Projector choice?

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300-350...not here. Or maybe that's why I don't see it.
You can get $1500-2500 to do a wedding..but you won't do many, here that is.

Every market is different. I had a friend who's daughter got married in nashville and he was constantly stroking out at the costs - EVERYTHING was a separate cost - hall, chairs, covers, etc, etc.

Here the most popular hall is about $40/plate for dinner, chair covers, cake, add $15 for booze. 120 person reception runs $8-9k or so, with gratuity.
In the city it's different, but that's not my market anymore than NYC or LA is my market.

I can sell uplighting for 150-200, at 300 and up it's a no sale.
At 100-150 I've sold a monogram, at higher prices it's a no sale. I'm considering using it almost an incentive to close deals - the half price uplighting has worked well - close the deal and add $150 to the contract.

A video projector makes a very poor lighting instrument.
If you want a projector optimize the selection for video because there is more money in projecting quality video than there is using a cheap projector to imitate lighting.

It costs about $40 to rent a high quality Leiko and $39-$60 to get a steel gobo cut. Most DJs sell the monogram effect for $300 to $350 dollars. So, you don't need to own anything - there's a 200% markup on the COG.
 
It makes no sense for you to do this.

This is an effect that has already gone retail. For the amount you are charging people will be able to buy their own dedicated LED pattern projector and then sell it on eBay post wedding to recover the cost. Not the most professional solution, but a clear competitor for what you are proposing to offer.

It's probably not true that professional pattern projection can't sell for $300+ in your area. It's more likely a self fulfilling prophecy - you're not confident doing it or selling it and that is coming across to prospects just as it is coming across in this thread. Your're not known for doing it - and hence, not the go-to source for this. Focus on what you do well and charge the highest rate you can for just that. These "add-ons" will hurt you in the long run as they distract you from the core competency people are hiring your for.

If something doesn't entirely pay for itself on the first gig or a short series of gigs ALREADY on your books - it's not a reasonable "add-on."
 
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When the avg wedding is $550 to dj it's IMPOSSIBLE to sell 50% upcharge extras. Just WILL NOT HAPPEN.

I have 20% looking for as cheap as possible...$500? too expensive, sorry.
I'm sure there are some DJs that get a lot more for a wedding, I know one that claims to.
I'm in some packages at venues - THEY say brides won't pay $1000 for a dj. Retired DJs here say that as well. I know some working DJs (part timeers/hobbyist types mostly) that will do a wedding for $350-500.

20 years ago it may have been different, but today? "for that money I'll rent a boom box" or similar.

I've booked a couple of wedding for photogaphy - they 'dont need a dj' because the cost is too high!


So to sell a wedding for $650 then add $600 more in uplighting and monogram isn't going to happen.

But to get $150 each? that's doable. Now that pumps sales averages 50%.

It makes no sense for you to do this.

This is an effect that has already gone retail. For the amount you are charging people will be able to buy their own dedicated LED pattern projector and then sell it on eBay post wedding to recover the cost. Not the most professional solution, but a clear competitor for what you are proposing to offer.

It's probably not true that professional pattern projection can't sell for $300+ in your area. It's more likely a self fulfilling prophecy - you're not confident doing it or selling it and that is coming across to prospects just as it is coming across in this thread. Your're not known for doing it - and hence, not the go-to source for this. Focus on what you do well and charge the highest rate you can for just that. These "add-ons" will hurt you in the long run as they distract you from the core competency people are hiring your for.

If something doesn't entirely pay for itself on the first gig or a short series of gigs ALREADY on your books - it's not a reasonable "add-on."
 
When the MY avg wedding is $550 to dj it's IMPOSSIBLE to sell 50% upcharge extras.

If we never take a step back from the tree - then the low hanging fruit is all we know.
I've offered a correction to your perception (above), because it's the central reason I think a projector is not a good move for you.

  • Your sales are capped at $550 and yet, I know there are people in western PA charging twice that and more.
  • You've suggested that no one in your area is doing monograms despite the effect's 20+ years of popularity.
This extra-add on won't make you more money. (You've already admitted you'll likely throw it in free.)
That's a mistake.

Take a better look at the tree and make a plan to pick higher. Surely you can position yourself to $700 without having to throw in a projector.
It's not necessarily easy - by by no measure is it IMPOSSIBLE.
 
There is allegheny county, and everyplace else in western pa/eastern ohio/wv panhandle
Allegheny county is pittsburgh, 1 million or more population.
Beaver county has 160,000 people and is very rural.

If I do what everyone else does, why me?

If i'm the only one with a monogram...then I'm setting myself apart.
If I get a request for a slide show and say no, i'm losing business.

I can't sell what I don't have to sell. A 2200 lumen projector is not a 4000 lumen one - like trying to sell DJ services with a home stereo.

