Review: Projector Central
The various projector manufacturers all publish specs for their products, but they all tend to organize their sell sheets and specs differently. Which is why I really love Projector Central. Their database of projectors is very extensive, and I can generally find a projector there faster than the manufacturers site, and because they are so consistent I know just where to look on the page to find out what I need to know. Brightness, Resolution, Dimensions, and Power needs, Lens and included features are all there. Plus you can pick up other information that is not available from the manufacturer or the manual, like what other companies sell the same projector under a different name.
Some manufacturers also have more or less usable “Lens Calculators” some of which are really awful, (Sanyo) and some of which are great (Epson and Infocus), but none of them are noticeably better than the exceptionally useful “Projection Calculator Pro” at Projector Central, which has recently added settings for multiple lens options on projectors that support interchangeable Lenses. Again, it’s very useful to have a common interface regardless of the projector you are using, but as far as features this tool has just about everything you need. However because some measurements are in inches and others feet I need to keep standard calculator on hand to convert the values myself. (if you are using the Metric units that’s not a problem at all)
The calculator is a flash movie with a very nice interface with sliders you can drag around, and entry boxes you can type or cut and paste into and out of, and integrated help. While you can’t save your settings you can print your calculations. Besides just projector placement and image size which is all most Lens Calculators give you, because this is integrated with the model and brightness of the projector it will give you an indication of the brightness of the images at various sizes. The math to calculate comparable image brightness with a mixture of projectors of different luminosity on screens of different sizes used to be a major math pain and is now as easy as click, drag, read!
I also find that the values used for this calculator as just slightly more conservative than the manufacturers values which is probably a good thing when you are planing to squeeze a installation into a tight a space as possible which almost always seems to be the case in theatre.
There are a few features left to make this tool 100% perfect for me. (save profiles, convert feet/inches, load custom lens info, and include the keystone available on a projector and it’s effect on the final image size.)
But even without these features the tool is way ahead of any of the other lens calculators I’ve seen out there.
So go on over and check it out, and plan like a pro.
below you will find Links to the info on the Epson 7600p and 800p projectors that DPI has available for Resident artists use.
Epson 7600p specs
7600p Lens Calculator
