A lot have probably seen this already, but for those that haven't here is a nifty chart that's a nice guideline for lumens, screen sizes, and ambient light conditions from ProjectorPeople .
I called them today and asked a few questions about this chart and it's a basic reference for a generic white unity gain (1.0) screen. I know there are a ton of screen variables to take into consideration, but this is a nice little baseline... of course higher gain screens will change things just as will darker gray screens, but like I said this is good to get an idea where your projector falls for a white plain jane unity gain...
The chart is interesting too. I see business projectors are able to handle higher amounts of lighting than dedicated HT projectors. It's all a trade off though because HT projectors are made for video and business presentation projectors are more for Power Point presentations or stills. When they go to video mode the lumens drop, but being the owner of a business projector I can say they are pretty bright even in video mode. This was something I was always curious about. It makes sense that presentation projectors are built brighter and for more room lighting than a HT projector since most are in classrooms or conference rooms that generally are not completely dark. I'm not suggesting they are better, each type of projector has it's strengths and weaknesses.
Anyway, I thought this was an interesting chart. It seems like this and Bud's spreadsheet could/should go hand in hand... just look up your projector specs and lumen rating, then room conditions, and match it to a list of screens for those conditions.
If it doesn't end up getting used for something like that, (which I think it should and would work on myself but someone else has already started this, so no sense stepping on each other's toes...) it is definitely a nice way to find out what your PJ can handle at a quick glance.
Projector People also have a lot of good guides over there so it's worth looking around at their tutorials and HT articles. I thought they all were an interesting read...
Bill
I called them today and asked a few questions about this chart and it's a basic reference for a generic white unity gain (1.0) screen. I know there are a ton of screen variables to take into consideration, but this is a nice little baseline... of course higher gain screens will change things just as will darker gray screens, but like I said this is good to get an idea where your projector falls for a white plain jane unity gain...
The chart is interesting too. I see business projectors are able to handle higher amounts of lighting than dedicated HT projectors. It's all a trade off though because HT projectors are made for video and business presentation projectors are more for Power Point presentations or stills. When they go to video mode the lumens drop, but being the owner of a business projector I can say they are pretty bright even in video mode. This was something I was always curious about. It makes sense that presentation projectors are built brighter and for more room lighting than a HT projector since most are in classrooms or conference rooms that generally are not completely dark. I'm not suggesting they are better, each type of projector has it's strengths and weaknesses.
Anyway, I thought this was an interesting chart. It seems like this and Bud's spreadsheet could/should go hand in hand... just look up your projector specs and lumen rating, then room conditions, and match it to a list of screens for those conditions.
If it doesn't end up getting used for something like that, (which I think it should and would work on myself but someone else has already started this, so no sense stepping on each other's toes...) it is definitely a nice way to find out what your PJ can handle at a quick glance.
Projector People also have a lot of good guides over there so it's worth looking around at their tutorials and HT articles. I thought they all were an interesting read...
Bill
