Top Six Projector Installation Problems

In Uncategorizedby tfwm

Projector mounting can be an intricate, extensive project due to the uniqueness of building structures. Mount manufacturers specialize in designing features and accessories to help you easily overcome installation particulars. Chief Manufacturing Inc., has provided you with a list of common installation problems and answers to help you successfully mount your projector for front-throw projection.

1. Maintaining projector registration
The ability to achieve and maintain precise roll, pitch and yaw adjustments is probably the most defining feature of a projector mount. Many mounts now use a ball and socket design for quick registration, sacrificing your ability to attain precise and secure adjustments. A mount with independent roll, pitch and yaw adjustments gives you clear, concise registration that will be securely maintained when removing the projector. A quick disconnect/reconnect feature will allow you to easily remove and replace your projector on the mount, however be cautious of mounts that use slide-on or spring loaded systems. These designs tend to make lose-fitting reconnections, costing you time and frustration to re-register your projector.

2. Angled ceiling mounting
Angled ceiling adapters are especially helpful for vaulted sanctuary ceilings. These adaptors have different degrees of tilt, the highest being a 100° tilt model. Ceiling plates, suspended ceiling kits, I-beam clamps, internal joist mounts, truss ceiling adaptors, and pipe clamps are other accessories that are available to help meet your installation needs.

3. Mounting the projector at the right height
Projector mounts often attach to standard 1 1/2″ NPT extension column that comes in either fixed or adjustable lengths. Adjustable columns give you the scope you need to position your projector at the correct height. Columns come in a wide range of adjustable lengths, the smallest starting at six inches, the largest extending up to twelve feet.

4. Movement in the extension column
Long installations and external vibration can cause movement in the extension column, disturbing your projector image. A support bracket accessory will help stabilize the column. Also, if you use an adjustable column, be sure that it incorporates a bolt to hold the weight of the outer column and a set screw to lock the inner and outer columns together. Not all adjustable columns are designed to give you the rigidity you need to eliminate movement.

5. Positioning off-center lenses
Does your ceiling structure hinder you from positioning your projector exactly where it needs to be? Have you bought a new projector to mount to an existing installation, but the lens is in a different place? A lateral shift accessory can quickly and easily fix a variety of lens misalignments. These accessories attach at the mount and give a maximum of four or six inches of lateral adjustment, depending on the mount manufacturer.

6. Securing the projector from theft
Projector security has proven to be important in all public places, even churches. Security systems that use cables that stick to the projector housing or interface with Kensington locks are unsightly, obvious and consequently easy to defeat through cutting or wrenching. Integrated projector mount security ranges from the inclusion of a single set screw to top of the line systems, which use low profile, obscure components and steel-into-steel design. The choice is yours!