When choosing a projector for your education applications, there are several factors to consider:
The amount of brightness, or lumens, needed depends on your room conditions – whether or not there is some degree of control over ambient light.
General Brightness Scale: Estimates for 100″ diag. screen
| Room Environment | Recommended Lumens |
| Bright w/ No Control Over Ambient Light | 5000+ |
| Bright w/ Some Control Over Ambient Light | 3500-5000 |
| Good Control Over Ambient Light | 2000-3500 |
| Able to Fully Darken | 800-2000 |
Click the terms below to get their definitions.
ANSI Lumens
Ambient Light
Ambient Light Rejecting Screen
Resolution is a term that refers to the number of horizontal and verticle pixels of the projected image. The higher the number of pixels, the higher the resolution, and the sharper the image.
Common resolutions found on education projectors:
| Type | Resolution | Aspect Ratio |
| SVGA* | 800 x 600 | 4:3 |
| WVGA* | 853 x 480 | 16:9 |
| XGA | 1024 x 768 | 4:3 |
| WXGA | 1280 x 800 | 16:10 |
| WUXGA | 1920 x 1200 | 16:10 |
| 1080p | 1920 x 1080 | 16:9 |
| 4K UHD | 3840 x 2160 | 16:9 |
* SVGA and WVGA are essentially “legacy” resolutions.
While there are still some very low cost projectors sold with SVGA an WVGA resolutions (including some “toy” priced dim LED pico projectors for home), but they are no longer normally bought by schools. There are still large numbers of them in K-12 schools. Most are long overdue for replacement. Their bulbs last only a fraction of the life of new projectors (nevermind laser projectors), so the cost of supporting those old projectors is high.
XGA models are typically used to replace the SVGA (and if any are still around – VGA) projectors. SVGA projectors are typically replaced by WXGA, WUXGA or 1080p projectors.
Click the links below to read the full definition of each projector term.
HD vs Pixel Shifting vs Native 4K
Equivalent Visibility Rule
Your installation requirements include factors such as placement, maintenance, longevity needs, hardware, and monitoring/control.
Click the links below to read the full definition of each projector term.
Projector Bulbs
Laser Light Engine
Filters
Inputs/Connectors
Digital Keystone Correction
Click the links below to read the full definition of each projector term.
Interchangeable Lenses
Lens Shift
Projection Mapping
Projector Blending
Monitoring and Control
Your applications, or specific uses for the projector, determine the presentation tools you will require in a projector.
Click the links below to read the full definition of each projector term.
