Other characteristics of a video projector

Note : This page has been translated into English from French by a machine translation tool

First of all, if you’re reading this and you haven’t yet read the first part of this section presenting the main features you need to know in order to choose a video projector, we recommend that you read our article Choosing your video projector now. For the others, we’re going to give you some details about the characteristics you can find on the technical data sheet of these devices that we didn’t mention in the previous article. These characteristics are generally secondary, but depending on your use, they can quickly become important and guide your choice. We start with the sound emission level.

The noise emission level

We’re not going to revolutionize anything by saying that, devices that need to use a cooling system, because some of their components heat up during use, often make noise. The video projector is no exception to this rule because, as we briefly discussed in our article Choosing your video projector, a ventilation system is generally used to cool the lamp. Even if we have classified it as a secondary characteristic, the fact remains that the sound emission level can be relatively high in order not to disturb a presentation by generating background noise that is too loud and therefore distracting for listening. It can also interfere with the viewing of a movie, especially if the configuration of the premises requires you to be close to the device.

The noise levels of the devices are nowadays relatively contained and the best ones manage to go down to around 25 dB. This value is often only valid in ECO mode, which is the mode with the lowest brightness setting. Depending on the configuration of your environment and your use, it is therefore advisable to give due importance to this characteristic. It will obviously be much less important if you are far away from the projector, it is very bright and you will be able to use it in ECO mode on a regular basis, because this mode will be sufficient to project in the dark or in darkness. On the other hand, in a small, very bright room, if you are close to the projector, which is, moreover, equipped with a dimly lit lamp, you will have to attach particular importance to this value.

Weight and dimensions

We partially mentioned it in the section dedicated to the resolution of the article Choosing your video projector, the weight and dimensions of a video projector are not necessarily key elements unless you need to carry it on a regular basis and you cannot afford to have a device the size of a carry-on bag and weighing more than 10kg. Thus, if you need to make presentations in places that don’t have projection equipment or if you need to improvise oral interventions on a regular basis, then the choice of a picoprojector will be essential. These are devices that often weigh less than a kilogram and have dimensions of about 15 x 15 x 5 cm. As far as devices intended to remain fixed, these characteristics will be of little importance to you. Standard or large format models are usually between three and six kilograms and 30 x 25 x 10 cm in size. But some devices you find on the market can easily exceed these figures.

Loudspeakers

Video projectors are nowadays equipped with speakers. In the same way that it is generally explained that for televisions it is almost ignored, the same is true for video projectors. Except that it is often much worse in their case. Indeed, their power and quality is far too low to be useful in the majority of cases. Only some high-end models are equipped with speakers of the correct quality. So, whether you want to equip yourself for cinema use where you will not get any sound experience, or you occasionally have audio media to play during your presentations and where the majority of your audience will not hear much, we strongly advise you to choose a separate audio system instead. For professional presentations, you may opt for a set of PC speakers if you only have occasional use of sound, while for personal use, for television or cinema, you should opt for a home theater system with varying levels of performance depending on your requirements.

You are now ready to choose a device that will best meet your expectations… and your budget….