tmcd35 Posted January 18, 2010 Posted January 18, 2010 The last projector I bought was £294 (BenQ). We've been buying new projectors rather than replacement bulbs because I've only just found a compatible bulb supplier and until now the cost of a bulb vs cost of a new projector has always equaled a new projector. £300 every 18months vs £700 every 7 years. I'm sure the Casio's works out the cheaper of the two options. I know the Casio may last longer than 7 years, my fag-paper maths says around 12 years, but the warrenties for 5 years and lets face 7 years out of a projector is bloody good going. I'm gonna start buying the Casio's as soon as I can and plan for a 7 year replacement strategy. If BSF doesn't assimalate us and they last longer, well that just a bonus!
DarrenC Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 There are a number of additional reasons why the Casio is worth the extra expense versus the buy and replace model. There is no warm down time on this unit and as such you dont have to worry about teachers turning the unit off without letting it cool down and prematurely destroying projectors. The life span that is stated is not comparable with lamp projectors due to the fact that there is NO DETERIORATION OF PICTURE QUALITY! With standard projectors the image quality falls during the lifetime of the machine so after 12 months you will not get the same quality as a new projector, the Casio model does not suffer from this at all so in theory the quality should be as good after 10 years as when forst used. There is also the energy efficiency of the unit which when run in eco mode is around 130 watts which will produce a significant saving over the lifespan of the unit. This is definitely a product that if the total cost of ownership is considered is a guaranteed money saver. The problem will occurr when budgets do not stretch to the purchase price (but I believe that is what leasing is for). As for a short throw version; I have been aware of this projector for some time now but had to sign my life away before I was allowed to see it or be told about it. All I can say is that there is no reason Casio would not release a short throw version as the revolutionary technology is based around the light source not the lense etc... Casio have predicted they will take a reasonable market share in the next 12 months and I have to say I agree. The biggest issue will be stock availability, with a very limited number being available for the first part of the year. 3
john Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I had a nice chat with Insight today who are my main distributor about this new product, they have been manic with interest in them since BETT. I enquired about stock and pricing and they told me that any orders they get for the new Casio units by Thursday should be fulfilled very quickly, but Casio have told them after this batch of UK stock is gone there won't be anything really until March time, there may be the odd few, but no large volumes, so if you are interested then my advice is get the order in or you could be waiting till March for your new projector (and I can imagine what the teachers would think to that!!) 1
Soulfish Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 Just had a quote for the 2000 lumens model to replace a projector that's slowly dying. The price was pretty good I have to say - I'm very tempted to get one. Waiting on the 2500 lumens price to compare and then just need to figure out how to rejig the various connections. Currently all of our installs have the video signal go from the PC -> Projector -> Monitor and then also using the separate component input for a secondary source. They also use the projector to handle both sets of audio with only one audio feed going back to the speakers from the projector. I don't believe the Casio has this many connectivity options (one small negative point perhaps) so just need to think of some alternatives. Then I can go ahead and order one and play with it for real
Soulfish Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I had a nice chat with Insight today who are my main distributor about this new product, they have been manic with interest in them since BETT. I enquired about stock and pricing and they told me that any orders they get for the new Casio units by Thursday should be fulfilled very quickly, but Casio have told them after this batch of UK stock is gone there won't be anything really until March time, there may be the odd few, but no large volumes, so if you are interested then my advice is get the order in or you could be waiting till March for your new projector (and I can imagine what the teachers would think to that!!) Looks like I'll be ordering ASAP then
john Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I don't believe the Casio has this many connectivity options (one small negative point perhaps) so just need to think of some alternatives. Then I can go ahead and order one and play with it for real I must admit I noticed that, they have VGA and HDMI and that looked about it, not too bigger problem as I had a discussion about it with my boss tonight and we said that they are worth getting for all our projector needs tbh in classrooms, as we don't really need composite video connections, but there will be the odd place that may do, so I can see them eventually, reliability and price proving over time obviously, that they will probably be in 98% of my classrooms. My new AV system in the Hall will still have a huuuuuuge NEC unit in though as I want 2 VGA, HDMI, Composite, Wifi, USB, S-Video, Wifi, LAN etc, perhaps the next Casio range will have the clever 20,000hr lamp and all those ports Would be interested to hear how you get on with yours if you get one
tmcd35 Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 How much do Composite to VGA convertors cost? Maybe worth looking into considering the TCO of the Casio. I doubt the extra cost would make much of an impact on the overall price. Also, I believe some models have Wifi capabilities already.
localzuk Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) I still have several composite to vga adapters in my 'odd bits that I don't want to throw out' box, so they will come in handy I think But to buy new, they're about £25. http://www.bestofferbuy.com/Composite--SVideo-to-VGA-Converter-Box-12801024px-Max110V220V-AC-p-29553.html?currency=GBP and if you want something permanent (ie so the teacher doesn't need to unplug stuff) you'd want a VGA switch too, which is another £30. http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?rlz=1C1GGLS_en-GBGB344GB344&sourceid=chrome&q=vga+switch&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=14286391804445033858&ei=LjVWS8miEIfw0wSvrvGxCg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CB4Q8wIwBA#ps-sellers Edited January 19, 2010 by localzuk 1
Soulfish Posted January 19, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 I still have several composite to vga adapters in my 'odd bits that I don't want to throw out' box, so they will come in handy I think But to buy new, they're about £25. Composite + S-Video to VGA Converter Box (1280*1024px Max/110V~220V AC) [E18559] : BestOfferBuy.com, Buy DVD, Shop for PC accessories, Discount MP3 Players, Bargain Deal for Surveillance Equipment, Cheap R4 for NDS, X-sim Unlock and if you want something permanent (ie so the teacher doesn't need to unplug stuff) you'd want a VGA switch too, which is another £30. StarTech.com 2x2 VGA Matrix Video Switch - 250 MHz Monitor switch - United Kingdom Exactly what I was looking at doing - although I'm also tempted to look at some component to HDMI boxes since I notice they do have a HDMI input. Too many choices!
