VISUAL TECH SOLUTIONS PTE LTD

Your Trusted Partner in Professional Audio Video Solutions

Site Preparations

AV Installationphoto credit:saville-av.com

You have found the ideal AV Solution for your application, made tons of pricing comparisons and finally settled for an excellent deal. You might think this is the end of your job as the rest lies with the installer; a common mistake very often committed by users.

A successful and well-planned AV installation job will not be possible without good coordination and on-site preparation. Of course we do not mean for the user to be preparing the cabling works but more like getting the site laid up to allow the installer sufficient work space.

Some of the good practices by users include:

–       AV Installation should be scheduled at the end after all other renovating works to prevent damage of the equipment by other contractors

–       Clearing away/ shifting aside unnecessary furniture that might obstruct the installation

–       Ensuring sufficient power points available for the equipments

–       Remove any unnecessary decorations that might obstruct the installation or mountings

–       Ensure that the necessary racking for the equipments are ready

–       Ensure that sufficient time is given for any unforeseen circumstances during testing

–       Make sure the job site is clean and free from debris from other renovation works to avoid dirtying the equipments after installation

Last but not least, users must take ownership of the position of where you want to mount the equipment. Installer will advise against some locations if it affects the performance of the equipment.

Hope the above helps to make your AV Installation a smooth and pleasant experience.

Preserving Lamp Life

One of the setbacks for using a projector is, having to purchase replacement lamps when the image becomes too dim to view comfortably. Projector lamps are not exactly very cheap, ranging from a few hundred to even thousands, depending on the model and type. Although we cannot avoid the inevitability of having to change lamps but there are certain pointers you can adopt to help prolong the life of these expensive lamps.

1. Do not keep spare lamp for excessively long periods
Condition of spare lamp may deteriorate even when not in use. Try to purchase the lamp(s) only when nearing the expected lamp hours on the current lamp. Note that most lamps warranty is only 3 months/ 500hrs, so keeping a spare lamp beyond that period will only be wasting the warranty. If purchasing a back-up spare lamp is really necessary, it is advisable to test the lamp and ensure it is working prior to keeping it in storage.

2. Do not touch the lamp glass during installation
Use a clean dry cloth during handling of the new lamp to avoid leaving residue on the lamp glass. Residues/ dirt left on the glass surface will cause concentration of heat during its high temperature operation, which may cause the glass to crack prematurely.

3. Normal & Eco Mode
Since new lamp condition is at its best, you may opt to operate the projector on ECO mode first, which takes lesser toll off the lamp. Switch to Normal mode only when the image becomes too dim for viewing comfort.

4. Clean filter regularly
Filters tend to be clogged with dust after some time. Cleaning helps to prevent excessive heat building up in the projector, particularly in the lamp housing. Overheating may cause lamp to crack and fail.

5. AV Mute Slide Lens Shutter
This is a function limited to certain projector models, which allow a user to slide a shutter across the lens to block the projection. User will usually find something to block the lens when they want to divert the audiences’ attention away from the projected image. This lens shutter not only fulfill the objective of blocking off the screen, when closed, the lamp is actually turned off hence saving unnecessary wastage of lamp hours.

6. Shut down projector properly
This means pressing the Power Off button and wait for the beeping sound to prompt users to turn off the hard switch. This is to allow the projector’s internal fans to sufficiently cool the lamp after use. Inadequate cooling will cause lamps to fail prematurely. Some projectors however supports instant off function, as there is an in-built mechanism to cool the lamp even after instant power off. This is especially useful for areas prone to power outage or users who do not have the patience of waiting for the cooling down time.

Ensuring the above will surely help conserve the life of your projector lamps and saving unnecessary expenditures.

Keeping your projector screen in good shape

Keeping your projector screen in good shapephoto credit:smarttech.com

Although a projector screen is only a fraction of the projector’s price, it plays an important role in delivering a good clear image. But how often do we look into maintaining a projector screen? Or is there any maintenance to speak of in the first place?

The most common problems with projector screens are:
–       Warping on the sides of the screen
–       Fabric of the screen crumbles/ wrinkles
–       Fabric turns yellowish

Things to avoid during installation:

  1. Air-conditioning blowing directly at the screen
    This causes water vapor to condense on the surface of the screen once air-condition is switched off. Prolong exposure to water vapor will results in fungus ‘growing’ on the screen causing it to turn yellowish or even brownish
  2. Brackets mounted on vibrating surface
    Building structures like metal beams running across the ceiling of the room might have been used to support other equipments (e.g. Air-Conditioning Unit) such equipments will cause the beam to vibrate constantly. Screens mounted on these vibrating surfaces may cause mechanism in the roller to jam easily.
  3. Leveling of the screen
    Un-leveled screen installation will cause tension on one side of the fabric and slag on the other. Over time, such tension and slag may cause the fabric to warp or wrinkled

A screen should always be retracted when not in use. This is to reduce the amount of tension on the hanging fabric hence relieving it of the stress. Less stress on the fabric will help to prevent it from warping and wrinkling.

