Will the projector work with my make/model of notebook?

Multimedia projectors are designed to work with all notebooks, PC's and Apple Macs automatically. Some new notebooks use XGA resolution which means that the screen display is made up of 1,024 dots across and 768 dots down. With these notebooks you will need a projector whose native resolution is also XGA to get the best results.

Most SVGA (800 x 600 dots) projectors will display XGA but using 'compression'. Compression takes the 1,024 dots across the screen and creates an image that will fit in 800 dots across. This will display an image but you are losing 224 dots per line and therefore reducing the quality of the image. The compression quality of different manufacturer's projectors varies.

What is the difference between an RTB and swap-out warranty?

A Return To Base (RTB) warranty means that if your projector breaks down then you have to return your projector to the manufacturer for repair. Depending on manufacturer, this can take up to 2 weeks. A loan replacement swap-out warranty means that you will be lent a projector whilst your projector is being repaired. Usually this is the next working business day (Mon-Fri excluding bank holidays) as long as you contact us or the manufacturer before 2pm.

What is a rear projector?

Projectors are normally positioned in the middle or back of a room and project forward onto a screen. A rear projector will display the image onto the screen from behind it. The main advantage is that people cannot walk between the projector and screen blocking out the image. All multimedia projectors can be used as rear projectors. You would need either a rear projection screen or mount the projector in a rear projection cabinet.

I need a projector for our large conference room. Which projector?

Your will need a bright projector as you will need to project your computer / video image onto a large screen. You will need a minimum brightness of 2,000 ANSI lumens. Take a look at our brightness comparison charts.

Why is there a choice of lenses on some of the projectors?

Long-throw lens - Normally if you move a further projector away from the screen, the larger an image is projected. This is fine if you want to use your projector at the front of a conference room/lecture theatre but it can be preferable to mount a projector out the way at the back. The long-throw lens is used to reduce the image size to fit a screen when the projector is mounted a long way away. A semi long-throw lens works the same but for shorted distances.

Short-throw lens - This is the opposite of a long-throw lens. These can be used when a projector is mounted very close to a screen to display a large image. This is often used in rear projection systems.

What is a document camera?

This is available on some Toshiba projectors and is a very useful feature. It lets you place books, papers, and other objects under the camera and display them on the projector screen. You can buy document cameras separately. We can even supply one that connects to a microscope so that everyone in a laboratory can see the results. Take a look at our document camera and visualisers comparison charts.

What is the PCMCIA card feature on some of the projectors?

This is available on some projectors which allows you to give presentations without a computer. Microsoft PowerPoint and Lotus Freelance Graphics presentations can be downloaded to a memory card (PCMCIA) which the projector then uses to display the presentation. You receive all the software, instructions and cables you need to do this with your projector. You can save different presentations on different PCMCIA cards which is especially useful if more than one person will be using the projector.

The only drawback with the PCMCIA card is that it only displays still images in the same way that a traditional slide projector does. It cannot display PowerPoint slide transitions, animations, MPEG movies, or sounds. You can still connect your computer and video recorder to the projector for other presentations.

How many presentation slides can I fit onto a PCMCIA memory card?

You can put around 20 slides onto a 4Mb card and 40 onto an 8Mb card. This is a modest estimate because all slides will take up different amounts of memory space depending on the graphics used.

What is digital keystone correction?

If an overhead or multimedia projector is projecting upward at an angle, then the image displayed is distorted. The top of the image is longer than the bottom so that you do not get a nice rectangle. This is known as the keystone effect. (A keystone was the middle stone in an old stone bridge). Some of the new projectors have keystone correction which means that the projector can electronically compensate for this and display a rectangular image. This normally corrects up to +/- 15 degrees.

What is a multimedia mobile trolley?

Multimedia mobile trolleys allow you to wheel all your projector, laptop and screen into a room when doing presentations on the road. The trolley then folds into a stand for your projector and laptop. An ideal solution when you are unsure if the presentation room has the right equipment available.