Classroom Projector Report - Physical Tour-2

Menus

This year again, we ask you to visit the individual reviews for details and screen shots of various menu pages. Some projectors have great menu layouts, some have type small enough to be a problem for some to read, but, the bottom line is that you almost certainly wouldn't change your mind about which projector you will by, based on the menu system! Neither Mike nor Tony reported any menu system as being a problematic. My biggest complaint has to be related more to the ability to move the menu away from dead center. The Casio's menus are very large, and made some of my photo shoots a pain. The super large menu in the center is also a headache if you are trying to see what the results are when adjusting color, for example.

We believe that menus that don't require you to scroll down or find a 2nd or 3rd page, are better than those that do. Sometimes you just don't realize there are more controls so you waste time looking elsewhere (or finding the manual). Other than the navigation itself - including using sub-menus (good) vs. toggles where you can't see what all your choices are (not so good), most projectors are actually fairly similar on how they lay out features.

Remote Controls

Click to Enlarge.So close

Generally, I doubt that the remote control itself will weigh in significantly regarding your projector choice, unless you are considering that some projectors, via their remotes, support "remote mousing". Even so, 3rd party remote mice are available and affordable (from below $50). is going to be serious determining factor in selecting projectors, we won't explore the differences here. There's a section on the remote control in each of the individual reviews.

Of those less common, here are mousing functions, pointer, functions, an Eco-mode button, digital zoom, a Break timer, and 3D button.

Essentially all interactive projectors are expansions on the idea of "remote mousing". This year, counting the interactive projectors, 10 of 16 have remote mousing.

Click Image to Enlarge

Lens Throw and Lens Shift

Ahh, this is a much more interesting topic than remotes or menus. Although most of the projectors are similar to each other, pretty traditional projectors with zoom lenses with limted range. Most have 1.1:1 to 1.3:1 - which buys you from just inches of front to back placement flexibility, to perhaps two plus feet with the wider range zooms. The big exception is the Casio with it's 2:1 zoom, for maximum flexibility. On the other end are the ultra short throw projectors and the very short throw projectors, which we'll discuss next.

Short throw and ultra short throw projectors are perhaps the ideal, when it comes to placement. Both place just inches away from the wall the white board or screen is mounted to. Even the furthest back part of ultra short projectors is going to be less than 2.5 feet, even when projecting a very large image. That translates, into low cost installations, shorter wire runs, and not being blinded while presenting or teaching. The very short throw projectors, by comparison, also can use a telescoping mount, but those "very" short throw projectors usually are mounted with the front of the projector from three to five plus feet back from the screen.

With the ultra-short throw projectors if you adjust the distance from the wall/screen by just a few inches it can dramatically increase the image size, say from 50 inches to 90 inches! The optical system is, in that way somewhat limited. Ultra short throw projectors usually aren't designed to project an image larger than 90" to 100" diagonal. There are more than a few ultra-short throw projectors, and they come from a number of brands. One of the first was the Sanyo PLC-XL50, which we reviewed some years ago. The ultra-short throw projectors, and the very short throw projectors with convex lenses, lack zoom at all, so exact placement is required to fill any particular sized screen.

A note about sharpness. There tends to be more of an issue with sharpness - or perhaps clarity is a better term.

Bottom line: We've got three types of lens arrays - one for ultra short throw, one for very short throw (both types are fixed - no zoom), and then your others with varying amounts of zoom lens.

Note, just because a projector offers interactive features does not mean it will be an ultra-short or very short thow projector. The InFocus IN3916, is a good example. It has a pretty normal zoom lens, but is still a true interactive projector. (You will probably just get some more light in your eyes, on occasion!)

Lens shift is only found on a couple projectors, including that big Sanyo, which is the only with any lens options. In the school environment, keystone correction is usually used, rather than lens shift, as having lens shift on a projector adds signficantly to its overall cost.  Keystone correction can soften the image slightly, but using it is considered normal.