Can we use a projector with the lights on?

Mostly no, and we would rather tell you now than on the night. A bright TV beats any projector in a lit room, which is exactly what our AV page says, and we agree with it. A projector earns its keep when the image is big and the light is controlled. The NEC's 5,200 lumens cope with normal stage lighting if direct light is kept off the screen, and the Sanyo can fight a partly lit venue, but turning the lights down is always cheaper than turning the lumens up.

Which projector do we need?

Tell us five things: how wide the picture needs to be, how far back the projector can sit, what you are projecting onto, how dark the room can get, and roughly how many people are watching. As a rule of thumb, a small dark room is the Epson, a theatre or conference room is the NEC, and anything over about a 4 m picture or a venue that will not go dark is the Sanyo. If a TV is honestly the better hire, we will say so.

The projector will be a long way from the laptop. How does the signal get there?

Not down a 20 m HDMI lead, which is the mistake that ruins the most events. Long HDMI runs fail quietly and intermittently. Past about ten metres, send the picture down ordinary network cable instead: the extenders on this page put HDMI or VGA onto a Cat5e run and turn it back at the far end, and the NEC will take a network run directly on its HDBaseT input. Tell us the distance when you book and we will sort the run.

What is involved in rigging the Sanyo?

Planning, honestly. It weighs 27 kg before the lens goes on, so it is a two-person lift into a properly rated position, whether that is truss, a scaffold structure or a solid projection table, and it wants its own 13 amp socket for the 1 kW draw. Allow time in the schedule for fitting the lens, setting the shift and focusing. It is a big vintage machine and that is why the day rate is what it is; the picture it makes is also why people book it. We can plan the position with you, or send it out with someone who rigs it for a living.

Home Services Equipment Hire AV and Video Hire

Projector hire — portable to large venue

A projector is three different hires depending on the room. The Epson EB-1776W is a slim 1.7 kg portable that covers meeting rooms and small halls at £30 a day. The NEC PA522U is a 5,200 lumen installation machine for conferences and theatres at £80 a day. The Sanyo PLC-HF10000L is a 10,000 lumen large-venue projector at £200 a day, for when the picture is huge or the room cannot go fully dark. Unicol mounts and brackets rig any of them properly. Tell us the room, the throw and what you are projecting onto, and we will point you at the right one. Dry hire or with a technician.

Lumens against ambient light is the whole game with projection, so start there. Our AV page says a bright TV beats a projector in a lit room, and we stand by that: a 49-inch screen holds its colour with the house lights up, and no lamp in this list changes the physics. Where a projector wins is size. When you want a picture two, four or six metres wide and you can control the light, nothing else comes close for the money. The job is matching the machine to the room, which is why we carry three sizes of the same tool.

The Epson EB-1776W is the small end done properly. It is a 3LCD machine with native WXGA resolution at 3,000 lumens, and the whole projector is about 45 mm tall and 1.7 kg, so it travels in a bag with the laptop. The short zoom throws a 2 m wide picture from around two and a half metres, automatic keystone squares the image up when it is set down at an angle, and inputs are HDMI, VGA and composite, with built-in wireless for laptops that have lost their sockets. Meeting rooms, rehearsal rooms, small hall presentations, quiz nights.

The NEC PA522U is the installation machine. Full 1920 x 1200 resolution at 5,200 lumens holds a clean picture in a theatre or conference room with normal stage lighting, provided direct light is kept off the screen. It takes interchangeable lenses; a standard zoom comes fitted, covering throws from about 1.5 to 3 times the image width, so it reaches a 2 m wide picture from anywhere between 3 and 6 m back. Lens shift in both directions means it does not have to sit dead centre, and the inputs run to two HDMI, DisplayPort and HDBaseT, which takes a signal down a single network cable from the far end of a hall. At 8.4 kg before the lens, it hangs on a bar or a Unicol mount without drama.

