Projectors

We stock projectors for small indoor needs to extensive cinematic experiences. These have different specs and ways of delivering quality projections across a wide range of requirements for our customers.

The scope of requirements of what projectors can do is widening with a demand for home cinema to outdoor event projection.

So at Wireless 1, we ensure to stock not just a range of projectors for home theatre but also other specs like a Bluetooth projector and outdoor projector options.

Lumens and how they work

There are many projectors with a varied range of brightness. All are measured in lumens. The more lumens your projector has, the brighter your viewing, and the higher the unit's price in almost all cases.

When you are looking to buy a unit, look at 2-lumen specs:

• Colour brightness
• White brightness

Typically if you only see one limen rating, it refers to the white brightness of the projector.

Now we get to the room that you want to project in. For home theatres, you generally look at a minimum of 1500 lumens, and that's a room you need to keep dark.

If you are looking at a projector for a school where you use a projector screen and can't fully shut out the light or a conference room in an office, then be on the safe side and shop for a unit with 2500 lumens and above. The more lumens, the better if the slightest bit of light creeps in.

Machines on the market to look out for

Here are three of the best manufacturers in the projection industry who bring slightly different variations to the table.

XGIMI’s - 4K Aura Laser Projector

• Big Projection from Short Distance
• Ultra Short Throw
• The Best 4K Experience Ever
• Not Your Typical Sound System
• Supreme Laser Technology
• XGM-XM03A

The best feature of this laser model is it is so accurate that with 2400 ANSI lumens, it is perfectly watchable during the day. Something which many units fall shy of.

LG’s - HU85LG CineBeam Laser 4K Projector

• Laser 4K UHD
• 8.3 Megapixel
• Throw Ratio 0.19
• webOS 4.5
• 12-Point Keystone Adjustment
• 3 Year Warranty

With this model, it has an incredible 8.3 million pixels (3840 x 2160). Meaning it delivers 4 x Full HD resolution! This is a beast of a unit on the market.

ASUS’s - P3B Battery-Powered Portable LED Projector

• 32dBA
• (1280x800) Resolution
• 2000mAh Battery
• 800 Lumens
• P3B

This mini projector is completely different from the others but shows you the range on the market. With only 800 lumens, it is not powerful but a portable projector. Ideal for making presentations in different places on the same day, and we feel it's the best portable projector on the market for the price.

Features to look out for

Light Output and Brightness

At the lower to mid-range of the market, even though projector output has improved recently, they still work better in a dark room. Projectors with 1000 ANSI Lumens will be capable of creating a home theatre. Several factors have to be taken into consideration, such as:

• Room Size
• Lighting conditions
• Screen Size and distance

All of the above will affect how many lumens are required.

Contrast Ratio

Contrast is the black-and-white portion ratio of an image. The higher the contrast ratio, the blacker the blacks will be and the whiter the whites. Your image will still get washed out if a projector has a high lumens rating but a low contrast ratio. In a darkened room, you want a ratio of 1500:1, but ideally, to be safe, 2000:1 or more will give you excellent viewing.

Pixel Density and Display Resolution

Pixel density (display resolution) is vital. DLP and LCD projectors come with a fixed number of pixels.

• 1920x1080, which is high is preferable if most of your viewing is in HDTV
• A lesser count of 1024x768 will suffice for DVD. But 720p HDTV signals must have 1280x720 pixels for the display. Also, a 1080i HDTV input needs 1920x1080 pixels
• With Blu-ray, look for a projector with 1920x1080 real pixel resolution with the capability to display a 1080p format

If you are comfortable at the higher end of the market price-wise and are looking for 4K, ensure you get advice on the space you want to fill, as not all 4K machines are made equal in a theatre setup.

Here at Wireless 1, we stock projectors with various capabilities for different situations. So take a look at our selection; we have something to suit every need!