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Bike targeted as 'terrorist threat' Islington Tribune 29th June 2005
A CYCLIST feared police would blow up his bike, believing it to be a potential terrorist threat.
David Clement-Horton, manager of projector hire firm AV2Hire.Com® in Clerkenwell, was making a delivery in the City when he got a call from police who had spotted his distinctive yellow bike.
Mr Clement-Horton, 39, said: "The officer said people had called the police worried the bike was a terrorist threat. I told them it was a delivery bike and they told me to move it.
"I said I'd be down in two minutes but when I got there the entire contents of the bike, including a £500 projector screen, were on the road. I think it was a bit harsh."
Mr Clement-Horton, from King's Cross, feared police would carry out a controlled explosion.
He is now considering asking police to "stop hassling" him.
Mr Clement-Horton said: "It's madness. If I had turned up in a white van, nothing would have been done. "We are being victimized because we are unusual. This is an irrational approach to policing."
City police said they had no record of the incident. Sergeant Julian Goudchild said: "If it was a direct action from an officer who was alerted by members of the public then it may not have come into our computer-aided dispatch system." Sgt Goodchild said that, if Mr Horton-Clement made a complaint, officers would routinely examine CCTV images.
By Royal Appointment BNI Successnet Spring 2005
When Clerkenwell Chapter's David Clement-Horton received a message to call HRH Princess Michael of Kent, he thought someone was winding him up. His booming projector hire business, AV2Hire,Com, might have brought him into regular contact with the rich and powerful, but.,..royalty?
However, a call to the Princess's personal secretary confirmed that Her Royal Highness was indeed looking lo use David's services - and that he'd received the royal request as a result of a referral given to Kensington Palace by one of his chapter colleagues, Gary Weekes of Mark Turnbull & Associates Photography.
"It never ceases to amaze me just how diverse are the people in each other's networking circles, but I never thought it would include royalty," said David. "It shows how well-connected BNI members can be."
David arrived at the Palace on one of his company's distinctive seven-foot long bright yellow cargo bicycles and spent an hour with the Princess, setting up a large screen in her private dining room and showing her how to use a projector.
While this was his first royal appointment, AV2Hire.Com®'s colourful bicycles are a common sight around some of London's most famous addresses. David has twice ridden through the gates of Downing Street to deliver equipment for Tony and Cherie Blair, and become a frequent visitor to The Houses of Parliament.
He's now looking for more referrals into the Royal Household in the hope of obtaining ,a Royal Warrant to display on his bicycles.
You can contact David on 0845 123 5654
Pedaling Projectors, VeloVision June 2004
Velo Vision caught up with David Clement-Horton of AV2Hire, a London-based business offering audio-visual equipment for hire - by bike!
VV: Could you describe whet AV2Hire it all about?
We hire anything to do with audio/visual that we can safely carry on a bicycle. This includes PA (public address) sound systems, 12' x 9' (4m x 3m) screens, staging, data projectors and a whole list of extra items such as laptops, DVD players, microphones and the like pretty much any equipment you need to give a professional presentation. One thing we don't do is plasma screens, and I believe we never will, as they're just too bulky and delicate to transport safely.
The business is completely built around the ability to transport the equipment quickly and safely around London, which we do overwhelmingly by bike. Unfortunately we hadn't anticipated that our advertising would reach beyond Central London so we do sometimes still have to use cars or vans for the longer distances.
Being based in Central London though, most of our clients are within the first two zones of the underground system which is perfectly accessible by bicycles. Phone for a pizza, and phone us... we'll get there quicker!
Using bicycles instead of vans for most of our work means that our prices are the cheapest around. Despite this we hope we have a great reputation for quality too - we regularly update the equipment, and another plus point is that all of our delivery riders are actually the trained AV technicians too so they can set up and test the equipment when they deliver it. Other companies just employ couriers to deliver the kit, leaving the client to struggle with setting it up.
We hire equipment mainly to businesses, although there are also private customers who hire projectors or sound systems for all sorts of reasons. These have included weddings, where they can show pictures to illustrate speeches (usually showing photos of the stag night!), or to relay proceedings to guests in another room. Or we get people wanting a projector so they can get some mates round to watch a football match.
VV: Tell us about yourself and your personal background.
