Question HD Projector recommendations

petrimov

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Hi all!,

I've been tasked with finding an upgrade to my company's current projector (NEC NP3250). I'm a film guy but not a projector guy so not really sure what I'm looking for in terms of lumens, throw distance, etc, so I'd be really grateful to anyone who's able to offer a few suggestions based on the below criteria:

- Small company so looking for low/medium budget, not necessarily top of the line.
- Operation in a windowless room, full black-out.
- Current position is ceiling-mounted, approximately 14ft from our retractable screen.
- 4K not required mandatory but obviously welcomed.
- As mentioned, current projector is ceiling-mounted so the upgrade needs to be, too.
- General usage covers film screening, presentations and occasional software demonstrations (i.e. Davinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere, etc)

As a side question to this, I'm assuming our current screen will need replacing as well, but what's the disparity between a 'standard' projection screen and those sold as HD? I don't doubt there is one, but how significant is it? Will not upgrading this as well render the projector upgrade pointless? Or will a difference still be appreciable, even if not significantly?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!
 
What is low/medium budget? £1k/2k/3k and what size screen to you have/want and as you have various aspect ratios for different media would you like to be able to switch ratios automatically with lens memory.
 
Thanks for your response, Kbfern,

Well the reason I say low-medium is that i'm essentially clueless to what this means in terms of projectors, so I guess I'm getting at what you might consider that to be (not that helpful, I know). But since you've thrown those figures I'd say £3k is maximum, with sub £2k being the ideal (though the purse strings here would naturally welcome a £1k option (I suspect that might be a false economy, though...)

I'd say 16:9 is the ratio we most often work with, occasionally 4:3. Thinking about it I'd say lens memory's not a necessity. Our current screen is 8ft wide (horizontal), and ceiling-mounted (electric). Hope that extra info helps!

P
 
As a side question to this, I'm assuming our current screen will need replacing as well, but what's the disparity between a 'standard' projection screen and those sold as HD? I don't doubt there is one, but how significant is it? Will not upgrading this as well render the projector upgrade pointless? Or will a difference still be appreciable, even if not significantly?
There is no such thing as a HD projector screen, it is just marketing speak. There are different types of screens available that can affect how the image will look but this is to do with how reflective they are. You will probably be fine with your existing screen if it has been providing a decent image with your previous projector under the same lighting conditions
 
Right, I see. Yes, I kind of suspected marketing speak would have a role in that. Ours is a bit long in the tooth, so could definitely do with replacement, but they're notoriously tight around here so I'm prioritising the projector itself. But if there's a solid argument that the screen should be upgraded too that gives me more ammo to convince them both things deserve equal weight. Thanks.
 
This seems to be full-HD equivalent of what we currently have:
NEC P502HL-2 - Buy NEC Projectors from Projectorpoint

We're a charity so can claim back the VAT, bringing it down to £2700. Using this as a reference point does anyone know of anything similar spec-wise but lower in cost? And if anyone has experience with this model how do they find it?
 
Epson EH-TW7300 Review | Trusted Reviews

Epson TW7300 will take some beating at around £2000 if you shop around and has memory zoom can handle 4k input should you need it, has a wide zoom range to easily fill an 8ft wide screen or bigger from 14ft.
 
You don't need a 5000 lumen projector in a fully light controlled room and with a relatively small size screen. The NEC is a laser pj that has long life light source but the Epson has a conventional bulb that should be good for 3000/4000 hrs at least then buy a new bulb for less than £200 if required.

Do you need the pj to be wireless or not?
 
Thanks for the suggestion. It certainly looks like it would cover our needs, and the option of a semi-4K solution doesn't go amiss.

There's no immediate requirement for wireless as the room has a suspended ceiling good for secreting cabling, so lack of wireless isn't a deal-breaker, no.

One thing I can't tell from the pics or specs is whether this ceiling mountable. It looks like it might have the bolt holes but can't be certain. Is inversion a pretty standard element of projectors in this range?
 
I wouldn’t recommend the Epson 7300 in a work environment as it has an open light path which could attract dust, causing blobs to appear. (Dust in a work environment is very common)

DLPs tend to be the most common in work environments and a good 4K one can be had for £2000 (Optoma 550) with cheaper ones coming out in a month or so. (No fancy features though)

If you are happy with HD then you can get a good one for about £1000. (Benq, Optoma Epson)

I would advise against getting a dedicated home cinema projector as the lumens will probably be a bit low for presentations. (Something around 2500 should be fine)

Bill
 
Just to give my 2 cents, I think that the Epson 7300 or similar might be a bit overkill! I think reason it was mentioned is that you said you we're willing to spend £2000+. That projector is a brilliant projector and is excellent value for money but I think you need to work out if you will ever take advantage of its strong points ie Colour, contrast, sharpness, memory lens shift, pseudo 4K, whisper quite etc. It would be a MASSIVE step up from what you are currently using.

In fact some of the new Optoma's and BenQ's currently for sale between the £500 to £1000 will be a Massive Step Up! Your current projector isn't even HD, is Native XGA (4:3, not widescreen), only 600:1 contrast, and is loud at 72db!

The only thing that your current projector has over these other projectors is the brigtness. At 5000 lumens it is VERY bright. No sub £3000 home theatre projector can get close to this really. To give you a reference The Epson is one of the brighter projectors out there but is less than 2000 lumans! But you say its a full blackout room so do you need such a bright image? You will do if you want the lights on, but not if you turn ALL the lights off.

Personally from what you've said, I'd go for a "home entertainment" or "Business" projector, rather than a "home theatre" one, just feel that the home theatre projector would be wasted and you could save quite a bit of money.

But then again...if you can afford it, then what the hell - go for it!!!!

Hope that helps!
 

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