The Sanyo PLC-HF10000L is honest-vintage large-venue kit and we hire it as exactly that. Two 380 W lamps behind Sanyo's QuaDrive engine give 10,000 ANSI lumens at 2K resolution, which is the class of machine that fills a 6 m screen or keeps a picture alive when a venue can only get most of the way to dark. It is physically big: 27 kg before you add a lens, the footprint of a small flight case, and a 1 kW draw. It needs planning to rig, with two people, a proper position and time in the schedule, and it is priced accordingly. In return you get powered lens shift, edge blending and a mechanical shutter, so an operator can cut to black instantly without touching the lamps. A short-throw lens is available on request for big pictures from shallow positions.

Whichever machine fits, two things decide whether the night goes well. The first is rigging: Unicol mounts and brackets put a projector where it should be and keep it there, and we will size the hardware to the projector and whatever you are fixing to. The second is signal. Long HDMI leads fail quietly and at the worst moment; past about ten metres the picture should travel over network cable instead, either into the NEC HDBaseT input or through one of the extenders below. Tell us the room, the throw distance and what you are projecting onto, whether that is a proper screen, a cyclorama or a painted wall, and we will spec the rest.

Those extenders hire alongside the projectors. The TM-60 pair puts HDMI on a single network cable, a transmitter at the player and a receiver at the projector, which covers the ordinary case of a laptop at the operating position and a screen across the hall. The Extron DTP kit is the professional version of the same idea; tell us the distance and what cable is already in the building and we will say which of the two to take. And for the halls still feeding a projector from a VGA output, the AdderLink AV201 sends that over network cable too, with the transmitter at the source and the receiver at the screen. Network cable itself is on the cable page: a 50 m Tourcat reel.

What you get

The projector, with a mains lead and remote control

On the NEC, a standard zoom lens comes fitted; tell us your throw distance and we will confirm it suits before the hire

The Sanyo is supplied with a lens to match your room, and a short-throw option is available on request

A Unicol mount or bracket if you book one, with fixings; tell us what you are fixing to and we will confirm the kit

A safety bond for any overhead position: ask when you book if you do not have your own

Not included as standard: projection screen, playback laptop or media player, and signal cabling over ten metres. All can be added

A technician to rig, focus and line the picture up, if you would rather hand it over

Good for

School productions projecting scenery, captions or animation onto a cyclorama

Conferences, prize-givings and awards evenings where the slides must stay readable under room lighting

Churches and carol services putting words on a screen the whole congregation can read

Dance school showcases with projected backdrops that change with each number

Community cinema and village hall film nights in a room that can go properly dark

Meeting rooms, exhibition stands and rehearsal rooms, where the slim Epson and a white wall are enough

What you need to know

What it does: Puts a big picture on a screen or scenery. Three sizes of machine: a slim portable, an installation projector and a 10,000 lumen unit for big venues.
Brightness: 3,000, 5,200 and 10,000 lumens. Brightness buys you room light: the darker you can make the venue, the smaller the machine you need.
Picture: All three are LCD machines: WXGA on the portable, full 1920 x 1200 on the NEC, 2K on the Sanyo.
Power: Ordinary UK 13 amp sockets throughout. The Sanyo draws 1 kW, so give it a socket to itself.
Where it goes: The Epson sits on a table. The NEC hangs on a bar or a Unicol mount at 8.4 kg plus lens. The Sanyo is a 27 kg two-person rig that needs a planned position.

Hire rates

Choose the one you need. The photo and price follow your choice, and add-ons are ticked separately below.

Projectors

Epson EB-1776W Portable Projector£30a day

NEC PA522U Installation Projector£80a day

Sanyo PLC-HF10000L Large Venue Projector£200a day

Add-ons

Tick anything you want with it. They go on your enquiry list together.

Mounts & rigging

Unicol Projector BracketFixes a projector to a wall or shelf.£5a day

Unicol Projector MountHangs a projector from a ceiling, level and locked.£5a day

Signal extenders

HDMI Over Cat Extender Pair (TM-60)Puts HDMI on a single network cable, for a screen further than a lead will reach.£5a day

Extron DTP HDMI Over Cat KitExtron's professional take on HDMI over network cable.£10a day

AdderLink AV201 Transmitter (VGA over Cat)Sends VGA over network cable: the transmitter, at the source.£10a day

AdderLink AV201 Receiver (VGA over Cat)The receiving end of the VGA-over-network pair, at the screen.£5a day

Rates are per day and exclude VAT. A longer hire costs less per day — tell us your dates and we will price the period exactly. Ask us about delivery and hiring with a technician.

