Roger Chien

 
Projector technology has evolved, now delivering better picture quality and expanded connection options. In addition to the traditional, wired (VGA/DVI/HDMI) connections, content may now be displayed from a thumb drive and wireless connections. Recent technology advancements have made wireless connectivity much simpler and powerful. A projector is a necessity of every business professional when presenting in the office or on the road. So don’t spend the first few minutes of your meeting locating and connecting the cables, jostling loose connections, or checking for bent pins. Instead, be presentation-ready with a wireless projector.

 

There are many benefits to using a wireless projector, which include:

• Presenters are no longer confined to a small area next to the projector. They now have the freedom to sit anywhere in the room, usually within 30 feet of the projector (line-of-sight is required to maintain the quality of the signal).


• The projector may be shared with multiple computers in the room, promoting team collaboration.


• By wirelessly connecting a presenter’s mobile device to the projector, he/she can walk about the room with his/her device to interact and engage with the audience.


• Presenters don’t need to bring along their connection cables while they travel.

Some factors businesses need to consider when using a wireless projector include:

 

• The wireless bandwidth required for video streaming presentation.


• The WiFi signal range necessary for a large-sized room.


• The wireless connectivity stability that can impact the image quality.

When all these aspects are verified, wireless projectors can deliver great conveniences for businesses, especially for mobile presenters.

 

Is your business ready to take advantage of the benefits wireless projectors have to offer? What other wireless solutions do you use in your business operation? Tell us on the blog.

 

Have questions on what’s the right wireless projector for your business? Learn more from our press release here.

 

ViewSonic has been a leading innovator of display technologies for over 25 years and understands the advanced features necessary for delivering a powerful presentation. ViewSonic offers one of the industry’s best overall projector warranty with 3-year limited parts, labor and LED light source, plus 1st year complementary Express Exchange® service. To learn more, click here.

 

Corporate names and trademarks stated herein are the property of their respective companies. Copyright^© 2012 ViewSonic Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short throw projectors are designed with tight spaces in mind whether at home, work or school. 

 

A short throw projector produces clear images within limited space due to the physical shape of the projector lens, which alters the magnitude of the image projected. In a short throw projector, a convex lens is used to spread an image wider than a regular throw lens. As a result, a short throw lens can have 0.5:1 throw ratio, capable of projecting a 60-inch diagonal image from just 2 feet away, while a standard throw lens has a 1.6:1 throw ratio, capable of projecting the same image size from 6.5 feet away. Check out our interactive distance calculator here to determine if a short throw is the best fit for your space.

 

Why else should you consider a short throw projector? Many short throw projectors offer minimum ambience and heat exhaustion for maximum audience engagement in the constricted room. There are no hotspots when projecting onto a whiteboard due to the close distance proximity – the mount position of the projector is either raised above or dropped below the white board to project the image at a very steep angle, which eliminates glare that could bounce back from the whiteboard.

 

Have questions about what features you need for your specific projection needs? Ask us here on the blog.

 

Corporate names and trademarks stated herein are the property of their respective companies. Copyright^© 2012 ViewSonic Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

 

What’s all the buzz about Laser LED hybrid projection? This new technology delivers better picture quality through higher contrast ratios, is lamp free and consumes less power for a significantly lower total cost of ownership. Designed for a range of uses including home entertainment, professional audio-video, corporate or education use. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of laser LED hybrid projectors to see if they make sense for your projection needs.

 

The Laser LED Hybrid illumination technology is a breakthrough in the way a projector manipulates light and images, resulting in superb picture quality with an ultra high contrast ratio of at least 10,000:1 for greater details, especially in dark scenes. The lasers and LEDs combine as a light source to create vibrant rich color, by generating a color spectrum far greater than that of normal mercury light projector which rely on a color wheel and may show ghost images and rainbow effects.

 

This eco-friendly technology is lamp free which saves anywhere from $199-$299 in replacement costs. No lamp means no mercury thereby eliminating toxic waste and no lamp also means virtually no maintenance to swap out bulbs. Laser LED Hybrid illumination technology delivers a longer light source life of up to 20,000 hours and is much more energy efficient utilizing intelligent power control, generating nearly twice as many lumens per watt as a lamp based projector. Furthermore, these projectors do not get hot to the touch, and are faster and quieter to switch on and off, as well as offering a more stable design.

 

Without compromising brightness, contrast or image quality, laser LED projectors lower TCO, are earth friendly and deliver rich, saturated color. You’ll save time and money, while enjoying a vivid and vibrant picture, year after year.

 

Have questions about what features you need for your specific projection needs? Ask us here on the blog.

 

*Light source life and energy savings may vary based on actual usage and other factors. Corporate names and trademarks stated herein are the property of their respective companies. Copyright^© 2012 ViewSonic Corporation. All rights reserved.

