Another choosing a projector thread.

[gabe]

Hello,

I'm working on a production of Urinetown and trying to rent a projector. I am looking at the Mitsubishi HC3800. The throw ratio is 1.41:1, and I will have a 19' throw resulting in a 13.5' image. The brightness of the projector is only 1300 Lumens, but it is DLP vs LCD and has native 1920x1080 resolution. Our projection surface is a painted wall that we would like to be somewhere in the dark to medium grey range. I'm not sure if I will be happy with that brightness. However it seems like I am forced with the decision between that and a brighter LCD projector with a resolution of 1024x768, and that makes me worry that my pixels will be too large. What do you all think?

 

[sk8rsdad]

It depends on how close your audience will be to the projection surface, what sort of ambient light the project will have to contend with, and how you plan to handle the lack of a true black from the LCD projector.

1024x768 means 6 pixels per inch (assuming a 13.5' image) so resolution isn't much of an issue as long as our audience is a reasonable distance from the projection surface.

The bigger problem with LCD is light they produce when projecting "black", so you have to solve that problem somehow. Typical solutions include blackout shutters, blackout scrollers, overpowering the projector with some other light source, or living with the grey rectangle.

 

[museav]

The Mitsubishi HC3800 has a zoom lens and apparently a 19' throw results in anywhere from 62.3" high x 110.8" wide to a 93 " high by 165.3" wide image with a mid zoom size of 77.7" high by 138.1" wide. With 1300 ANSI lumens (and keep in mind that is with a new lamps and the lens in the optimum conditions) that is 12ftL to 27ftL on the 'screen'.

With a medium to dark grey screen that could be an issue, especially if there is also much other light hitting the 'screen'. At the same time, the paint color will minimize the issues with some output for black from an LCD projector, which is also not nearly as much of a problem with properly setup modern LCD projectors as it may have been in the past.

You might also want to consider what size and format image you really want. If you want a 16:9 format image then you would be effectively getting less than the full output of the 4:3 projector. You might also want to consider things like how much control you have over the vertical location of the projector as the HC3800 apparently has no lens shift so if the projector is not in the ideal location you would have to deal with any offset by angling the projector and using keystone correction.

 

[ruinexplorer]

All projectors will produce the video black to some degree. Many lighting designers don't care too much about it unless they need to go to blackout since the stage lighting will overpower the grey/black image. The biggest difference between the LCD and DLP that most people worry about is the "screen-door" effect that you can get with an LCD when you have a very sharp focus.

I agree that 1024x768 will be fine for that size image. When I was doing hotel AV, we would often use LCD projectors of that resolution on that large (or larger) of a screen without the individual pixels being "noticeable". Currently on the production that I am working on, I use SXGA (1280x1024 resolution) DLP projectors to create an image that spans most of the proscenium (120' wide by 60' tall) and from the audience perspective, they don't notice individual pixels.

 

[gabe]

Thanks for the responses. I forgot to mention that the projection surface in question will not be lit by stage lighting, it is above head height. Also, DMX dousers are already being considered. Of course I would prefer a native 16:9 projector, because my target screen size is 13'5x6'10, but it just doesn't seem to be in the cards, unless anyone knows someone in the NYC area that will rent one for $300-$400 for two weeks. I was planning on using some blackwrap to get rid of the extra light. The other projector that is currently a (cheaper) option is the Casio XJ-S42. At 2700 lumens it is significantly brighter. Minimum audience distance to the screen is (coincidentally) 13.5'. I think that I will be able to get the projector in a pretty good position, because it will taildown from the grid almost directly against the back wall behind the audience--shouldn't be an issue with the LD. It's good to hear that 1024x768 is an ok resolution for that screen size. In that case, how would you feel about the Casio projector?

 

[museav]

A projector is always going to create an image that is it's native format, be that 4:3, 16:10, 16:9 or whatever. To display images of a different format you use a portion of that total image. You want a 13'-5" wide by 6'-10" high (161"x82") image, the closest standard format size (16:9 format) would be 161"x91" or 146"x82". So if you have a 1024x768 projector and a 16:9 image you'll actually be displaying a letterboxed 1024x576 resolution displayed image within an overall 1024x768 image. That also means only 75% (576/768) of the overall rated brightness of the projector will be involved in the usable image. So the 2,700 lumen 4:3 projector is effectively a 2025 lumen 16:9 projector. Because you are not using all of the projected image area for the actual image, the result may not be as much of an increase in brightness as you might think.

You might also want to verify the throw distance. A 19' throw is right around a maximum 203" diagonal or 162"x122" image, which seems to just work for you.

So for a 13'-5" wide, 16:9 format image you are apparently looking at a 1920x1080 resolution and 1300 lumens versus a 1024x576 resolution image and 2025 lumens.

 

[gabe]

So since 1024x576 is an acceptable resolution for the screen size, and the Casio projector is brighter and cheaper, it seems as though that is the logical solution. I'm going to call a rental house in Manhattan on Monday but I have the feeling that anything they have available is going to be out of my budget.

 

[jstroming]

Gabe,

Try Hello World Communications (Hello World - New York City film / video / DVD production - postproduction services / NYC corporate film - video production / NYC video editing services in New York, NY, Manhattan company) They are the new go-to place in Manhattan for the hipster video crowd. Although I haven't rented from them directly, I've pointed many people to them due to their prices, and have only heard good things back.

-J

 

[gabe]

Thanks for the link, but nothing that they have seems significantly better than the Casio projector I can have for much cheaper.