Alternatives

Macs, monitors and the 49-inch TV — in a lit room a bright TV beats a projector — the 49-inch on its stand hires there.

Cables and network runs — the HDMI leads and the Cat5e that carries a picture across a building.

Full technical specification (27)

Epson EB 1776 W, type	Ultra-portable 3LCD projector
Epson EB 1776 W, resolution	WXGA (1280 x 800), 16:10
Epson EB 1776 W, brightness	3,000 lumens, white and colour
Epson EB 1776 W, lamp	230 W UHE, rated 4,000 hours
Epson EB 1776 W, inputs	HDMI, VGA, composite video, USB; built-in wireless
Epson EB 1776 W, weight	1.7 kg
Epson EB 1776 W, dimensions	292 x 210 x 44 mm (W x D x H)
NEC PA522 U, type	Installation 3LCD projector, interchangeable lens; a standard zoom lens comes fitted
NEC PA522 U, resolution	WUXGA (1920 x 1200), 16:10
NEC PA522 U, brightness	5,200 lumens
NEC PA522 U, contrast	5000:1
NEC PA522 U, lens shift	Vertical and horizontal lens shift; keystone correction to 40 degrees each way
NEC PA522 U, inputs	2 x HDMI, DisplayPort, HDBaseT, 5 x BNC, VGA; HDMI out
NEC PA522 U, lamp	330 W UHP, up to 4,000 hours in eco mode
NEC PA522 U, power draw	460 W maximum, 100-240 V
NEC PA522 U, weight	8.4 kg without lens
NEC PA522 U, dimensions	499 x 142 x 359 mm (W x H x D), without lens
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, type	Large-venue LCD projector with Sanyo's QuaDrive optical engine, interchangeable lens
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, resolution	2K (2048 x 1080), 17:9
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, brightness	10,000 ANSI lumens
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, lamps	2 x 380 W, rated 3,000 hours in eco mode
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, features	Powered lens shift, mechanical shutter, edge blending
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, inputs	HDMI, DVI-D, 5 x BNC, VGA; wired network control
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, power draw	1,000 W, 100-240 V; runs from a UK 13 amp socket
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, weight	27.2 kg without lens
Sanyo PLC HF10000 L, dimensions	531 x 269 x 757 mm (W x H x D)
Rigging	Unicol projector mounts and brackets, specified to the projector and the fixing point

Common questions

Mostly no, and we would rather tell you now than on the night. A bright TV beats any projector in a lit room, which is exactly what our AV page says, and we agree with it. A projector earns its keep when the image is big and the light is controlled. The NEC's 5,200 lumens cope with normal stage lighting if direct light is kept off the screen, and the Sanyo can fight a partly lit venue, but turning the lights down is always cheaper than turning the lumens up.
Tell us five things: how wide the picture needs to be, how far back the projector can sit, what you are projecting onto, how dark the room can get, and roughly how many people are watching. As a rule of thumb, a small dark room is the Epson, a theatre or conference room is the NEC, and anything over about a 4 m picture or a venue that will not go dark is the Sanyo. If a TV is honestly the better hire, we will say so.
Not down a 20 m HDMI lead, which is the mistake that ruins the most events. Long HDMI runs fail quietly and intermittently. Past about ten metres, send the picture down ordinary network cable instead: the extenders on this page put HDMI or VGA onto a Cat5e run and turn it back at the far end, and the NEC will take a network run directly on its HDBaseT input. Tell us the distance when you book and we will sort the run.
Planning, honestly. It weighs 27 kg before the lens goes on, so it is a two-person lift into a properly rated position, whether that is truss, a scaffold structure or a solid projection table, and it wants its own 13 amp socket for the 1 kW draw. Allow time in the schedule for fitting the lens, setting the shift and focusing. It is a big vintage machine and that is why the day rate is what it is; the picture it makes is also why people book it. We can plan the position with you, or send it out with someone who rigs it for a living.