Finding the Best K-12 Classroom Projectors
by Evan Powell
February 9, 2000
http://www.projectorcentral.com

As a teacher or tech coordinator, you have a special mission: get the most projector for the least money. Here is how to use the ProjectorCentral website to find the best classroom projectors, and then get the best prices possible.

First, some basics. For a classroom, you need bright, colorful, high-contrast images on the screen to rivet the kids' attention. That means you need projectors with the highest ANSI lumen rating that you can afford.

Second, projectors come in several different grades of resolution, which is their ability to display fine details. Now whereas brightness is critical for the classroom, high resolution isn't. You don't want to waste money on projectors with more resolution than you need. The standard SVGA (800x600) resolution is very popular today, and it is just fine for almost all K-12 classroom applications. Spending extra money to get XGA or higher resolution machines means you will get less light output from your projector and/or fewer projectors for the money you have in your budget.

Third, you may not care as much about weight as people who travel frequently with projectors. Some models weigh as little as five or six pounds. But their extreme portability can sometimes cost extra. Keep in mind that a projector that's a little bigger and heavier may be less expensive, and it works just as well in a classroom. And it has the added benefit of being harder for someone to conceal and walk off with. So selecting a projector that's under 15 or 20 lbs may give you reasonable portability without wasting money on the ultra-light designs. Select the "Not Greater Than" weight limit that seems right for your purpose.

Finally, let's talk price. You will be able to get many projectors at substantial discounts from the dealers who advertise on this site. Therefore, think like this: if a projector has a list price of $5000, you may be able to get it for as little as $3,500. So when you search in the database, look for products that have retail prices above your budget limits, on the assumption you will be able to buy them for less.

Now…print out a copy of this article (or open a separate browser window) and then click over to the Projector Database. The following instructions will take you step-by-step through the Projector Database search engine to find the best projectors for your particular needs.

Searching the Projector Database

There are about 700 projectors in our database. You can use the search engine to find the models that match your key criteria. Notice that there are four criteria that you can define: Brightness, Weight, Price, and Resolution. Let's take them one at a time:

Brightness: Each projector has a brightness rating calibrated in ANSI lumens. Here you can specify projectors with a minimum and a maximum ANSI lumen rating. For a classroom, the ideal projector should be at least 800 ANSI lumens, and more if you have a lot of windows without shades, or lights you cannot dim. So select 800 in the "At Least" column. Since you want the brightest projector you can get, don't select anything in the "Not Greater Than" column. Just leave that box alone.

Weight: You probably want a projector that any teacher can lift without much problem. So perhaps 15, 17.5 or 20 lbs. are good starting points. Select the weight of your choice in the "Not Greater Than" column. Since you don't really care how much it weighs as long as it's less than the maximum you choose, you can leave the "At Least" box the way it is.

Price: You should have in mind an approximate budget amount for the projector you want to buy. Multiply that number by 1.6. That's about the maximum retail price (MSRP) that you want to select here. So if you want to spend $3,000 per unit, multiplying that by 1.6 will give you $4,800. Round that to $5,000. You should select $5,000 in the "Not Greater Than" column. If you want to spend at least a certain amount, you can enter that in the "At Least" column.

Resolution: In a nutshell, almost all projectors for classroom use need both computer and video capability. If you select "Video Only," you will get projectors that can't be used with a computer. Not good. On the other hand, selecting one of the computer resolutions will give you a list of projectors that (with very few exceptions) will handle both computer and video source material.

Of the computer resolutions, VGA (640x480) is the oldest and lowest resolution in the search list. There are not many VGA products being sold today. Of those that are, most are relatively low in light output. So if you are buying new units for classrooms, these are not your best options.

The next higher resolution grade is SVGA (800x600). There are many models at good prices in this resolution category. And SVGA is plenty of resolution for classroom use. The other resolutions, XGA and higher, are more expensive. For the most part, the money is not well spent unless there is a specific need to show small details in high resolution. So to start, select SVGA.

One last note - the search engine is already pre-set to show you only projectors currently in production. However, if you want to see discontinued models also, you can change the setting.

Now you are ready. Just click the Search! button and wait a moment or two. The search results will show all projectors currently on the market that meet your search criteria. If there are not enough models to choose from, or if there are too many to choose from, you can click the "Back" button on your browser which takes you back to your search criteria, adjust any of your selections, and search again to increase or decrease the number of models in the results.

Note that once you get the search results, you can click on any model name to get detailed specifications. Quite often a picture of the unit is online as well.

Using ProjectorCentral to get the best deal

Now that you have found some very bright projectors in your general price range, it's time to get the best deal possible. That means finding dealers who offer the best combination of prices, services, and support policies. You have two options:

1. Current Prices: In our Current Prices section you will find dealers posting today's prices of makes and models of just about every projector on the market. Search on each of the models you are interested in, and simply call those dealers.

Each dealer will explain their support programs. Many have education discounts, and will quote you a price over the phone that is even better price than the one posted. So make sure to call for your final price!

2. Get Bids! If you don't want to bother calling each of the dealers, there's an even easier way to get your best deal. Just post a Request for Bid in the Get Bids! section.

Here you simply supply some basic information about who you are and the school organization you represent. State which projector (or projectors) you are interested in getting bids on and post it. You will have competitive bids from several dealers within 24 hours, and quite often much quicker than that. Since dealers know they are in a competitive bid situation, they will quote you the lowest prices they can offer.

Good luck! And after you have used these free services, please don't forget to tell us about your experience with our site, and how we might be able to improve the service to you!