Battlecard : MAXHUB Raptor vs LCD Video Walls
When quoting MAXHUB Raptor all-in-one LED Wall, you may be competing against high brightness projectors. This battlecard gives an overview of projector technology and how to position Raptor to win the business.
Projectors
Projection technology is very well established. In fact, projectors are the oldest form of display that is still in wide use today. From early days where films were projected, to modern digital projectors, the basic technology hasn't changed a much.
All projectors consist of three main components : a high brightness light source, typically a lamp; something to generate the image, the light passes through (or over) the image and is then focussed and magnified by a lens to create the projection on the wall or screen.
First generation projectors simply shone a light through a transparent source - think of early cinema with a 35mm film strip, or watching your dads holiday slides. Today, a digital source is required - computer, DVD or Blu Ray player, which makes life more complicated.
Now, we could give you an overview of the different projector technologies, but this isn't the right place. If you want to know more, let me know and I can send you to sleep with in depth discussion of the merits of LCD and DLP projectors. Here is what you need to know.
Light Sources
The majority of projectors use a lamp (or sometimes multiple lamps) to generate high brightness source.
For projected images, brightness is measured in ANSI Lumens. The higher the ANSI Lumens rating, the brighter the image. Well, yes and no. ANSI Lumens only measures the light output from the lens. Depending on the throw distance and the screen size, the brightness that is reflected from the wall or screen can be substantially different.
To confuse matters, projected brightness is measured in ANSI Lumens; reflected brightness is measured in cd/m2 or nit (the same measure as LCD/LED screens),
So, when considering a projector, you should also think about the reflected light in your environment. Having a 10,000 ANSI Lumen projector is great, but if it only generates 500 nit because of a long throw distance or wide screen, then you would be better served with a LCD or LED screen which gives higher brightness.
To combat this, manufacturers continue to make projectors with higher and higher brightness ratings, but this introduces additional challenges.
- Heat management
Anyone who has sat near a projector vent will have experienced the amount of heat that is generated by a lamp running full brightness. In order to deal with this, projectors need cooling fans to suck air into the system.
- Noise
Projectors are noisy. And the brighter the projector, the faster the fans have to spin to bring enough air through the system.
- Degradation
Any light source will fade over time, and projectors are no different. Lamps will gradually get less bright, so a 10,000 ANSI Lumen projector will probably only be outputting 8,000 after a year of normal use. Most lamps will only last 2 years before needing replacement
- Maintenance
As well as having to change the lamp frequently, the cooling fans will suck dust and dirt into the projector. To prevent dirt contaminating the image, then filters are installed, but these clog up over time. Without regular cleaning or replacing, the filters will get full and the projector will overheat.
Some modern projectors have done away with the lamp and all the problems associated with it by using LED technology as the light source. However, these are typically not as bright as lamps so whilst the challenges around heat, noise and maintenance are not a problem with LED projectors, the issues around brightness remain.
LCD vs DLP
OK, so I said earlier that I wouldn't bore you with a lecture on the merits of different types of projector technology. I lied.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projectors have an LCD panel inside which displays the image, the lamp shines through the LCD and out through the lens. It's relatively simple, cheap technology.
DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors are more complex. The light source emits white light which shines through a colour wheel, generating red, green or blue at any given moment. The light is then reflected off a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device). In essence, this is a chip which has over 2million mirrors (each thinner than a human hair).
The mirrors on the DMD are tilted to reflect the light through the lens (or turn it off) for a particular pixel.
The combination of mirrors and colour wheel mean that great colour reproduction and contrast is possible.
However, with any projected image, the simple fact is that you are always shining light through the lens, and whilst technology has adapted to reduce the amount of unwanted light on any particular portion of the screen, you can never get true blacks.
DLP projection technology offers several advantages over LCD, but still suffers from the same issues.
Projectors vs MAXHUB Raptor
So, projectors are (relatively) cheap, (relatively) easy to install in most environments and depending on the environment, give decent brightness. Image size can be huge depending on the throw distance and lens ratio. However this does have an impact on the reflected brightness (nit measure).
But, in most cases you will need to consider the ambient light conditions and factor in the costs of controlling the light with blinds - not a cheap option in many corporate boardrooms - as well as the costs of maintenance and that the operating life of a projector can be as little as 20,000 hours before the heat degrades the mechanisms. Not that most organisations swap their technology that regularly. Most projectors are run well beyond their lifetime, even though the image quality is seriously impacted.
Put this next to the MAXHUB Raptor.
Consistent 650 nit brightness, more than enough for the majority of room, even in direct sunlight. Plus, the Raptor has built in ambient light adjustment, so it will increase brightness when required, and reduce as the light fades. This not makes it more comfortable to look at for long periods, but saves power and money. Therefore operating costs are much lower.
Simple installation. The Raptor is an all-in-one device. So everything is self contained. No cables to run through the ceiling, no need to have separate speakers and amplifiers. Just provide power and you are up and running. No need to even run a data cable as you can share wirelessly using the built in Android processor.
100,000 hours lifetime- 5 times as long as most projectors.
High contrast and brightness ensure perfect image reproduction though out the lifetime of the screen.
Minimal maintenance. 8% spares are included with the product, so if an LED fails, it can be swapped out in seconds without a specialist engineer.
No noise, no heat. LED's are whisper quiet, there are no fans. Heat emission is minimal, so you can sit close to the screen without being deafened or fried. (try sitting next to a projector on a desk and you will soon feel the burn).
Taken over the lifecycle of the product, factoring in installation and maintenance times, plus replacement parts, and considering the high running costs, a high end projector is not a cheap solution. Whereas with the MAXHUB Raptor, the up front costs may be higher, but over a 5 year period you will save money and have a much more consistent and pleasant experience.
Plus, no-one has ever gone 'wow' when they saw a projector. With Raptor you will have the wow factor.
