I'm in the market for new projectors as my mixed bag of 10 beamers (NEC NP400/410/61, Infocus, Acer and Epson) are on their last legs; apart from a Epson which is new but can't project black, or anything close.
So the question is - Whats hot and whats not?
Basic spec:
- Native resolution: 1280x800 (WUXGA), minimum
- Lumens: 3,000 - 4,000
- Colour fidelity: More important than lumens
- Black/white on/off: As black as priest socks, whiter than white
- Colour adjustment: Controls to colour balance multiple projectors (manually).
- Chip technology: If it can give me BLACK and NO rainbow effect who cares
- Lamp technology: Long life is good, but remember the priest socks
- Connections: all the standards but VGA passthrough is always good for daisy chaining
- Lens: standard zoom
- Size: Not important
- Content: Generally animation on a black canvas, slow and fast movement, blackout, strobing and follow spot, occasional full screen video.
- Price: Lets keep this open within reason (mid priced would be my guide)
Note: I've been looking at the Casio 3,500/4,000 lumens LED/Laser Hybrid projectors for the obvious reason of the long lamp life (20,000 hours). But I'm concerned about the contrast ratio and potential rainbow effect on DLP. The Casio projectors have been around for some time so people will have opinions on this. I'm still looking for one to test.
Lastly, standard projector and hot lamp prices have come right down so there's a balancing act to workout if its better to go for a standard projector against the more expensive Casio LED/Hybrid or Laser (Sony/Panasonic). The manufactures are obviously at a tipping point with some clinging onto hot lamp sales before the "lamp free" models take over; with this there's a danger of projectors going the way of printers with the lamp costing more than the beamer itself.
Any feedback on what to buy would be appreciated.
Michael.