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Projector Or Flat Panel?

tv-projectorIt’s the age-old question your clients ask you: “Should I get a flat panel or a projector?”

But as they say, your mileage may vary. The basic answer is obviously, “It depends,” and that’s when you actually have to put on your thinking cap.

This isn’t a Tastes Great/Less Filling argument, but there are pros and cons to both applications.

On the plus side for flat panels, the size/price equation has improved. Remember when a 42-inch plasma cost ten grand? Now they’re four hundred dollars.

For that matter, nowadays a 42-inch screen is basically a bathroom TV. When a 70-inch flat panel sells for $3,000 pretty much anybody can get an immersive video experience in a normal sized room.

And then of course it’s always possible to go bigger still with flat panels. I’ve in fact been told by someone at AVAD that Panasonic’s 84-inch Plasma has cannibalized some of their sales of the 103-inch screen, due to its lower cost and greater ease of installation.

Personally, I’m looking forward to a new model 103-inch (or bigger!) screen that’s re-engineered to not require a dedicated 220v AC line run to it. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

Of course, if you want to go over 90 inches in screen size, it’s possible to do it more economically with a projector and a screen. It’s also possible to spend enormous sums, but from the perspective of a typical consumer, a 120-inch screen and projector doesn’t have to cost more than a few thousand. Even so, I have long asserted that even with upper tier products, the cost of a projector and its screen divided into the screen’s diagonal size delivers a tremendous size/value equation.  While most normal rooms seem to require a screen between 84 to 106 inches in diagonal size, how else are you going to deliver to your biggest clients a 130-inch, 150-inch or even bigger screen?

See related  Picking the Proper Projector

Let’s not forget lifespan. Although LED-illuminated projectors are bridging the gap, the need for replacement lamps for projectors can be an Achilles Heel for projector installations when you look at the cost of operation, compared to a minimum of 40,000 hours operating life (and these days typically much more) of flat panel technologies. That said, it’s always been my experience that if you’re up front with clients about lamp life and replacement costs, they’re cool with it.

As an aside, I used to have a couple of co-workers who were roommates. When they weren’t working, their main recreation was chain smoking and playing HALO on a 100-inch projection screen. Their high usage, combined with the foul air in their apartment (you’d have to see their projector’s air filter to believe it) meant they needed a fresh lamp every other month. For them, that was just the cost of doing what they loved.

Every installation is different, and so is every client — so just keep an open mind.

Lee Distad is a rAVe columnist and freelance writer covering topics from CE to global business and finance in both print and online. Reach him at lee@ravepubs.com

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