Projectors ROCK

[NAC]

So, I’ve wanted to get a projector for years, at least for backyard use. Then I realized that mounting a screen and the projector indoors is rather trivial so I might as well use it all the time. So it bought it, and now installed it. And I gotta say – what the heck took me so long?? Why watch a 40” or 50” screen, when you can have a 100” to 120” screen for the same money?? We are talking four to nine times as large of a screen! HUGE! Like most of the wall huge!

I went for an Optoma HD66, which is 720p and 2500 lumens. I got it for just over $500. You can obviously spend more and get a 1080p, and spend more to get higher quality. But I’m thrilled with the picture quality just watching a DVD on this projector. Once I get a blu ray player it will be even better. Watching a “low res” DVD on a TEN FOOT screen is more enjoyable than watching the same movie on my 42” Panasonic plasma.

My room is 14 * 14, with three large windows and a wide doorway which can’t be closed. 2500 lumens allows me to not worry much about light in the room. My curtains aren’t dark, and the doorway lets in light from the front door windows. But even with all the light leaking in at midday – enough to read by - the projector can put the movie on the screen with good quality without a problem.

I am so thrilled that my only question is – why did I wait so long?

 

[sdifox]

should have gone to 1080 but yeah, even 720 is lotta fun.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I'm the same, I always used my PC for entertainment and for a long time used a 30" 2560x1600 panel in my living room for multi-purpose gaming and TV/Movies.

I wanted to go "big" and after spending a lot of time looking at TV's decided that going "big" you might as well do it properly and shoot for a projector.

I grabbed a Epson TW3200 3LCD 1080p projector 1800 lumens, for about £1000 and set up a 122" screen with it, with a viewing distance of only about 9ft this thing is HUGE and it's amazing to watch 1080p content on, even 720p looks alright.

There are a few downsides to projectors, the blacks are reliant on being able to block out ambient light, and so viewing during the day isn't ideal unless you can manage the ambient light well. The lamps/bulbs have a lifespan and eventually dim and die, so that's a replacement cost to keep in mind, mines rated for 4k-5k hours depending on usage but I'm already at about 1,750h and the replacements are about £350.

This is a pic of me playing skyrim on the PC through the projector at christmas with the lights up

 

[NAC]

People mention black levels. And I know that it is true – the screen is actually white, not black, depending on how much light is in the room. But I just don’t see it – it looks black compared to the rest of the image. At least – not unless compare a black part of the image to something black in the room. I don’t allow myself to notice that it isn’t black. But I suppose some people might just see things differently and they can’t ignore it.

As to lamps – that is an added cost. In my case, the lamp is good for 3000-4000 hours. I watch less than 2 hours a day. So the lamp should last 4 or 5 years. Hopefully I’ll replace it once – so my total cost will be just over $700. I’ll want to replace the projector before eight years. Well – plus a screen for $130 – so total cost of about $830. For a 10’ screen!!!! The lamp cost is not trivial, but to anyone on the fence - don’t let a $200 lamp every few years keep you from getting a projector.

 

[sdifox]

People mention black levels. And I know that it is true – the screen is actually white, not black, depending on how much light is in the room. But I just don’t see it – it looks black compared to the rest of the image. At least – not unless compare a black part of the image to something black in the room. I don’t allow myself to notice that it isn’t black. But I suppose some people might just see things differently and they can’t ignore it.

As to lamps – that is an added cost. In my case, the lamp is good for 3000-4000 hours. I watch less than 2 hours a day. So the lamp should last 4 or 5 years. Hopefully I’ll replace it once – so my total cost will be just over $700. I’ll want to replace the projector before eight years. Well – plus a screen for $130 – so total cost of about $830. For a 10’ screen!!!! The lamp cost is not trivial, but to anyone on the fence - don’t let a $200 lamp every few years keep you from getting a projector.

if you are watching only at night then it is not a problem. People are usually talking about situations where there is ambient light, be it natural or artificial.

don't worry about the lamp cost. put a can near your ht, put a quarter in every day you turn it on.

 

[gorb]

don't worry about the lamp cost. put a can near your ht, put a quarter in every day you turn it on.