I first started putting bicycles together when I was seven, mainly to sell to friends to make some pocket money. My father wouldn't let me have my own bicycle until I was sixteen - at which point he didn't have a say in the matter!
When I was seventeen I did my first Land's End to John O'Groats ride, and at eighteen cycled 12,000 miles in six months (I was unemployed and went for a cycle ride with my guitar). At nineteen I became a cycle courier in London and then worked at Dial-A-Bike in Victoria. Dial-A-Bike was a cycle hire shop which kind of inspired me into the business I am in today.
After that I became a computer guru, stopped cycling for a while and started weighing in at 16.5 stone! I'm back down to 12 now...
Among the things I have carried on a bicycle (for good or for bad) are: a bed, a tuba (15 miles, three times a week), a guitar, a three-piece suite (on a trailer) and now a full 12' screen sound and vision cinema outfit!
VV: How did AV2Hire start up? What gave you the idea - and had you done anything similar before?
It started as a way of getting around IR35, a nasty 'New Labour' tax law that picks on computer
contractors by claiming that they are bona fide employees of the companies they do work for, rather than Limited Company consultants. Basically, my accountant said that I needed to diversify.
I had a projector that I used to watch films on, and I could employ my wife Mila to help. So AV2Hire started.
I used the principles I'd seen at Dial-A-Bike in the hire structure and used my knowledge about projectors and laptops for the technical side, used my knowledge of the Internet and search engines for the advertising and of course my knowledge of the fastest way to get around London as the basis for logistics. After a few teething problems it started to make more money than my computer contracting.
VV: How many people work for the company? Do you employ people with an AV background, or a cycling background primarily? Which is harder to pick up?
We have four people working at the London office, plus a franchise in Luton, and another franchise opening in Manchester. Cycles don't seem to work well for this business in rural, small town areas, but when you have a large concentration of businesses in one area such as Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and of course London, they are a blessing.
In answer to your employment question, I can teach anyone about AV. I can't teach London road sense or personality. When I look for people, I don't really care if they have an AV background. But they need to be able to fend for themselves on the London streets and have superb customer care skills as well as being able
to stop at traffic lights and note how one-way streets work.
That's not me having a go at other cyclists - it's just that when they have AV2Hire.Com® on the back of the bicycle they are an ambassador for me, and bad behaviour would not only give other cyclists a bad name, it would give AV2Hire a bad name too.
VV: Do you sell your services on the ecological and community-friendly aspects of using bikes, or mainly on price and convenience? Do your customers know or care that you're using bikes?
We sell our services purely on the price and good service basis. We believe that our customers are more concerned about price and whether we will actually turn up with a projector than the ecological aspect. Using cycles we have the advantage over our competitors of reliably being at a customer's venue when we say we are, instead of lots of phone calls apologising for being stuck in traffic.
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VV: Have you heard of any similar operations elsewhere?
No - I am pretty sure they don't exist. But there's no reason the idea shouldn't work in any of the world's major cities.
Do they know we are using bikes? They do when we turn up with a 150 watt PA system, six foot screen, projector, and DVD player and wearing a cycle helmet! I deliberately wear a helmet and track mitts to emphasise the fact that we are different and hope that they see the difference in increased speed and reliability. It gives me a great buzz to walk into Lloyds of London wearing full cycling gear amongst all the suits. I'm sure it makes our service more memorable too, so they'll call us next time.
We have pictures of the 8 Freight on the website, so I guess our customers are aware of it that way too even before they order.
VV: Are there any motorised competitors in your area offering similar services?
There are hundreds of competitors in our industry, but to my knowledge we are the only AV company using cycles. Maybe we are the only ones who have broken the mould - who knows?
I do know that we don't get our bicycles towed away for illegal parking, and by using bicycles instead of cars and vans not only are we giving our clients value for money, but I have changed what is normally a financial liability into a viable asset. What if another bike-based service started up? By that time we would be so well known that it would be difficult for them to gain any ground, in London at least. It would however be possible for the large established AV companies to follow our lead - which I would only applaud. If a significant industry such as ours can transfer to HPVs instead of HGVs it can only be the start of something great.
VV: How do you feel the conditions for utility cycling in London have changed over the last few years? Have you felt the impact of congestion charging? Are workbikes getting to be a more familiar sight? Is there a workbike community you can slot into?
