If you are careful about purchasing your smartphone, you may not even need a video projector – some of the smartphones allow you to project on a screen. But this arrangement is rather cumbersome and many have lost their smartphones in the process. Whether it is for home projection or business projection, video projectors still rule the roost. You would, any day, prefer connecting your computer or TV with the projector rather than using your smartphone. By making a careful selection, you will not only get your hands on that perfect video projector, but will also save plenty of dollars.

Choosing your Video Projector

The lumen should be just right

There are two lumen specifications in video projectors, one for white brightness and the other for colour brightness and you should check both. If you find a projector with only one lumen specification, it is the white brightness indicator. If you intend to use your video projector at home where ambience light needs to be minimum, you should choose a minimum of 1,500 lumens. For classrooms and conferences and other public projections where the light is much more, the minimum you need is 2,500 lumens.

More contrast ratio means better images

The contrast ratio in video projectors is the difference between light and dark when you project on a screen and this is expressed by a number. For instance, a 1000:1 contrast ratio indicates that the brightest white is 1000 times brighter than the darkest black. For crystal clear images with richness, a high contrast ratio is a must. The element contrast ratio is more important in home projections to create that cinematic ambience.

Even better with more resolution

The more the resolution on video projectors, richer and crisper is the display image. This is because the number of pixels in these projectors is high. High resolution is an important criteria for charts and graphs and HD videos. For home projection, you may want to consider 720p and 1080p video projectors. For business projections, opt for resolutions like SVGA (800x600 pixels, 4:3 aspect ratio) or XGA (1024x768 pixels, 4:3 aspect ratio) or WXGA (1280x800 pixels, 16:10 aspect ratio) or WUXGA (1920x1200 pixels, 16:10 aspect ratio).

The instant on/off feature

When you turn on your video projector, you want it to start operating immediately. Some of the modern video projectors have this feature called instant on/off, which means there is no warming or cooling time required – the result is that the video projector turns on immediately and shuts down immediately.

Wireless connectivity

Attaching a video projector to any other device is usually a cumbersome job– you need to find the cable and attach it with the other device and even then the display may not be right because the connection has not been made properly. Some of the modern video projectors have wireless connectivity and this allows you to connect a device to your video projector without using any cable. This feature also allows multiple users to connect to a single video projector without having to remove the cable from one device and connect it with another device. For business presentations, this is an extremely important feature.

Some other video projector features to consider

There are many other features to consider in video projectors. Some of them are detailed below for your reference.

Keystone correction

Your video projector should have both vertical and horizontal keystone correction. Vertical keystone correction allows you to align any distortion on the top and bottom portion of the display and horizontal keystone correction allows you to align the distortion on the left and right side of the display. It is a great idea to opt for a video projector with automatic keystone correction.

Screen fit

This is a feature that allows for correct focus, keystone and screen size at the press of a single button.

Zoom

Very few video projectors have this feature that allows you to zoom into a part of the display when you need to.

Which video projectors for which use?

Wireless video projectors are now among the most in demand projectors, especially when these machines are used for business projections. The top video projectors with wireless connectivity are AAXA Pico P300, Epson PowerLite 1761W, dealsmachine LZ 800W 80 Lumens 850 x 480 Pixels Pocket DLP Wireless Projector, Dell S510 Interactive Office Projector and ViewSonic PJD8633WS.

SVGA resolution is considered among the best in video projectors. The bestselling video projectors with SVGA are BenQ MS524, Epson EX3220, Acer H6510BD, Epson VS240 SVGA 3LCD Projector and FAVI RioHD-LED-3.

For home projections, video projectors with 1080p resolution are good enough. For the best video projectors with 1080p resolution, you must look at the models mentioned here – Sony VPL-HW40ES, Panasonic PT-AE8000, BenQ W1070, Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 and AAXA KP-101-01.

It is important to read the reviews of the top selling video projectors in Canada. The bestselling models from the top manufacturers are Sony VPL-HW55ES Full HD 3D home cinema projector with Reality Creation, Panasonic PT-AE8000U, Viewsonic PJD7820HD, Infocus IN1112a and Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 730HD.