Time to Project? - by KEIR WELLS

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THE USE OF DIGITAL PROJECTORS AS TRAINING AIDS HAS SKYROCKETED. MUCH OF THIS IS DRIVEN BY THE FACT THAT DIGITAL PROJECTORS HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO THE SAME INFLUENCES THAT HAVE AFFECTED VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING ELSE IN DIGITAL PRODUCTS – CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGIES AND FEATURES, COUPLED WITH AN ALMOST PARALLEL DECREASE IN PRICE.

As such, there are more digital projectors on the market than ever before. So how does a trainer differentiate between the good, the bad and the just plain ugly?

DIGITAL PROJECTOR FUNDAMENTALS
Generally there are two technology mainstays in the digital projector market – Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). These technologies determine how a projector creates its projected images.

While DLP projectors deliver a high contrast ratio, LCD projectors are known for producing images with truer colours. While there are advocates for both technologies, DLP projectors tend to be more expensive, whereas LCD projectors have benefi ted from competition between manufacturers, resulting in improved technology and reduced costs.

Although there are a number of key criteria against which projectors can be measured, the image quality seen on screen is really a combination of how well a projector’s components work together and whether or not a projector’s settings are properly configured.

CONSIDER THIS
When determining the best projector, it’s important to start with the question: “What is the projector going to be used for?” then drill down from there. It sounds ridiculously simple but a short brainstorming session before approaching dealers can prove invaluable.

- Will the projector be permanently mounted or is it going to be used in different rooms or even buildings? If so, size and weight might be a consideration.

- How will the unit be transported? Private car or lugged around on public transport? If so, reliability and ‘ruggedness’ of the unit might be more important than an ultra sleek design.

- How big is the training room and how large a viewing screen is required?

- Will the ceiling lights need to be on or off during presentations?

CONNECTIVITY
For the most part trainers, teachers and other educators use presentation applications such as Microsoft PowerPoint. But as the technology in projectors evolves so to does their ability to exploit other forms of video output technologies. Video, DVD and convergent information streams from more than one source have exciting possibilities.

Projector manufacturers, such as EPSON have worked hard to improve the connectivity of projectors. Most projectors feature at least two or three different input ports including DVI, Computer 1 and 2, BNC, S-Video, Composite Video ports, Ethernet and Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports as standard. It has even reached the point that with some projectors, the EPSON EMP-9300, for example, notifi cation of system component failure is done by automatic e-mail. With other models, such as the EPSON EMP-735, powerful wireless connectivity provides trainers with the ability to set up their projectors without worrying about creating a tangle of cables across desks and presentation areas. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS Buying a projector for training purposes can make educators

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