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When you take your show on the road, it is
easy then ever to convey your message with
a top notch, multimedia-rich presentation
for use with a large audience. Simply connect
a lightweight, portable PC projector to your
laptop and project your PowerPoint or other
presentation graphics and moving images directly
onto a wall or screen.
Like most computer hardware and peripherals,
PC projectors are made from similar technologies
with few differences between vendors within
price categories but important variations
in features and ease of use. Here are the
features you should consider when picking
out your own PC projector:
- Resolution: Look for 800x600 (SVGA) or 1024x768
(XGA) which ought to be plenty crisp. Your
laptop may do a wonderful 2048 x 1536, but
projectors that can show anything above 1024x768
are expensive and hardly worth it for general
use. You can always lower your screen resolution
on your laptop for the presentation and then
revert. To help you set up, most projectors
automatically sense the VGA port settings
and adjust the projector resolution for you.
- Brightness: Rated in ANSI lumens, a projector
needed to fill a normal conference room should
have at least 1200 lumens. A large auditorium
or church sanctuary needs 2000-3000 lumens
or more to travel the distance. Brighter
usually means more expensive.
- Weight: If you are planning to mount the
unit in a classroom ceiling, weight is less
of a factor, but if you carry it around on
roadtrips, look for one that is less than
5 pounds. Lighter -- but all other features
the same -- usually means more expensive.
- Connectivity: Most projectors will hook up
to a laptop's VGA connector, but nicer projectors
can accommodate digital video inputs and
DVD players as well. Also look for multiple
inputs so you can switch back and forth between
a VHS tape, DVD, and your laptop if you need
that flexibility.
- Audio: If you are doing a real multimedia
show, you are better off playing the audio
through the projector's larger speaker since
your laptop speakers will only be practical
in small rooms. Compare the sound and output
wattage of the projectors' audio.
- DLP or LCD? Digital Light Processing (DLP)
is a proprietary technology developed by
Texas Instruments and resold to vendors;
if offers higher color contrast and smaller
packaging. But Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
has been out for years and its latest generations
produce impressive displays that are, generally
speaking, sharper than DLP projectors. You
can feel confident that for general road
use, either technology is fine, and you can
restrict your research based on other factors
such as weight, brightness, cost and operating
features.
- Price: Competitive pressure between vendors
and DLP/LCD technology has pushed prices
down from $5,000 just a few years ago to
around $1500 or less today.
Don't forget to look for the
cables you need
to hook up your laptop and audio.
Buying
a spare video and power cable
is a very good
idea because you are likely to
forget these
or lose them just when you need
them. |
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