Info: Projector brightness and ambient light

Info: Projector brightness and ambient light
[Digital Projectors]

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Info: Projector brightness and ambient light

Generally, the larger the audience the greater the distance should be between the projector and the interactive whiteboard.

You are looking for a distance of about 1.5 times the width of the projected image.

A projector with a zoom lens will give you more flexibilty in determining the distance.

Type of use	Viewers	Brightness (ANSI Lumens)
Mobile presentations	12	800
Classroom	30	around 1,000
Training	50	around 1,500
Seminar rooms, small forums	100	around 2,000

ANSI = American National Standards Institute.

Brightness and safety

The following is based on information from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency).

There are important health and safety implications in using projectors and interactive whiteboards in classrooms, especially for the student or teacher standing in front of the beam to present to the rest of the class. All projectors, if misused, have the potential to cause eye injury.

It is generally accepted that 1500 ANSI lumens is adequate for projectors in most classrooms. If you want an image bright enough to be seen in a classroom with lights on, allowing students to take notes, a projector of 2000 ANSI lumens should be sufficient. In the most extreme ambient lighting conditions, it is generally better to use window blinds rather than increase the brightness of the projector.

It is generally accepted that a maximum of 1500 ANSI (American National Standards Institute) lumens is adequate for projectors in most classrooms, except in the most extreme ambient lighting conditions, where it is advised that window blinds are used rather than increasing the brightness of the projector.

So buy and use a projector that has a method of brightness reduction, such as neutral density filter or a brightness adjustment feature. These can be removed or adjusted for other purposes such as cinema projections, where you don't have anyone standing in front of the beam, and so allow the projector to be used to its full image quality potential.

It is recommended that health and safety notices are posted next to interactive whiteboards to remind all users of the safety precautions to be followed when using the equipment.

Advice from the HSE

The HSE offers the following guidelines for the safe use of computer projectors in the classroom:

Computer projectors, which are used to show presentations or to illuminate interactive whiteboards, can expose the eye to levels above one of the exposure limits which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses as a guide for compliance with applicable legislation. Therefore, although such exposure limits are not statutory, the HSE considers the following advice to be good practice in respect of the use of these projectors by employers in the education sector.

Staring directly into the projector beam is avoided at all times;

Standing facing into the beam is minimised. Users, especially pupils and students should try to keep their backs to the beam as much as possible. In this regard, the use of a stick or laser pointer to avoid the need for the user to enter the beam is recommended.

Pupils and students are adequately supervised when they are asked to point out something on the screen.

Ensure that projectors are located out of the sight line from the screen to the audience; this ensures that, when teaching staff look at the pupils, they do not also have to stare at the projector lamp. The best way to achieve this is by ceiling-mounting rather than floor or table mounting the projector.

In order to minimise the lamp power needed to project a visible presentation, room blinds should be used to reduce ambient light levels.

Any recommendations made by the manufacturer must be followed.

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