Case study for Projectors vs Tvs

[caffrey]

I'm sure I've asked this question before but

 

Has anyone produced a case study on projectors vs TVs in classroom, I'm not talking touchscreens just your standard shop bought screen as large format TV's are almost at parity with Projectors now

[Danp]

Last summer, at my last school, I put my foot down and said we are fitting TVs. I ended up buying whatever the cheapest 65" were going at Richer Sounds at the time. Each were fitted a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter to it. It made the classrooms look so much more modern, nothing hanging from the ceiling and the TVs are so much thinner than the short throw projectors.

 

Visibility was vastly improved, much clearer picture even with blinds open. I also made sure the screens were fitted higher in the room too with them all on a slight angle pointing down. I'm 6'2" and could just touch the top of the screen when at full stretch.

 

It also gave the teachers more freedom, most moved the teacher desk as they were no longer tied to the front of the class, granted, covid is still restricting movement a lot but going forward, they could teach from the back of the class.

[psydii]

Not classroom AV, but certainly a data point that is causing debate here: All the TVs that were bought here when we wanted to expand our digital display systems were dead within 3 years. All the professional grade displays from Samsung bought 12 years ago are still running strong.

[PlantHead]

Last summer, at my last school, I put my foot down and said we are fitting TVs. I ended up buying whatever the cheapest 65" were going at Richer Sounds at the time.

 

Be very careful doing this, these are domestic TV's and are being used in a commercial environment and are not covered under warranty and your insurers may well have something to say if one of them catches fire.

Whether they last as long as a commercial TV is up for debate but we have always found commercial grade TV's to be the cheaper option in the long run.

 

Edit: To answer the original question, the hassle of replacing projector bulbs, getting them serviced, getting them fitted to the ceiling/wall isn't worth it. Go for commercial TV's. Get the cheapest you can find and stick a Microsoft Wireless adaptor on them to cast too.

Edited March 16, 2021 by PlantHead

[Danp]

Be very careful doing this, these are domestic TV's and are being used in a commercial environment and are not covered under warranty and your insurers may well have something to say if one of them catches fire.

Whether they last as long as a commercial TV is up for debate but we have always found commercial grade TV's to be the cheaper option in the long run.

 

Absolutely agree when it comes to warranty etc, but as a boarding school, we were always going to have an angle to get them swapped. Insurance was fine. Old school now anyway, I've been fitting CTouch screens at my current one.

[caffrey]

Thanks all, we've had a few cheap TV's running 24/7 in reception areas for years without missing a beat

 

Price difference between commercial and domestic looks double, just checked currys and they do a 65" Hisense for £550 which is really close to projector prices

 

Are there any issues with viewing distances ? I suppose you can just run the tv at 720p or smaller for presentations

[DrBeaker]

Interesting topic - we're in a similar position at the moment.

 

Whether to replace projectors (Approx £500) or go for TVs (Approx £1-2K each)?

 

I'd prefer to all-in. Replace them with TVs (IMHO Full HD should do it for the lifespan of the units) and AV faceplates with a modern PC capable of using them.

 

Some of the rooms with TVs I've trialled a dual-screen setup on TVs - one screen for the teacher, one classroom screen connected/duplicated using hardware to the board. Mixed feedback to be honest which was a tiny bit disappointing.

 

 

Different place we had a cheap TV from eBuyer doing signage that had going on for 4-5x years old, being on 40x hours a week, every week etc.

Edited March 16, 2021 by DrBeaker

[smurfomatic]

We have started this process, replacing projector & speaker setups with branded domestic TVs for about the same price. Have "converted" two classrooms so far as a test, positive feedback from those staff so far.

[DrBeaker]

We have started this process, replacing projector & speaker setups with branded domestic TVs for about the same price. Have "converted" two classrooms so far as a test, positive feedback from those staff so far.

 

No complaints from staff about non-interactive screens at all?

[mdrabble]

I did a proposal which went though various things including comparing running costs over 5 years.

 

I wanted to do all teaching rooms but head only wanted to do half as she was worried about lack is usage - which annoyed me slightly as 3 years later some rooms which were left now have failing projectors which I predicted.

 

Depending on size of the room, if possible I would go bigger if possible.

 

I did get various makes/models in for eval and asked staff to use them and they opted for Sharp due to having buttons on the front such as freeze and source buttons.