This is a great idea

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Well blacks are basically only as good as the ambient light levels, you can't project black only leave an absence of light, during the day it can be a pain because you ideally need to get blackout blinds and even at night the ambient light of projcetor reflecting off the ceiling/walls is enough to bleed back on to the screen, unless you're going to "bat cave" your watching area the picture is never going to reach the quality of a really good screen.

Having said that you can get it very close with some basic steps, most people aren't picky or knowledgeable enough to really worry about the subtle image quality differences between that and a TV. In fact most people don't even get good TVs.

I certainly wouldn't let the lamp cost stop me from getting a projector, as well as eventually dying they also tend to lose brightness over time and to maintain the best whites and contrast you'll ideally replace it about 1/2 way through it's recommended lifespan, so take that into consideration depending on how picky you are with image quality.

Nothing compares to the sheer size though, I have friends who have boasted about 55" and 60" TVs and I just snicker, if you're going for sheer size then it's best to do it "properly", it's worth going for a proper 1080p projector and watch some HD blurays for the best experience, true 1080p at that size looks amazing.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Watched Jaws on BluRay last night on my Optoma HD20 with 120" screen. Amazing!

Most people tell me it looks better than a real theater, lol.

 

[sdifox]

Well blacks are basically only as good as the ambient light levels, you can't project black only leave an absence of light, during the day it can be a pain because you ideally need to get blackout blinds and even at night the ambient light of projcetor reflecting off the ceiling/walls is enough to bleed back on to the screen, unless you're going to "bat cave" your watching area the picture is never going to reach the quality of a really good screen.

Having said that you can get it very close with some basic steps, most people aren't picky or knowledgeable enough to really worry about the subtle image quality differences between that and a TV. In fact most people don't even get good TVs.

I certainly wouldn't let the lamp cost stop me from getting a projector, as well as eventually dying they also tend to lose brightness over time and to maintain the best whites and contrast you'll ideally replace it about 1/2 way through it's recommended lifespan, so take that into consideration depending on how picky you are with image quality.

Nothing compares to the sheer size though, I have friends who have boasted about 55" and 60" TVs and I just snicker, if you're going for sheer size then it's best to do it "properly", it's worth going for a proper 1080p projector and watch some HD blurays for the best experience, true 1080p at that size looks amazing.

I tell them "Inches? I can't count that high. Mine is 8 feet"

 

[funboy6942]

I have an Epson HC710 with 2800 lumens and a 120" screen, and I wouldnt trade or get rid of it for anything. Great thing about PJ's is that though it may be a 720p your eyes cant tell the diff between a 720p or a 1080p if you sit 15 feet or more past the screen. It only matters on how close you can get to the screen before you start to get the screen door effect. I have a HUGE man cave and sit about 18, out of the 32 feet, from my screen and its big, beautiful, bright, colors just pop off the screen and a true joy watching movies, surfing the web, or playing games on it.

I used to have a 65" HDTV 1080p and I am soooooooo glad it broke when it did and got my first PJ. I will never go back, and my wife feels the same way for she loves it too.

 

[Anubis]

random question, do they make projectors that can work with a black screen? seems this would help fix black levels when viewing in the daytime

 

[I4AT]

I haven't paid much attention to projectors, but I've been looking at the Optoma ML500 recently. It's an LED projector so only 500 lumens, but I have a room with no windows so it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Do projectors scale like CRT's, or are they like LCD's in that the native resolution is the only one that looks sharp? Would a projector be better than an LCD monitor if I wanted to use it for a mix of 640x480 to 1280x720 sources?

Do they suffer from display lag/input delay issues like TV/LCD monitors do? What about viewing angles? And can you still replace the bulb in an LED projector or are they designed as one-off units (even though they're supposed to last some 10+ years)?

 

[sdifox]

I haven't paid much attention to projectors, but I've been looking at the Optoma ML500 recently. It's an LED projector so only 500 lumens, but I have a room with no windows so it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Do projectors scale like CRT's, or are they like LCD's in that the native resolution is the only one that looks sharp? Would a projector be better than an LCD monitor if I wanted to use it for a mix of 640x480 to 1280x720 sources?

