Re: Portable projector: any recommendations?

How portable Peter?

If you will always be driving then the bigger more robust models will be your best buy. If you will be flying and not wanting to check a bag then one of the new lightweight units will be best.

Pay attention to the lumen rating - you need something that will project for your room size without dropping the lights. 2,000 + lumens is needed for a 30 - 50 people room in normal lighting.

Also watch out for the _native_ display resolution. Many are only 800 x 600 - not really good enough it you are showing anything except big blobbly text charts. Any web pages, tools, etc. will look bad. _Native_ XGA of 1024 x 768 is the minimum for me - but that will push your price point up. Be sure it is native XGA. Many that claim XGA are really interpolated SVGA.

Watch out for the cost of the replacement bulb - for one model we considered we discovered that an extra bulb would cost _more_ than the cost of the projector. Bulbs last better than they used to but they can still be fragile and you need to have a spare with you. Pay attention to the manufacturers recommendations on letting the bulb cool before powering off and moving the unit. It makes a huge difference in bulb life for some types.

We have had good luck with our Optoma DLP projectors - we have 5 of them. I have also used Viewsonic, Panasonic, InFocus, and many others.

A good spot to shop is Tiger Direct - they have a great selection and the reviews are very useful. This should link to their XGA selction http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1753

Hope this helps.


Jon Paris

www.Partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com