Projectors – What to buy?

M

maooley

Member
Hello...

I am wondering if anyone has some insight in the realm of projectors. I am thinking of a project in which it would be beneficial to have a very large projection, say, on the side of a building at night.

I am completely lame when it comes to projection. If anyone has any advice at all, or knows somewhere to point me, it would be greatly appreciated.

The only real info I have to go on would be... the bigger the projection, the better. Also, the further away I can have the projector, the better.

Thanks.
 
For very large projection on the side of a building at night, you need some serious hardware. And serious hardware comes with serious pricetags. :)

I think your biggest problem is going to be that you don't know the size you want. If you can get that down to a ballpark figure, then you at least have a place to start. How big you want is a major factor, both in determining the lumen output you're going to need and the throw distance (AKA how far you can have the projector away). Another thing to consider is the definition of "at night"--are we talking 8pm? 10pm? Midnight? At what time of the year? How much sunlight are you going to have to fight? That's going to be huge consideration in how many lumens you need...
 
The contrast is relevant too. And more than that, do not buy less than the widest angle you can find -- it will be quite useful later, more than any other feature. The difference between home cinema and a large TV screen. 'cause perception rules.

The lumens would/shall be helpful on an exterior setup, for instance.

I'd recommend Mitsubishi. XD460U is a good one with advanced technology.

I'd buy SD and would wait for lower prices on the HD 1080p range.

Here you can follow an interesting comparision on the higher resolution benefits:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=81853&highlight=downsampling

My 1st glance on this stuff began in 1998 and the shot would be $10,000 on the newest DLP technology (Dreamvision and The 5th Element, Luc Besson was my first WOW experience). Forget the crappy LCD projection technology! Unless, you're the DIY type. Then, go to:

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/

Or buy their own cheap projector:

http://www.lumenlab.com/

Here you have a nice talk on this tip:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=623132&highlight=projector#post623132

I can't help you more since I'm a DLP guy and that's all! I've heard some interesting talk on new technology or at least implemented by Sony on their new 1080p projectors. The japanese have had some reserves on the DLP side only 'cause it's not their own proprietary technology but just american stuff from Texas Instruments when this US company developed the digital mirror technique on the projection realm.

Six years later (1994), I spent $1,500 (BenQ PB6200). My last purchase (last week) was $575.

And now I have 7 projectors (for professional reasons). Not even one is 1080p native. Only one is higher than 720p. This $575 one, precisely.
 
Well... the idea would be that the projection would replace a billboard, if that gives you any idea of size. (I would estimate 15ft. x 15ft. would be a good starting point.) Like I said, the bigger the better. And, i'm talking NIGHT. Like winter midnight dark. This projection will only run at night.

Captain Pierce said:
For very large projection on the side of a building at night, you need some serious hardware. And serious hardware comes with serious pricetags. :)

I think your biggest problem is going to be that you don't know the size you want. If you can get that down to a ballpark figure, then you at least have a place to start. How big you want is a major factor, both in determining the lumen output you're going to need and the throw distance (AKA how far you can have the projector away). Another thing to consider is the definition of "at night"--are we talking 8pm? 10pm? Midnight? At what time of the year? How much sunlight are you going to have to fight? That's going to be huge consideration in how many lumens you need...
Click to expand...
 
Well, first off, you're not going to get a square image--video is 4:3, remember. (Well, SD, anyway.) So you'll have to choose between fifteen feet high (which will be twenty feet wide) or fifteen feet wide (which will be about 11.25 feet high).

I have customers who use a 3000-lumen projector on a 10.5x14' screen at night and are pretty happy with it, so I'd think that level would probably work for you at 11.25x15'. I like the Mitsubishi XD series as well, but I'd say the XD490U rather than the 460 for the extra brightness. I've never tried a 15x20' image outdoors at night (the screen is way too expensive to try and set it up outside :) ), but I wonder if you might not want to take the (expensive, unfortunately) step up to a 5000-lumen rig if that's the size you're going for. (And, of course, if you can afford it, the 5K is going to give you a brighter picture at the smaller size, too. :) ) We use the Panasonic PT-D5500U and have had decent luck with it; this was replaced by the PT-D5600U, and I've heard something about a new PT-D5700U but haven't gotten the full info yet.

The other advantage of a unit like the Panasonic is that it has an interchangeable lens system so that you could get further away (although you'll lose some brightness if you do). As an example, with that 15-foot wide image, the Mitsubishi projector would have a throw distance of about 25 feet. With the Panasonic and the proper lens, you could go out as far as 121 feet if you wanted to (the minimum distance for that lens would be 87 feet)--although I don't know why you'd want to. :)

You might want to look at renting first to find out if the 3K will be enough for you...
 
I will probably try to rent a 5k lumen and a 3k lumen, just to see the difference in person. But, I am still trying to get a feel for image reproduction at large sizes.

