Spec'ing a Projector

[Herr_Sprecker]

Greetings all!

My university was gifted with a media server with Green Hippo V2. In the short time we have had it, the number of shows involving projection have dramatically increased, and we are seriously considering adding a new discipline (or sub-discipline of lighting design) to our program because of it.

To really flesh it out, I want to try and get us the proper equipment we'll need to accommodate our different performance spaces and multiple applications. Our projector inventory right now is rather meager, a few presentation projectors spread across different departments. Our association with the local rep theatre can occasionally yield us a 5k Panasonic projector and a couple High End System DL-1s, but they're not always practical for some of our spaces.

So, to that end, I'd like to hear about projectors you all have used and would endorse for mostly theatrical applications. Specs that I'm looking for in particular are interchangeable lens kits, lumens, wide range of input options, suitability for mounting/hanging/rigging/etc, reliable performance, the works. Price is not going to be a factor at this time, since it is unlikely we'll be able to get anything for a good while. However, if money does become available, I would love to be able to put a spec sheet into someones hands.

So, sound out about what has worked well for you, or any recommendations/endorsements you would have. Forum or PM will be great.

Thanks all!

[museav]

Originally Posted by Herr_Sprecker

Price is not going to be a factor at this time, since it is unlikely we'll be able to get anything for a good while. However, if money does become available, I would love to be able to put a spec sheet into someones hands.

Budget may not be a factor now since you aren't actually purchasing anything but will it be a factor when you do go to purchase something? No sense wasting time suggesting something that will most likely be outside any practical consideration anyways. And if it is indeed "a good while" before you would be looking at a purchase then many models suggested now may be discontinued or replaced by then.

You mentioned multiple venues and applications but can you provide some input on the range those represent? What would be the largest venue or screen? Any outdoor use? Any special considerations related to any of the envisioned applications or venues?

[Herr_Sprecker]

I'm looking for all budget items... at this point, it's more about getting the equipment to do the job.

These are all indoor performance venues. I guess I'm looking for a projector (projectors) that can fit a number of throw distances, hence the swappable lenses being a large factor. From an intimate black box space, to a recital/concert hall, to a 700+ proscenium thrust space, these are the venues we're talking about. So, portability of the equipment, ease of rigging in several different possible configurations, that sort of thing. This would never be a permanent install.

If you know of specific models that have worked well for you in such-and-such situation, or have gotten a great deal of flexibility/power out of a certain brand, that is helpful information. Specific models are helpful, but general brand names or product lines are also helpful. Anything anyone can impart will help with this.

[museav]

Well, the names you'll probably see most often in the large venue rental and staging world are Barco, Christie and Digital Projection (DPI). They all offer a large range of projectors.

An example of what can happen, I was recently looking at a campus where they wanted to get a new projector to use in several venues but needed to be sure it worked in one specific venue. Getting it to work for that venue, which happened to be a recital/concert hall as you noted would be one of the spaces in your applications, not only significantly increased the cost of the projector required but would also require modifications to the venue, including having to run new power since higher output projectors often require 200-240VAC and the only projector locations feasible required providing some type of enclosure to reduce the noise levels. In that case, it even resulted in needing a dedicated, installed screen for that facility as there was no good way to fly or wall/floor mount a temporary truss screen.

[ruinexplorer]

The only additional manufacturer that I'd toss in is Panasonic. They have made a very large impact on the rental staging market in the past few years. While I am not a fan of using them for blended or stacked images, stand alone I think they are up to par (though the self-cleaning filter on the 10K is a little goofy).

I prefeer the customer service with Christie. All of the manufacturers put out great projectors with their own pros and cons, but when you need to get something back up and running, I have had the best luck with Christie. When talking to a sales rep for multiple manufacturers, he said that they changed their business model about five years back to allow the customer to have as much flexibility in getting their equipment up and running as possible. Certainly there are features that I like on other projectors, but in my application, I need a specific projector and need to get it up and running without much delay.

[museav]

Keep in mind that the support received can vary with a party's role. Some companies really emphasize supporting Consultants while others focus almost exclusively on end users and yet others on dealers. And often the support provided these different parties varies over time as companies realign their markets and internal organization. So you could get varying opinions on the support provided depending upon the person responding.

Given that, I agree that in my experience Christie has always offered great support. I've also always had good support from DPI but their headquarters is about 5 miles from me, so I have more chance to get to know people there or deal with issues directly than many others and don't know how much that factors in. Barco support has varied over the years, at one point their US headquarters was about 6 or 7 miles from me and I knew a number of people there but they closed that office and then went through a period where I had trouble getting any support from them. However, they seem to be improving on that. Panasonic has always provided very good support for their projector but then I've always had some good contacts there.