Bug Bugs! Like them or loath them, they have brought huge visibility of workbikes onto the streets of London. These are the pedicab services, mostly using Cycles Maximus and other rickshaws, and there are a few hundred of them now around Soho.
However even as a workbike advocate I feel that they contribute to the traffic problem because of the sheer size. When considering a bicycle to get things quickly around London, anything with more than two wheels is more likely to get stuck in the jams - or will have to ride over kerbs to make progress, annoying pedestrians and police.
There are a few other workbike companies out there trying to make a difference, mainly sandwich delivery services, but the main potential is for companies who regularly use vans to consider alternative transport. There's certainly lots of potential.
Is there a London workbike community? Not really. I feel very alone out there at the moment, but who knows... With more exposure, hopefully people will begin to realise that fossil fuels aren't the solution.
VV: What plans do you have for the future?
More franchises in the major cities, with more vehicles. A fleet of around ten 8-Freights in London with larger premises to store them. AV2Hire being a household name. World domination!
VIDEO VEHICLES
AV2Hire has used a number of cycles over the years to transport equipment, as David Clement-Horton explains:
When we started we used folding bicycles, tandems and trailers. The only trailer that could carry PA systems and screens safely through London was the 'Bike Hod'. But because of its upright design it had a tendency to overturn if badly loaded. It also had a 'Kangaroo' effect when heavily loaded, affecting the handling of the towing bike.
The tandem idea worked well for carrying screens, as they strapped to the top tube, however we could only carry one screen at a time (unless you like cycling bow-legged) and the usual comment "She's fallen off!" tends to grate after the first few times. My favourite comment however was outside New Scotland Yard where a policeman intoned "I think you need to report a missing person sir". The main problem was that it didn't look very professional, and didn't really blend into a corporate image.
Not being a defeatist, I decided to start looking for alternatives .. sure there were trikes, and Broxes,
but nothing really that could carry even six foot screens and still get through the traffic I even considered telling people that we couldn't hire out screens.
Then I turned up at the Bikefix in Lambs Conduit Street one day on my folder with a six foot rolled-up screen sitting in the rear pannier, going through the middle (in place of the top tube) and slung under the handlebars with a couple of toestraps.
Bikefix owner Stuart had a suggestion. He hires out 8-Freights, and we took one of the screens over to his hire bike and started to experiment. It soon became clear that if we strapped the rolled-up screen to the sides of the cargo frame then it could work. The frame is wider than the pedals, so there's clearance for your feet, and it didn't increase the overall length of the bike.
But I didn't like the idea that it would still look unprofessional, and security/safety were high on my priority list So we needed something better than a jury-rigged 'bodge'.
When I phoned Mike Burrows about this, we talked about everything from stainless steel tubes to a mild steel platform. I needed something that could not only carry screens, but also 4 foot square 18mm plywood sections for staging. It therefore needed to be bombproof.
So were born the 'Mike Burrows Bat Wings'. These are retractable stainless steel tubes (on blue plastic bearings) which hold up to four screens, microphone stands and 4' staging. They also make great foot stands for people taking a ride on the back of the flight case! They neatly slide out of the way when not in use.
I wanted it to be noticed, and as our corporate colours are yellow and blue we decided on that. I was very humbled when I realised that Mike had obtained matching components just for our machine, even having his '8 Freight' logo printed in blue instead of the usual red!
The flight case is a modular design, so that we can add or remove different sections depending what we are carrying. For 12 foot screens and large, heavy PA systems we remove the top, so that they can be strapped on directly over the bike's cargo frame -they wouldn't fit inside anyway
In normal use we will have two sections as a lockable case to hold cables, projectors, stands etc. We can also add a middle section to create a totally enclosed padded box when carrying ultra-bright projectors that need that extra care. A layer of high density foam underneath the flightcase, plus internal padding, means we incorporate a form of dampened suspension. Adding this to the slightly flexible frame and the balloon tyres it seems to even out the potholes and bumps in the road nicely.
It took me a while to get used to the 'steering a bus' fork rake on the 8-Freight, but it really makes a difference when you carry heavy loads. To test this, take out a tandem with a stoker for half an hour, then ask the stoker to get off, and see how much you wobble around. The 8-Freight handles the same, whatever load you are carrying.
