Posted by chellman on September 19, 2011 at 6:10pm
Greetings everyone,
My girlfriend's children's theater company is looking for a projector to rent for a month. They're doing a production of Wizard of Oz and are considering using a live, distorted webcam image to use as the Wizard.
I know precious little about projectors and where to find them, but I thought someone in the community, potentially many someones, will. It seems pretty expensive (at least for a small theater) in my searching so far, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I appreciate any guidance.
Comments
Projector Type
What kind of capabilities are you looking for in the projector? Something simple like a laptop presentation projector (1024x768 pixels), something more complex?
Yes, simple
Nothing more complex than a basic projector for a laptop. Thanks!
The best price I've found for
The best price I've found for projector rentals is $75 a day (this was our price for Drupal Design Camp LA and the training we had the day beforehand, and it included the projection screens). At that cost, renting for 30 days costs as much as buying a dozen used projectors.
I'll put you in touch with someone by email who might be able to help locate a used projector around $150-200.
Yeah, you should be able to
Yeah, you should be able to find a used projector for a much better price. I did some looking around and found a couple of places that will rent out a projector for 30 days for between 300 and 400 (but again, might be able to find it much cheaper).
Is anyone opposed to renting
Is anyone opposed to renting the LA Drupal projector for a competitive market rate? It'd cause some wear and tear... but could provide some useful revenue.
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mike stewart { twitter: @MediaDoneRight | IRC nick: mike stewart }
Bulb replacement deposit is needed
My biggest fear in loaning out my projector is it being dropped, and the $400 bulb (still that price 10+ years later) is broken.
So, pay up front, include a deposit for bulb breakage, and enough to buy a whole new projector, in fact. Upon return, the bulb must be checked to be working, plug it in, turn it on, and put in a valid VGA signal, and see the picture is still there.
A one page contract would be enough.
Peter
LA's Open Source User Group Advocate - Volunteer at DrupalCamp LA and SCALE
In the most general terms,
In the most general terms, I'm not opposed to renting out the projector. I'd like to see the community projector used specifically for Drupal events, though.
I'd also prefer not to have the community projector booked for extended periods of time. To date, the projector has been used most often at the Pasadena Drupal and Downtown LA Drupal meetups, and I think that lending out the projector for 30 days would inconvenience the organizers at two of our monthly meetups.
Mike, would you like to head up the discussion about creating a policy for the community projector? My company would be more than happy to rent it for Drupal trainings we're doing but without a community policy in place it has been easier and more expeditious for us to rent (and recently purchase) projectors for our needs.
ps. This is off-topic but since you mention generating revenue, I'm all for fund raising but I don't think LA Drupal is at a point that we need the revenue. As of September 1st, the LA Drupal Association's bank balance is just above $9,000. Even after the expenses at DrupalCamp LA are paid for, the community will still have a healthy balance.
ps, ya, its off topic, but
ps, ya, its off topic, but seems you wanted that information out there. would have been nice if you had included other relevant info like outstanding debt...
FWIW, LA Drupal still hasn't paid UCI for DCLA 2010, let alone DCLA 2011 -- as of Aug they still hadn't given us a final invoice for last year. Realistically costs from DCLA2010/2011 should probably leave us with an positive balance hovering around ~2k -- however, until UCI bills us we need to simply "sit on the money" until we can pay a bill... and then we know if we truly have extra.
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mike stewart { twitter: @MediaDoneRight | IRC nick: mike stewart }
Ya, I was thinking the
Ya, I was thinking the projector has been idle for last few months and the bulb will eventually die whether its used or not. IOW, at some point it'll break.
I'd like to see it benefit as many in the community as possible... I think being an active member of LA Drupal community is enough, as long as like Christefano mentions doesn't cause any more of an inconvenience to regular meetups.
As far renting as policy, something reasonable -- perhaps a deposit that covers (a percentage: choose something... 25% - 95%) of the depreciated value of the projector? other ideas?
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mike stewart { twitter: @MediaDoneRight | IRC nick: mike stewart }
Brightness and field of focus will be KEY features to get
If this is for a brightly lit stage, then lumens ought to be over 25,000. Very expensive, but sometimes not.
Also, if the projection length is greater than 30 feet, then conference room level projectors might not work. Some will do 80 feet. Big projectors can do 100-150 feet, like in college campus theaters.
Keep in mind that small conference room projectors focus from 8 to 25 feet. That's it. No closer, and no further. Point is the field of focus has two range limits. Thus, a projector suitable for the stage, at 80-120 feet, could never be used inside a conference or even a large room that is 50x50 feet.
Noise level. Nothing is worse when through quiet passages, the music and voices are drowned out by a projector fan whining away.
I think those are the key features for this application. Actually, those are the 3 key features I tell everyone to shop for.
Renting for a month ... best by one, as it will be far cheaper to purchase, than to rent. Rentals can start at 1/3rd the purchase price, PER DAY. 30 days is 10 times the purchase price.
Good luck,
Peter
LA's Open Source User Group Advocate - Volunteer at DrupalCamp LA and SCALE
Thanks for the replies, all!
I'll see what the theater's budget is. It does seem clear that rentals are ca-razy expensive (in theater terms, at least), but all this guidance is helpful!