Digital Projector Advice Needed

[DMB2000uk]

Aha, A subject that I know (nearly) nothing about!

So for a change can someone please help me

My church needs a digital projector for doing songs/notices etc and me being the resident tech, they have asked me to find them one

I know enough to get me by, but was hoping that someone else here knows a trick or two and could point me in the right direction.

OK for anyone that needs to know, the requirements are as follows:
- The setup shouldn't be uber expensive, but I still would like a capable projector
- Ambient light will be fairly high, like a standard daylit room. But not so that it would have direct light on or near the screen or anything
(What brightness should I be looking for?)
- Standard 1024x768 res will be fine
- Screen is going to be at max 8-10ft diagonal
- Throw distance is whatever, around 2m would be nice though
- It needs to be fairly portable, but is probably going to be installed on one of the hanging cage type things from the roof, so ultra lightweight isn't required

Erm, i think that should be all anyone could need to know, if it isn't then just ask.

I'd be glad if anyone knows some good guides that I could read to learn about this stuff too.

Thanks,
Dan

[stev]

Dan,

We went through this 6 months ago for our church. In the end, the Epson unit for the price and function was ideal. However, the way things change in this market, your best bet is to educate yourself in this field a little and shop around. Your church needs may be broader than ours for functions and use.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, make sure you know the brightness and life of the projector bulb/element. PLUS the replacement cost for such!!! That's why the Epson was very attractive to us.

High-performance 3LCD projectors for offices, on-the-road presentations and houses of worship ...
Here's the unit we got http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Epson-PowerLite-S4.htm The S5 is now out.

If you need something more try out the better units.
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Prod ... oid=-13921

It's the lower end, but we didn't need anything too expensive nor the extra features. It works great with the laptops and video input.

http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/review_ ... =projector

http://projectorcentral.com

[KnightRid]

I agree about the cost of replacement bulbs! Make sure you check into that before making a final decision.

Noise factor is another consideration. You didnt mention if it has to be a quiet one or not. Some of them are SUPER loud.

Mike

Oh if you need a HDMI connector, the Epson S4 or S5 dont have one.

[DMB2000uk]

HDMI isn't an issue, and yeah, it has to be fairly quiet, but I'd thought of that and forgot to put it down

Thanks for the responses and advice so far, keep them coming if anyone has anything else to add.

We are only a little church at the minute so Uses won't be too demanding. One thing I noticed about the S4 link you sent me:

As with the older S3, Epson clearly had to cut some corners to keep the price down. For example, this model has no optical zoom lens...

Zoom lens is what you twist to make the image bigger/smaller from the current throw distance right? Would be handy to have one of those. But it might not be essential with the projector being fixed.

Dan