The brightness of a projector is one of the most essential specs that we look at when we want to decide which projector we should buy.
The brightness that a projector is capable of will differ from model to model. It’s important to know what those numbers indicate.
Projector brightness is measured in ANSI lumens
The brightness is measured in ANSI lumens. Lumens is the international standard that all major brands use in order to record this spec.
This is a unit defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The unit, ANSI lumens, measures the overall amount of light output by a projector.
The higher the numbers, the brighter the projector.
In some cases, we absolutely want a very high lumens volume but in other cases it doesn’t matter all that much. It depends on the conditions in which we want to use our projector. I’ll cover all about that a bit later.
What does the volume of ANSI lumens tell us?
To give you an example, let’s say that we have a projector that has a 1,300 lumens brightness.
What does that volume tell us?
Simply that a model with 1,300 lumens can only be enjoyed to its full capabilities in a completely dark room.
The thing is that projectors have evolved a lot over the years. Nowadays, we can enjoy our favourite movies, TV shows or sports games even if the room is not completely dark.
We can watch the images displayed by a projector in ambient light or even when it’s day outside, if the brightness of the projector is high enough.
The important thing to understand is that the colours are not washed out when the projector plays in ambient light because both the colour brightness and the white brightness are high enough to make colours bright and vivid.
How many ANSI lumens do we need?
If we want to watch content only in dark rooms where no light penetrates then we can choose a projector with under 1,500 lumens and the colours will be impressive.
However, for projectors that are to be enjoyed in ambient light, we need a lumens volume over 3,000.
The same goes if we want to use a data projector in ambient light or in very bright conditions. Data projectors are used for business, classrooms, etc.
Data projectors that display on very big screens, over 120 inches projector screens, will need a 5,000 lumens brightness for the best clarity.
All in all, when choosing a projector, lumens volume, measured in ANSI lumens, will tell us if the projector can be used in a room with ambient light or if it’s only meant for dark home theatres. What you shouldn’t forget about either is that you need to project on a projector screen. It makes all the difference if we want to enjoy everything that our device is capable of.
And, of course, we shouldn’t forget that a Full HD resolution is another spec we should be looking for.
What about LED projectors?
There are three main types of projectors based on their light source: lamp-based, LED and laser projector.
Lamp-based use lamps as a light source. These are Metal Halide lamps or HID (High Intensity Discharge). They’re still the most popular models at the moment.
The major thing that distinguishes lamp-based models from LED and laser is that their lifespan is estimated at 5,000 hours on average. After that, we need to change the lamp. LED and laser have an estimated lifespan of 20,000 hours and they’re basically maintenance free.
LED projector use light emitting diodes as a light source.
Laser models use three lasers, one for each primary colour, to create the image on a screen.
However, why did I signal out LED projectors in particular?
It’s not because some manufacturers use LED lumens to measure the brightness of their LED models. ANSI lumens is the only recognized unit for projector brightness measurement and that’s the only unit that reputable manufacturers will use for their specs.
Well, I did it because the volume of ANSI lumens that you’re going to see for LED models is totally different from the brightness of lamp-based and laser models.
Some LED projectors will include a brightness of 200 ANSI lumens among their specs. Others will indicate 300 ANSI lumens as their brightness.
If you see a LED projector that has a 500 ANSI lumens brightness, then you can assume that it’s a projector that will work in ambient light without the colours being too washed out.
The explanation for those low volumes is that LED models have managed to improve colour saturation and luminous efficiency.
That’s the reason for wanting to single out LED projectors when talking about all aspects of projector brightness and how it matters when we’re buying a device.
Published on Blogg-Booster.com
