Have you thought about enhancing your B2B events by hiring a projector? Whether you want to have an experiential marketing event in a park or meet with clients in an outdoor setting, projector hire can transform an outdoor event into something truly special.
And for many businesses, projector hire is the best way to go about it. Think about it: if you buy a projector outright it can be expensive, you’re going to need somewhere to store it and you’re going to have to spend time cleaning and maintaining it.
But hiring a projector is a much cheaper option, you won’t spend any time looking after it, it won’t take up much-needed space and, perhaps best of all, you can hire one only when you need it.
But it’s not just a case of hiring the first projector you see and taking it to the park with you. There are a number of things to consider when deciding to hire a projector for outdoor use. Let’s take a look.
What you need to consider when renting an outdoor projector
There are a large number of different projectors available for hire, with all of them having specific features that make them suitable for different environments: outdoor, indoor, corporate, education, etc.
For outdoor projectors, you should look to hire one that:
- Can cope with bright/excess light
- Is portable and easy to carry
- Offers a decent resolution
- Has lots of input ports
Let’s look in a bit more detail.
Lumens matter
In an ideal world, you would use a projector in complete natural darkness – that’s the best environment for watching content via a projector. The darker it gets, the easier it is to see the screen.
However, in the real world this might not always be possible – if it’s a company event during work hours, say, or you can only meet with clients or suppliers in the afternoon.
If it looks as though light will be a problem, one of the main things you should look for in projector hire is choosing a device that can handle daylight and ambient light, still providing you with a good picture in the process.
In projector terminology this is known as lumens – the total amount of visible light to the human eye from a light source. The higher the lumens, the sooner you can press play on your presentation.
As a rule of thumb, hire a projector with at least 2,000 lumens, higher if possible. It’ll make a big difference and will mean you can run B2B events and corporate events whatever time of day.
Practicality is important
Sounds obvious, but you need to hire a projector that’s easy to lug about. If you’re heading to a park, roof terrace or other open space then practicality is really important, especially if you’re using public transport or relying on a taxi. When looking for a projector to rent, choose one that’s thin and lightweight. You could also consider buying a projector case to make carrying the projector even smoother.
The higher resolution, the better
To really enjoy an outdoor viewing experience, hire a projector that offers a good resolution – ideally a high definition (HD) projector with pixels of at least 1080.
Video inputs
You’re all ready to press go on your business presentation. You grab your laptop only to find that it doesn’t connect with your projector. Bummer. Your event is ruined. It’s crucial to rent a projector that you know will work with your video source – whether that’s a laptop, Blu-ray player or something else. Remember that some projectors have VGA ports, which many new laptops don’t have. Do your research and make sure the projector you hire works with the device you want to use it with.
Three projectors to hire this summer
Here are three projectors available to rent from Hire Intelligence that would serve as great projectors for your summer outdoor corporate events.
NEC NP3250W
One of our best projectors for lumens (it has up to 5,000), NEC’s NP3250W allows you to watch film-quality pictures thanks to its built-in Hollywood Quality Video function. It has five optional lenses, allowing for flexible installation, and plenty of input and output terminals, so you’re unlikely to get into any video source muddles.
Optoma EH1020
The Optoma EH1020 is a full HD projector, making it great for outdoor use. Hire this projector and be rest assured you’ll get picture perfect images. Its 3,000 lumens aren’t bad, either, and it comes with meaty 8W speakers, meaning you needn’t miss a line of dialogue.
Sanyo PLCXU-110
The PLCXU-110’s 4,000 lumens make it perfect for outdoor use, it is built to take wireless and wired LAN connections and, perhaps best of all, it’s really easy to carry around, with a lightweight body of 334 x 78 x 232 mm, measuring just 3.5 kg.
Projector screen hire and PA systems
And there’s more to consider than just the projector itself. Where will you screen your presentation or training session, for example? If a sheet or light wall won’t cut it, consider projector screen hire so you have something decent to display content on at your event. You could also consider renting PA systems if you want to add some audio oomph to proceedings.
Hiring a projector is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to enjoy outdoor corporate events. Ensure you pick a projector that offers plenty of brightness, is compatible with modern equipment and is easy to carry and you’re on your way to enjoying memorable nights under the stars.
