[rvaidyan]

Hi folks!


I promised a friend that I would steer him to the best possible deal on a cheap portable projector to use primarily for presentations with pictures and occasional video.


He does several presentations around town on his travelogues and sought my advice on an inexpensive projector that he can carry around to schools when he does the presentations.


Any advice on what would provide the best bang for the buck?


Thanks a lot, folks.

 

[civilsavage]

if you go to B&P Photo you can sort under 500 and find a few. I would be interested in any of the infous projectors. But, if you step it up a $100 you can get the Sharp PG-D2500X that has 3 yr warrenty and 24 hour turnaround for business projectors.

 

[rvaidyan]

Thanks!


For a sub-$500 projector, am I pretty much stuck with SVGA resolution (800x600) any breakthrough higher-rez projector at that price point?

 

[civilizedcitizen]

If your friend is not opposed to manufacturer refurbished products, you can have him pick up an Epson EX70 or Powerlite w6 with 1280 * 800 resolution for around $500 from Epson's website. Check the clearance section under 'shop online'. I believe Epson provides the same 2yr warranty for their refurb projectors.


HTH.


BTW, I went to school in Duluth - UMD..

 

[george305]

I'm on the market for the same thing. I'm a big fan of the LG HS201Slim LED Projector. Great reviews of it over on Amazon. And right in your budget. Also can't beat LED and not having to replace bulbs.

 

[george305]

Wanted to give you this quick link that helped me decide:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/lg_h...or_reviews.htm

 

[civilizedcitizen]

I own the LG hs201 (for 3 months now). For my use, it's not bright enough to use for presentation (even in the brightest mode) if you have ambient light. I tried watching TV on it in a moderately lit room (blinds closed, no lights) and everything looked washed out. YMMV.

 

[george305]

How far from the screen did you have the projector setup? and do you know what the diff is between the hs201 and the hs200g?

 

[civilizedcitizen]



Quote:
Originally Posted by george305 /forum/post/18205650


How far from the screen did you have the projector setup? and do you know what the diff is between the hs201 and the hs200g?

I set it up around 8'-9' away from the screen. that might have been my problem. I unfortunately do not know the difference between hs201 and hs200g. Sorry.

 

[rvaidyan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by george305 /forum/post/18205650


How far from the screen did you have the projector setup? and do you know what the diff is between the hs201 and the hs200g?

So, what IS the difference between the 201 and 200g?

 

[rvaidyan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by civilizedcitizen /forum/post/18204410


If your friend is not opposed to manufacturer refurbished products, you can have him pick up an Epson EX70 or Powerlite w6 with 1280 * 800 resolution for around $500 from Epson's website. Check the clearance section under 'shop online'. I believe Epson provides the same 2yr warranty for their refurb projectors.


HTH.


BTW, I went to school in Duluth - UMD..

Thanks, I'll check.


Hey, what was your major? I teach at UMD.

 

[metablob]

For Canadains there is this option: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...011932&cid=PJT


An Optoma HD70 for $499 - pretty good bang for the buck

 

[rvaidyan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by metablob /forum/post/18246302


For Canadains there is this option: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...011932&cid=PJT


An Optoma HD70 for $499 - pretty good bang for the buck

Wow! That's a fantastic price. Anyone have any leads on a US source for the HD70 at this price?


-RV

 

[donaldk]

The difference is 1 = US, 0 = Europe, g means it comes with a litte protective pouch.


QUite remarkably the US model doen't come with an FM transmitter to send the audio to a radio, and the EU does, anything with transmitters used to be US, as these things used to be illegal in most EU countries.

 

[donaldk]

Best buy is clearing the HD65 for under 400,-, according to another thread in this subforum.

 

[donaldk]

In the US Casio is having a great price on its entry level XGA LED/LASER projector $799,- for 2000 lumens and 20K hours life on the 'lamp'.

