Gaff needs a projector now

[gafftaper]

I am NOT a video guy. I've got a video guy on campus but he's more of a filming and editing guy I'm not sure how much of a hardware guru he is. So I would like to present him with some ideas.

I finally found the key to the projection screen and lowered it to learn what size it is today (Yet another thing I was left in the dark on). So now I need a projector. Black Box theater, throw is about 37', screen is 14' wide by 8' high. I've got a budget of around $10k... I can probably go more if it's REALLY cool, no ambient light issues. I've got unistrut hanging under the catwalks to mount the projector. I've got BNC and ethernet all over the theater. We would like the projector to be able to project lecture notes with the houselights up as well as do film festivals with the lights out. We would like a rental presenter to be able to bring their laptop in and easily run their presentations on the screen... I don't know what kind of gear I need to do that.

I know that Cristy and Barco are probably the best in the business but that's about it. My video guy suggested a Panasonic PT-DW5000UL when we first set budgets about 2 years ago... it's probably out of date by now.

I want good quality. Reliable, easy on the long term lamp replacement budget if possible, It would be nice to have a really high def system with a Blue Ray/HD DVD player for film festival stuff.

Help Me. Thanks!

[Charc]

Speaking of projectors:

An alum is apparently some hotshot with some bigtime producer, out in LA. He told my dept head to spec a permanently mounted system, and he'll have the guys take care of it.

Unfortunately, we currently have a not-so-bright staff member spec'ing it out. (Read: the "computer maintenance guy", let's just say the network doesn't work so well...)

Perhaps I should come up with the ideal system and recommend it, I want to make sure everything gets run.

And hey, what the %$!#. We get maintenance to snake RCA to the stage for the new projector, and I don't get informed?! So much for getting data down to stage level. I hope they left a pull in there.

[derekleffew]

This Barco projector. This processor. Or whatever kwotipka tells you to do, do that.

[gafftaper]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

This Barco projector. This processor. Or whatever kwotipka tells you to do, do that.

Well Derek, the list price is $85,000... I think it's out of my price range a bit.

I did have someone tell me that the recommend a minimum of 30 lumens per square foot of screen... which works out to a minimum of 3,360 lumens. So I'm thinking something in the 4,000-5,000 lumen range is about right. (14,000 lumens is probably overkill.) I'll wait to see what kwotipka suggests.

[soundlight]

I'd say that you should get a projector that's a bit higher powered than that, or at least has the option to be. So I'm gonna say a Christie DS+650 would fit your space pretty well. It's 6500 lumens with dual lamps, and accepts a large variety of input sources. But I'm not a true vidiot, I think that kwotipka will have a bit more to say here.

[SerraAva]

Few things with buying a projector. First, you will find that the lens will cost almost as much as the projector itself. Might have changed since I last bought one, might not, been a few years since I was involved in a purchase of one. Second, do you plan on using it for shows at any point? Here are two shots of a 10K LCD Panasonic from about 20' till the cyc with a 1.2 lens:

First is stage wash at 75% and cyc lights at about 66%. Stage is all S4s lamped at 750w and cyc lights are 4 four cell Altman Ecno Cycs lamped 1000w.


Same show, stage at 75% and cyc lights off.


Sorry for the really bad shots, taken off of VLC player and the crappy dvd I have of the show . Point is, we were using a 10k and orginally were suppose to get a 7k. We found ourselves wishing for a brighter projector at times. Just food for thought.

Also, Christie and Barco are the top brands. Panasonic and Sanyo aren't bad, and Epson only makes up to a 5.5K if I remember correctly. After that, the brands get cheap. Something else, are you looking into LCD or DLP. DLP has a much better image quality but will cost more. For example, I can rent a 7K DLP for the same price as a 10K LCD. You should look into HD as well, since that is the way everything is headed, and if you want to future proof it, that would be your best bet.

I am by no means a video expert, but I deal with it more and more it seems. These are just things I hear from video guys that I work with and have been doing corporate AV for years and years, and my experiences.

[Footer]

I am a big fan of Eiki projectors, they are very well made and affordable. The barcos do have DMX capability on some of them, which is a nice added feature. Be aware though, as stated before the lenses can cost just about as much as the projector, especially for a long throw. 4000-5000 lumens should do you well.

[icewolf08]

I also am not up on all my video stuff, but I would say that you want to make sure that whatever projector you get supports HD resolutions and possibly higher. I suppose it should also have HD inputs (DVI, HDMI, component...) By the end of this year I bet we will see an end to the HD format war, and you will probably want the ability to display HD content.

[derekleffew]

And perhaps save some money for a City Theatrical Projector Dowser, to insure true blackouts.

[soundlight]

I thought that Christies and Barcos had built in true dowsers? At least some of them do, I think.