How To Choose A Projector For House Projection Mapping

Figuring out what kind of projector to get for this kind of project can be a little intimidating. In this article, we try to break it down to it’s simplest form so that you know what to look for. You need to pay attention to 3 main things: throw ratio, resolution, and brightness.

Throw Ratio: Go For Short Throw

Throw ratio is simply how big the projected image will be based on how far away your projector is from your house. Most projectors have about a 1.5:1 throw ratio which means for every 1.5 feet of distance the image will be about 1 foot wide.

Let’s say you plan on putting your projector on the sidewalk in front of your house and your sidewalk is 30 feet away. At that distance, a standard throw projector will produce an image about 20 feet wide. Unless you have a very small house, that is probably not big enough. You will need a lot more distance to get an image large enough to cover your whole house. If you have a large property or your neighbors across the street don’t mind you projecting from there, it is possible that you could get enough distance to make it work.

However, most people will want to use a short throw projector instead. A typical short throw projector has a throw ratio of about .5:1. That means for every half foot of distance the image will be about 1 foot wide. 30 feet of distance with a short throw projector will get you an image about 60 feet wide! That will definitely work for the majority of houses.

Short throw projectors tend to be more expensive because it costs more to make the lenses. As you might expect, they are also a bit harder to find. Unfortunately, the exact throw ratio is often left out of the projector specifications which can be confusing. However, the term “short throw” is an important feature, so it will definitely be mentioned if the projector has it. On the other hand, if the description of the projector does not mention “short throw”, then it almost certainly is standard throw because that is most common.

You may also see “ultra short throw” projectors. They will produce an even larger image with less distance (.25:1 throw ratio), but for projection mapping, that can be bad. You will be forced to put the projector so close to the house that it will produce strange shadows since a house is not flat like a screen. They are also difficult to protect in a box since they use a mirror on the top rather than a lens in the front.

Resolution: Higher Is Better

The resolution of the projector determines how sharp the projected image will be. Since we are blowing up the image big enough to cover a house, it makes quite a bit of difference in the final look. A projected image is made up of thousands of tiny little squares or pixels. The more squares there are, the sharper the image. Naturally, you will want the most pixels you can possibly get, but the more squares, the greater the expense.

It isn’t always easy to tell exactly what the resolution of a projector is. Some manufacturers will call their product an HD projector, but they are referring to the resolution of the video input rather than the output. That is misleading because almost any projector can accept HD video input, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the image the projector produces.

When checking the resolution of a projector, the term you want to look for is “native resolution”. Native resolution is the highest resolution the projector can produce. The industry has established acronyms for certain projector native resolutions and you will often see these when projector shopping. Below are the most common:

SVGA = 800 x 600 (800 squares across and 600 squares down)
XGA = 1024 x 768
WXGA = 1280 x 800
WUXGA = 1920 x 1080

There are also three types of HDTV resolutions you will see:

720p = 1280 x 720
1080p = 1920 x 1080
4k or Ultra HD = 3840 x 2160

720p or WXGA is the minimum resolution we recommend for most houses. 1080p is the default resolution at which we provide the videos. I currently use a 1080p projector on my house. My first house projections 10 years ago were done with an XGA (1024 x 768) projector and it worked OK, but the image wasn’t super sharp. SVGA (800 x 600) resolution is just not sharp enough for a house projection unless your house is very small. 4k projectors are awesome and gradually becoming more affordable, but it is difficult to find short throw models with good brightness. Hopefully we will see some available in the next few years. 4k resolution videos are available from us on special request.

Brightness: Brighter Is Always Better

A bright projector will make the difference between a murky, dark image, and a crisp clear one. If your home has a lot of ambient light from street lamps or other lights, then you will definitely need a bright projector to overcome that.

Brightness is measured in “lumens”. One lumen is approximately equal to the amount of light a lit candle will produce. A standardized procedure for testing projectors for brightness has been established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The best measurement of brightness for a projector will always be ANSI lumens, so that is something to look for. Some projectors claim to be brighter than they really are because they are using a different method for measuring brightness.

We recommend that your projector produces about 3,000 ANSI lumens or even better, if possible. You might be able to get by on 2000 lumens if the area around your house is very dark, but we wouldn’t recommend going any lower than that.

Laser Projectors Are Great

As the name suggests, laser projectors use lasers to produce the light rather than traditional incandescent bulbs. The main advantage is that lasers don’t lose their brightness over time like an incandescent bulb does. The lasers never need to be replaced for the life of the projector.

It’s important to note that a laser projector is not necessarily going to be brighter than a traditional projector. For example, a 4,000-lumen standard projector is going to produce an image just as bright as a 4,000-lumen laser projector. However, the brightness of the standard projector will dim over time, whereas the laser projector will virtually maintain its brightness indefinitely.

Laser projectors cost more, so expect to pay extra for that advantage.

LED Projectors Are Not Great

LED or Light-Emitting Diode technology is a new, more energy efficient way of producing light than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Cheap LED projectors have flooded the market in recent years. The pricing looks fantastic, but beware!

LEDs have many great applications, but to date, they are just not bright enough to produce a quality house projection. In fact, I have my doubts as to whether the technology will ever be bright enough for a house projection. To make matters worse, LED projector manufacturers are routinely dishonest about the brightness of their projectors. It is not uncommon for an LED projector to be 1/3 or less of the brightness of a traditional projector with similar specs.

Before you look at the listed lumens for a projector, look to see if it is LED. If so, take that lumen number with a big grain of salt. Remember that you usually get what you pay for! If you are on a limited budget, it is actually better to buy a high-quality used projector, than a cheap new one.