How To Select The Right Projector For Your Event

December 31, 2018

3 min read

Trying to select the right projector for your event? In this article, we’ll take a look at a variety of projectors and break down what each one has to offer. By the end of this article, you’ll have a much better idea of which projector will work best for you.

Quick Answer: Consider screen size, ambient light in your venue, and whether you need HD resolution. A 2800 lumen projector will comfortably work with a screen of up to 8’ wide in a darkened room, while you’ll need 6000 lumens for a 16’ screen in the same space.

Standard Definition Projectors

Standard definition or SD projectors have a screen ratio of 4:3 like an old tube-type TV. They can still display higher-definition images, but the projector will scale it down, which may give disappointing results if you don’t expect it.

2800 Lumen SD Projector

At the lower end of the projector market, you have the 2800 lumen model. Lumens are used to measure the brightness of a projector; the lower the number, the lower the brightness.

A 2800 lumen projector will work with a 6’-8’ wide screen in a room with low ambient light. So it’s well suited to a conference or meeting room without windows. It will still work in a brighter room with a screen size of 4’-5’.

5000 Lumen SD Projector

With almost double the lumens of the 2800 lumen model, this projector will work with a 12’x9’ screen in a room with no ambient light. For brighter rooms, a screen size of 7’-10’ would be the limit.

See our guide on how many lumens your projector needs for more.

Full HD Projectors

Full HD projectors have a native resolution of 16×9, like the modern TV you likely have at home. The widescreen output offers almost double the pixels in width.

	SD Projector	Full HD Projector
Pixel Width	1024 px	1920 px

4500 Lumen HD Projector

Although it has a lower lumen rating, a 4500 lumen HD projector will appear brighter than the 5000 lumen SD projector. This happens for two reasons:

The colors of the 4500 lumen Epsom model are brighter
Manufacturers often measure the lumen rating using only white pixels. The Epsom’s color pixels are brighter than those of the 5000 lumen SD model.
The Epsom’s higher resolution results in a crisper image

6000 Lumen HD Projector

This is even brighter than the other models and can fill an even larger screen (16’ x 9’) or overcome greater levels of ambient light with a smaller screen.

One other helpful feature found on this model is the addition of an SDI input, which is very important in the video production world.

Projector Inputs

All of the projectors we have looked at have VGA and HDMI inputs, covering the vast majority of use cases. Adapters can further increase the types of devices that you can connect to these projectors.

See our article on how to connect an iPhone to a projector for examples.

Stacking Projectors

You can stack 2 x 6000 lumen projectors together to create a theoretical 12,000 lumen projector. In many cases, it works out cheaper to use two projectors in this way rather than buying/renting a 12,000 lumen projector.