 

Also after 3 years some staff complained about speaker quality - but my view is that is clear and loud enough to be heard at the back of the classroom it does the job.

[smurfomatic]

No complaints from staff about non-interactive screens at all?

 

Not so far - we were looking at using graphics tablets to pass around for "interaction", but then Covid came along and it's slightly less practical for the moment. I don't think a lot of our teachers use the interactive part of our current IWBs.

[Rob_D]

Are there any issues with viewing distances ? I suppose you can just run the tv at 720p or smaller for presentations

Viewing distance hasn't been a problem from our experience (although we've gone up to 75" in some of the larger labs and workshops). The higher resolution improved brightness makes distance viewing much better than on an old projectors.

If you do need to make things larger then use the windows 10 display scaling (now helpfully called "make everything bigger") rather than dropping the rez, especially on regular domestic TVs. Even the higher quality TVs handle sub HD resolutions poorly in my experience.

[psydii]

If you do need to make things larger then use the windows 10 display scaling (now helpfully called "make everything bigger")

 

Super handy, thanks!

 

Quick q - you are using domestic TVs in classrooms? If yes, how many do you currently have over 3 years old? (I'm looking for data points to counter my fear/experience with them).

[caffrey]

I found something online that agreed with my opinions, changed it around a bit and came up with the attached if it's useful for anyone Projectors Vs TVs - Google Docs.pdf

[chazzy2501]

A UST Projector can be used with a standard large Whiteboard, this gives a single focus to the room (no second small whiteboard). The board itself has a low value and can be damaged without huge losses.

 

I still think this is the cheapest way to get an interactive display of this size installed. £1100 vs £1600 Epson vs Clevertouch

 

We use Epson UST with the optional interactive feature.. So as a 65 to 85" image with interactive features for around £1000. (install is more involved and maintenance higher) Bulbs last approx. 3 years and cost £65 each (official lamps). Projectors are nearly 10 years old and still ok!

 

Some nice network features (for monitoring) and the warranty was 5 years.

[Andrew_C]

having buttons on the front such as freeze and source buttons.

Also after 3 years some staff complained about speaker quality - but my view is that is clear and loud enough to be heard at the back of the classroom it does the job.

Buttons - very much this! Speakers - did you check the sound in a full room of not very engaged kids? I've had words here before about sound quality; it is more important, and subjective, than most people think.

 

A UST Projector can be used with a standard large Whiteboard, this gives a single focus to the room (no second small whiteboard).

Our maths teachers would hate you. And some science teachers. They want whiteboards measured in hectares, and a projector/tv is of secondary consideration in some cases. With good reason too. Other scientists REALLY want to be able to write directly onto the board annotating the projected image, even if they have inkable devices. Again, for good reasons.

[DrBeaker]

A UST Projector can be used with a standard large Whiteboard, this gives a single focus to the room (no second small whiteboard). The board itself has a low value and can be damaged without huge losses.

 

I still think this is the cheapest way to get an interactive display of this size installed. £1100 vs £1600 Epson vs Clevertouch

 

We use Epson UST with the optional interactive feature.. So as a 65 to 85" image with interactive features for around £1000. (install is more involved and maintenance higher) Bulbs last approx. 3 years and cost £65 each (official lamps). Projectors are nearly 10 years old and still ok!

 

Some nice network features (for monitoring) and the warranty was 5 years.

 

We found some of the Epsons with the laser unit above a plain whiteboard were a bit hit and miss. How did you find yours?

[round2it]

Only thing was we cant freeze the screen.

 

So i just fitted dual monitor cards for 20 quid a pop and they are happy.

 

I got toshiba 65 inch and i am much happier no more bulbs.

[Rob_D]

Super handy, thanks!

Quick q - you are using domestic TVs in classrooms? If yes, how many do you currently have over 3 years old? (I'm looking for data points to counter my fear/experience with them).

Sorry, we use Smart IWBs throughout. My experence with domestic TVs is only at home/friends houses.

[DrBeaker]

Only thing was we cant freeze the screen.

 

So i just fitted dual monitor cards for 20 quid a pop and they are happy.

 

I got toshiba 65 inch and i am much happier no more bulbs.

 

We had similar with TVs with no freeze function. Tried the dual-screens and mostly negative feedback Despite showing them how it works and makes things like videos on one screen and something on another that you can't do with a projector.

 

Put a dual-monitor clamp on one room and the teacher has now moaned they can't see the kids!

 

What can I do to win here?