VV: David, thank you
CONTACTS
AV2Hire: for more details, price list or to hire a projector see their website www.AV2Hire.Com® or phone 0845 123 5654 (for London area) or 0845 070 5166 (for hiring details outside London).
All photos by Mark Turnbull,
Mark Turnbull Photography, Tel 0207 729 8684
Website www.mark-turnbull.co.uk
Is superbike the future for city couriers? Ham&I August 2004
Jam-buster proves a useful invention
CLERKENWELL business has found a new way of beating London's congestion charge, slow traffic and eagle-eyed wardens.
Hire company AV2 has come up with the 8-Freight superbike -specially designed to deliver up to 100kg loads without a trailer.
The nifty vehicle can nip between buses, park on the pavement and take equipment door to door - without worrying about gelling a ticket.
Boss David Clement-Horton told the High&I: "I am very pleased with the design. It's a small enough bike to get past buses and slow traffic - I'm sure it can get anywhere in London faster than a car."
AV2Hire specializes in renting out and transporting heavy projection equipment but its six feet
Screens do not fit into a normal car, the vans kept getting clamped and attempts to use a bike and trailer resulted in the whole thing overturning.
"We started by using a tandem” says Mr. Clement-Horton. "I am a life-long bike enthusiast, and the problems of London deliveries begged for a green answer. We have cars for long distance trips but, for most of our customers, the bike is better."
Mr Clement-Horton decided he wanted a bike light and streamlined enough lo weave through traffic and strong enough to carry his unwieldy equipment.
So he commissioned Olympic bike designer Mike Burrows to make him something to help keep his business moving.
Mr Burrows is the man behind the bike which helped Chris Boardman win gold in Sydney. And the designer used some of his speed expertise to ensure the 8-freight stands out from the crowd. With rip-stop nylon wheel covers to reduce wind resistance, a carbon fibre/aluminium frame and stainless steel wings that pull out from the back, it is a million miles from your average two wheeler.
And it has attracted plenty of attention
On a recent delivery to the Houses of Parliament, the bike was stopped and searched by police. The six-foot black tubes holding projector screens to the side of the bike aroused suspicion. Mr Clement-Horton said: "I was very amused. 1 think the police were worried we were smuggling in Mortar Bombs.
The Moving Picture Show London Cyclist 12th January 2004
The moving picture show
In the second of an occasional series, Ben Summers spots, and stops, another of the capital's more unusual working bikes. This time it's a projector screen-toting tandem and its steerer and stoker
AV2Hire rents out audiovisual equipment for weddings. exhibitions, conferences and presentations. The items are heavy, bulky, fragile and expensive. The smallest pull-down screen, even folded away, is 6ft long. And yet managing director David Clement-Horton delivers in London using only a Dawes tandem and a Ridgeback folder.
"You couldn't fit one of our screens into a car," he says, "but rolled up, it straps nicely on to the top tube of a tandem." No fancy equipment needed - just a couple of 5p cable ties. A projector, meanwhile, fits snugly into a Karrimor pannier.
The tandem also carries one or two riders, depending on how many people are needed to set up the equipment. And if the job requires more kit, the tandem can take it. A Bike Hod trailer with a hardshell case swallows up whatever the panniers can't. "The most I've been able to carry was a PA system, four projectors and two screens," says Clement-Horton. 'That was with two riders."
"The only adaptation I've done is to move the hooks on the panniers, so I can carry them on the folding bike as welt. We haven't needed to fit extra padding - as long as you don't ride down kerbs, it's fine. We've never damaged any equipment"
The company works all over the UK and when I call Clement-Horton he is on a train to Wales with his equipment and the Ridgeback. A major client had rung his London office and asked him to get to Cardiff
within three hours. He made it.
It’s in London, though, that the company can show off the full benefits of delivering on two wheels. “The really important thing is getting there on time” Clement-Horton says. 'This way, we don't have to drive vans or pay for taxis, There's no congestion charge, and no parking problems."
Projector hire London: http://www.av2hire.co.uk
PA hire London: http://www.soundssimple.co.uk
Glossary of AV terms
Anamorphic Lens: An anamorphic lens is a lens that has different optical magnification along mutually perpendicular radii. This provides the ability to project a source image of one aspect ratio, such as 4:3, into a different aspect ratio, such as 16:9, by using different magnifications for the horizontal and the vertical dimensions of the projected image.
