How many lumens should a projector i want to buy have?

Question

My room is around 16'4" x 14'4". I am buying blackout curtains so that my room is completely dark.

Help?

Answer 1

Anything over 1000 would be ok. Most projectors have several light intensity settings and you'll find if your room is pitch black that the theater modes that might be only 250 lumens will be OK.

Another factor is where you are going to place/mount your projector. If it were 16' back on the rear wall you would need something that can put out a little more light.

I have an older Epson PowerLite Cinema 550 and it is rated for 1400 ANSI lumens. If I have all the lights on in the room 100% bright the image is pretty washed out but viewable in the highest light output mode. In Theater Black mode (best for contrast) I can have the pot lights on at about 20% without affecting the picture quality too much.

Your best bet is to head over to http://www.projectorcentral.com and take a look at a few projectors in your price range. They have an excellent projection calculator that will show you how big a screen you can use if you mount the projector at a certain distance. It will also show you how much ambient light you can afford to have in the room.