How to Draft Your College’s Projector Needs and Shopping List

Foschino says colleges should write down what functions they want their new projector to fulfill. He says some schools may want a projector to display generic PowerPoints, or to present bold, beautiful picture slideshows consisting of fine details.

“You need to determine if you’re going to use it for mainly playing back movies, or using it to display PowerPoints, where you may want the ability to annotate on the image,” Foschino says. “Or is it going to be used for displaying high res graphics or graphs and charts, things that have a lot of great detail to it?”

Tip: Colleges should also decide what size images they want to project, and what surfaces they will be projected on. This will determine what throw length and brightness they should invest in. For example, projecting an image on a wall may appear darker than it would look projected on a white board or white screen.

Depending on the classroom environment, colleges should have a “home” for their projector. Foschino says colleges should also decide if that home is permanent, such as on a wall mount, or mobile, such as on a cart.

“Will the projector be wall-mounted right above the white board and have it take up very little space, or is it a larger space where a much brighter projector would be needed and probably ceiling mounted?” he says. “If the room requires a much larger image, then you need to consider the throw distance, placement and brightness.”

Tip: Deciding on a home for the projector will play a role in how much space an instructor has in a classroom. If an instructor is looking for more space, it might be a good idea to mount a projector on a wall or ceiling. If space isn’t an issue in the classroom, an instructor can opt to have the projector placed on top of a stand or cart.

Instructors should observe how much sunlight penetrates their classrooms during prime teaching times. That way, they can determine what types of brightness they need with a projector.

Foschino says instructors should determine how much control they have over ambient light, and if they can minimize it from shutting the blinds.

“Will you be able to control the lighting in the room, or is it a very bright with large windows with no shades?” he says. “If the room gets tremendous amounts of light coming in around certain times of the day, then you must consider a projector that’s bright enough display a good image under these conditions.”

Tip: The brighter the natural lighting, the more lumens you want in your projector. More lumens means that a projector’s images will be brighter and beat out some of the ambient light.

Depending on a college’s needs or what the classroom’s infrastructure provides, instructors have the option to connect their projector with traditional cables, or wirelessly.

Foschino says declaring how the projector connects will also help determine if a projector is mobile or permanently mounted, and how much space is left in the classroom.

“Will this projector be connected to the network wirelessly?” he says. “Or will a simple VGA cable or HDMI cable run to it?”

Tip: Opting for a projector that supports a wireless connection can come with other wireless features, such as a digital pen for annotating notes during a presentation, or USB ports to upload a slideshow.

Foschino says instructors and other decision-makers should maintain communication between the IT and AV departments. That way, they can collaborate with other end-users to select the best projector.

“Once you’ve defined how you’re going to use it, where it’s going to be used, how bright the room is and under what conditions, then you can have a discussion with the AV specialist or IT person in the college as to which projector is going to fit your needs the best,” Foschino says.

Tip: IT and AV folks will most likely be the ones to service the projector if there is a malfunction. It’s a good idea to involve them as much as possible – that way, both parties will be educated on how to fix and properly care for the equipment.

Foschino says that colleges shouldn’t get discouraged when searching for the perfect projector.

He says the more time they spend researching a projector, the bigger the payoff will be once they decide on what to buy.

“There is no one projector that’s going to be right for all situations,” he says. “Spending a little bit more time will allow you to more effectively communicate to your class and allow them to interact with your presentation. It is going to make your job easier, and ultimately make the result of teaching your class much more effective.”