April 9th, 2010
Please note the following disclaimer: Projector123.com and the authors of this blog are not tax professionals and the following is meant to serve as a suggestion only. Please check with your accountant or tax professional to learn more about tax laws in your area, as well as how the tax code applies to your specific situation.
If you’re making presentations or offering public speaking as a hobby or an unpaid professional, you’re missing out on some of the many tax breaks enjoyed by speaking professionals.
While this may not be the reason to become a professional speaker, it doesn’t hurt to know what you’re missing.
Generally speaking, public speakers can write off expenses associated with the performance of their craft. This would typically include the cost of a rental projector, as well as travel expenses associated with the speaking engagement, the cost of printing handouts for the presentation, lodging and per diems, room rentals, continuing education, and other associated expenses.
Additionally, you can often write off all advertising costs, which could include a rental projector if the purpose was for advertising. For example, if you rented a projector to display an ad for your speaking business or services, or if you included a rental projector in a trade show booth rental, these would typically be considered business expenses.
Since professional speakers can generally write off expenses associated with continuing education and training, you might consider conducting paid training for speakers and mentioning the possibility of a tax deduction in your promotions for the event. This is another case when a rental projector would come in extremely handy (and also be considered a business expense).
Your accountant or CPA would be the best person to advise you about tax laws that apply to your particular situation, so it makes sense to check in with them before incurring any non-essential costs.
When you’re ready to rent a projector, click here to access the Projector123.com order site.
April 7th, 2010
What is HD and do you really need it for your next presentation? Get the straight scoop here.
HD stands for “high definition” and, as the name implies, refers to the image quality of television or video. HD TV is a type of television signal, broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio (as compared to NTSC’s 4:3 aspect ratio). HDTV resolutions are increased from 640 x 480 to either 1922 x 1080 (or 1080i) or 1280 x 720 (or 720p). Because the HDTV signal is digital (rather than analog), the signal can carry huge amounts of information, including full digital audio with multiple channels.
Many television viewers prefer HD because of its vivid, lifelike imagery; ultimate showcase of the finest details; and aspect ratio that mirrors traditional film.
Whether or not you need HD for your next speaking presentation depends on the nature of the material you’re presenting. The more detailed your presentation images, the more appealing (and necessary) HD becomes. Got complex graphics? Detailed imagery? Some examples of presentations requiring HD might include: photography training, video editing, detailed charts and graphs, statistical data, film and entertainment industry, high-profile presentations (where it pays to impress by going the extra mile), etc.
Your audience is another factor in determining whether or not you need HD technology. How large is your audience? How close will they be seated to the projection screen? What kind of lighting is available in the room? How familiar are the attendees with the material you’re presenting?
Here are Projector123.com, we’ve got you covered. All of our high-lumen and low-lumen rental projectors from Projector123.com are compatible with HDTV 720p, 1080i, 576i, and 576p. Professional speakers, sales reps and corporate presenters across the U.S. rely on Projector123.com for all their projector rental needs. We offer competitive pricing, fast shipping, and a completely hassle-free experience. Click here to learn more about the projectors we rent, or click here to place your order today.
April 5th, 2010
Are you planning an upcoming spiritual workshop, seminar or retreat? Here are some helpful tips to assist you in planning a powerfully effective event.
Ask for Input
When planning a retreat, seminar or religious education event, it pays to get some input. Even a short survey (you can try surveymonkey.com for free) of some of your likely participants or event registrants can help you find out exactly what people are looking to gain from the event. Give the people what they want, and they’re sure to be back for more.
Say It with Pictures
Images displayed on a hung white sheet or a blank wall can inspire, captivate, provoke, launch in-depth discussions or encourage deep introspection. With affordable rental rates as low as $99 per weekend, there are virtually countless uses for an LCD rental projector at your next gathering. Welcome participants with instructions, a soothing slide show or the weekend schedule; showcase relevant images during presentations, candid shots of participants during quiet time, or display beautiful pictures of nature during breaks or at any time throughout the event.
