What's better for HTPC, Gateway 42" plasma or Dell Projector?

[FreshPrince]

If you had the money and wanted to buy a nice big screen for your HTPC comp running XP Media Center Edition...which one of these would you buy?

Gateway 42" Plasma or Dell Projector?

Mind you, not only will the screen be used to watch DVDs, but also to play games and surf the Internet as well.

 

[Ryan]

Don't get the Gateway. I work for them, and the screen sucks when it comes of using it was a monitor. The resolution is insanely low, and reading text is horrible. Now, it you want to use it as a TV, it looks fine to me, but as a computer screen, don't even think about it.

I really don't have much to say about the Dell project because I have yet to read anything about it (I didn't even know that they sold their own), nor have I seen it

 

[coolred]

AVSforums

Check out the sub 5000.00 dollar front projector part of those forums. Last i checked there was not a lot of info on the Dell, but its been a while since i checked, I know the Infocus X1 and another LCD type projector are highly talked about over there, for about the same cost as the dell. good luck

 

[ElFenix]

those little portable projectors are not what you should be using for a permanent projector. they're not very reliable.

 

[Mani]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
those little portable projectors are not what you should be using for a permanent projector. they're not very reliable.

Hogwash!

Lifetime for the portable projectors should be at the very least 10,000 hours - that will match or beat a good deal of pure HT projectors out there.

I don't know much about the Gateway other than the fact that it supposedly has crap resolution but I can answer any Qs you may have on the Dell projectors.

 

[Katana]

Definitely the projector, plasma displays will get burn in so you wouldn't want to surf the net or play games for too long on it. Plus the the picture of the projector is probably better.

 

[flashbacck]

be sure to check the life of the lightbulb too. some of those bulbs can get pretty expensive

 

[FreshPrince]

Ok, so things to look out for so far are:

Expensive light bulbs
plasma burn-in
reliability

Anthing else?

Does anyone know aprox. how much to replace a projector light bulb? Also, plasma burn-in...that happens when you leave the TV on right? Is it possible for it to go into power save mode like regular monitors?

- FP

 

[Pariah]

I have never seen a plasma screen that had a better picture than even a decent CRT based TV, no matter the cost. Based on that experience, I can't imagine a $4000 plasma TV looks like anything but junk. If you want to spend $3000 on a display (free stand included, plus free in home delivery), buy one of these:

KV-40XBR800 40" FD Trinitron WEGA XBR Hi-Scan TV

I can't comment on the projector, but most I have seen are pretty decent at least. If you are dead set on one of the 2, go with the projector. Keeping in mind, a large white wall (preferably an actual screen) without obstructions between it and where the projector is mounted is of pretty significant importance. The fact that projectors work better in the dark does not make them ideal for everyday PC use.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I would choose the Dell Projector. I have seen both in use and the projector is much better. Dell products are high quality and the projecter is no exception. I would reccomend stopping by at an Ovation store or some place selling projectors since they have some nice ones too.

 

[FreshPrince]

Originally posted by: Pariah
I have never seen a plasma screen that had a better picture than even a decent CRT based TV, no matter the cost. Based on that experience, I can't imagine a $4000 plasma TV looks like anything but junk. If you want to spend $3000 on a display (free stand included, plus free in home delivery), buy one of these:

KV-40XBR800 40" FD Trinitron WEGA XBR Hi-Scan TV

I can't comment on the projector, but most I have seen are pretty decent at least. If you are dead set on one of the 2, go with the projector. Keeping in mind, a large white wall (preferably an actual screen) without obstructions between it and where the projector is mounted is of pretty significant importance. The fact that projectors work better in the dark does not make them ideal for everyday PC use.

That's a sweet looking TV, but it's probably the most expensive 40" crt based TV I've ever seen!

 

[Pariah]

AFAIK, it's the only 40" 4:3 CRT TV available. It's also by far the largest physically and weight wise I have seen. The free stand and delivery looks really nice when you realize the TV weighs over 300lbs and is about the size of a Volkswagon Beetle. Potentially amazing picture quality though. It actually may be too good, because it will make all the imperfections in your source material pretty apparent. Cable TV looks pretty much like a__ on it, a rather major problem for a TV, and seems to be a flaw in all the XBR's I've seen which is why I went with a Tau instead. However, feed a progressive DVD picture to it, and you would be hard pressed to find any better for twice the price. The DVI input on it should make it quite an amazing display for simple computing tasks that don't require anything above 1024x768.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The Panasonic 42" plasma with "EDTV" (8xx x 480) resolution instead of HDTV res just got a glowing review in the latest Sound & Vision and is priced around $3500 street. The main flaw with most plasmas (too few distinct shades of grey / black) is apparently not a problem with this model.