Not much of preventive maintenance but more like preventive measures on prolonging the life span of your projector screen.

New Lamp or New Projector

Have you ever find yourself caught in a dilemma between buying a new lamp to replace the dimming projector and changing a new projector?

It is not uncommon for users to encounter such a problem, as the projector they bought 3-5 years ago is likely to have been phased out and replaced with better and cheaper models. Since even the lower tier brightness projector lamps cost around $400-$500, it is difficult to choose between the two.

The followings are a summary of points to help you consider if buying the lamp or the new projector is more cost effective:

Cost difference between New Lamp and New Projector
–       Slight difference in cost might prompt user to favor buying a new projector

Lamp Hours
–       Old projector probably have very low lamp hours which translates to frequent changing of the lamps
–       The latest projector now have in excess of 5000 – 6000hrs for some models, that is a good 2 x lamp life comparing to the old 2000-3000 hrs lamps

Lamp replacement cost
– User might also want to include any additional cost incurred when engaging a vendor to change the projector lamps into costing considerations

Projector Setup
–       User will have to take note if they will incur additional installation charges for using a new projector

Availability of parts
–       Projector spare parts are usually kept in production for about 5 years after the projector has been phased out
–       Parts that are reused in newer models will be kept in production for longer period
–       It will be advisable to check the availability of parts to decide if continue usage of the old projector is a viable option

Performance
–       New projector models are usually manufactured to be better and cheaper, so user can take the opportunity to access if the current projector is able to meet their requirement of should they change for a more powerful one

Energy Efficient
–       New technologies have improve the performance and lower the energy consumption of the projectors
–       Might be a good option to look into energy efficiency if your organization is moving towards energy saving

Hope the pointers will help our users make better decisions when coming across such a situation in future.

Projector Maintenance

Projector Maintenancephoto credit:adtechsystems.com

Operating a projector might put many non IT/ AV users off with all the new features and functions, let alone maintaining one. But it is really not that difficult in doing a simple routine cleaning to help prolong the efficiency of the projector.

As long as the projector is within reaching distance, you might want to adopt the following steps in maintaining your projector:

  1. Allow the projector to cool down before cleaning

–       Wait for at least 2 hrs after use prior to cleaning

–       As you might shake the projector during cleaning, internal optical engines and lamps which is still hot might easily results in cracks or damages

  1. Remove Air Filter

–       Most projectors have an Air Filter to prevent dust from entering the optical engine

–       These filters are usually easily accessible from the side of the projector to allow easy maintenance

–       Do note that a projector without an Air Filter does not equals to no need for cleaning

  1. Vacuum clean filter and surrounding of the whole projector

–       Use a vacuum cleaner to clean the air filter

–       Some Air Filters are sponge like (enable for washing) but vacuum clean will suffice

–       Vacuum the whole projector for any dust/ dirt resting on it

–       A damp cloth can be used to clean the casing of the projector but make sure it does not drip water into the projector

  1. Clean the lens with a soft damp cloth

–       Use cloth that does not drop fine furs during cleaning

–       Use a clean dry cloth to wipe the lens dry after cleaning with the damp cloth

  1. Checks

–       Routine checks on the lamp hours to prepare for lamp replacement when current lamp is running dim

–       Project some test pattern to ensure focus and sharpness, usually easily adjusted from the lens/ menu

–       Ensure that all connected ports are secure

With the 5 easy steps, everyone should be able to DIY a projector maintenance.

Apart from sharing the pointers on projector maintenance, do you know that projector maintenance actually starts from the moment you choose your projector?

Below are the few features that you can look out for in a projector that will help you in ease of maintaining it for the years to come:

–       Easily access Air Filter and Lamp design even after ceiling mounted installation, which allows the user to change filter and lamp without having to dismount the projector

–       Enhanced Air Filter design to reduce the frequency of cleaning

–       If intention to operate in poor air condition environment (i.e. smoking areas, dusty rooms), look for projectors with internally sealed optical engines (cost more but goes a long way in protecting the projector)

–       Installation away from direct air-con to avoid condensation inside projector during cooling down

–       Longer lasting lamps to reduce the frequency of changing lamps and also translates to lower operating cost

The pointers above serve to help users plan ahead when making purchase for a new projector.

We can be found at the following address:

Visual Tech Solutions Pte Ltd

Vision Exchange
2 Venture Drive
# 24-01
Singapore 608526
tel: +65 6914 7705
fax: +65 6914 9001

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