Video Projector Technical Details?

[Syyle]

Does anyone have some experience with the technical side of video projectors? My band is looking to invest in a middle of the road video projector to use for our shows. Most of the venues we play are sized from 300-800 people max, so the size does vary.

 

I know that the Lumens/ANSI rating is really important, as is the native resolution. But, aside from understanding that those two ratings are important, I don't know what those values/numbers should be...

 

I google searched like crazy for this type of information, but not coming up with anything.

[BillESC]

How do you intend on using the projector? To create a living backdrop? To shine on the band as a lighting instrument? Off to the side as a reference picture?

 

ANSI Lumens refer to brightness, in a dark room 1200 lm is plenty, in a room with some ambient light 2000+ will be required. To work in conjunction with stagelighting think 3500 lm or more.

 

The next important number is contrast ratio (CR) The higher the ratio, the better the blacks are which in turn makes the colors stand out.

 

Also inportant is focal distance. A typical projector will require 12 to 16 feet to fill a 6' x 8' screen whereas a short throw projector needs only a little over 3'.

[Zeromus-X]

Since you'll need to purchase based on your largest venue, and your largest venue has an 800 capacity, I can't imagine you'd be able to go with any consumer projector. That's a pretty huge room and will require a huge amount of light output to travel far enough to make a large enough projection for a room that big.

 

Can you rent one to try it out first? I'd hate to drop $10k on a projector and have it not be bright enough.

 

We used a basic (BenQ, I believe) projector for rear-projecting onto a drop curtain and it was bright enough, but we were also playing 50-150 capacity places with it.

[SDCEvents]

Here is what I know...

 

If you can afford a 3 chip DLP you will be much happier. You can actually get away with a lower lumen rating with 3 chip DLP. The colors are sharper and it really helps with the dreaded "Red Fallout". For many projectors red is a problem. Especially when you think about how much red is in "white Light"

 

Also consider a projector with a short throw or replaceable lens. It helps with the fact that you will most likely be in a small area.

 

Projectors I have used:

 

Eiki LC X7 (9000 lumen LCD) very good, but very big. You can pick up used for around 5k

[video=youtube;Gkb6qVc3IIM]

Center projection is a an LC X7 it is hanging rather well with the Barco 9000 lumen 3 chip DLP flanking it.

 

Eiki LC XT4 (10000 lumen at 110v, 12000 lumen at 220v LCD) Very bright, but at about 90lbs may be too much.

BenQ SP920P (6000 lumen single chip DLP) decent general purpose projector. I like this for a projection that is less than 10' wide.

Eiki LC X85 (7000 lumen 3LCD) Not worth the money in my opinion.

Eiki LC XB42 (4500 lumen) A suprisingly great projector. Would not use with an image greater than 10'. This was done with 1 LC XB42 [video=youtube;MWiYVTDOblM]

this is a 50' image projected from about 65'. They had retro fit a shorter throw lens in the projector.

[Flogger59]

On top of the projector specs, think about the screen. High gain screens tend to have a narrower viewing angle than lower gain screens.

[agedhorse]

Before you do anything else, you will need to determine the focal length range of your lens based on the range of screen sizes and throw distances. This will be dependant of course on the imaging engine size (LCD or DLP panel dimensions).

 

Once you get this range of lens lengths, then you will need to look for a projector that has a suitable lens as shipped OR a projector that can take a lens of the appropriate dimension. Some will not, this is why you need to do this lens calculation first.

 

If you will be dealing with a lighted stage, 2000 lumens is about the minimum practical light level, and contrast ratio will not be nearly as important. Anything 1000:1 or greater will be fine. Also, you will need to decide on the native aspect ratio, either 4:3 or 16:9 (or 16:10), this will determine whice projector format you will need to be looking at. You will not need to worry about absolute resolution as much as brightness. 1024x768 will be fine for what you are doing (assuming 4:3).