When it comes to purchasing new technology, making the wrong decision can be a costly move – especially for financially strapped schools. For example, a district’s upfront cost when purchasing a device can be just a fraction of what they’ll pay if they buy the wrong device, which impacts both budget and resources.

 

ViewSonic has advice for educators on how to future-proof their classroom projector purchases, while making the best initial selection for their budget. Purchasers should first answer this simple list of questions to significantly lower total cost of ownership (TCO) to guide them in their decision-making:

 

1. Does the projector have a lamp? If so, what’s the expected lamp life?

Replacement lamps are not cheap; on average they can run $200-$300 per lamp. Look for the projector with longer lamp hours and a lower replacement lamp cost. Similar to the printer market, also be careful of projectors with a “too good to be true” price point. Often times, they will come with high replacement supply costs.

 

2. What sort of time requirements does the projector require of my staff?

Know whether your projector selection will require filter cleanings and replacement. This is usually the case with 3LCD projectors. These maintenance costs can add up over time, so to avoid filter costs completely, shop for a DLP projector.Look for top-loading projectors as well to avoid needing someone from the union to come out to change the bulb.

 

3. What sort of hidden costs might there be?

Installation and servicing can be expensive. Before you buy, talk with a servicer/installer who will answer your questions. Find one who will offer your school the best services for a good price. This can make a huge difference. The electricity costs of operating projectors can be more than you might think, so look for projectors with energy-saving features such as ECO mode (dims brightness by 20 percent) and DynamicEco™ (dims brightness by 70 percent). As an added bonus, these features will extend your lamp life too!

 

4. Warranty information can be confusing. What do I need to know? What is considered a good warranty?

Some projector companies offer seemingly longer warranties that exclude the more vulnerable moving parts and labor costs. Be weary of projectors that only ensure the chipset. This part of the projector hardly ever goes bad. To protect your investment, look for projectors with longer labor warranties (2+ years) to guard against costly repairs. A 1-year lamp warranty is also ideal in case the expected hourly lamp life isn’t meeting expectations. As most schools require 5-year warranties on the projector hardware, be sure to research which projector brand has the best price on extended warranty options.

 

To share hard numbers with your district heads on the savings your school can expect to achieve, check out our DLP projector TCO calculator. Still have questions about your next projector purchase? Ask us here!

When should I upgrade my projector? This is a great question posed by CNET in a recent article on how to know when it’s time to upgrade, from a home cinema perspective. This got us thinking about the similarities and differences between consumer and business-focused projection offerings, so we’ve put together this guide to help businesses know when they are ready for a projector refresh. See how your company’s hardware stacks up:

 

1. Resolution within Reach – To avoid image distortion, make sure your projector has a matching aspect ratio to that of your content and/or source device so images stay in their native format. Most online content today is in wide format, as are many IT devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, etc. Companies will benefit from a widescreen WXGA projector with 1280x800 or 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution. Note however that for 4:3 format support, you’ll want a matching aspect ratio like an XGA with a 1024x768 resolution for ideal image projection.

 

2. Bigger Brightness – For corporate environments like meeting rooms and boardrooms, it’s important to use a projector with at least 2700 ASNI lumens brightness to compensate for space size without having to turn out the lights. Does the room you’re projecting in have windows and a high amount of ambient light? Then you’ll want to make sure your projector has a minimum brightness of 3000 ANSI lumens to compensate. And for an even larger space like a lecture hall, make sure you have at least 4000 ANSI lumens for optimal image quality.

 

3. Compare Connectivity – There’s a lot to consider when it comes to making sure a projector has the right connectivity options for your needs. Know the number of devices that will need to connect to the projector before you start shopping to make sure it has enough inputs. For instance, two computers will need two VGA/RGB inputs on the projector. If you need a digital connection, then you’ll want a DVI and/or HDMI input. As for use with a DVD or VCR, you’ll need S-Video and/or composite video connection, and it’s all about HDMI when it comes to Blu-ray/DVR players. And with these multimedia needs, multiple audio inputs are a must. Does your office have a LAN network? Would your company benefit from being able to control, manage and monitor the projector from a PC? Then a model with an RJ-45 port with a built-in web-based setting configuration menu may also be of interest.

 

4. Rev up ROI – If you evaluate the above points prior to purchase, you can expect to use a projector for at least 2-3 years prior to considering a replacement. And while the cost of projectors themselves have gone down considerably, there are other factors you’ll want to take into account to maximize ROI, such as product warranty, lamp cost and hours, as well as maintenance costs like filter replacement. To protect your investment, look for projectors with longer labor warranties (2+ years) to guard against costly repairs. Replacement lamps can also be an unforeseen expense at a street price of $200-$300 a pop, so make sure you’re informed about the lamp warranty (1-year is ideal), and the expected hourly lamp life. With this information in hand, a more expensive projector unit may end up saving you in the long run.

 

Did your company recently upgrade its projector setup? What’s your favorite new projection advancement?