By Jennifer Andrews

Two years ago, we saw the first video projector (InFocus’ X1) drop below the $1,000 mark. These low-priced projectors were typically SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, and ranged in brightness from 1,000 to 1,500 lumens. The price reduction helped keep SVGA projectors among the most popular sellers.

But time marches on, and now you’ll find SVGA projectors for less than $700, and XGA 2,000- lumen projectors selling for less than $1,000.These price drops are great news for growing churches on tight budgets.

High-resolution home-theater projectors are also getting less expensive. Native high-definition signals are now commonplace and can be bought for as little as $999. (Check out the Sanyo Z2 LCD projector from www.projectorpeople.com.) Portable projectors are a great option for youth groups and family movie nights. The high-definition, native-widescreen resolution will also make your purchase more future-proof, which might spare additional expense to your church in the next few years.

As high-resolution becomes more affordable, so do higher-brightness projectors. In the past, church leaders aimed to fit an XGA, 2000-lumen projector into their budgets.

Today, with established budgets, churches can afford to purchase 3,000- to 4,500-lumen projectors for the same price. This allows medium-size churches to buy brighter systems, which might also allow for larger screen sizes. Churches that might have been priced out of a projection system (limited by large amounts of ambient light) will now find it much more affordable to go that direction.

Projector lamps have nearly doubled in lamp life on average over the past two years. This is partly thanks to improvements in cooling systems. Manufacturers are specifying longer-lasting lamps (as much as 5,000 hours) and are even increasing the lengths of their lamp warranties. Expect to see more manufacturers offering at least six-month/ 1,000-hour warranties in the coming year. Mitsubishi offers a one-year/1,000-hour lamp warranty on new projectors — significantly better than the manufacturer’s own previous 90-day warranty.

An economy mode is now available on most current projector models. This handy feature allows you to extend lamp life and lower fan-noise levels, with slightly lower brightness. In some cases, the lower lumen output is a useful feature as well.

As projectors get brighter, there are some applications in which the brightest setting might actually detract from the picture, washing out black and other dark colors. This occasionally happens in home-theater environments, where lighting is completely controlled.

A great benefit to projector owners who use ceiling-mounted models, new filterless projectors make scheduled filter cleaning unnecessary. Sealed optical systems allow manufacturers (like Mitsubishi) to eliminate filters from their designs altogether.

Previously, filter cleaning was the one regularly scheduled maintenance required for a projector. It was often overlooked because projectors were hard to reach, or it was simply forgotten. Filterless projectors are a great option for churches who intend to ceiling-mount their projectors in difficult-to-reach locations such as sanctuary ceilings.

Special boosters and improved internal parts have allowed DVI cables to run longer than they used to — now up to 100 feet. This is good news for those who have installed new projectors but have been unable to take advantage of digital video quality because cable runs were too long. DVI cable runs more than 25 feet will need a distribution amplifier.

The new, faster wireless standard — 802.11g — is now available on select wireless video projectors. The higher bandwidth makes for speedier transitions, fewer artifacts, and more power to run applications such as PC video.

Some manufacturers have also designed external wireless products with an 802.11a standard. There are external wireless solutions that allow you to project wireless mpeg video and standard NTSC television broadcasts. However, wireless high-definition video still isn’t a viable option.

It seems a logical next step to increase projector resolutions to match the outputs of today’s higher-resolution laptop computers. Manufacturers and resellers often instruct buyers to match their projectors to that of their computers; however, projector technology hasn’t kept pace with the changes in laptop resolution.

Currently, the highest-resolution LCD projectors are SXGA (1280 x 1024) and QXGA (2048 x 1536). Widescreen formats include WXGA-H (1280 x 720) and WUXGA (1920 x 1200). These ultra-high-resolution projectors cost significantly more ($4,000 or more) and aren’t expected to fall into a lower price category for some time.

Higher-resolution projection systems beyond XGA (1024x768) aren’t crucial for applications such as PowerPoint, or entertainment applications such as playing DVDs — churches’ primary uses for projection equipment.

