Ultra short thow reccomendation

Ben Lawrence

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Mar 2, 2011
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I have a job that requires a couple ultra short throw projectors. Hotel Ballroom 9x12 screen. Ambient lighting can definitely be controlled as there is no windows and dimming on the lighting option. Thinking 3000 lumen minimum. Did the job last year and room is very packed with attendees. Looking for something budget but think I can use this in the future for other small meetings etc. 4:3 is the aspect size for this and is probably fine for a native resolution. Would like the option for an HDMI input though as a lot of newer computers don't offer vga output. Did a little research but couldnt find exactly what I was looking for. If anyone has any recommendations would appreciate it. If you are a dealer would probably be interested in a quote as well.
 
I don't think I can go the Chinese route though. I gotta stick with stuff that has some brand recognition.
You didn't say at what level you were operating at ;) . The "good" stuff is expensive - the Chinese ones are cheap enough that you can probably pay for them in one job. I'd buy and carry spares though - so it might take two jobs to pay for them ;) . In my case I'll use mine for noncritical psychedelic pattern / oil show projection (yay YouTube), maybe some public domain B&W movies as part of a R&R lighting system. If it blows out at a show no big deal at my level. 3000 "Chinese" lumens (probably optimistic ?) seems fine if you can dim the room and/or have a real screen. I'm quite surprised at how well it works in an undimmed room projecting on old wallpaper.

BTW I paid $113.99 shipped - crazy cheap IMO, might have been a mis-listing as the price went up right after I ordered. Sources for about 2x that:
http://www.ebay.com/dsc/Home-Theate...0w&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH
I recommend you stay with the Model H3 with the 120W LED that I bought as there's lots of mis-spec'd stuff out there - but there might be something better out there now too. I did spend a fair amount of time settling on that particular model.
 
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Thanks for that additional info. I think you are missing the part where I need an ultra short throw with this.application. I need to fill a 9x12 screen from a minimal distance. Lets say from within an 8ft throw.
 
I ended up grabbing a couple of these Viewsonic PJD5353LS-S.
3200 lumens the brightness was a definite issue even with controlled lighting in a ballroom. The throw was impressive filling a 9x12 screen at about 8-9ft out. Little bit of curving and took some major adjustment of placement to get the screen to fill. They did the trick though. Might look into a 5k option as someone else suggested previously though. Let me know if someone needs some low hour units :lol:
 
When you write "Ultra Short Throw" I think of these types of projectors: http://www.hitachidigitalmedia.com/en-gb/products/projectors/ultra-short-throw/cp-ax3503 (be sure to check out the installation video too!)
But they are neither 5000 lumens or scalable (well) to 9'x12'. They are also likely impossible to frame out on a portable screen in a reasonable amount of time.
Your 8' distance is close to what a 0.6 or 0.8 fixed lens in a "pro" level projector will do. It's short throw but I wouldn't necessary call it an ultra short throw. And it will probably hot spot a fair amount, depending on your surface. The lower the gain of the surface, the less hotspotting, but the less overall brightness as well.
 
Yeah still kinda looking. Just completed my second year with these units and although the client didnt mention having and issues it was not really up to par. They had created the file widescreen format to top it off. Its looking like next year 16:9 screens and a bump up in lumens. Now that I have a little time to shop around I think I can find a suitable replacement.
Although it sounds great Im not sure 10k is in the budget. I had another question on here to see what the going subrental rate for 10k was but I dont think I got much response.
 
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