| With hundreds of portable projectors on the | | | | If most of your presentations will be made |
| market, the would-be buyer faces an | | | | on the road, you'll want a small, lightweight |
| overwhelming array of features and options. | | | | projector. Portable projectors typically |
| The following brief guide can help you choose | | | | weigh between 6 and 10 pounds, and the |
| the projector that's right for your needsThe | | | | so-called "ultra portables" between 2 and 6 |
| key features to consider are the | | | | pounds. Look for a projector that includes a |
| following:Resolution: | | | | good, sturdy case to keep it safe when |
| | | | traveling.The Room: |
| The resolution is simply the number of | | | | |
| pixels projected onto the screen. The more | | | | The qualities of the room are crucial to a |
| pixels you have, the more closely they are | | | | clearly projected image. A large room |
| packed together, providing a smoother | | | | requires a projector with more lumens to |
| appearance to your image. The resolution is | | | | reach the screen with sufficient brightness. |
| specified in terms of the number of | | | | Equally important is the lighting in the room |
| horizontal and vertical pixels in the image. | | | | itself. How dark can you make it? How much |
| The most common configurations have names | | | | light will your audience need (for example, |
| like VGA and XGA that serve as a shorthand | | | | will they be taking notes, or simply watching |
| way of referring to these the pixel | | | | the presentation passively?) Before the |
| resolution. They are:VGA (640X480 pixels)SVGA | | | | audience arrives, experiment with the |
| (800x600 pixels) Standard.XGA (1024x768 | | | | lighting in the room by opening and closing |
| pixels) High resolution, currenly the most | | | | blinds and turning on and off various sets of |
| common in laptops.SXGA (1280x1024) The most | | | | lights, so that you'll know exactly what to |
| common resolutions for CAD, GIS and other | | | | do when it comes time to darken the room for |
| special graphic applications.UXGA (1600x1280) | | | | your presentation.Computer connections |
| Large format. | | | | |
| | | | Make sure that your projector has connectors |
| The best choice is to purchase a projector | | | | that are compatible with the laptop computer |
| that matches the number of screen pixels on | | | | you plan to use with it. These are typically |
| the laptop computer that will be driving the | | | | expressed in terms like VGA, S-Video, RCA, |
| projector.Luminosity: | | | | and sometimes by the number of pins on the |
| | | | interface cables (15-pin, etc.) This |
| Luminosity is the quantity of light | | | | information is available in the "full |
| projected onto the screen (i.e., the | | | | specifications" part of the projector |
| brightness). It is measured in terms of an | | | | information.Portable Projectors have other |
| international ANSI standard called lumens. | | | | specifications in addition to these, such as |
| The higher the luminosity, the brighter and | | | | Contrast Ratio, Aspect Ratio, and many other |
| more visible the projected image. The greater | | | | features, but the key parameters described |
| the distance between the projector and the | | | | above are the fundamentals that will help you |
| screen, the more lumens you need for a clear | | | | make the right choice.Template Ready is the |
| image. To project a distance of 20 feet | | | | source for quality powerpoint templates and |
| (unless the room is very dark) typically | | | | professional presentations. Visit Template |
| requires a projector with at least 1000 | | | | Ready before you start you presentation for |
| lumens.Dimensions and weight: | | | | resources, tutorials and templates. |
| | | | |