Projectors are used for all kinds of applications these days, in schools and offices to pubs and even the living room! If you're thinking about buying a projector, it might be a good idea to get a projection screen and an HDMI or VGA cable. An extra long power cable can also come in handy, as well as a projector mount (wall or ceiling bracket).
The quality of the projection depends on a few factors that may or may not affect your situation. Essentially, it comes down to the power of the lamp, the resolution and the contrast ratio. The power of the lamp, expressed in ansi-lumen, is very important - the bigger the projection area, the stronger the lamp needs to be. In other words, if the projector has a powerful lamp, you'll be able to project an image onto a relatively large area. If you plan to place the projector farther away from the screen, then a high light yield is recommended. If the image begins to weaken, it's probably time to replace the lamp. Always make note of the lamp life, which is the number of hours the lamp is expected to function.
The maximum resolution of the projector indicates the most detailed video signal it can receive. Besides the maximum resolution, be sure to look at what's known as the native resolution of the projector, which will tell you exactly how detailed the final image will be. A model with a native resolution of 1080p, or 1920 x 1080 pixels, will have no problems projecting HD videos, for example. That's handy for a home cinema, but probably less important for simple informative presentations. If your laptop is capable of a Full HD signal (1920 x 1080 pixels), but the projector has a native resolution of 1280 x 1024, you can still project on a large area, but it will simply be less detailed than a Full HD video image. The last factor in the projector's image quality is the contrast ratio. If the room is darkened, a high contrast ratio ensures a better representation of the subtle differences between light and dark images. The effect won't be as strong, however, if there are more light sources in the room, and the projector screen can also influence the contrast.
