Source One Rentals

There’s a new product on the market that significantly reduces the amount of space required to project images onto screens or walls. These “super-close projectors” rely on a few tricks — literally using convex mirrors to reduce the distance required to get the image on screen. In fact the new NEC WT610 projector provides a 100″ image from just 26″ away. Compare that to a standard projector, which would need about 12′ for a similar image.

That makes these units perfect for rooms with very little room to spare, such as restaurants and trade show booths. Using a table or adjustable AV cart, the NEC projector can be placed almost right against the screen and still results in a 6′ image. That’s quite a help in tight quarters. This particular projector is 2000 lumens, plenty bright for a 6′-8′ image, typical for small audiences.

Most of our customers aren’t AV professionals — that’s what they pay us for. So it’s not unexpected that many of our clients have no idea how big a projector screen they should use for any given event. While there’s no hard and fast rule for choosing a projector screen, we can make some generalizations based on some common criteria.

A good starting point is to determine the purpose of this screen and how many guests you expect. Naturally if this is for the kids to watch Finding Nemo in the backyard a small screen will be fine, but if you’re planning a conference with several hundred attendees you will need something much bigger. Portable tripod screens are commonly available from 5′ wide to 8′ wide; past that you are looking at a screen that requires a little bit of setup, like the large fastfold screens, which are available to 20′ wide.

Here is a general guideline for choosing a screen size:

:: Small groups, 1-40 people: 5′-6′ tripod or rollup
:: Medium groups, 50-125 people: 7′-8′ tripod or fastfold
:: Banquets, 150-250 people: dual 8′ tripods or fasfolds or one 10′-12′ fastfold
:: Conferences, 200-350 people: Dual 8′-12′ fastfolds

Keep in mind that the larger the screen, the brighter the projector needs to be. Portable conference room projectors (usually 1000-2000 lumens) are fine for 5′ images but not sufficient for a 12′ image — for that you will want at least 3000 lumens if there’s not a lot of light, or 4000-5000 lumens if there is some light.

High definition, or HD for short, is the latest technological craze to hit mainstream America. Primetime television commercials pitch a variety of new televisions (LCD and plasma screens) with high-resolution images that make viewers feel like they’re right on set. But what does it all mean to you?

At home, it means a lot — gorgeous pictures, surround sound, an overall experience that surpasses going to the movie theater. But in the corporate world, and generally for rentals, this HD changeover isn’t quite as important. That’s because most business presentations are still created with XGA (1024×768) resolution computers, which looks pretty good for data presentations such as PowerPoint slideshows.

Some customers will take advantage of the new technology. For example, if you’re screening a film for investors you might like to have the latest and greatest technology in your corner, and HD will certainly provide a much richer experience than standard definition. But keep in mind that no matter how much you spend on an HD monitor or projector, it won’t make your old VHS tapes look any better… in some cases it might appear worse due to the high-resolution capabilities of the newer monitors. You can see that for yourself by going to your local electronics store and asking them to switch from the HD signal to a standard definition channel.

As of this writing there is still a considerable upcharge to go from standard definition projectors and plasmas to their HD counterparts, and while they do look great with the right content, they aren’t necessarily the right choice for you. If you’re not sure, just ask.

With the popularity of video montages we get a fair number of questions that sound more or less like this: “I want to play my DVD on the projector. How does this work?”

The answer is you will need the projector and a DVD player or computer. There is a new crop of consumer projectors that handle the whole process, but most rental companies use higher-resolution, brighter projectors that require a secondary device to play the video. If you have a DVD player you can use that, or bring your laptop (or even desktop PC, although that might be a bit of a bear to lug around).

On a side note, while projector rentals include the appropriate plug and cabling for either a computer or DVD player (or VCR for that matter) they do not have coaxial connections, which is the standard connection from cable (it’s the white cord coming out of your wall with the pin in it). If you have a cable or satellite box it probably has some other output like composite (the yellow plug); otherwise you’ll need to run a VCR as a go-between. Call Source One for more information if you’re not sure what you need.

You should probably also consider how you will handle audio since the projectors are not designed for such things. We carry portable sound systems of all shapes and sizes.

Back in elementary school you may recall your teacher used a nice overhead projector to demonstrate addition. She turned on that bright lightbulb, placed a clear sheet of who-knows-what on the plate, and pulled out a pen. This plus this is this much, carry the one, and… voila. The whole class could easily see what she was teaching.

Things have changed since then, and while we do get the occasional call for an overhead projector, today there’s a better way to go. Naturally if you have a presentation all loaded up in a fancy PowerPoint slidedeck on your laptop you can just hook the whole shebang to an LCD projector and you’re off to the races. But what if you have physical stuff to show, like a document or photos, and you don’t want to scan them in? What if you are an attorney and you want to wave the document, ask “does this look familiar?” and then blow it up big so the whole jury can see the thing? What you need is an Elmo.

