need to rent a projector

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

the end of next month i need to (hopefully) rent a projector that i can connect to a laptop to project a powerpoint slideshow. the thing is, i only have half an idea what i'm looking for and no idea where to find it. i only know what it's supposed to do, namely project onto a wall or a screen a slideshow already running on a laptop. does this kind of thing have a specific name, and more importantly is there anywhere in greater camberville/arlington/etc that will rent me one?

Comments

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

we just call them "LCD projectors." but that might not be the technical term! someplace like rent-a-center might have one... good luck!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

at least that's easier to say than "projector what connects to a laptop"....

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

There are several brands but the one you see most often is InFocus. They look like this:



But where to rent...? Hmm, you might try calling the local library first, who might know. Also, check the yellow pages and see if there's a Rent-A-Center in the Boston area. They might have this sort of thing.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are 3 of them:

Rent-A-Center - 3.3 miles NE - 944 Bennington St, Boston, 02128 - (617) 561-9050

Rent-A-Center - 3.3 miles S - 1175 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, 02125 - (617) 436-0672

Rent-A-Center - 3.4 miles SW - 341 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, 02130 - (617) 522-7010

Give them a call and see!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Smack me in the head:

Rent-A-Center - 1.9 miles NE - 105 Broadway, Somerville, 02145 - (617) 625-7900

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

excellent, thank you. i'll try them. :>

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

I wonder if a Staples or a Kinkos-type place would have them for rent (they're pretty pricey, starting in the $1500 range, I think). My company's salespeople all have Infocus projectors and do all sorts of fancy PowerPoint presentations with them.

I'm sure hotels that cater to business conferences have them (for a price).

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

it's for a slide show my sister and i are putting together for my dad's (surprise) 70th birthday party. we'll be in a restaurant. (a hotel would be EASY. but nooo....) i'm not even sure where the slide show is getting projected onto - i mean, are we going to show it against the wall? oy.

[saraheeyore.livejournal.com]

They actually work really well on a white-ish wall!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

oh good, because i think that's where it's going to end up showing.

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

This is a pretty expensive / sspecialized item.

I would call Calumet ( A pro photo shop with a rental department) in Cambridge at 65 Bent Street right next to the Mall.

617-576-2600

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i'll call them too, thanks. :> (i figured they'd be up there in price, but i'm not paying for it all myself, so i don't know how much of a issue it's going to be.)

[siderea]

This is a pretty expensive / sspecialized item.

Not particularly -- they're totally standard in business these days! Places which rent computers to business people rent them, such as Rentex.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

I've used Eclipse Video (http://www.eclipsevid.com/) in Cambridge with good luck before.

[siderea]

You want a "Portable Digital Projector". InFocus projectors are only portable on a technicality: they're monstrously large; you'd really prefer something like an HP Digital Projector mp3130. They fit into a case about the size of a laptop case, and pretty trivial to operate. We use them at work.