Many business people need to make presentations from time to time, to customers or colleagues or in more public situations. Doing it well and quite literally projecting a good image is actually pretty easy these days, thanks to presentation software like PowerPoint and the latest generation of data projectors that work happily in most normal lighting conditions. Microsoft PowerPoint is the leading presentation package, of course, representing the market dominance of MS Office, but Lotus SmartSuite (Freelance Graphics), Corel WordPerfect Office (Presentations) and Sun StarOffice (Impress) all offer broadly similar capabilities. The better known projector brands include market leader Philips (obvious lighting technology specialist), Sony, Epson, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, NEC, etc.
The range of projection power, portability and special features is very wide indeed — one US specialist Web site lists over 80 models! So this introduction is intended to explain some of the major elements to be considered in making an informed choice.
Sources and standards
While the obvious combination is a desk/laptop PC or Mac and projector, today’s models can all accept input from a wide range of sources including analogue video and television. With the computer connected to the network, the presentation can be drawn down from anywhere — training applications, for example, are often centrally held so that the material can be easily and universally updated.
But on the road you can actually dispense with the computer altogether. Many if not most multimedia data projectors can use static RAM of some variety as the presentation medium, such as CompactFlash, SmartMedia and Sony Memory Stick so that there is no need to bring along a computer as well if you are showing a standard presentation. In a plug-and-play USB format — which all current projectors can accept — static RAM is already proving a handy all-purpose diskette or CD substitute with capacity from 4MB to 512MB, more than adequate for almost any normal business presentation even with plenty of video.One presenter, one projector is usually fine but there can be many practical problems concerning the issues of format and resolution — SVGA, XGA, etc. — not to mention PC versus Mac. Different users of a single projector can also lead to problems, within an organization or in hotels, conference centres and education. Different screen resolutions between computer and projector are a common cause of disappointment with data projection quality. An XGA (1028 by 768 pixels) projector is wasted on an SVGA (800×600) image — in fact it is likely to fuzz the image by trying to extrapolate each bit of image data up to the higher resolution. When using or when buying, match the screen resolution of your presentation to the specifications of your projector. Bear this in mind also when importing images from outside sources.
Smarter data projectors will detect and identify the type of PC data coming through or[LF1] other video formats like S-video, PAL, SECAM and NTSC and automatically optimise the projector for the selected signal. This makes projection technology truly ‘plug ‘n play’ at last — or so it is devoutly to be wished!
Power to the presenter
Controlling your presentation from a sitting position at the PC is usually fine, with the advantage of the local screen for the presenter. But there are also many situations where the presenter needs to be standing, mobile, flexible and spontaneous and so the best control is remote. All the experts advise that you should invest only in projectors with wireless remote control facility, but after that you have a range of choices that may well influence your decision as much as the more obvious specifications. Remote controllers start with simple Forward/Back controls and an infrared link which means you have to point it at the projector. Top of the range controllers (Hewlett Packard and Sony are among the leaders) let the presenter remotely manipulate all of the projector features from zoom to colour palette. They can also combine a PC mouse, usually in roller-ball form, and laser pointer. This is seriously high-tech stuff, requiring practice and digital dexterity — but talk about putting power in the hand of the presenter!
Sounds good
Today’s smart PC presentation software offers a full kit of easy-to-use special effects, from graphic styles to animated titles and other elements and, of course, sound. The trouble is, of course, that ‘multimedia’ usually means in practice just adding a sound track and few amateur presenters have developed the skills to do that consistently well. An underlying bland music track is easy enough, but special effects or simply marrying a commentary to the sequence of images take practice and skill.
If you do wish to make genuinely multimedia presentations (perhaps professionally prepared) then you have the very real question of sound reproduction. Many projectors have a built-in speaker, but seldom with more than a very nominal 2-6W mono output — occasionally useful, perhaps, but never impressive. So you have to look back to your PC as the sound source. Laptop speakers today are good but limited. Nonetheless, the sound from any PC can be fed easily to an external sound system. Conference rooms and similar venues will tend to have built-in audio systems, which is fine, but if you are on the road you may have to lug along your own gear. This is really a specialist sub-area for those who really need quality sound, but today’s external PC speakers extend in capability all the way up to five or six speaker ‘theatre sound’ and are not too bulky to transport. But you will need additional set-up and testing time in the presentation venue.
The other sound element that is important in any presentation is rather less interesting — fan noise! Bright lights mean heat that has to be dissipated, so fans are an integral component of all projectors. Newer lamp technology gives more light per watt but there is always a cooling job to be done. Buying a new projector it is always worth checking the specifications for the fan noise claims (reputable brands will give accurate figures) and factoring that into your decision. For the most common ‘silent’ visual presentation with the presenter speaking over it, fan noise can be a real distraction and irritant for the audience. Philips claims the lowest level for some of its models at 27 decibels and others are not much louder. That’s about the equivalent of your CD ROM drive running at normal full speed, so quite acceptable even in a small space.
Screens
A proper projection screen will obviously give a better image, but often a white (or indeed off-white) wall or sheet of A2 paper from a flipchart pad will serve very well between friends, colleagues and established customers. But when you’re on the road you are going to encounter very varied conditions — those plain white or even cream walls turn out to be very rare, your host’s boardroom with pull-down screen is invariably occupied and ‘adjusting the light level’ is a joke in modern offices with more glass than a Botanic Gardens glasshouse.
