Compare The Best Acer ProjectorsJune 2018

These ultra-portable projectors are ideal to take with you when you travel a lot and have to give presentations in different locations. Pocket projectors and also sometimes referred to as ‘pico projectors’ and are the smallest projector type.

Still regarded as somewhat of a novelty, these small projectors have made quite and impact on the projector market due to their portability and practicality. Pocket projectors use LED lamps which are less bright (20-1,000 lumens compared to 2,500-4,000 lumens for multimedia projectors), limiting the size of the image.

They also don’t have a zoom lens, so the only way to control the size of the image is to adjust the distance between the projector and the screen.

If you are looking for an ultra-portable way to show your presentations to smaller group of people and don’t want to carry a monitor, a pocket projectors could just what you have been looking for.

True all-rounders, multimedia projectors can handle ant type of presentation - slide shows at wedding and parties, business PowerPoint presentations and video clips. They are the most popular type of projector. Their brightness typically lies between 2,500-4,000 lumens, allowing them to be used in rooms with some ambient light.

Multimedia projectors usually have a zoom range between 1.2x and 1.5x, so it is important to check the projector is compatible with your screen size and throw distance. Home cinema projectors tend to have a larger zoom range (around 2.0x) and might be a better choice depending on your set-up.

Almost all multimedia projectors are considered portable and can be taken to meetings and presentations. While pocket projectors are lighter, multimedia projectors are heavier, weighing in at 3 pounds for a light model. They strike a good balance between portability and brightness to allow for a large and vibrant image.

A sub-category of multimedia projectors, short throw projectors are designed to be very close to the screen, making them ideal for classrooms and pairing with digital whiteboards. Their throw ratio is usually less than 1:1 with 0.5 being most common and going down to an ultra-short-throw ration of just 0.3:1.

Short throw projectors don’t have a zoom lens and it need to be placed within the recommended distance from the screen, which is usually 1.5-2 feet away. Placing a short throw projectors further back than their recommended throw distance in order to project a larger image usually results in severe keystoning of the image.

Multimedia projectors are designed to give you the best image possible. They tend to use DLP or LCOS imaging technology and their brightness usually tops out at around 2,500 lumens. They zoom ratio tends to be larger than that of multimedia projectors, usually 2.0x or more.

Most home cinema projectors feature Full HD resolution with an increasing number of 4K models with a native resolution of 4096x2160 pixels becoming available, making them the most expensive type of projector.

To achieve the best picture quality, you need to be able to control the ambient light in your room, a room that is completely dark would be ideal. Home cinema projectors work well for screen sizes up to around 100 inches.

Projector noise can be very disturbing and home cinema projectors usually have more sophisticated cooling systems and quieter fans than their multimedia counterparts.

Understanding Screen Size and Throw Distance

One of the most important things to consider when buying a projector is the screen size and distance between the projector and the screen. If your projector set-up is flexible it is usually best to mount the projector as close to the screen as possible.The image will loose brightness the further back you move the projector and being closer to the screen will ensure the picture looks crisp and vibrant. If your set-up is more constrained it is important to work out the throw ratio as this will limit your choice of projector.

Make sure the projector you are looking to buy can be connected directly to your computer, set-top box or Blu-ray player. This should not be a problem for newer devices and projectors, but you might need an adaptor for older models. Here are the most common connection options:

The current standard for connecting high definition devices. HDMI also transmits digital audio through the same cable.

If your projector has a wireless connection, you can transmit images easily without needing a cable. There are different ways to connect a computer to a projector wirelessly including software, wireless USB keys as well as iOS and Android apps for smart phones and tablets.

Do you need a screen? That depends…

You can beam the image directly on to a flat, white wall. The picture quality will depend on the smoothness of the wall and you could consider using reflective paint to achieve a good picture quality.

If you don’t have a flat surface available you are buy a projection screen, which will give you the best picture quality. There are different types available - some have tripods while others are wall mounted.

Electric screens automatically open and close with a click on the remote control. Mobile projection screens are compact and lighter and ideal if you are planning to take your projector to meetings.

Projector bulbs (‘lamps’) have an average lifetime of around 1,500 hours. Although this may sound a lot, the average projector lamp will only last for about a year when used for 4 hours a day. You will notice when the projector bulb needs replacing as the picture will become significantly dimmer.

A replacement bulb can be rather expensive so it is worth checking the cost of lamps before buying a projector and factoring the addition maintenance cost into your decision.

There are ways to increase the life of projector lamps: allowing the projector to cool down after use, changing dust filters regularly and using special operating (economy) modes aimed at prolonging bulb life. Eventually, though, a new lamp is the only way to ensure a high image quality.

Some people can experience the rainbow effect when using certain types of DLP projectors. DPL projectors break each fame down into its red, green and blue parts. Light is shone through a fast spinning colour wheel inside the projector, displaying each colour in turn.

In older projectors, the colour wheel sometimes did not spinning fast enough to keep up with fast moving scenes and bright objects appeared to have a tail consisting of multiple colours following them. The colour wheel in newer projectors spins so fast that each colour is displayed up to 10 times per frame to avoid the rainbow effect.

• 720p HD ready (1280x720 pixels, 16:9 aspect ratio)
• 1080p Full HD (1920x1080 pixels, 16:9 aspect ratio)
• 4K Ultra HD (4096x2160 pixels, 16:9 aspect ratio)

• SVGA (800x600 pixels, 4:3 aspect ratio)
• XGA (1024x768 pixels, 4:3 aspect ratio)
• WXGA (1280x800 pixels, 16:10 aspect ratio)
• WUXGA (1920x1200 pixels, 16:10 aspect ratio)

Mostly used in pocket and pico projectors, LED lamps usually produce no more than 1,000 lumens. This is not a lot but sufficient for a small image. The advantage is that projectors with LED lamps are relatively cheap and the lamps do not need to be replaced.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology tended to be used for cheaper projector models but has improved significantly in the last few years and picture quality is now similar to DLP projectors.

LCOS is a hybrid between DLP and LCD projectors and most LCOS projectors are made by Sony, JVC and Hitachi. Here is how they compare to both DLP and LCD projectors: