However, in 2017, Hitachi was the first to announce a 3,500 lumen LED projector, which opened the doors to more manufacturers like Optoma, Panasonic, Epson, and Casio to release either all LED or hybrid LED/laser projectors.Īs with laser engines, the typically more affordable LED models may boast 20,000 hours or more of operation and virtually no maintenance (most still have filters that require cleaning at recommended intervals). The new BenQ HT9060, $8,999, is a state of the art home theater projector utilizing the latest Philips LED technology to achieve high color fidelity and wide DCI-P3 color gamut with 2,200 lumens brightness. The upcoming InFocus IN1188HD (top), for example, is a compact and lightweight portable business projector boasting 3,000 lumens, 1080p resolution with unusually wide color gamut for its product class, and an expected $1,199 street price. That's changing as respected manufacturers continue to push the limits of LED. Until fairly recently, most LED-driven projectors have not provided impressive numbers: low lumen output, low quality imaging chips producing less desirable imagery, and a lot of overseas, off-brand manufacturers flooding the market with sub-par products have left a lot of consumers wary, and for good reason.Īlthough they enjoy similar long-life as solid-state lasers, LED light sources have been associated in the past with low-brightness, lower-quality projectors. Still, I would say that in many instances, lamp-based projection is still very much a viable and more affordable solution. Even with a long lifespan of 5,000 hours, by the time a small church experiences a blown projector lamp, what will be the availability of a replacement lamp? Will that replacement need to be found five years down the road? Perhaps ten years or more? Nonetheless, one must consider the long-term impact of needing to replace lamps. One could easily argue that churches, particularly small churches without a lot happening during the week, could still find a valuable use-case in the now lower-cost lamp projectors. So where would one choose lamp-based over a solid-state solution? The easy answer is that lamp projectors are best for those who are only utilizing projection intermittently, such as a movie night once a month, or a couple times a week in a classroom. With numbers like this, I'm hard-pressed to say that lamp-based projection is anywhere close to going away. More recent projector releases now boast lamp lifespans of 5,000 hours and even a 10,000-hour estimated lifespan if the projector is run in its "Eco" mode, which reduces lamp output for the benefit of longevity. Optoma's new 4K550ST, with 4,500 lumens, and a $3,999 street price, is just one recent example. With solid-state light engines coming on strong in the commercial space, lamp-based models have become an excellent value for situations that demand high brightness on a budget. This achieved the desired effect, but also increased the ongoing maintenance costs to keep the unit functioning. However, lifespans for much of its history were measured in hundreds of hours it wasn't until the last 10 years or so that we began to see 1000+ hour projection lamps.Īlong with the evolution of the lamps, the need to accomplish higher and higher lumen output led to the introduction of dual-lamp systems. The tried-and-true projection lamp has been around for decades and has consistently undergone new innovations such as brighter light and increased life span. Let's dive into what makes each technology unique, and where you might choose one over the other. However, while LED and laser projectors do offer some significant maintenance and long-term cost benefits, their upfront higher costs can deliver some customers sticker shock, though in the sub-6000 lumen projector market, the prices have now dropped to the point that most will consider a laser projector a more economical choice. With all the hype surrounding new solid-state projection light sources, namely laser and LED, it might seem that the use-case for lamp-based projection is quickly fading away into the annals of history.
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