Buying mini projector? Check out six facts

BANGALORE, INDIA: The sense in buying a mini projector could lie in the ability to deliver a good presentation or may be even watch movies with one’s family! Price is important because not everyone can pay for a large projector. Plus, there are a host of other attributes to look at.

The more portable, the better

Things are getting compact and smarter, so are the modern day projectors. The lighter and smaller a projector is the more comfortable you shall be carrying it along. One can use them in any scenario and with them in your bag or even your pocket (some Pico projectors will easily fit into your pocket), you don’t even have to worry about carrying too many documents.

Also read: A phone with a projector

Quality of projection

Just like a major projector, a mini projector too should have at least decent picture quality. Brightness measured in lumens, higher contrast ratio, large image size, and higher resolution helps in good quality projections. Of course the size of the room, light and distance between screen and the projector is important. However, you cannot turn off the lights for better projection, since it would be difficult if the participants want to take notes. Projectors with highercontrast ratio improve the darkness and light levels on the projected display, without which the video playback can never be impressive.

Connectivity options

Mini projectors may have less of mass but that doesn’t mean it should have only a few, necessary ports. Fortunately, most mini projectors have wisely used the available space and have smartly included ports that make them all the more useful and mobile. For instance, adding a USB port allows one to make presentations or play videos without relying on a PC. The same can be done for image slideshows through SD card slots. A few even include HDMI ports. All this makes one embrace a mini projector in a work room or a drawing room easily.

Also read: India digital projector sales grow 429 pc 

The add-ons

Some of these include built-in speakers, batteries, internal memory, remote, digital zoom, etc. Some projectors have the higher zoom feature so that one can present an image to match the screen size. Built-in speakers, if good enough, relieve you from the burden of carrying additional speakers. Internal memory in projectors allows you to save files on them, and run them whenever required.

Ergonomics

Handling and ease of use is crucial as every valuable minute saved is a minute added during presentations. Advanced features, quality and ports cannot be overlooked but they are of no use if the handling is complicated and time-taking. Remote support proves useful and this aspect has been considered in many mini projectors as well. Nobody wants an embarrassing boardroom situation, where a meeting is held up due to projector failure and the time taken in running it again.

Also read: 3D enabled projectors for SMEs

Warranty and support

Also check whether your projector is backed by warranty or not? If so, then what’s the warranty on the lamp and on the unit as a whole? They are often not the same, as the lamp is more prone to damage than any other component in the projector.

(This story was first published in PC Quest magazine )