"throw it in for free" is one way to look at it. Another is "you want 650, that's too much. can you do 550?" - I lose $100 or I lose $550.
Or "well, I throw in the monogram!" - $150 value to them, so I actually earned 100, or 650, depending on your perspective.

I don't spend $150 plus a month on wedding wire/knot like some do.

Profitability is a combination of costs, price and quantity.

If you spend 200/month on knot, have $3000 bose system, 500 controller, update your gear every years and rent an office at $400/month, have a dedicated van or trailer then you HAVE to charge $1000 or more but you may not be more profitable.

I could spend $3k on a bose F1...can't get a dime more for my service.
A projector - I can close more weddings and charge more, offer things i can't offer now.

If we never take a step back from the tree - then the low hanging fruit is all we know.
I've offered a correction to your perception (above), because it's the central reason I think a projector is not a good move for you.

  • Your sales are capped at $550 and yet, I know there are people in western PA charging twice that and more.
  • You've suggested that no one in your area is doing monograms despite the effect's 20+ years of popularity.
This extra-add on won't make you more money. (You've already admitted you'll likely throw it in free.)
That's a mistake.

Take a better look at the tree and make a plan to pick higher. Surely you can position yourself to $700 without having to throw in a projector.
It's not necessarily easy - by by no measure is it IMPOSSIBLE.
 
It's also why I'm trying to limit the investement to 500, well, 750, rather than 1500.

If we never take a step back from the tree - then the low hanging fruit is all we know.
I've offered a correction to your perception (above), because it's the central reason I think a projector is not a good move for you.

  • Your sales are capped at $550 and yet, I know there are people in western PA charging twice that and more.
  • You've suggested that no one in your area is doing monograms despite the effect's 20+ years of popularity.
This extra-add on won't make you more money. (You've already admitted you'll likely throw it in free.)
That's a mistake.

Take a better look at the tree and make a plan to pick higher. Surely you can position yourself to $700 without having to throw in a projector.
It's not necessarily easy - by by no measure is it IMPOSSIBLE.
 
I have a BenQ 4000 lumen projector used for watching TV on a 110" screen indoors or a 100" screen for outdoor movies. Fabulous for watching the Super Bowl. Skin tones on close-ups are a bit wonky. All kinds of inputs as well as (as mentioned above) vertical and horizontal adjustments, which, imo, is a valued feature second only to lumens.

BenQ SW916
 
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I'm hoping monkey see monkey do - I do a few and get some marketing material together and push them - I did that last year with uplights and sold 1/4 of my weddings on up lighting.

I often get questions on 'what is up lighting'... we'll see how the monogram bit goes.

This too is a regional thing. Here in Kentucky I do them regularly and have been for the last 3 years.
 
I've been a photographer at well over 150 weddings - NEVER have I seen a monogram.

I would want sort out the reason for that before I start spending money and time on something I've NEVER seen.

150 weddings is a single season for lot of full time vendors. (Not during Covid, of course.)
There are 15,000 weddings in my region EVERY YEAR. If there's anything near that in your region your observation is 99% blind.

But let's indulge your conjecture:
  • Why would you choose to add something you clearly suggest no one is seeking?
  • What is it about your plan that will turn around this complete disinterest and rejection of monograms in your area?
  • Why deliberately choose the wrong piece of equipment for this effect?
  • How does the fan noise of a projector fit into this aesthetic?
I'm hoping ...
If this is a hobby for you, knock yourself out and buy or do whatever makes you happy. Just don't create fake news suggesting that the use of cheap video projectors as framing spots is a creative or sound business practice. It's not.
 
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550 wedding licenses are issues in my county in a year.

Why sell uplighting? I had 2 requests in 6 years.
I bought the lights, pushed it, and now sell it often.

The next step up of what I'm looking at for projector is commonly used for monograms.
THe only diff I see between 1100-1500 and 700-800 is 1000 lumens. Is that a BIG difference?
The dedicated gobos are about 4500 lumens (depends on brand). You can't do an animated gobo with them. or anything but gobos. And they're $200-300 range, plus a gobo for every wedding you have to buy. I can make monograms on a computer for a projector.

I would want sort out the reason for that before I start spending money and time on something I've NEVER seen.

150 weddings is a single season for lot of full time vendors. (Not during Covid, of course.)
There are 15,000 weddings in my region EVERY YEAR. If there's anything near that in your region your observation is 99% blind.

But let's indulge your conjecture:
  • Why would you choose to add something you clearly suggest no one is seeking?
  • What is it about your plan that will turn around this complete disinterest and rejection of monograms in your area?
  • Why deliberately choose the wrong piece of equipment for this effect?
  • How does the fan noise of a projector fit into this aesthetic?

