Are you looking for a projector buying guide that’s easy to understand?

If you’re looking to buy a digital projector, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with all your options.

Information comes with these options but it may not be easy to understand if you’re not tech savvy.

As a buyer, there are some important features you need to look at closely and consider.

The first thing you need to know is there are different types of projectors.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display): uses a light source that passes through red, green, and blue LCD chips to create the images.

DLP (Digital Light Processing): uses a color wheel and chip with microscopic tilting mirrors. The light is reflected off the mirrors and projects the images.

Projector Features to Consider:

1 – Light Source

A projector’s light source can either be a lamp, LED, or laser.

Lamp with chip projectors use a lot of energy to utilize the entire light spectrum. They need a fan to cool the heat from using a lot of energy. And the fan can be noisy.

Another downside to lamp projectors is they start going dim or burning out after about 3,000 – 5,000 hours of use.

LED (Light-emitting Diode) Projectors use red, green, and blue lights to create images. Compared to lamp projectors, LED projectors can give off more vivid images with more saturated colors.

Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser projectors use red, green, and blue lasers separately.

Aside from giving you high-quality images, they can keep working for more than 30,000 hours. And the lamps don’t need to be replaced.

2 – Light Output

The light output determines how good the images you’ll get.

To know if a projector has enough light output to produce bright images, check if they have at least 1,000 ANSI Lumens.

3 – Contrast Ratio

Having a good lumens rating is not enough. If the contrast ratio is low, the images will look faded.

High contrast ratios make blacks look blacker, and whites, whiter.

A good contrast ratio is at least 1,500:1.

4 – Portability

Having a portable projector gives you flexibility in where you can put it to good use.

When you have a portable projector, it’s easy to set up anywhere you want. You could put a display in the living room, then move to your room for a cozy movie night.

You can even bring it to the backyard and set up a screen for those warm, summer nights.

5 – Display Resolution

Image resolution is measured in PPI (pixel per inch).

The higher the resolution, the more pixels per inch – which means better-looking images.

6 – Inputs

Check to see that the projector has the inputs you need.

Digital projectors come with HDMI inputs and VGA or DVI inputs.

7 – Color Reproduction

Check for color stability. See how the colors look in its brightest or darkest.

8 – Throw Distance

Make sure the projector is able to fill your screen given the distance from the position you plan to place it on.

Projectors can have a limit on the range of image sizes they can project from a given distance.

9 – Screen

Screens come in different fabric and sizes that determine the price.

The right kind of screen depends on several factors such as the kind of projector, it’s distance from the projector, and viewing angle.