Actually, what you need is any kind of document camera, but Elmo is the best-known manufacturer of these products, so most people ask for it by name. It’s like asking for a Kleenex when really any tissue will do. While there are a few models on the market that incorporate both the document camera as well as the projector, most AV rental shops including Source One Rentals use standalone versions that allow us to easily swap the document camera or projector depending on the specific needs of our clients.

Elmo rentals are available with many options, so knowing how you intend to use your rental — or what kind of stuff you need to display — will dictate what model you need. Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, if you know you just need to show paper documents and the occasional photo, a basic Elmo should be fine. If you have any kind of negatives (such as x-rays in medical cases) you will need to upgrade to a unit with an underlight. If you have very detailed images and require very high resolution output you should consider an Elmo rental that includes a better camera.

Naturally, if you aren’t sure what you need, you should call us and ask. We’re happy to help you figure out which document camera rental is right for you. Plus we’ll match up the appropriate projector and screen to your particular situation. And we’re nice, too!

At Source One Rentals we get this question a lot: How do I choose a projector? It’s a simple question, and hopefully we can provide a simple answer.

The first thing to know is: how big is your audience? A small group in a conference room usually calls for a small screen around 5′ wide. If you have 300 guests coming to your wedding you’ll need something much bigger. Since projected images fade as the size increases, you want a brighter projector (measured in lumens) for bigger images. Whereas a 1000 lumens projector is fine on a 5′ screen that won’t be nearly enough for a 12′ screen. Also, if you can cut the lights that will help make the image appear brighter, but if there is a moderate amount of ambient light you should consider bumping the lumens on the projector.

If you’re planning on presenting in the town square at high noon with full sun… plan on being disappointed. No projector is brighter than the sun. Even inside, you will want to bring house lights down. You don’t need pitch black, but dimming the lights in the front of the room will go a long way toward helping your cause.

What are you plugging in? Most DVD players and VCRs run at low resolution so any projector will do, but if you want to run a PowerPoint slideshow you should match the resolution of the projector to your source (in this case probably a laptop). Since most laptops run 1024×768 resolution (called XGA) you want a projector that runs native XGA as well. We rent only XGA projectors.

That said, here is a guideline for how much projector you need:

35 guests or fewer, 6′ screen; 1000 lumens projector
35-75 guests, 7′ screen; 1300 lumens projector
75-150 guests, 8′ screen; 2000 lumens projector
150-250 guests, 10′-12′ screen; 3000-4000 lumens projector

When in doubt, call Source One Rentals for help in choosing the right projector rental.

While most of our business comes from corporate customers — trade shows, conferences, temporary office needs — we do quite a number of events for private parties as well. Birthdays, weddings, bat mitzvahs… if there’s a party, there’s a reason to rent audio/video equipment from Source One Rentals.

Although the cost of technology continues to drop while the benefits of technology increase, it’s just not cost-effective for most people to purchase all the gear required to pull off a great event. For example, inexpensive projectors found on retail shelves are fine for small groups gathering in a living room, but they aren’t powerful enough or the proper resolution for presentations in large groups. If you buy an expensive projector now will you use it the rest of the year? Who will maintain it? And what about larger items like 60″ plasma monitors, which look great but weigh about 180 lbs — how will you store, move, mount and maintain such an item?

At Source One Rentals we handle all the dirty details for you, from helping you determine what gear you’ll need to onsite setup and technical expertise. We service southern California from our Orange County office, and we can arrange for gear at virtually any show site across the country. If you need a full setup for a movie in the park or just a sound system for karaoke night in your living room, we have the gear for you. Hosting a conference with multiple breakout rooms and a general session? Naturally we have custom packages for you as well.

In California, we’re lucky in that we have excellent weather nearly year round. As such the wedding season is a little longer around here, plus brides and grooms have more options for outdoor weddings. If you’ve been to a reception recently you’ve probably seen an example of the latest trend — the video montage, which is a great way to share memories and show off pictures of the bride as a freckle-faced kid.

We’ve seen a lot of these lately, and for good reason. Aside from providing a fun look back down memory lane, video montages are an excellent way to introduce the bride to the groom’s family and friends, and vice-versa. These are generally about 7-15 minutes long (don’t go too long or you risk losing the attention of your audience) and include a video component — snapshots usually — as well as audio.

There are plenty of designers available throughout southern California and nationally who can help you create a great montage, but if you don’t know who to contact, we’ll be happy to refer you to someone! If you have a DJ or live band they should handle the audio end of it for you, or work with your AV technician to be sure everything is ready to rock.

Montages aren’t just for weddings, either. They are popular for birthdays, anniversaries, bar-mitzvas, even baby showers! If you think you’d like to run a video montage for your event keep in mind that you will need a screen large enough for a big crowd to see.