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 as we don't really need composite video connections, but there will be the odd place that may do The handful of places which still have VHS players would need them (or it will serve as the final push to DVD). I thought the guy I spoke to at Casio said they had composite connectors though... Some models do have wireless, but I'm not sure how that would work for playing video - the guys said there can be a slight delay meaning it isn't suitable for interactive use, which would presumably also mean it can't handle video, as the audio would get out of sync.
DarrenC Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 They have kept connectivity to a minimum in order to keep the costs down. However it should have enough to be used in a classroom environment. Casio are still learning in terms of projector manufacturing, and as such feedback such as received through this site is vital in how future models will be produced. I can assure you that your comments are all passed back directly to casio as the people on edugeek tend to be fairly on the pulse of educational needs. As for stock, no one is guaranteed stock in this Thursday, and no one has stock currently available. Casio have a very limited number of units coming in to the UK and every distributor and reseller is being told to place orders so they can try and push to get stock. I know there are already more orders in, than stock available, and it will be dependant on which reseller you order with as to if you can get your projector this side of February.
Haptic Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 we have been promised a certain amount of stock
DarrenC Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 I'm sure you have Simon but so has everyone else!
Soulfish Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 They have kept connectivity to a minimum in order to keep the costs down. However it should have enough to be used in a classroom environment. Casio are still learning in terms of projector manufacturing, and as such feedback such as received through this site is vital in how future models will be produced. I can assure you that your comments are all passed back directly to casio as the people on edugeek tend to be fairly on the pulse of educational needs. As for stock, no one is guaranteed stock in this Thursday, and no one has stock currently available. Casio have a very limited number of units coming in to the UK and every distributor and reseller is being told to place orders so they can try and push to get stock. I know there are already more orders in, than stock available, and it will be dependant on which reseller you order with as to if you can get your projector this side of February. It's good to know that Casio are taking on feedback. If it had the connectivity of say a projector like the Epson EB-84e and it actually lives up to expectations then it'd be the perfect projector for us
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Can someone confirm whether these have component inputs - I'm seeing conflicting answers on various websites...
DarrenC Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 No the 130 models don't I have had one in my hand and I can say for certainty that they dont.I am just getting someone to check the wireless model.
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 What do they have? VGA, HDMI, a 3.5 video jack and a 3.5 audio - yes?
DarrenC Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Ahhh have just found the source of the confusion. Casio are stating the unit does have composite input however it is via a 3.5mj socket and not through yellow standard phono input.
DarrenC Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 What do they have? VGA, HDMI, a 3.5 video jack and a 3.5 audio - yes? Yes thats exactly what they have (the 3.5 jack doubles as video and audio) and they also have a usb slot. 2
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Ahhh have just found the source of the confusion. Casio are stating the unit does have composite input however it is via a 3.5mj socket and not through yellow standard phono input. Yeah, I spotted that just after I posted. Does anything actually give a video output on those 3.5 sockets anyway?!
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Possibly. Ours have "yellow" ones on them, but others might be different...
enjay Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 But to buy new, they're about £25. Composite + S-Video to VGA Converter Box (1280*1024px Max/110V~220V AC) [E18559] : BestOfferBuy.com, Buy DVD, Shop for PC accessories, Discount MP3 Players, Bargain Deal for Surveillance Equipment, Cheap R4 for NDS, X-sim Unlock and if you want something permanent (ie so the teacher doesn't need to unplug stuff) you'd want a VGA switch too, which is another £30. StarTech.com 2x2 VGA Matrix Video Switch - 250 MHz Monitor switch - United Kingdom Let me check I've got this straight - I would plug the VHS player (or whatever) into the converter, and then the PC-output and converter-output into the splitter and the splitter-output into the projector - right?
Haptic Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 I can confirm we have stock available units for sale, we have sold around 10 units already today
pdoherty78 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Hello to everyone singing the praises of this projector. I am a little more cynical and more of a realist. I have so far found no concrete evidence that states the warranty of this projector Yes the lamp life is estimated as up to 20,000 hours, but what happens 3 years down the line when it overheats as a fan has stopped, or the power does not start? Having 10,000 hours life left in my lamp is not going to help. Unless we begin a carbon trading scheme with lamp life hours. People have earlier in the forum bandied about a 5 year warranty, but I cannot find anything on Casio's website. I have found the following spec sheet, but again it does not mention warranty. CANNOT POST URL AS FIRST TIME POST Go to Casio's website click on products then projectors Please feel free to prove me wrong and point me in the direction of fact. Cheers
Recommended Posts