 

[MCaugusto]



Quote:
Originally Posted by civilizedcitizen /forum/post/18205508


I own the LG hs201 (for 3 months now). For my use, it's not bright enough to use for presentation (even in the brightest mode) if you have ambient light. I tried watching TV on it in a moderately lit room (blinds closed, no lights) and everything looked washed out. YMMV.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, i am experiencing the exact opposite of your impressions concerning the LG HS-201 : projected onto a high-gain 76" diagonal screen the image is so bright and detailed that it could give any plasma display a run for its money, even with ambient lights full-on !

Could it be that you did not calibrate your unit appropriately from its standard settings by lowering Brightness to around 30, increasing Contrast to around 80 and setting Dynamic Contrast to "Low" ? That's how i got mine to a level that is not only much brighter than my old CRT front pj, but also to a comparable (slightly higher) black level, much better colors ( love those LED chipsets from Luminus Devices !), excellent shadow detail and a very/very sharply focused picture with very little chromatic aberration, with is easily seen with images displaying white lettering on dark background...

BTW, the difference between the HS-201 and the HS-200 is that the first is for the North American market and does not include a carrying bag nor that FM wireless audio receiver (both useless in my case, anyway), whereas the HS-200 is sold in Asia/Europe and offers both features...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcos

 

[chumpchange21]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rvaidyan /forum/post/18194389


Hi folks!


I promised a friend that I would steer him to the best possible deal on a cheap portable projector to use primarily for presentations with pictures and occasional video.


He does several presentations around town on his travelogues and sought my advice on an inexpensive projector that he can carry around to schools when he does the presentations.


Any advice on what would provide the best bang for the buck?


Thanks a lot, folks.

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why people are recommending you HD projectors... One thing you need to remember about HD projectors is they are for High Definition projections, or in other words Home Theater usage. HT usage also implies that general lumens are inadequate or barely bright enough for presentations, especially at low end models such as the HD70 with 1,000 lumens.


Second of all, you must keep in mind that manufacturers label of lumens are usually a bit higher (sometimes a lot higher) marked than the actual projection when it comes to real calibration of lumen brightness. Therefore a 1,000 lumen projector may only project at 500 - 700, depending on the setting you set it at and so on.


Thirdly, as mentioned in point one, why would you use a HD projector for business presentations. In most presentation settings you don't want to keep the room too dark in avoidance to people falling asleep, second of all you want to keep a degree of brightness for people to take notes and what not. Thirdly, most presentation rooms have problems with ambient light coming from outside, HENSE, you tend to need higher lumens for your projector.


So I conclude, please stay away from HD projectors if you're looking to actually present something for people to see!


In your price range, I would recommend 2 choices:


BenQ MP626:

Price around $650 dollars (probably find cheaper locally, contact a distributor) ProjectorPeople.com or something.

2,700 lumens

3:000:1 contrast ratio

USB port (easy access usage)

Wired networking


More specs:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-MP626.htm


BenQ MP515:

Price under $600 dollars (again, probably cheaper if you talk to a distributor)

2,500 lumens

2,600:1 contrast ratio



More specs:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-MP515.htm


Here is the HD70 for your reference and comparison:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-HD70.htm


Please do not buy a HD projector if you are going to use it for business presenation purposes, you are going to regret... I can't believe people have been advising you to do so.... If you don't believe me go talk to a real distributor and see what he says, when he hears you want to use an HD projector he will give you the same advise as I have here... Hope you havent' made your decision yet!


Good luck!

 

[edvision]



Quote:
Originally Posted by chumpchange21 /forum/post/18253958


BenQ MP515:

Price under $600 dollars (again, probably cheaper if you talk to a distributor)

2,500 lumens

2,600:1 contrast ratio

I know very little about projectors, but I am looking at this MP515 since it's on sale for $299 at Staples.ca (sorry can't post links, too new. Look for webid 828348)


I have not found any solid reviews of it, but some of what I read hasn't been the greatest (complaints of poor blacks)...of course for $300 if that is what you need, I hope it helps.

 

[donaldk]



Quote:
So I conclude, please stay away from HD projectors if you're looking to actually present something for people to see!

Not sure what you have against HD resolution projectors, but with upto 32.5K ANSI lumens one can show plenty to plenty of people.