which AV solution is the right one for you?
In the world of AV solutions, we see a plethora of projectors. But which one suits you the best, and which technology should you aim for? We’ll cover the best AV solutions for buying your next projector and the one that will suit your needs.
Video projectors are commonly used as presentation tools in business meetings, presentations, home theaters, gaming systems, and classrooms. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, so you need to learn about the projectors that will cater to your needs.
What Are the Different Types of AV Equipment?
There are many types of AV solutions when it comes to projectors. Different projectors are made for different purposes. For example, some projects might be built for business presentations and will have all the necessary features to make presenting easier. On the other hand, home theater projectors might focus more on the result of the projector, its big size, and so on.
Below, we’ve mentioned various AV equipment along with their types.
- Business Projectors: Ideal for business presentations and classrooms. They come with high brightness and levels of ambient light. Business projectors are easier to carry and move around.
- Home Theatre Projectors: Ideal for watching movies and shows in the comfort of your home. These projectors mainly focus on displaying high-resolution videos along with a good sound quality experience.
- Portable Projectors: Ideal for moving around and just enjoying the content. Portable projectors are small in size and can even fit in a pocket sometimes.
- Short-Throw Projectors: Ideal for small distances. Short-throw projectors work well in distances between 3-8 feet.
- 4K Projectors: 4K projectors have a great result that is ideal for watching movies and all types of entertainment. They usually come at a premium price tag.
What are the Different Types of Projector Technologies?
While you know which projector to buy, you should also understand the type of projector you’re buying. To simplify things, projectors come in three main types, which are mentioned below:
- Digital Light Processing (DLP): DLP projectors are compact and ideal for affordable consumers. They work by using a small set of mirrors to shine the line through a color wheel, producing images.
- 3LCD: Contains three LCD panels to create an image. Every panel has a color like Red, Green, or Blue, and by combining those colors, we see the image.
- LCoS: Liquid Crystal on Silicon accurately displays colors and images by combining technologies like DLP and 3LCD. They’re quite expensive and have a high cost of maintenance too.
Important Features of Projectors
Before buying a projector, you need to understand that there are different parts of a projector that make it good. Here are some of them.
- Brightness: It will determine how bright your projector can be. Generally, it is measured in lumens, and the more lumens there are, the brighter the display will be.
- Resolution: It is the total resolution in pixels indicates the quality of the picture being shown. 480p to 720p is cost-effective, while anything more than 1080p will be considered premium.
- Aspect Ratio: There are three main aspect ratios: “4:3” (Standard), “16:9” (Widescreen), and “2,4:1” (CinemaScope).
- Contrast Ratio: When we talk about the contrast ratio, it is the difference between the lightest or maximum brightness and the darkest or minimum brightness areas on a screen.
Project Screens and Accessories
Just like any other screen, there are different types of projector screens, too. Each of them has its purpose, which makes them ideal for specific situations. So, let’s talk about each type one by one.
- Fixed Screens: Great for dedicated presentation spaces where the projector won’t move much.
- Pull-Down Screens: Great for schools and universities, where pull-down screens can be mounted over whiteboards.
- Motorized Screens: Enables you to auto-adjust with just a click of a button.
- Portable Screens: Can be mounted on a tripod or have a stand built-in to the storage case.