Give ‘Em Some Space
When the event ends, people will return to their busy lives; that’s why it’s so important to allow for plenty of quiet time during the events – this is where participants are free to journal, walk the grounds, meditate, listen to music, connect with other participants or otherwise allow the material covered during group session time to fully “sink in.” For many spiritual event attendees, these periods of downtime are when the most profound “a-ha” moments occur.
Closing Slideshow
When you’re ready to rent an LCD projector for your next spiritual gathering, trust the professionals at Projector123.com. We’ll give you a fair deal, and our personal guarantee that the entire experience will be hassle-free. Click here to get started.
April 2nd, 2010
Part of a learning environment? We recently came across this excellent article from Ron S. Doyle and thought you’d appreciate the read. It’s like we keep saying — the possibilities for using projectors are only limited by you imagination. Many of these suggestions are easily adaptable to business presentations, sales meetings, employee training, and more. Don’t crowd around a laptop — rent a projector instead. Enjoy the article!
Ten Ways To Get Beyond Powerpoint With Classroom Projectors
by Ron S. Doyle
True tech integrators know the digital projector can be used for much more than projecting. Here is a sampling of some creative ways to use your projector in any curriculum.
- Reading/Writing. Display images, words, or phrases for writing prompts in creative writing or poetry class. Model savvy formatting and editing skills by giving live demonstrations in your word-processing software. And put away those old flashcards—young students love singing karaoke to practice their pronunciation and identify targeted sight words.
- Mathematics. Utah State University’s National Library of Virtual Manipulatives offers hundreds of multi-sensory games, illustrations, exercises and puzzles for K-12 students that explore numerical operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis. (nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html; free online, $39.99-44.99 for enhanced desktop version).
- Science. Ask students to add their experimental data directly to your spreadsheet and project graphs of their results for everyone to see—you’ll identify those pesky outliers in no time. Protect your eyebrows and your budget by showing videos of dangerous chemistry demonstrations.
- Social Studies. Google Earth (earth.google.com) works wonders but loves to crash on older computers. Try the University of Texas at Austin’s renowned Perry-Castañeda Library Virtual Map Room (www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/; free) for a wide array of PDF maps from around the globe.
- Timer, Stopwatch, Countdown. Using a simple freeware program like TimeLeft (www.timeleft.info), students will see exactly how long they’ve been working on a project, how much time is left, or how many days until the ice cream social after your final exam.
- Games and Quizzes. Turn those groans to glee come quiz-time with hyperlinked Powerpoint presentations that mimic popular quiz games like “Jeopardy!” or “You Don’t Know Jack.” Free Sheppard Software (sheppardsoftware.com) has dozens of interactive games that will have your students begging for more.
- Board Work. Standing at the whiteboard terrifies many students. Why? Writing large print on a vertical plane isn’t easy for everyone and little handwriting slips can turn into big, embarrassing mistakes. Ask students to do the work on a sheet of paper, fire up your doc camera, then project their results. No more stage fright!
- Graphic Organizers. Online diagramming software like Gliffy (www.gliffy.com; free basic membership, premium account varies by number of users) or Bubbl (bubbl.us; free) can make creating lively instructional flowcharts, cluster diagrams, and spider maps a breeze.
- Guest/Substitute Lectures. Live streaming or podcast lectures from guests will give your students access to experts around the world without footing for an airline ticket. Record your own lectures with software like Camtasia (www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp; $299) or upload your Powerpoint presentations to Slideshare (slideshare.net; free) and you’ll be the toast of the substitute teaching pool. Best of all, students can access these lectures for future reference.
- Drama/Theater. Want to do some on-the-fly improv theater? Hang a white sheet, place the projector behind the sheet facing your audience, and let your students perform inexpensive miniature theatrical productions. Project image “backdrops” from your computer and you’ll have the fastest set changes in history.
For almost eight years, Ron S. Doyle served as a teacher, technology coordinator and Director of Studies at a charter high school for youth in crisis in Boulder, Colorado. He left his beloved career in education in 2008 to care for his two young daughters full time.
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