As I said before, my movie would need to read like a billboard (which are usually 48ft wide by 14ft high). That's what I mean when I say "the bigger the better". I do realize that I probably can't get that big via a projector, howevr, i'm wondering just how large I can go? 20ft wide by 15ft high?

And, there is a potential for projecting, say, across a city street on to a white building side. Is this just totally out of the realm of possibilities for one of these projectors? Am I asking too much? What does it all mean?!?!

Quality doesn't have to be of the essence... It just needs to be readable.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks a bazillion for your input.

Captain Pierce said:
Well, first off, you're not going to get a square image--video is 4:3, remember. (Well, SD, anyway.) So you'll have to choose between fifteen feet high (which will be twenty feet wide) or fifteen feet wide (which will be about 11.25 feet high).

I have customers who use a 3000-lumen projector on a 10.5x14' screen at night and are pretty happy with it, so I'd think that level would probably work for you at 11.25x15'. I like the Mitsubishi XD series as well, but I'd say the XD490U rather than the 460 for the extra brightness. I've never tried a 15x20' image outdoors at night (the screen is way too expensive to try and set it up outside :) ), but I wonder if you might not want to take the (expensive, unfortunately) step up to a 5000-lumen rig if that's the size you're going for. (And, of course, if you can afford it, the 5K is going to give you a brighter picture at the smaller size, too. :) ) We use the Panasonic PT-D5500U and have had decent luck with it; this was replaced by the PT-D5600U, and I've heard something about a new PT-D5700U but haven't gotten the full info yet.

The other advantage of a unit like the Panasonic is that it has an interchangeable lens system so that you could get further away (although you'll lose some brightness if you do). As an example, with that 15-foot wide image, the Mitsubishi projector would have a throw distance of about 25 feet. With the Panasonic and the proper lens, you could go out as far as 121 feet if you wanted to (the minimum distance for that lens would be 87 feet)--although I don't know why you'd want to. :)

You might want to look at renting first to find out if the 3K will be enough for you...
Click to expand...
 
For a standard projector, a good rule of thumb for your throw distance (the distance between the projector and the "screen") is twice the width of the image.

How big an image is possible with a given projector is variable; as an example, Mitsubishi only rates the XD490U up to a 15x20' image size (300" diagonal), while Panasonic rates the PT-D5500U with the standard lens all the way up to a staggering 30x40' (600" diagonal)!

The biggest issues with readability come from people who throw 8-point type into their PowerPoints because they think it'll look bigger on a big screen. Well, it does, but it's still the same relative size, and so in the back of the room it looks just as small as it does on your PC monitor. :) In my job, we do projection of both video and computer onto 10.5x14' screens all the time, and onto 15x20' ones occasionally, and the size of the image isn't what causes the problem, but rather the design of the presentation...

And I'm guessing that was more than a 5K--usually for those big, professional, "light the whole building" deals, they're using at least 12K, sometimes multiple 12K's stacked.
 
maooley said:
I am completely lame when it comes to projection. If anyone has any advice at all, or knows somewhere to point me, it would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Yes, indeed. You're completely lame, sure... :D

BTW, I'm still advising you on the Mitsubishi side -- I bought one XD460U unit brand new for $600. On the 4:3 scope in order to a largest screen, you can just go further with a XD430U for example but the contrast and DLP chip are lower. 2500 luma anyway if I'm not wrong.
 
Yea i'm seeing prices upward of 4k for the PT-D5600U. Is that sounding about right? Do you think the PT-D5600U would be the best option for me?

I can't really find places locally to rent them. And places on the web are 1500+ just to RENT one. That's just insane. So... at that price for rental i'm not really sure what to do.


Captain Pierce said:
$600 is well below dealer cost for the XD460U (in the US, at least), so that's not a deal you're going to see much of. :)
Click to expand...
 
maooley said:
Yea i'm seeing prices upward of 4k for the PT-D5600U. Is that sounding about right? Do you think the PT-D5600U would be the best option for me?

I can't really find places locally to rent them. And places on the web are 1500+ just to RENT one. That's just insane. So... at that price for rental i'm not really sure what to do.
Click to expand...
I have no PT-D5600U but I have a XD430U in LA these days plus two XD80U units. Although I think you're not interested in these latter ones. I have another one in New Jersey, but it's not available and it'll come to Europe as soon as possible.

If you wish to rent the XD430U, PM me.
 
If I was closer to KY, malooey, I could rent you the 5500 (or the XD490, for that matter), but by the time it gets shipped, it wouldn't be much cheaper... :) Let me do a little research tomorrow at work and see if I can give you any options...
 
Emanuel said:
I have no PT-D5600U but I have a XD430U in LA these days plus two XD80U units. Although I think you're not interested in these latter ones. I have another one in New Jersey, but it's not available and it'll come to Europe as soon as possible.

If you wish to rent the XD430U, PM me.
Click to expand...
I thought this second unit would also come to here first. Not anymore?
 
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