What Criteria Do We Use to Evaluate Projectors?
We usually really appreciate the opportunity to watch movies or play games during work hours and have been reviewing projectors since 2013. From our first texts, the founders of gg have built into our DNA a focus not only on technology, but also on its applied benefits for the consumer. That's why we showcase even the traditional "advantages and disadvantages" not like everyone else, but as reasons to buy or not buy a particular device.
Consumers don't care about the name of the technology - they are interested in answers to simple questions about the projector: will the image be clear and bright, can the device be used during the day without dimming, how convenient it is in everyday use, and what use cases is it best suited for.
In the last decade, these questions have been supplemented by requests for video viewing capabilities via streaming video services or simple connection to a smartphone. In recent years, the issue of comfortable use of projectors for gaming has also arisen. And then there are the issues of technology, design, and some exceptional features for demanding users. Such as, for example, imaging technology, resolution, brightness level, or support for voice assistants.
We never call our reviews tests, because tests involve the use of some kind of technical equipment to accurately measure some factory default brightness settings or speaker frequency response. Usually, all these precise numbers and diagrams mean nothing to the average person, and we try to be understandable to as wide an audience as possible. Instead, we use criteria that everyone can understand, each of which is scored from 1 to 5 points according to transparent indicators, which we report in this text. There are 9 criteria in total:
- Design: is it unimpressive or does it have any striking features?
- Image: whether it has any advantages and how well it matches the price category of the model
- Sound: how sophisticated the speaker system is and what sound processing technologies are used
- Interface: how user-friendly is the projector: can you take it out of the box and switch it on or do you need to study the manual
- Gaming capabilities: whether the model meets modern requirements for online games that require minimal latency
- Remote control: whether it is convenient to use on a daily basis and has any unique features
- Additional features: this section allows the manufacturer to receive additional points for the capabilities that other manufacturers do not have
- Willingness to recommend a purchase: do we have a desire to recommend this projector for purchase after the review
- Value for money: how well the price compares to the model's competitive environment and how it compares to them
In addition, all reviews are built on the principle of an inverted pyramid - first, we reveal the main findings of the review and provide information about the main advantages and disadvantages of the projector. Then, we list the reasons to buy or not to buy it and provide our integral score as a percentage of the maximum possible score, taking into account our 9 criteria.
And then there is the actual detail for those who want to know more or understand how we came to these conclusions. This helps to save the reader's time and allow them to decide for themselves whether they should read further or whether this information is already enough.
Evaluation criteria: what makes up our 5-point rating system
| Category | 1 point | 2 points | 3 points | 4 points | 5 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | clumsy | inexpressive | no different from competitors | with features | admirable |
| Image | low resolution insufficient brightness |
there are many better analogues in the same class | no different from competitors | stands out among competitors with features | the next level of quality |
| Sound | noticeable shortcomings | there are many better analogues in the same class | no different from competitors | sound with features | built-in multi-channel sound |
| Remote control | with disadvantages | inconvenient | no different from competitors | is admirable | unique useful features |
| Interface | noticeable shortcomings | inconvenient | no different from competitors | very convenient | innovatively convenient |
| Opportunities for games | not suitable for games | has delays | no different from competitors | low latency | separate mode with low latency |
| Additional features | there are none | there are some that do not affect the user experience | does not differ from competitors | stands out among competitors with features | unique useful features |
| Desire to recommend a purchase | not to recommend | rather not recommend | more likely to recommend | desire to recommend | strong desire to recommend |
| Compliance with the price | does not correspond | there are many analogues cheaper | no different from competitors | reasonable balance of price and features |
fully corresponds |
We are confident that this rating system allows us to give the reviewer's subjective opinion an objective quality that can be easily verified by these criteria. It is clear that we are not interested in projector models that are no different from the competition and receive 3 or less points, and therefore have no chance of making it to the gg pages. At the same time, it is clear that a model receives a criterion score of 5 points only if it demonstrates any noticeable advantages over competitors or even a transition to a new technological level in its criterion.
For example, a projector can get 5 points for sound only if it has built-in multi-channel acoustics. A remote control will also not get 5 points if it does not have something unique and useful for the consumer. Or a projector that does not have a special low-latency mode will not get 5 points for gaming capabilities.
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We also tried to create fair conditions not only for top-end TVs, but also for interesting mid-range models. They have almost no chance of getting 5 points. But at least there are two criteria where they can count on our highest subjective score - "value for money" and "willingness to recommend a purchase", which allows such models to get a fairly high integral score. This is a percentage of the highest score.
In addition, certain models that receive a score of 4 in the "willingness to recommend" category (not the only condition for this, but an essential one) can count on receiving our editorial "we recommend" award:
Models that receive 5 points in several criteria at once (and must also receive 5 points in the "willingness to recommend" criterion) have a chance to win our highest award, the "Editor's Choice". Thus, it is used exclusively to reward devices that have significant advantages over their competitors and/or some technological innovations that affect the development of the industry as a whole. In general, these are devices that we would be happy to use ourselves. And we would definitely recommend them to others.