Which digital projector?

[mdjchat]

Hello all,

My local branch of a horticultural society is in need of a new digital projector. Our old one was a Hitachi which was only used a couple of times in the two years that we owned it before it broke. We only meet once a month and need a projector for the occasions that a visiting speaker doesn't own one/ when their projector has broken. We have been recommended the BenQ W1080 by the local Richer Sounds shop at £550 (with 3 year warranty because it's not for personal use). It will mostly be used for projecting pictures, very rarely we have a speaker who will incorporate a small video clip but usually nothing of particularly high quality.

Does anyone on here have much experience with these projectors? As a committee member I'm trying to make sure that we aren't spending too much money unnecessarily. I was wondering if buying 2nd hand is a viable option or do they tend not to last that long? Would that particular model be your recommendation within a £550 budget or could we find something more suitable for less? If we did look for a used projector are there any brands which have a better reputation for reliability and what should I be looking out for?

As you can tell I haven't much of a clue when it comes to these so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mat.

 

[Jim_Tod]

Have you tried to have the existing one repaired if its only 2 years old and lightly used?

 

[Mozthecat]

Have you considered a large flatscreen tv instead, in my experience they tend to be brighter, more robust and have a wider selection of input options (e.g. bang in usb stick with an image gallery at exhibitions, vga, hdmi, scart, rca etc).

The main drawback is the slightly bigger storage area required.

At work we have both and the projector hasn’t been out it’s cupboard in 2 years. It was only around £240 though it’s an entry level model (from pc world business I think)

 

[mdjchat]

Have you tried to have the existing one repaired if its only 2 years old and lightly used?

We did send it off to Hitachi to be inspected and the repair cost was prohibitively expensive. Because of that the projector has already been sold on for spares at the decision of the committee. I forget the exact explanation but it was something along the lines of the projector having 3 outputs in red/ green/ blue and one of them had failed. The cost to replace it was high and we were told that the others could fail in no time at all even if we carried out the repair.

 

[mdjchat]

Have you considered a large flatscreen tv instead, in my experience they tend to be brighter, more robust and have a wider selection of input options (e.g. bang in usb stick with an image gallery at exhibitions, vga, hdmi, scart, rca etc).

The main drawback is the slightly bigger storage area required.

At work we have both and the projector hasn’t been out it’s cupboard in 2 years. It was only around £240 though it’s an entry level model (from pc world business I think)

Unfortunately I don't think that a TV would be large enough. We are viewing slides of plants in habitat and really need to project them as large as possible.

Ideally we could do with finding a new venue with better access and a wall/ ceiling mounted projector built in. But that's a whole other argument for many a committee meeting to come.

 

[Tori_T]

Have you had a look on ebay?
They've got new and refurb projectors on offer BIN from £25
If it's only going to be used once/twice year, is it really cost effective to buy a quality model with extended warranty?
You could buy two and be able to instantly save the day if the first one dies during a presentation.

 

[rjbell]

They fall into two main tech dlp and lcd. the latter for photography might be better suited. Dlp colours are a little subdued. On the other hand contrast and blacks are better on dlp.

Benq make good machines I'd Aldo look at Panasonic and Epson.

 

[Eloise]

You need to think a bit more on some questions (and some I have likely missed / can’t think).

First off, can you get the room completely dark? Richer Sounds will (and I’m generalising) be selling projectors for the home cinema market while will rely on darkness more than say a data projector which is designed for a more daylight room at the expense of quality / contrast.

Second what kind of distance projector to screen ... 3-7m is going to be doable with most projectors, but outside those distances you need to consider more specialised projectors which brings me to my next point...

Third what size screen do you use? Also what material for the screen or are you relying on a white / plain coloured wall.

There’s many more things you need to consider but it’s late and I can’t think right now...

 

[mdjchat]

Thanks again for your replies. The room can be difficult to get particularly dark in the lighter months. There are curtains but the meeting hall has constant emergency lighting. I think that the distance is easily over 3 meters and we have an old roll down projector screen that stands on a low stage at the front of the hall. The projector is usually about halfway down the middle aisle between about 4 rows of chairs.

You've given me some good food for thought. I hadn't realised that Richer Sounds price match the internet so if we do go ahead with the recommended projector it is good to know that we will be getting the best matched price.