Horizontally Challenged Projectors

You may have about the advantages and disadvantages of the DLP projector versus the LCD projector in previous articles, but with recent advances and insight towards DLP projectors, fortunes may turn. For instance, earlier in the year Hewlett Packard came out with a projector named the MP3135. This was a projector that was designed to stand vertically rather than lie on its back.

One of the setbacks preventing the DLP projector from taking over the market was that it could not project the long distances that the LCD projector could. To somewhat overcome the loss of throw-distance, HP built its MP3135 upright, so that the lens would be higher and therefore increase its distance.

I cannot completely understand how simply raising the lens of the projector is going to make a difference since the logical question would be to ask why not stack some books underneath it? The mechanics of the MP3135 must be developed in such a way that the light reflected is more relevant and therefore more efficient.

One could then employ the same tactics to an LCD projector and give some added boost in order to stay ahead of the game. Of course there is also the concern of how to mount your projector and whether it has to lie on its side in the mount position. All of this is sounding like another episode of National geographic explorer and we haven’t even got to the heart of the matter.

The design of the projector is inevitably going to be important in the construction of your home theatre and this is perhaps why most manufacturers opt for a flat, low-lying design. The upright position is easier to knock over and most of them do not come with suction cups!

The projectors that are designed horizontally are stackable and fit easier into cabinets. The vertical projectors must essentially come equipped with lens shift otherwise they may become even more unstable when they’re legs are adjusted.

There are many reasons why companies have decided to design vertically, but most of these reasons have eluded me. I suppose if you prefer the aesthetic of a projector that has taken on more of a humanoid form, so that you can relate to it and give it a name, then you will be very happy in your iPOD world. If you prefer a space saving machine that doesn’t look like a one-eyed galactic interpreter, then you may decide to avoid the upright machines.

The only other important question that comes to mind is whether the upright design improves projector lamp life. We all can come to the same verdict when it comes to projector lamps; we now need to focus on the importance of height versus width.