ANSI lumens: Brightness is measured in ANSI (American National Standards Institute) lumens: the brighter the projector, the higher the ANSI lumen rating.
The lumen rating is the average measurement achieved by recording brightness at a number of different points within the light source. It is the fairest and most accurate indication of a unit's overall brightness
Aspect ratio: Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of an image to its height. The most popular aspect ratio is 4:3 (4 by 3). Early television and computer video formats are in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which means that the width of the image is 4/3 times the height.
Examples: A 15 inch monitor is 12 inches wide by 9 inches high (9 x 4/3 = 12). A resolution of 640x480 is a 4:3 format (480 x 4/3 = 640). Other formats are 5:4 used by the 1280x1024 SXGA resolution, 16:9 is used by HDTV, and 3:2 for 35mm slides.
Brightness: The attribute of visual perception in accordance with which an area appears to emit more or less light. (Luminance is the recommended name for the photo-electric quantity which has also been called brightness.)
Colour Dynamics: "The whitest whites, reddest reds, etc." High colour dynamics are a result of dynamic range/contrast ratio's. When we describe a unit as having excellent colour dynamics, the practical description might be "rich colours, excellent definition, high contrast".
Component Video: Component Video is a method of delivering quality video (RGB) in a format that contains all the components of the original image. These components are referred to as luma and chroma and are defined as Y'Pb'Pr' for analogue component and Y'Cb'Cr' for digital component. Component video is available on some DVD players and projectors.
Composite Video Signal: The combined picture signal, including vertical and horizontal blanking and synchronizing signals.
Contrast Ratio: The ratio between white and black. The larger the contrast ratio the greater the ability of a projector to show subtle colour details and tolerate extraneous room light.
There are two methods used by the projection industry:
1) Full On/Off contrast measures the ratio of the light output of an all white image (full on) and the light output of an all black (full off) image.
2) ANSI contrast is measured with a pattern of 16 alternating black and white rectangles. The average light output from the white rectangles is divided by the average light output of the black rectangles to determine the ANSI contrast ratio.
When comparing the contrast ratio of projectors make sure you are comparing the same type of contrast. Full On/Off contrast will always be a larger number than ANSI contrast for the same projector.
dB: dB or decibel is a measure of the power ratio of two signals. In system use, a measure of the voltage ratio of two signals provided they are measured across a common impedance.
DCDi: Directional Correlation Deinterlacing (DCDi) was developed by Faroudja and is a video algorithm designed to eliminate jagged edges that are generated by interlaced video.
Diagonal Screen: The diagonal of a screen can be computed by squaring the width, squaring the height, adding them together and taking the square root.
Digital Light Processing (DLP): The commercial name for this technology from Texas Instruments (TI). The technology inside is often referred to as either "micro-mirrors", or DMD.
It works this way: build a few hundred thousand tiny mirrors, and line them up in 800 rows of 600 mirrors each. Now attach a hinge to each of those 480,000 mirrors. Attach each of those 480,000 hinges to its own very tiny motor! Power each motor with electrostatic energy! The motors tilt their mirrors up to 20 degrees at incredible speeds. This allows the mirrors to modulate light from a lamp, and send the "modulated signal" out through a lens, on to a screen. The most amazing part of DLP micro mirrors, is the scale of size. The 480,000 mirrors (actually 580,000 are used), hinges and motors are packed onto a "wafer" a bit larger than your thumbnail.
DTV: DTV refers to the three types of digital television including Standard Definition Television (SDTV), Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV), and High Definition Television (HDTV).
DVI: DVI means Digital Visual Interface. DVI is a standard that defines the digital interface between digital devices such as projectors and personal computers. For devices that support DVI, a digital to digital connection can be made that eliminates the conversion to analogue and thereby delivers an unblemished image. Specifications on DVI are available at www.ddwg.org
Focal Length: The distance from the surface of a lens to its focal point.
Full On/Off Contrast: Contrast is the ratio between white and black. The larger the contrast ratio the greater the ability of a projector to show subtle color details and tolerate extraneous room light.
HDMI: HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is an uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface that supports audio/video sources such as a set-top box, DVD player, A/V receiver, and video monitors such as a digital projector or digital television (DTV). HDMI is backward compatiable with DVI 1.0 specification and supports HDCP.
HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio, and interactive controls on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committe) HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio.
High Gain Screen: A screen that uses one of many methods to collect light and reflect it back to the audience, which dramatically increase the brightness of the image over a white wall or semi-matte screen. Technologies used include curved screens, special me tal foil screens (some polarized), and certain glass bead screens. Prices and performance vary tremendously.
Infra-red Remote: The traditional remote control, it transmits infra-red, like a television remote. Typical range is limited to 30 or 35 feet. Infra-red requires line of site or a bounce off of a hard surface.
Interlaced Video: Video systems in which each frame of video consists of two video fields. The odd numbered lines are contained in the first field and the even numbered lines are contained in the second field.
Invert Image: Invert image flips the image from top to bottom, to compensate for ceiling mounting a projector upside down.
Keystone Correction: Keystone correction makes a projected image rectangular. This can be accomplished by positioning the projector to be perpendicular to the screen. Since this is not always possible, most projectors are equipped with keystone correction that allows the image to be keystone corrected (made rectangular) by adjusting optics, making mechanical adjustments, or applying digital correction to the image. Keystone correction can be one or two dimensional and manual or automatic depending on the projector and the manufacturer.
Laser Pointer: A small pen or cigar sized pointer, that contains a small battery powered laser, which can project a small, red (typically), high intensity beam of light that is immediately very visible on the screen. Excellent for pointing to objects or text, to make a point.
LCD: LCD stands for liquid crystal display and comes in many forms, sizes, and resolutions. Its primary purpose is to present a digital image for viewing. A common use of LCDs is as a display on a notebook computer.
Lens Shift: The Lens Shift feature of a projector allows the optical lens to be physically shifted up and down (Vertical) or left and right (Horizontal). Most lens shift mechanisms are motorized with vertical lens shift being the most popular. With a projector that has lens shift you can optically correct for keystone distorted images. It is also used to help geometrically align images when stacking projectors.
Long Throw Lens: A lens designed for projection from the back of a room, or rather the back of a long room. Long throw lenses would be used in a projection booth in the back of a theatre, etc. A typical long throw lens might have to be 50 to 100 FT back to project a 10FT diagonal image.
Maximum Distance: Sometimes, rarely, the distance from the screen that a projector can focus the image. Most of the time, it is the manufacturer's opinion of how far from a screen the projector can be to cast an image that is useable (bright enough) in a fully darkened room. Generally this is very subjective. One projector might quote a distance that allows them to produce a 25FT diagonal image, while another, brighter projector might quote a distance that only equates to a 20FT image. Beware!
Maximum Image Size: The largest image a projector can throw in a darkened room. This is usually limited by focal range of the optics.
Native Resolution: Native Resolution refers to the number of physical pixels in a display device. For example, an SVGA projector has 800 physical pixels of resolution horizontally and 600 pixels vertically or 480,000 total pixels. This is the native resolution of the projector. Projectors are capable of projecting greater or smaller resolution images into the same physical resolution through scaling.
NTSC: The United States broadcast standard for video and broadcasting. An older standard and lower resolution than systems used in most of the world.
OHP: The common abbreviation for overhead projector
PAL: A European and international broadcast standard for video and broadcasting. Higher resolution than NTSC.
Pixel: A small coloured dot that is one of many comprising the image. These can just be seen when the screen is looked at very closely.
Power/Electronic Zoom: A zoom lens with the zoom in and out controlled by a motor, usually adjusted from the projector's control panel and also the remote control.
Progressive Scan: A type of display in which all the horizontal lines of an image are displayed at one time in a single frame, unlike an interlaced scan in which a frame consists of two separate fields with the first field consisting of odd horizontal lines and the second field even horizontal lines. Progressive scan is used by projectors, computer monitors, some TVs and HDTV systems, and some digital camcorders.
Projector: A projector is a device that integrates a light source, optics system, electronics and display(s) for the purpose of projecting an image from a computer or video device onto a wall or screen for large image viewing. There are hundreds of products available in the market and they are differentiated by their resolution, performance and features. These devices attached to a computer or video device as you would connect a monitor.
QXGA: QXGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. A QXGA display has 2048 horizontal pixels and 1536 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 3,145,728 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector. A QXGA display has 4 times the resolution of an XGA display.