Lens shift has become much more common in the past year, with many more manufacturers including it on their home-theater and installation products. Lens shift is a function that allows for easier positioning of your projector in installed environments. Some projectors provide room to move the lens left, right, up and down within the housing.

Using lens shift will produce better results than using digital keystone correction because it maintains the integrity of the original image rather than compressing the pixels to square the image.

Optical zoom allows you to make a larger image from a given distance, without physically moving the projector or sacrificing image quality. As easy to use as a zoom lens on a camera, the optical zoom usually is just a turn of the lens or a press of a button.

Projectors have varying degrees of zoom capabilities. Some can nearly double the size of your image. Optical zoom is listed in the projector specs as a number such as 2x, or “two times,” for double the image size from the same distance.

This feature might also allow you to use shorter cables, meaning less signal degradation and a lower cable cost.

Most projectors have an offset lens rather than a centered lens. That means when planning where to hang your projector mount, you must account for the degree of offset rather than just centering the mount based on room specifications. A projector with a centered lens takes this extra equation out of the picture for easier installation.

Based on our interactions with customers, here are a few hopes for future projection technologies:

• Seamless wireless video (built-in or external solution)
• Battery-powered portable projectors
• Self-masking chips, or lenses which adjust to eliminate black bars in non-native format
• Greater zoom capability on more models for greater flexibility in installation or portable use
• More bayonet-style lenses for more pre- and post-installation flexibility
• Competitive pricing on RF remotes for electric screens

Jennifer Andrews is the Internet communications manager for ProjectorPeople.com, where she has been writing tutorials on projection technology for five years. Visit www.projectorpeople.com for more information about this dynamic display technology.

Toolbox

Canon’s LV-7245, LV- 7240 and LV-X5 multimedia projectors incorporate smooth, modern design and a generous array of new features for quick, easy operation. LV-7245, LV-7240 and LVX5 provide 2,500 ANSI lumens, 2,100 ANSI lumens, and 1,500 ANSI lumens of brightness, respectively. All are designed to deliver maximum impact in minimum spaces, making them well suited for presenting data from laptop computers, video from VCRs and DVD players, or live images from the Canon RE-455X Visualizer. They can also be connected to Canon digital camcorders and digital cameras. All three models have a short throw distance capable of projecting a 100-inch image from only 9.8 feet away — an essential feature for use in classrooms, conference rooms, courtrooms, meeting rooms and other everyday venues that require projection portability, brightness and image fidelity.

You’re sure to get a lot of mileage from Shepherd Ministries Multimedia’s current top-selling model, the Sharp XR20S DLP projector. It’s designed to fit changing multimedia needs and maximizes Texas Instruments’ patented DLPtm technology for impressive image quality and reliability. TrueVisiontm advanced video circuitry optimizes performance, while exceptionally quiet cooling lets the audience pay attention to the message, not the method. XR20S offers 2,000:1 contrast ratio for high clarity; onscreen guide help functions; and extended lamp life (up to 3,000 hours in economy mode).

For your complete projection setup, check out Full Compass. You’ll find a wide selection of data and multimedia projectors from BenQ, Canon, Panasonic, Sanyo and Toshiba. The company also offers projection screens by Da-Lite. Sales professionals are available by phone to help you get the lowest price and the most appropriate equipment for your needs.

Marked by stellar brightness and image quality — and with an array of options and control features — the DP8500x from projectorpeople.com gives you flexibility in an upgradeable platform that helps to protect your investment. Upward compatibility offers a stay-on-top-of-technology future, including laptop and wireless control. The Proxima DP8500x offers a number of features that make installation easier, including optional user-replaceable bayonet lenses (offering throw ratios from 0.8 to 7.2:1), which allow versatility and changed in three easy steps. Power zoom, focus and lens shift, plus horizontal and vertical keystone correction provide greater installation control. The DP8500x has flexible connectivity options including three PC inputs, three video inputs, and support for HDTV and computer sources up to UXGA resolution. You can also control your projector from your computer via RS-232 or TCP/IP interfaces, a very convenient feature for large installations.