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Here are a couple of useful links. The first one is an American site that explains what the features are, and the second one is a UK site with a comprehensive model list with prices. Click the name of the projector to see its details and price etc
http://www.projectorcentral.com/spd.cfm?cid=buyers2
http://www.projected.co.uk/projectors.htm
Try www.projectorcentral.co.uk for lots of info and prices |
info - 2003
My
current projector is an Epson,
the third of that type that I have owned and used.
The current one is the
Epson EMP715, a real beauty! All I can say is
that it is perfect. I've been using them now, as
you well know, for over eight years and have never
had a hiccup, or ever replaced a bulb (touch-wood);
there cannot be a projector in the country that
is used more, or abused more, in the sense that
it has been carted around the country in the boot
of my car without a single hesitation.
Can't help with the shop because mine was supplied
directly from Epson but with a company such as this
it really doesn't matter much where you purchase
it.
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info - 2003
Sony
- I have a Sony XGA VPL-CX1 and I have to say
I am not that happy with it. I have had it a fair
while now, but it does have a distinct yellow bias
that I cannot remove at all. XYZABC in Qweryty has
the same model, and he has the same problem. As it
warms up, it also developes a greater yellow hotspot
in the centre and as soon as I get round to it I might
well replace it, but the problem is I want to be sure
the next one is better.
Your projector page may be usefull to me.
I don't have anywhere that is a favourite shop / outlet
, but I quite rate Dabs.com
for stuff.
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info 2003
Here
are the details of my Sahara
S3100
projector -
Specification
Sahara
S3100,
Resolution XGA 1024x768,
Luminance -1200 ANSI Lumens.
Digital Keystone Correction +/-11 degree
Noise - Less than 36dB . Screen aspect ratio = 4:3
/ 16:9.
Selectable RGB Input signals VGA/SVGA/XGA/SXGA
Video Color Systems NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL SECAM
Lens 1:1.3 Manual optical zoom / focus lens ... Projection
size(diagonal) 35" - 300" (900mm - 7620mm)
Versatility - Front, Rear, Ceiling, and Rear + Ceiling
Contrast Ratio - 300:1
Audio(built-in speakers) - 3W x 1
Projection Lamp= 120W UHP (4,000hrs)
Dimension (WxDxH) = 12.8" x 9.84" x 3.62"(325
x 250 x 92 mm)
Weight = 7.2 lbs(3.26kgs)
Safety & Regulatory = FCC-A, UL, cUL, CE, TUV/GS
Terminals - Input - D-Sub 15Pin x 1, Audio x 1 for
PC
Video x 1 S-Video x 1, Audio x 1 for Video,
Terminals - Output = D-Sub 15Pin x 1 for Monitor USB
x 1
Warranty = 2 Years - exchange basis
Purchased
from
Projected Image Ltd
Havers Road
Norwich
Norfolk NR3 2DU
Contact:T: 01603 481100
Jon
Freeman or Leamon Franklin
www.projected.co.uk
Current cost is around £1600
Corrected - Price of the Sahara 1300 from Projected
Image is now £1280 incl. VAT!
I am pleased with it and suits my requirements - there
are now smaller ones but they tend to be more expensive
or lower resolution. The weakness according to some,
is the contrast ratio at 300.
I have not found this a problem - stray light in the
room is far worse!
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info-2003
My
projector is a Sanyo
Pro-X model PLC-SW20A.
.(
for more details of projector -micro portable section)
I had a lot of difficulty finding projectors since
although they are reviewed in the computer mags,
none of the photo shops seemed to stock them, and
although all would get one if I ordered ,I was a
bit nervous about spending £1000 of my own
money for my hobby on an unknown thing. ( Since
then Jessops have started to list them , but they
did not at the time - and anyway I live in the sticks
20 miles from a any shop....)
I browsed the web, but most of the firms I found
were thinking along the lines of "how many
Sales Staff do you have and will the order be for
10 or more projectors..." and they rather lost
interest in me when they heard. I then had the idea
of trying A-Vs in Yellow Pages , and simply chose
one I thought I could find easily ( near the motorway)
which was Edric Audio-Visual Ltd at Bristol-
01454 201313 although they also have branches
at Gerrards Cross, Manchester,& Birmingham .
I talked to them on the telephone, found them very
helpful, loaded some images onto the lap-top I intended
to use, and took it with me to their premises. They
set up half a dozen projectors at prices between
the £1088 ( inc VAT) which I eventually paid
and £5000 , and we tried them all in turn.
