The bigger picture

Pubs should be aware of their screening options for the World Cup matches

Over the coming weeks many pubs will be upgrading their big screen systems or maybe buying for the first time in preparation for the World Cup. This means there will be more cowboys around than at a gay rodeo, all trying to flog dodgy gear.

Every time a big football tournament comes around it's the same story. Licensees buy cheap equipment that looks like a good deal at first sight but, in the stressful conditions of a pub, will be worse than useless in a few months.

Even the big operators are not immune to temptation.

One high street name has recently had to replace all its projectors at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds.

It's the smoke that causes the problem. An ordinary single-lens LCD projector that might be perfectly all right for use at home or for business presentations is cooled by sucking in air. If the air is contaminated by smoke it will eventually fog up the lens or, worse, clog the filter causing it to overheat.

It is not impossible to use these machines effectively in a pub, but you need a strict cleaning regime, giving the projector an overhaul at least once every couple of months. It is costly and time-consuming.

The more convenient and safer solution for some years has been the three-gun CRT projector, an enclosed system that does not need to be cooled by outside air. These are robust and reliable but have a number of disadvantages compared to LCD.

They are bulky, do not offer a digital signal and take time to set up to make sure the images projected by the separate red, blue and green lenses are in register when they hit the screen. Also, the picture is not so bright, especially compared to the latest LCD equipment. This is tolerable in a dark pub, but if you are going to show daytime games during the World Cup it could be a problem.

On top of that, Owl Video Systems sales director Peter Dangerfield reports that manufacturers are having difficulty holding prices thanks to rising component costs.

Fortunately, projector technology has made a breakthrough just in time. After 18 months of research and development, working with British big screen company Owl, Japanese manufacturer Sanyo has come up with a smoke resistant unit that fits like a shell around most of its existing LCD range.

The AircleanPro (pictured)​ protects the projector itself, cleaning up the air intake using an electrostatic filter which, like an air cleaner, attracts the smoke particles onto charged plates.

These plates still get dirty and need to be replaced regularly but the process has been simplified as much as possible. When the warning light comes on after about 1,000 hours of use you just fit a new plate - or you can wash the old one if you don't want to fork out the £7 which, according to Owl's Peter Dangerfield, is the most you will have to pay.

"We have been testing it for the last six months in the most hostile environments, and it has survived," he said. "We have put it in bright pubs, too, and got a fantastic picture."

The downside to this system is - you guessed it - the price. The AircleanPro shell alone will cost you up to £1,000 on top of the £2,000 or so you pay for the projector itself.

A slightly cheaper option comes from Seleco, the company that made most of the three-gun projectors you see in pubs. Now, over the past year it has developed its own contamination-proof, single-lens DLP - digital light processing - projector. This has a sealed light path, also meaning no smoke, dust or dirt can get in.

Whatever system you go for, make sure you consult a reputable supplier with pub experience, such as Satvision, Associated Industries, Blucat or NEC.

You could always choose to hire equipment for June, of course, but if you are buying you should play safe to avoid making any expensive mistakes.

Remember, a big screen is for life, not just the World Cup.