Need help selecting a Multimedia or Video Projector. Here is your guide to consider when considering Brightness (Lumens) and Weight of your LCD or DLP Projector.

Brightness

Projector brightness is measured in ANSI Lumens. The lowest lumen projectors today start at about 700 lumens and go up to a jaw-dropping 15,000 lumens. When it comes to purchasing a projector, the two biggest factors that affect the price are Resolution and Brightness.

So if there is such a variance in brightness, how will you know if you are getting a bright enough projector for your application? In order to determine how bright of a projector that you need, you will need to weigh three factors: Size of room, Size of audience (specifically the distance from the screen to the farthest seat), and amount of light in the room.

Size of Room/Size of Audience- Where will you be using the projector most of the time? If you'll be using the projector most in an office cubicle or small office, you may be able to get away with 1000-1500 lumens. If you're projecting in a classroom and will have control of lighting, 1000-1500 lumens should also work. For an average size training/conference room, we recommend starting with at least 2500 lumens for your projector. If your conference room will hold more than 150 people and is moderately large, consider a projector of at least 3500 lumens. The same advise holds if you will be projecting in a college auditorium. If you will be projecting in a church, we also recommend a projector of at least 3000 lumens, unless the sanctuary unusually dimly lit.

Amount of Light- Nothing kills a projected image quicker than light. Artificial light can be controlled in most environments. Even if you have to turn the lights off to improve the image, at least you have an opportunity to improve the image. Ambient light(sunlight) is one factor that can certainly make an image suffer and a presenter sweat.

Determine where you will be using the projector in most cases. If the room has bright florescent lighting that you can't dim, add 1000 lumens to the projector that you were considering. In other words, if 1500 lumens would be fine with the lights out, get a 2500 lumen projector so yu can present with the lights on. In business, turning off the lights makes it difficult or impossible to take notes. In school, killing the lights kills attention spans of students (and puts a few to sleep). So you should always aim to present with some sort of lighting.

A couple of ways to beat heavy lighting is to put the lights on a dimmer switch. Another way is to turn off teh lights (or take out the bulbs) that are the closest to the screen. Even in a bright room, a projected image will look remarkably better if there is no direct light on the screen. The curtail the effects of sunlight in your presentation room, you'll obviously need shades, blinds or room darkeners on the windows. If you still cannot reduce the amount of ambient light in the room, you will need to increase the brightness on the projector you are looking to buy 2000 lumens or more. There guidelines are a foundation to determining the level of brightness that you need in the projector.

Projector Weight

The third main factor besides resolution and brightness that determines the price of a projector is its weight. Projectors today start at a miniscule sub-two pounds to a behemoth 75 pounds or more. The majority of projectors fall into the 6-12 pound range. Since projectors that are below four pounds tend to cost more because of thier weigh advantage, many presenters buy projectors in this 6-12 lb range.

A 6-pound projector is comparable to the weight of a laptop. If lugging a laptop in a shoulder bag isn't too difficult for you, opt for a projector that is around 6 pounds. If you need more than 2500 lumens fo brightness or extra features, you'll probably be looking in the 8-12 lb range. There projectors are a little more robust, and probably ship with a standard projector case rather than an over-the-shoulder case.

If portability isn't an issue, and you will be installing the projector, look at the projectors that meet your lumen and feature requirements first. You might end up with a projector over 12 lbs, but has all of the bells and whistles that you wanted.

See the next guide in our series- Selecting a Projector Brand based on Warranty Considerations:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Projector-Brand-Selection-and-Warranty-Considerations_W0QQugidZ10000000001443366

See the first guide in the series regarding LCD, DLP, or LCOS Projectors.

http://reviews.ebay.com/LCD-DLP-and-LCOS-Projector-Selector-Guide_W0QQugidZ10000000001443008