The right projector for your office makes it easier to sell your big ideas on the big screen.
Regardless of how articulate you are, sometimes it’s more powerful to show people what you mean rather than just telling them. It’s money well-spent if your projector helps drive home your point and seal the deal, but choose with care. A budget projector that lacks punch can leave your audience underwhelmed.
When it comes to picture quality, the most important factors are brightness, contrast and resolution. Of these brightness is most critical when it comes to business presentations, ensuring your slides are easy to read.
The picture might get larger as you move the projector further from the wall, but it also grows dimmer – especially if you’re not in a pitch-black room. A dull image is murky and harder on the eyes, with grey whites, which doesn’t help you make a great impression. Brightness is measured in lumens and you should be wary of opting for a business data projector pumping out less than 2000 lumens.
Meanwhile, contrast is measured as a ratio, but it’s less of a concern when it comes to business presentations, and even a contrast ratio of 500:1 should suffice. High contrast is more important for video presentations, which is why home theatre projectors that are intended to be watched at night tend to offer at least 1000:1 contrast but can get away with lower brightness.
Ultra HD resolution is becoming more common for blockbuster movies but it’s most likely overkill for a business projector. XGA (1024 x 768) resolution should suffice for presentations from your computer, but if you’re working with a widescreen image you might want to step up to WXGA (1280 x 800) or Full HD (1920×1080).
It’s also important to consider which devices you’ll use with your projector and how you’ll connect them. This will determine which video connectors are required on your projector, such as HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, Component and Composite. Some projectors also support wireless connectivity, which is handy if you’re regularly switching between devices during a presentation.
Life becomes more complicated if you want to connect a smartphone or tablet instead of a notebook or desktop computer. Thankfully you’ll find dongles and adaptors that let you run video from most Apple and Android devices to an HDMI video input, or you might check to see whether the projector supports wireless connectivity with screen mirroring from handheld gadgets.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming all projectors are the same. It’s important to do your research to ensure your projector helps you make a big splash in the boardroom.
To see Hire Intelligence’s full range of projectors, click here.
