In this article, we’ll discuss how many lumens is good for a projector. As you can see when it comes to buying a projector. You can’t afford to miss out on the factor of brightness responsible to present a picture with a clear display and more vibrant colors.
On the other hand, brightness is the only factor that could even make a projector more versatile; as it allows it to project high-quality images even in a more ambient light environment. Whether you like it… or not!
So you don’t have a limited budget and could afford any projector. You should try to get a projector with as much brightness as possible. Although the prices of the projectors will also keep increasing with the amount increase in the lumens of the projector.
Now, this gives rise to another question in our minds how much brightness could be sacrificed to save… a bit of dough!
Well, the answer to this one depends on – how and where it’ll be used. After a slight into the topic, it’s time for us to start the main discussion.
What are lumens anyway?
In today’s world, you need a unit to measure something. For instance, the sound is measured @ decibel units. While the temperature is measured… in the unit of degree!
Similarly, the brightness of a projector needs a unit to be measured. So you need to measure the brightness of the projector in lumens.
On the other hand, a lumen is a standard recommended by American National Standard Institute. Therefore you could find the listed lumens in almost every projector — whether it’s a data projector or a home theater projector.
A brightness rating in ANSI lumens displayed on the label of the projector could make you understand how bright the lamp of the projector will be. Generally, this rating is given on the label after running the required tests.
In case if there is no lumens rating mentioned on the label of the projector. You’ll need to take the rating with a grain of salt; especially if you haven’t used the brand ever before.
You must know the causes projector lamps to explode before choosing a lamp for your projector.
How many lumens would be enough for the projector?
Checking the display is a very complicated task for the projectors. You could easily select the best TV for yourself in a store by running different TV side by side. Moreover, you’ll be confident that the results would be the same even at home.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t vary with the projectors; as the pictures of a projector are more space-dependent.
Although when it comes to determining the ideal lumens for your projector then it depends upon both the distance and ambient lighting. For instance, if you want a gobo projector for the wedding then you’ll need maximum lumens for sure.
However among these two factors, ambient light is the most prominent factor in the lumens of projectors. As you can see the lumens for the lamp of a projector depend upon where you’re using it. So for a completely dark room, a lamp with lumens of 1000 – 1,200 could offer a good picture. A dark room could be referred to as a movie theater dark.
In case you can’t completely cover the windows in your room to stop the sunlight from coming in. It’ll be better for you to use the projector while it’s night; as the projected image could be washed out even by filtered sunlight.
On the other hand, if you’re so much desperate about using a projector even in daylight. You’ll have to go for the projector lamps with lumens of 3000. While a projector lamp with lumens 2000 could also be useful in indoor lightning or bleeding over from closed windows.
The brightness you need for a projector also depends upon the distance on which the light travels. For instance, the image projected by a projector would keep increasing with the increase in the distance.
Generally, a distance of 6-8 feet is considered ideal, especially for home theater applications. If you go for a more distance then you’ll need a slightly brighter lamp for the projector with lumens 1500 in a dark room. While lumens of 2500-3000 in moderate lighting.
How bright is too bright?
There is no doubt that a brighter projector could offer a high-quality display. But it could also be harmful to your eyes as well. For instance, a brighter lamp of a projector could offer a sharper contrast and better color that could affect your eyes in many ways. Especially if you’re watching movies on it for a longer time.
As discussed earlier the brightness of a projector mainly depends upon the home theater setup. Generally in a dark space, any projector lamp having a lumen of greater than 2000-2500 could be overwhelmingly bright to you.
On the other hand, a lamp or projector with lumens of 3000 under moderate to bright conditions would be ideal to use. Although there aren’t any projectors in the casual market that could be at risk of being too bright for the eyes.
Conclusion
After exploring the overall content we could conclude that the ideal lumens required for a projector depend upon the distance and ambient lighting.
So if you’re using a projector with a lamp of lumens 3000 then it could work perfectly even in the brightest and most large spaces. While for a semi-lit environment you’re going to need a projector lamp with lumens of 2000-2500. Any projector lumens lower might not be much satisfying to you.
You could check the lumens of any projector given on it. Sometimes the lumens rating given on the projector could also be lower when you start using it. For instance, a projector model claims lumens of 2500 but you might get lumens more likely 1000. While most of the users have no way of knowing it.
So the best way is to know the lumens of a projector before buying it. You’ll need to see the display quality of the images with your own eyes while running the projector in the local electronics store.