If this is a hobby for you, knock yourself out and buy or do whatever makes you happy. Just don't create fake news suggesting that the use of cheap video projectors as framing spots is a creative or sound business practice. It's not.
 
I can make monograms on a computer for a projector.

Yes, more stuff we can throw in for free.
It doesn't address the core proposal of making more money - just makes us busy without reward.

DJ sales increase with better connection, visibility, and delivery of a reliable experience.
More "stuff" is not a meaningful substitute and good prospects know it. There is no amount of stuff we can surround ourselves with that can compensate for a lack of effort or ability to market and sell our core skill.
 
THe only diff I see between 1100-1500 and 700-800 is 1000 lumens. Is that a BIG difference?

The range you cite is too small be comparatively significant. I believe there are some handheld devices capable of projection at 800+ lumens. I'd be surprised if there was any current projector product on the market with ratings that low, save for a novelty or toy.

2200 - 2800 lumens is typical of the now obsolete analog (RGB, SVGA) portable office projectors. They work well on small sceens (6-8ft) in rooms where the lights cab be turned down or off.

Your typical classroom projector today (6-8Ft screen, HDMI) is 3500-5000 lumens, serves a room with 20-30 people and is best used in an interior classroom. A room with a wall of exterior windows receiving un-shaded daylight will seriously degrade the image. Small lecture halls are 5000-7500 and still require the lights to be partially dimmed. Large lecture halls are 10,000-30,000 and a your local cinema is 20,000-40,000.

Lumen is only a useful measure when used in a mathematical formula for a specific set of conditions:
  • Throw distance
  • Image area
  • Screen material
  • Front or rear surface
  • Ambient light level
IMG_5352.JPGIMG_5353.JPG

Let's repeat:
You're attempting to use a projector as a lighting fixture. There won't be any consistency in the variables that matter to a successful outcome moving from one mobile event to the next. The range you cite (700-1500) will only work in completely darkened rooms, and even then you have no control over placement (throw distance). Wedding spaces are supposed to be bright and cheery - not dingy dark caves.

Right out of the gate, the projector range you are considering will lack the features you would need to overcome basic placement issues, then you'll find it's not nearly bright enough to be appreciated.

FIND A USED 575W - 750W LEIKO FIXTURE with a ZOOM RAGE of 19-35 Deg. Legacy gear of this type can be bought for a faction of it's former cost but, the value is many times higher BECAUSE THEY WORK! You can significantly more money on a color changing LED version, but your pricing and plan doesn't justify the expense given the present cost to value ration in an LED Leiko.
 
So I'm hoping I can piggyback on this post with a scenario. My church has charged me with finding a video projection system for their parish hall. They have asked me to find a ceiling mount projector and screen system. The hall can go completely dark and has 10' ceilings. The hall is rectangular in shape and we are picturing the screen going against one of the long walls.
I'm proposing one of the electric screens that when not in use hides flush up in the drop ceiling. Does anyone have any expertise on screen choice as far as size, etc? I didn't realize that screen color (grey/white) was something to consider as well.
So far I am proposing the Optoma EH512 as a projector. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 5k lumens, and 15,000:1 contrast ratio. It is a DLP projector. The room is approximately 50'x80'.
 
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So I'm hoping I can piggyback on this post with a scenario. My church has charged me with finding a video projection system for their parish hall. They have asked me to find a ceiling mount projector and screen system. The hall can go completely dark and has 10' ceilings. The hall is rectangular in shape and we are picturing the screen going against one of the long walls.
I'm proposing one of the electric screens that when not in use hides flush up in the drop ceiling. Does anyone have any expertise on screen choice as far as size, etc? I didn't realize that screen color (grey/white) was something to consider as well.
So far I am proposing the Optoma EH512 as a projector. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 5k lumens, and 15,000:1 contrast ratio. It is a DLP projector. The room is approximately 50'x80'.

What you need for a projector is determined by the size of the screen and the audience that has to see it. Look online for screen calculators and use your intended audience and seating to determine what size screen you need. The size will also vary based on the content you intend to show. If the viewer is intended to read text the screen must be bigger.

Even though the room can go completely dark - a movie theater is the only application in which that is typically desirable. For any other kind of presentation - some room lighting is desirable or even necessary. Given that the ceiling is only 10ft and the projector can be ceiling mounted close to the screen - a 5K DLP might fit your application up to a screen size of 6.5 x 10. A 7-7.5K projector would be better if the budget allows, or if your screen size is 8x14 or 9x16. For front projection use a white or white high reflection surface. Translucent gray screens are for rear projection, and even a dual surface is not desirable if you know your installation will always be front projection.
 
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Looks good to me.

In terms of screens, if the budget is limited, there are a few screens available with pneumatic manual pull down/roll up that are about 1/3rd the cost BUT you'll have a dangling pull cord.