Do they suffer from display lag/input delay issues like TV/LCD monitors do? What about viewing angles? And can you still replace the bulb in an LED projector or are they designed as one-off units (even though they're supposed to last some 10+ years)?

I don't buy the 10 plus year bullshit. The LEDs might last that longbut the driver modules will fail ay before that. I don't think it is mature enough. Also t
colour temperature tend to change on the LEDs.

Laser would be nice.

 

[monkey333]

In our basement, we have a 50 inch rp, which will go sometime, and upgrade to a 60 LCD. I would love to mount and pj on our soffit, but the screen would have to come down in front of out entertainment center (furniture).
Anyone else have a dual display issue?
And what would be the throw minimum for a 100 inch pic?

 

[sdifox]

In our basement, we have a 50 inch rp, which will go sometime, and upgrade to a 60 LCD. I would love to mount and pj on our soffit, but the screen would have to come down in front of out entertainment center (furniture).
Anyone else have a dual display issue?
And what would be the throw minimum for a 100 inch pic?

electrified screen works. Throw distance depends on projector. Use the calculator at projector central.

 

[monkey333]

electrified screen works. Throw distance depends on projector. Use the calculator at projector central.

The prob is I can't slap the screen against the wall, gotta sit out like 2 feet on ceiling.

 

[sdifox]

The prob is I can't slap the screen against the wall, gotta sit out like 2 feet on ceiling.

why not against the wall?

 

[monkey333]

Entertainment center...

 

[sdifox]

Entertainment center...

so have the screen mounted on the ceiling and come down when you need it.

 

[LikeLinus]

I just picked up a Panasonic PT-AR100U and an Elite Screen 106" Vmax2 Electric Screen in the past two weeks. I got everything set up last weekend and it's been awesome. I've never been a big fan of home projectors for the lack of clarity and inability to play well with ambient light, but the Panny is a light cannon and it looks good during the day and GREAT at night. I'm pleasantly surprised and very happy with the purchase.

Now on to my next adventure, home automation! Working on it as we speak.

 

[funboy6942]

My Epson HC710 2800 lumens 720P PJ with the lights on showing on a 120" screen. PJ back about 15 feet. Click on picture to get full size shot of it.

 

[NAC]

Do projectors scale like CRT's, or are they like LCD's in that the native resolution is the only one that looks sharp? Would a projector be better than an LCD monitor if I wanted to use it for a mix of 640x480 to 1280x720 sources?

Do they suffer from display lag/input delay issues like TV/LCD monitors do? What about viewing angles? And can you still replace the bulb in an LED projector or are they designed as one-off units (even though they're supposed to last some 10+ years)?

Projectors scale like LCD’s I believe. However, to use a projector with a big screen – you really need to consider DVD and better sources. I watched some over the air HDTV on mine and some commercials were low def. It looked terrible. Nothing the projector can do though – it can’t enhance the content to look good on such a huge screen. Think of a low def youtube video at full screen on a large monitor – but the projector screen is a lot bigger. Scaling from DVD up shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I don’t believe they suffer from lag or viewing angle problems.

In our basement, we have a 50 inch rp, which will go sometime, and upgrade to a 60 LCD. I would love to mount and pj on our soffit, but the screen would have to come down in front of out entertainment center (furniture).
Anyone else have a dual display issue?
And what would be the throw minimum for a 100 inch pic?

You can mount the screen from the ceiling wherever you want it. Mine is mounted from the ceiling about a foot from the wall to clear my fireplace mantle. You also could probably mount it to the top/front of the entertainment center – attach a couple 2*4s to the top of the entertainment center to raise it clear of any doors / shelves.

Each projector has different lenses for different throw distances. There are calculators for each model on projector central or other sites.

 

[Falloutboy]

Just got a hd20 to replace my 40in LCD for my main TV. At 92 inches its pretty damn awesome. For casual daytime TV and sports its use able all day with some blackout curtains. At night though is when it really shines and movies are great

In an apartment so went with a cheap pull down screen. When we get into our house I intend to build a fixed screen with some sort of grey finish to improve ambient light performance

 

[zanejohnson]

word.

 

[TechFinder21]

Having a few friends with the HD20 , I'm definitely considering it myself now..one of the best projectors in terms of picture quality.