'Home Cinema Projector' used in school environment

[NB9457]

We have been looking at the Epson TW5210 Projectors for install in school, having already ordered one and it's now been fitted and running perfect for a month now, but our supplier has turned round to us and stated the lamp life won't be as good of that as a 'Business' grade projector and we will lose our lamp warranty

 

Here's why I think he's wrong, upon skimming through the manual, I check the lamp model number to discover it is actually also used in their 'Business' class projectors.

 

Now are they trying to get me to unnecessarily spend more or are there reasons I shouldn't buy this unit?

 

Has anyone else used 'Home' projectors in schools before?

 

 

Cheers!

[Steve21]

Which warranty are they referring to? Some offer extended ones which then may be the case, but the "normal" projector one shouldn't be affected unless there's some sub-clause in it about amount of hours usage per day etc etc.

 

Steve

[NB9457]

Which warranty are they referring to? Some offer extended ones which then may be the case, but the "normal" projector one shouldn't be affected unless there's some sub-clause in it about amount of hours usage per day etc etc.

 

Steve

 

Cheers, I'm waiting for the supplier to open to see their reasoning. Personally I can't see why it wouldn't last, especially with Epson being one of the leading brands.

 

I'll also try find the warranty for any clauses as they come with 1 year for the lamp (which is rated 7,500 hours!) and 3 years on the actual machine.

[jdear]

We use around 8 Home Cinema Projectors (Optoma) in our media rooms and they have been there for about 3 years with no issues or bulbs going. I would suggest changing supplier. We also have around 100 epson projectors, but they have been the EBX- range which cam with an educational warranty.

 

Also the lamps are not as expensive as they used to be - around £70

 

Jason

[Steve21]

A lot of home equipment has random clauses in them about "normal usage" which 9-5 every day for a business doesn't fall under. Would be the only thing I could think of, if for example the projector doesn't cope with lets say the fans taking heat out for that long etc But would be interested to see what they come back with

 

Steve

[NB9457]

Spoke to the supplier on the phone, the only real difference they could point out is warranty!

 

Whiles 'Business' grade projectors may benefit from next day warranty (next equivalent is nearly 2x price), the 'Home' grade will still be covered, but as a RTB (Return To base) warranty. We're perfectly fine with this as we always stock cold spares of things, especially projectors, so at this point, I really can't see any reason this projector won't be suitable!

[BenQ_Support]

We tend to offer 3-5yrs on-site warranty on our education projectors with a 3yr lamp warranty. "home" projectors are typically offered with a RTB warranty.

 

One other consideration is that most "home cinema" projectors are exactly that and optimised for video playback. They tend to offer better contrast and colour reproduction but less brightness. A brighter "data" projector is normally recommended for classroom use with most classrooms really needing 3000 lumens+ and optimised for data use.

 

Typically I wouldn't say that home cinema projectors are more affordable that data-projectors (Actually it's often the other way round). Personally I would always go towards the data projector. You could definitely find a video projector that does the job in a classroom but I'm sure you could pick up a decent data projector with a great warranty for the same cost if you shop around.

[NB9457]

We tend to offer 3-5yrs on-site warranty on our education projectors with a 3yr lamp warranty. "home" projectors are typically offered with a RTB warranty.

 

One other consideration is that most "home cinema" projectors are exactly that and optimised for video playback. They tend to offer better contrast and colour reproduction but less brightness. A brighter "data" projector is normally recommended for classroom use with most classrooms really needing 3000 lumens+ and optimised for data use.

 

Typically I wouldn't say that home cinema projectors are more affordable that data-projectors (Actually it's often the other way round). Personally I would always go towards the data projector. You could definitely find a video projector that does the job in a classroom but I'm sure you could pick up a decent data projector with a great warranty for the same cost if you shop around.

 

If BenQ has a 1080p Projector with 2200 Lumens brightness and a good throw distance for around £400 exVAT I'd definitely be interested!

 

As said, we are fine with RTB warranties and with genuine lamps for £80 which are shared with their Business line, I can't see where we are going to go wrong!

 

So far I think the decision has been made to go with these!

[BenQ_Support]

If BenQ has a 1080p Projector with 2200 Lumens brightness and a good throw distance for around £400 exVAT I'd definitely be interested!

 

As said, we are fine with RTB warranties and with genuine lamps for £80 which are shared with their Business line, I can't see where we are going to go wrong!

 

So far I think the decision has been made to go with these!

 

No problem! Just adding my thoughts really. Hopefully they work out for you.

[Noel_Optoma]

I would just like to re-iterate what Adrian said above - that home cinema projectors will typically be less bright than their data counterparts and therefore unsuited to environments with ambient light such as classrooms. There are a few data 1080p projectors for around the £400 ex VAT mark so no need to take the home cinema route in my opinion.