Take Gaming to Another Level with a Projector

Today’s video games are on another level, graphics and sound so intense, they make the gamer feel they are in between a game and Hollywood blockbuster. Experiences immerse players with realistic sound and graphics and connect players on a social interactive level. Classic gaming did not have these advantages. Today, you can experience gaming with no limits, be in virtual reality, or on a now more affordable, high definitely big screen.

With what used to be technology only reserved for the more privileged, high intensity, luxury big screen gaming is now affordable for the consumer market. Advancements in technology have not been limited to only gaming consoles, and over the last few years, home theater projectors have become truly viable choices. Why go with a 60″ flat screen when, for just a few dollars more, you could immerse yourself in the action with a 200″ home theater projector?  The bigger the screen, the more immersive the game becomes.

Video Gaming Projector Buyer’s Guide

Whether you’re looking for a projector for watching movies or strictly for hardcore gaming, there are a few things to consider when making your purchase.

Gaming Projector Specifications to Watch for

Here are some tips on finding the right setup.

1080P Total High Definition

VGA, SVGA and XGA projectors may be ok for showing a Power Point presentation when you’re at the office, but for true home entertainment, 1080P total high definition HD is the only one way to go, which will let you play Blueray and other high definition content correctly.  720p and 1080p are equally 16:9 widescreen resolutions, whereas 1024×768 is 4:3, which is that square screen that you see on old TVs.

Contrast and Brightness

Contrast and brightness are important considerations.  Sometimes you might want to play games with the light on.  That’s when brightness may be important.  Look for how many lumens to gauge how bright the actual projector is.

The current best projector technologies include DLP or LCD projectors which use smooth digital image chips which have brighter light output than CRT systems. Today, there is no need to see your picture completely in blackness.  A lightly lit room is sufficient, but the higher the lumens, the brighter your images.

ANSI Contrast

ANSI contrast is another great measuring specification, which runs a check routine and measures the difference between the dark and light squares. It is a great feature to have for gaming purposes to put less strain on your eyes due to rapidly changing blacks/whites.

Focus Range

Check to see if the projector uses a “dynamic iris” to help sharpen its focus range. These perform by confining the light output in dark scenes, allowing the projector to generate “blacker blacks”. The other projector types will just have an “on/off” distinction, which is the difference between a completely black and full white screen.

Throw Distance

How far will your projector be from the screen?  With projectors, you can have them several feet  away from the screen, out of sight and projecting a massive image.  “Short Throw Projectors” are designed to be set closer to the screen and put out a huge picture, whereas “long throw” projectors are the reverse.

Lens Shift

Will you be moving your projector around a lot?  With lens-shift, it helps you do that faster and more effectively. Not the best feature for a gaming projector but is also something to think about.

Input Lag

Input lag is amount of time it takes for a projector (or TV, monitor) to create an image. Long input lag can make a movie have bad lip-sync issues and can turn a competitive multi player match into a frustrating experience.  You want lag times to be as low as possible, considering you may also run into lag times with the server.  Your equipment should operate without any issue.  Look for a projector today that offerd sub 20ms lag times.

Refresh Rates

Refresh rate is a projector’s ability to process video. A faster (higher) refresh rate means crisper, more seamless looking images. Anything over 120hz is recommended.  Higher refresh rates also produce a 3D image that is easier on the eyes.

Other Tips

Make sure your input resolution always matches the display resolution. Any scaling done on the projector will introduce a bit of lag.

Check to see if your projector has a ‘gaming’ or ‘fast’ mode. This typically reduces image quality by a small amount, but can also shave dozens of ms of lag time.

Connect to the projector directly  from your game console. In a lot of home theater setups, the console/pc may run through a home theater receiver first, which introduces one more thing the signal has to travel through before reaching the final display. The best and fastest route is also the shortest.

We hope these tips and tricks may provide some good advice on taking your game play to the next immersive level.  For more cool guides and recommendations, visit projectyourgaming.com

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