Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Video projector light output.

This is topic Video projector light output. in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 07-10-2014, 10:09 AM:

I'm thinking about buying a projector, mainly for arts festival use. I'm considering several different models, needs reasonable light output, but for fairly small screens. Needs to be cheap enough for me to be able to afford it, and small and light enough to transport to a venue by bus.

The ones which I've been considering are all 4000 lumens. 6000 lumen versions seem to be significantly heavier and more expensive, but not much bigger.

I ought to know the answer to this, but how big a picture should I expect to get from 4000 lumens with reasonable brightness on a matte white screen?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-10-2014, 03:19 PM:

Not easy to answer. DCI machines machines are usually meant to give their spec'd lumens calibrated.

Most sub-DCI projectors give their max lumen uncalibrated, that is, typically in 'dynamic' or 'presentation' mode. One you tame them to rec709 with proper color rendering (you won't have to play other sources than rec709), the light output is easily down to 30% or 40%.

So the question is, how serious will you be about color calibration or setting it to a proper re709 color rendering? Also, these will usually have UHP lamps with considerable aging.

You can play a 3-4m screen with a serious home video projector with proper color rendering from around 2500-3000US$.

If you plan to spend something in the 5000-8000US$ range, there are some choices that may bring you towards a 6-7m screen.

These, however, will usually be single-chip DLP projectors. Personally, I would never use them for a 'cinematic' presentation because of their rainbow effect. 3LCDs in that lumen range usually suck contrast-wise. They are good for powerpoint and the like, but not for showing movies.

JVC and Panasonic have some interesting machines, but they can get you near a good offer for a entry level S2k DCI projector, some even as high as a top-class DCI system.

How much do you think to spend on just the projector?

- Carsten