Positive personal experiences sell projection better than any amount of advertising can. A well-done projection installation is visually impressive.
Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When projection is done as an afterthought, poor performance results.
Here are five ways to guarantee you can provide a positive projection experience for your customers.
Put the customer first.
With projection, success comes down to the user experience. Will the projection screen deliver the performance necessary? Find out the customer’s goals by asking these questions:
- Who will be using the space and how will they use it?
- What type of content will be projected?
- What are site conditions?
- What does the customer expect the image to look like?
Educate the end user.
While it is important to listen to the customer and consider his or her needs, remember that you are the expert. End users may know what they want, but they don’t know how to get there, or if it is even realistic.
Issues like ambient light, projector brightness, color accuracy, surface gloss, and viewing angles need to be considered. Using your expertise to guide them to good choices not only makes their ultimate experience better, it underlines to them and prospective customers the value you bring to a project.
Get out of matt white mode.
For decades, the workhorse of projection screens was 1.0 gain matt white. It was a good diffuser of light, and usually reflected an accurate image. Plus, it was relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
But projecting onto matt white anywhere except in a darkened room is a problem. The image washes out under ambient light and the white surface doesn’t provide the level of contrast available with ALR screens.
There is still a place for matt white. It can be a good choice in areas where ambient light is eliminated. But many specialized surfaces are now available to provide the best possible projection experience whatever conditions are present.
Take a holistic approach.
Select the screen and viewing surface first. Determine how many lumens are required to light up the size and type of surface and then select a projector that will work best in partnership with the screen.
Don’t focus on a single screen characteristic. For instance, automatically selecting the screen that rejects the highest amount of ambient light could leave the end user with a less-than-ideal image outside of a small viewing cone, or with a slightly grainier picture. The best screen is one that balances gain, gloss, contrast, ambient light rejection, and color accuracy to provide a beautiful image under the prevailing conditions.
Also remember that the screen is just part of the project. If you’re using ISF-certified screen materials, be sure the projector and content sources are also certified or calibrated by an ISF-trained tech. If possible, integrate shading. If the customer wants to show off the screen all the time, install a fixed frame screen; if there are other things to focus on when not viewing, install a ceiling-recessed retractable model.
Don’t forget the wow factor.
Make the projection experience more impressive by using recessed, motorized screens and projector lifts. Use a projector enclosure to keep the projector noise out of the space. Bring the projector out of a wall or a piece of furniture. Integrate it all into your favorite control system and use a voice-activated interface.
Having a huge screen can produce an immediate “wow” factor. But while we love big screens, remember there is a lot of light reflecting off the screen and a lot of information on the screen’s surface. Don’t install a screen that overwhelms the space and detracts from the overall experience.
Draper is ready to help you create experiences that will leave your customers dazzled. Click here to use our award-winning (and free) Projection Planner 2.0 to configure the best screen for your next project. Then click here to contact your Draper representative.
