Pubs & Clubs Buyers Guide

Choosing the right projector for your Bar or Club.

Pubs and clubs generally require a projector for large screen sport events and sometimes general entertainment such as music video's & TV. These projectors will usually feature a higher contrast ratio and brightness level making them suitable for large open areas. Some new Laser projectors are designed to operate for long periods too making them perfect for hospitality venues.

What brightness level do I require?
What Resolution is right for me?
Should I use a Laser or Lamp projector?
How do I connect my projector?
How far away should the projector be from the screen?
Can I use a projector outdoors in my beer garden?
What projectors do you recommend for pubs and clubs?

What brightness level do I require?

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Brightness with all the major projector brands is universally measured in ANSI Lumens. As multi-use projectors are used in varying environments its difficult to give an exact required brightness level. If you are planning to use your projector primarily in a dimly lit pub environment, for an image around 2m wide, then a brightness level as low as 3000 ANSI Lumens will be quite suitable. If you would like to use your projector in a very bright room, or for images quite large (ie 3m wide), then a brightness level between 4000 and 6000 ANSI Lumens is recommended.

What Resolution is right for me?

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A resolution is essentially a measurement for the number of pixels being projected. Usually this is represented in a number of pixels width to height e.g. 1920 pixels width and 1080 pixels high. Projectors may accept signals higher and lower of the native resolution but will have to convert or compress the signal to display in the native resolution.

The most common resolutions are:

SVGA - 800x600 - For basic entertainment only. Is slowly being phased out.
XGA - 1024x768 - Good for basic entertainment too, a little more detailed than SVGA. Also being phased out.
WXGA - 1280x800 (HD) - Being HD this resolution is great value for movies, sport and TV.
WUXGA - 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200 (FULL HD) - Great detail, perfect for high quality movies
UHD - 3840x2160 (Ultra High Definition 4K 2160p) - The highest resolution designed for 4K media. Great for watching 4K sport channels.

Should I use a Laser or Lamp projector?

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Laser projectors use a laser light source instead of a traditional lamp. Unlike a lamp, the laser light source does not need replacing so are a popular option in environments where the projector will be running for long hours. If you plan to have your projector on for over 6 hours a day a laser projector should be considered to save you the ongoing lamp costs as well as the inconvenience of a lamp failing in the middle of the footy finals. Laser projectors cost more up front than a typical lamp model however can be worth the extra cost in the long run. Check out our Laser Projectors Buyers Guide for further information.

How do I connect my projector?

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Some older projectors have connections like VGA, Component, Composite, and S-video on the back. These connections are all analogue and lower quality. Almost all modern projectors will solely utilise a HDMI connection, this is a digital connection that can provide a significant improvement in detail. We always recommend projectors be connected via a high quality HDMI cable. If you purchase a 4K resolution projector we recommend using a Active High Speed HDMI cable to ensure the signal remains strong enough.

Most HDMI signals cannot run more than 20 metres so in the event your source computer or player will be really far away you may need to consider a HDBaseT connection. The HDBaseT port is featured on select projectors, it utilises a CAT 5/6 network cable and can run long distances (usually up to 100 metres). You will require a HDBaseT transmitter box (available separately) to work in conjunction with the projector. Simply plug your source computer or player into the HDMI port on the transmitter box, run your Cat 5/6 cable from the box to the projector, and you're up and running with a HD quality picture over long distance.

How far away should the projector be from the screen?

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Projectors need to be placed at a certain distance back for a certain image size. This distance varies between models. Generally, you can expect most projectors to sit about '1.5x the image width'. So if you image was 2m wide, most models would sit around 3m back. This can vary considerably between models so always check prior to purchase. We have a throw distance chart for most models on our website in the 'More Information' section but we are here to help if you want to check any sizes/distances. If you have a long throw range/installation distance, you can still use a projector, you likely would need to look at a large venue projector though. These cost a bit more but can allow for long throw distances.

Check out our Throw Distance Blog for some further information.

Can I use a projector outdoors in my beer garden?

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Yes definitely, although there are some things to keep in mind. Projectors are not water or insect proof. Your projector should ideally be installed inside however if you decide to install it outside ensure it is well protected from moisture. It is also a good idea to cover the projector when not being used for a while to ensure insects (or small animals like Geckos) don't make a home inside it.

When projecting outside ambient light is a concern too. A projector cannot compete with the power of the sun so you likely will not be able to make use of your projector until sunset. To ensure the image remains bright enough to view in the early evening make sure you consider a unit with a higher ANSI Lumens rating. The larger you make the image the less vibrant the image will appear too, so if you are displaying in a very bright area it can be more cost effective to make the image size smaller rather than spending more on a brighter projector.

What projectors do you recommend for Pubs & Clubs?

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The team at Just Projectors are constantly testing new releases to determine the best projectors available for the money. Below we list a range of projectors we recommend for hospitality set up's. As always if you have any queries feel free to get in contact with us.