1000 to 2000 lumens – this is the popular range of projectors for the average small business user.  This is good for the small to medium class conference room, and room lighting should be reduced but does not need to be a totally dark or very dimly lit room.  When you are in the 1500-2000 lumens range, you probably won't need to reduce lighting at all but this will depend on other factors, such as the quality of the projector screen.  Prices will typically range from $1,500 to $4,000. 
• 2000 to 3000 lumens – this is appropriate for large rooms (400+ people).  Larger projector screens are good with this range, and will work well under a typical room light environment. These are really powerful projectors, typically with lots of extra features built in.  Prices will range from $3400 to $20,000. 
• 3000 lumens and higher – these projectors should only be considered for large venues (churches, auditoriums, etc) and are beyond the scope of this article.  Prices will range from $7000 up to a whopping $50,000. 

I would advise people to think long-term, and go for the highest lumens they can afford (within reason).  In other words, I would try to get into the 1500-2000 lumens range, if possible.  This way, you won't limit yourself from not being able to present to a large group if that situation ever comes up.  With 2000 lumens, you probably won't have to worry about dimming the lights at all in a typical office lighting environment.   

2. How much data do you need to project?

The more data you need to project on the screen, the higher you need to go on resolution.  Resolutions come in the following sizes: 

• VGA (640x480)
• SVGA (800x600)
• XGA (1024x768)
• SXGA (1280x1024)

If you are using a laptop with the projector, then the resolution on the laptop must match that of the projector.  For instance, if the laptop is set to XGA resolution, then the projector must be capable of that or higher.  If you want to doublecheck your laptop to see what the maximum resolution setting it is capable of, you can do the following (for Windows systems):  rightclick on the desktop of the laptop.  Go to Properties, and tab over to Settings.  You will see a bar on the lefthand side.  Move the bar to the right – when it reaches the end, you'll see what the resolution is and that's the highest resolution it is capable of reaching.   

Just because your laptop is capable of SXGA doesn't necessarily mean you must buy a projector that goes that high.  If you are projecting typical Powerpoint presentations, with a lot of large colorful graphics, then you probably only need to go up to SVGA resolution.  If, however, you might be projecting something with small detail (example:  drawings, columns of numerical data), you probably want to go to XGA or even SXGA.  My recommendation is XGA, but upgrade to SXGA if you anticipate projecting Excel spreadsheets or complicated drawings.  

3. How light does it need to be?

Projectors can be as light as 3 lbs, or go up to a hefty 10 lbs.  If the projector needs to be portable, then I would recommend going 6 lbs or lighter.  That extra pound may not seem to be worth the extra cost, but remember how much that extra pound will mean when you're lugging around a laptop, briefcase, cell phone, PDA, and whatever else is indispensable to your business.  Throw a projector on top of that pile and that extra pound may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.   

4. LCD vs. DLP?

There are two different display technologies that projectors use:  LCD (liquid crystal display) and the newer DLP (digital light processing).  DLP projectors tend to project a sharper image, but their starting prices are higher than LCD (usually start at $2000), and you may require more lumens since DLP projectors tend to be less bright.  If you plan on projecting video images often, DLP would be the better choice.  

5. What does it need to be able to work with/do?

You probably want to use it with a laptop or desktop.  Most projectors will also handle composite and S-video inputs.  Think about what you might want to connect to the projector at any point in the future, and also any scenarios that might come up (for instance, do you want to hook up multiple inputs), but be realistic about things.  Wireless projectors (for network access) are available, but are they practical or fast enough for what you want to project?  Is rear projection something that sounds great but won't ever be used?  At the same time, don't limit yourself too much that you end up having to buy a whole new projector in a year's time to meet your growing needs.   

6. What's my budget?

For a nice, long-term projector, I would anticipate buying something between $2000 and $4000.  This should give you a powerful projector with lots of brightness, portability and enough features to keep the users happy.  If, however, your budget isn't in that range, don't give up on the idea of buying a projector.  There are projectors in the $1000 to $2000 range that might suit your needs.  You could also look into going the route of buying a pre-owned or refurbished projector, or even leasing.   
 
 

This is just a general guideline for you to work with.  Each law firm is unique, and will have different needs and requirements.  If you need additional help with picking out the right projector for your office, please feel free to us a call at 770-514-0400.   
 

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