Surprisingly enough the salesman, a technician brought
in, ( my computer settings did not have any Video-out
enabled, and of course it was all new stuff to me
, and I had no idea how to do it - then) and myself
all agreed as to which was the best picture , etc,
before I knew anything about the prices of the 5
, and it was this one, the cheapest, which was the
best . (Although to be honest, the difference was
pretty small , and it was minimum projection distance,
zoom range etc., which was decisive)
Although theoretically there is a big difference
in lumens output between different models, it is
not so apparent on the screen - maybe they do not
all measure the same way ? And one reads a lot about
SVGA, XVGA etc., but in practice in my limited experience
I follow the suggestions for Pixel size and file
size ( thank you Maureen) and have no problem at
all.
By the way I paid £75 extra for a more fancy
remote control, which was a waste of money - the
only thing I use on it which I would not have had
on the standard one included free is a laser pointer,
and I don't think they cost that much (?).
Bulbs are very expensive ; I bought a spare - I
always do with projectors, but I cannot remember
when I last installed one. Maybe if some idiot knocked
the projector off the stand whilst the bulb was
hot, but not otherwise. The Sanyo has one feature
which does irritate me - no on/off switch - so I
pull the power lead out when I have finished the
show, to allow things to cool down before I start
packing up.
I give lectures on my hobby ( growing orchids) to
specialist horticultural societies, and to gardening
clubs all over the place ( and am negotiating to
do a lecture tour in USA), and they are used to
35 mm slides, but not really "into" photography
, and they are just blown away by my 5ft screen
which is bright even if the room is not blacked
out well, plus all the advantages of digital, such
as properly cropped but re-sized pictures, contrast,
brightness, and colour adjusted instead of saying
" of course the film does not record the same
colour which the eye sees" , and so on .
I have used it ( the projector) regularly about
once or twice a month for some 6 months now . On
one of the early occasions I was rather embarrassed
when I could not get it to work - and it is easy
to get flustered when a hundred people are waiting
for the show to start and you have arrived late
after an hours delay on the Motorway - after that
I had a few more dummy runs at home, until I was
"word perfect" in setting up etc, and
no trouble since.
I am asked to do different subjects, and it is so
easy to assemble a set of the slides wanted, - usually
about a hundred or so with a bit of drag and drop
in Windows Explorer, then rename to put a numerical
figure ahead- for there is a certain amount of explanation,
question and answer , in what is usually a 90 minute
engagement.
Am
happy to answer questions and give help
-
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info 2004
Plus
Plus U3-1100WZ with zoom lens, very similar to the
one Colin Balls used on the Royale.
I haven't used it extensively yet but reasonably
often and am very pleased with it. The extent of
the zoom is not great but does help you make "minor"
adjustments to fill the screen. Going up to 6 feet
wide on my screen gives a good sharp picture which
compares very well with a friend's Epson. The Plus
is DLP the Epson LCD.
I got it from Image Audio Visual Solutions,
455 Maxwell Avenue, Harwell International Business
Centre, nr Didcot Oxon OX11 0RA
tel 01235 865500
www.image-av.co.uk
e-mail andy.fegan@image-av.co.uk
They were very competitive coming in below another
quote at around £2000. They brought it to
the house set it up and demonstrated it to ensure
it was OK.
One big advantage is it is so compact and easy to
carry. It works well with my Sony Lap top. So so
far no cons! They are happy to help replace bulbs
and if needed to arrange despatch for adjustments
or repairs.
They are very helpfull and often have second hand
projectors which have been serviced and will get
anything if you know what you want
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info -2003
NEC VT650 -
I bought partly because it was the next model up from
the ones supplied by Imatropnic
and partly because it became available as an ex-rental
machine, about 6 months old with 107 hours on the
clock at a £500 discount.
M mine is 1500 lumens but has the option to limit
it to 1000 to save on the lamp. It means I am promised
3000 hours at the lower level and I find for most
projection jobs it's quite adequate. But it's nice
to have that extra power occasionally, especially
if you need to fill a bigger screen, in a bigger hall.
The remote control is superb. I can control mine from
any angle in the room up to about 10 metres, nice
when you're talking and projecting. My projector also
has a gadget to link it remotely to the computer so
that the four move arrows work the cursor - a bit
long-winded but I have used it!
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