So the practised presenter usually has a portable screen in the car boot, although a friend swears by a small stock of plain white A0 paper sheets (about 33×47 ins) bummed from his local friendly printer and rolled in a cardboard tube for emergencies.
Making the connections
When deciding to invest in a data projector, you will probably be concerned mostly or solely about connecting it to your current laptop. But all current models are very versatile and offer a variety of connectivity to a wide range of possible sources which you might need to use in certain circumstances — someone else’s computer, for example, so that all you need to bring is the projector and a CD. For business use in the office or on the road, a USB connection is currently the simplest and best — genuinely ‘plug and play’. There are also serial port connections (mostly for older PCs to new projectors — or vice versa).
Wireless connection is becoming ever more popular, both WiFi and Bluetooth. WiFi or IEEE 802.11 is a networking standard that offers high bandwidth and is ideal for a cordless set-up at home base. On the road, many users would prefer Bluetooth, which is essentially a cable substitute between devices, despite some limitations of range and bandwidth.
Since a videotape or DVD is another common signal source, S-video is the top quality standard connection today with its own special cable and is worth seeking in the specs of your proposed projector.
Portability
Anyone who is travelling with a presentation kit will appreciate lightness and small size in the projector. There are models on the market now that weigh less than two pounds and would slip into many briefcases, although sacrificing power and features for maximum portability. The most popular models for ‘road warriors’ weigh in around 3.5lbs and are fully featured all-rounders, equally appropriate for the desktop.
Actually, projectors present users with the same dilemma as portable computers: the machine itself may be slim, sleek and sexy but there’s a moxy of support gear to be lugged around in its baggage train. A rolled power cord in its neat rubber band is nearly the same volume as the smallest projector and while there is no battery or transformer required, there will be alternative connection cables to bulk things out. Using the same laptop all the time may mean any non-immediate items can live in the car boot — with the just in case spare lamp and portable screen.
Lumen-osity
In the glossy brochures for multimedia projectors you will see that brightness is measured in ‘ANSI lumens’ which is the American National Standards Institute standard for measuring the brightness and resolution of a display device. A lumen, scholars will know, is a measurement of how bright a light source is — a 100-watt bulb equals 1,200 lumens. ANSI lumens cannot be converted into other measurements of light as they represent an average of nine points of light used in grading devices. For practical purposes all you have to do is compare one figure with another — in this case, the higher the number the better. Entry level is now around 1500 ANSI lumens with the portable and general business standard at 1800/2000 ANSI lumens for smaller groups, say up to 50 people. Be a little cautious when comparing directly as two models with the same quoted brightness may look quite different. There is no substitute for testing a projector in the venue and with the screen or surface that you will most frequently use.
As for the highly specialised lamps themselves, the industry norm is apparently a life of about 2,000 hours with longer life versions (notably from specialist Philips) rated up to 6,000 hours. A replacement lamp costs around EUR300-400 and you may as well budget for one with the initial purchase because accidents do happen (presenters, be careful of water/coffee etc.)
Two technologies
Data projectors were originally based on beaming the light through a tiny LCD screen, still a thriving and much improved technology today. But the latest technology is Digital Light Processing (DLP), which is in turn based on the development by Texas Instruments of the Digital Mirroring Device (DMD) using tiny mirrors housed on a special kind of microchip — around half a million of them, each capable of moving independently. All users need to know is that this complexity results in sharp images and also allows for even smaller projectors, with picture quality to challenge the best of the LCD projectors — especially in a normally lit room.
DLP is a reflective system rather than direct projection and many experts insist that it softens the image compared to LCD. So full motion video, for example, may come off best with DLP, yet our ubiquitous PowerPoint slide show graphics may seem crisper through LCD. So many extraneous factors come into play that no definitive judgement is really possible. The screen surface or whiteness will play a part, the exact level of ambient light and even its source or direction, while people’s aesthetic perceptions of ‘best quality’ image vary widely — some like sharp contrast and strong colours, others like a more muted and softer picture. Ideally, get a proper comparative demonstration using some of your own familiar presentations and see what they look like using different projectors. The other consideration is to choose on the basis of the kinds of presentation you usually make and the locations in which you find yourself doing so.
Security
Gram for gram, today’s smart projectors are more valuable than laptops. So they will tempt opportunist thieves and less scrupulous staff members with an unfulfilled penchant for larger screen home cinema. Newer models, notably from Philips, have built-in security chips with PIN access, set by the dealer at time of purchase. Security features include a non-erasable 45 second opening screen (company logo or welcome or ‘PROPERTY OF MURPHY & CO.’) or a maximum usage period before requiring re-entry of the PIN.
The price of projection
Entry level is about EUR1,400 — EUR2,000 ex-VAT and most models at this level will be portable in response to market demand. Ultraportables start at much the same level (remember, they sometimes sacrifice features for size/weight ratio and head rapidly for the EUR2,500 and beyond. Boardroom models tend to major on full feature sets and quality including ultra-sharp images. Starting in the low EUR2,000+ bracket these can run up to EUR5,000 or even more.
05/08/2003
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