Rear Screen Projection: Using an opaque screen, the projector is placed behind the screen, invisible to the audience. It projects onto the screen and the audience sees it on the other side. Good rear projection screens actually produce brighter images than some standard screens. So as not to waste space behind the screen, ideally a projector with a short throw lens is used. Since the projector can be placed even with the middle of the screen, without blocking anyone's view, keystoning is not a problem. Some mid-room projectors like the Epson have available 3rd party short throw lenses. Since the image is projected through the screen, the image must be reversed.
Resolution: The amount of pixels that make up an image - e.g. 640 x 480 means 640 pixel groups across the image by 480 pixel groups down. The larger the number of pixels the higher the resolution and the sharper and more detailed the image is.
Reverse Image: Reverse image is a feature found on most projectors which flips the image horizontally. When used in a normal forward projection environment text, graphics, etc, are backwards. Reverse image is used for rear projection.
RGB: Red, Green, Blue; the normal type of monitor used with computers. Example of usage: RGB input or output often referred to as Computer input or output.
S-Video: A video transmission standard that uses a 4 pin mini-DIN connector to send video information on two signal wires called luminance(brightness, Y) and chrominance(colour, C).
S-Video is also referred to as Y/C. A composite signal, typically found coming out of an RCA jack on the back of most VCRs has the Y and C information combined into one signal. The advantage of having luminance and chrominance separated is that a comb filter is not needed inside the video projector to separate the composite signal into the luminance and chrominance signals. A comb-filter can reduce the sharpness of your video image.
SDTV: SDTV stands for standard definition television and is a class of digital television (DTV) that refers to the 480i format. 480i is an interlaced video format that produces a full frame of 480 lines of video in two successive fields. The first field includes the odd lines and the second field includes the even lines.
SECAM: A French and international broadcast standard for video and broadcasting. Higher resolution than NTSC.
Short Throw Lens: A lens designed to project the largest possible image from short distance. Most front room projectors use short throw lens. They are often required for rear projection, where the depth behind the screen is limited. A typical short throw lens might produce a diagonal image size of 10 FT, from a distance of 7 to 10 FT.
SVGA: SVGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. An SVGA display has 800 horizontal pixels and 600 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 480,000 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector.
SXGA: SXGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. An SXGA display has 1280 horizontal pixels and 1024 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 1,310,720 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector.
TFT: Thin Film Transistor
UXGA: UXGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. A UXGA display has 1600 horizontal pixels and 1200 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 1,920,000 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector.
VGA: VGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. A VGA display has 640 horizontal pixels and 480 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 307,200 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector.
WiFi: Wi-Fi is Wireless Fidelity and is based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications for wireless local area networks (WLAN) developed by a working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). There are four specifications in the family: 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. All four use the Ethernet protocol and CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) for path sharing.
WSXGA: WSXGA defines a class of SXGA displays with a width resolution sufficient to create an aspect ratio of 16:9. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. A WSXGA display has 1920 to 1600 horizontal pixels and 1080 to 900 vertical pixels respectively that are used to compose the image delivered by the projector.
WXGA: WXGA defines a class of XGA displays with a width resolution sufficient to create an aspect ratio of 16:9. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. A WXGA display has 1366 to 1280 horizontal pixels and 768 to 720 vertical pixels respectively that are used to compose the image delivered by the projector.
XGA: XGA is used to define a specific display resolution. Resolution is defined by the number of individual dots that a display uses to create an image. These dots are called pixels. An XGA display has 1020 horizontal pixels and 768 vertical pixels giving a total display resolution of 783,360 individual pixels that are used to compose the image delivered by a projector.
Zoom Lens: A lens with a variable focal length providing the ability to adjust the size of the image on a screen by adjusting the zoom lens, instead of having to move the projector closer or further.
Zoom Lens Ratio: Is the ratio between the smallest and largest image a lens can project from a fixed distance. For example, a 1.4:1 zoom lens ratio means that a 10 foot image without zoom would be a 14 foot image with full zoom. Conversely, a 10 foot diagonal image at 15 feet with no zoom would still be a 10 foot image at 21 feet at maximum zoom (15 x 1.4 = 21 feet). A zoom lens is "not as bright" as a fixed lens, and the higher the ratio, the less light output.