 

[Dug]

Get a projector. I have one displaying on a 106" screen. It is incredible to say the least.

Just don't get a CRT projector if you are using a computer for it. LCD or DLP only. With 1:1 pixel maping you can get an incredible picture.

A DIY screen will only cost you about $30-$40 dollars and you can make it any size you want.

The quality of the image from a good projector is far better than any plasma screen I have ever seen.

The Dell would be perfect if you are using it for a computer only. Especially if you can catch them with a 15-20%off.
If you wanted to get into true home theater projectors then a dedicated 16x9 would be a good choice such as the Sanyo Z1 or Panasonic AE300 for around $1500-$2000.



Positives of a projector
Huge screen!!!! (Actually it can be any size you want)
Portable!!!!
Great for movies, computers, Xbox, etc.
No burn in!!
Inexpensive compared to other technology, especially for the price and quality
Superior image.

Negatives
bulb life- generally 2-3000 hours, and can cost 150-200 to replace.

 

[FreshPrince]

I checked into that dell bulb...costs ~ $350 to replace

 

[Dug]

But a bulb will last most people 2-3 years.

Listen to what rbloedow said. Resolution is insanely low, and reading text is horrible.
Why would you want to spend $3k for that?

When for $1800 you could get a perfect image on a larger screen?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I'm confused by what some people said but I know that the projectors can be a higher resolutio depending on which one you get.

Check out this site, all about projectors:
Linky

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

If you look in the right places you may be able to find one at a resolution of slightly higher than 1024x768 so you could then use the resolution between 1024x768 and 1280x1024. Make sure you get atleast 1024x768 so your dektop and whatever else you do doesn't look blurry.

 

[FreshPrince]

thx for the link

also, I went into the gateway store and saw the plasma in action, it's not bad....also, the resolution for dvi is 1280x1024...so this is very good I think. I saw it hooked up to a gateway HTPC running MS MCE, pretty sweet setup. However, I still need to look at a quality projector first hand in order to make my mind.

- FP

 

[Mani]

I doubt that 1280 is the native res of the plasma, it's probably just the max supported resolution that it will take as an input. It will most likely scale it down to its crappier resolution. But if you liked how it looked, that's what matters. I'd advise checking out HD content or a PC desktop displayed in both - that is the best stretch of their abilities.

 

[tkim]

not sure on this....but isnt the lumen rating VERY important? for instance, if the lumens are low.... even a little bit of light shinning into a room can cause the picture to become weak.. is this true?

 

[tkim]

oh yeah....i was told anything below 2000 lumens would do this... any thoughts??

 

[KenAF]

also, I went into the gateway store and saw the plasma in action, it's not bad....also, the resolution for dvi is 1280x1024...so this is very good I think.

This is not accurate. The Gateway is a 852x480 plasma. For DVD, HDTV, and a HTPC, it offers only 852x480 resolution; see the specifications on Gateway's site. It does accepts signals up to 1280x1024, but it downconverts these signals to 852x480; most low-end LCD displays do the same thing. Text, of course, is virtually impossible to read when doing such scaling.

Plasmas that can do 1024x768 and 1280x1024 cost a good deal more than $3000. For a 1024x768 plasma, you are looking at $4000-$6000, and for a 1280x1024 plasma, $6000-$9000. As someone else noted, you should really check out the AVS Forum, as it is the Anandtech equivalent for HDTV, HTPC, and HDTV.

The Dell 3200MP isn't really meant as a home theater projector; it's meant as a portable projector for presentations with Powerpoint, Excel, etc. You can read a review of the Dell 3200MP right here at ProjectorCentral.com. You can also find several end-user reviews of the 3200MP over on the AVS Forum, like this one

I have never seen a plasma screen that had a better picture than even a decent CRT based TV, no matter the cost. Based on that experience, I can't imagine a $4000 plasma TV looks like anything but junk. If you want to spend $3000 on a display (free stand included, plus free in home delivery), buy one of these:

KV-40XBR800 40" FD Trinitron WEGA XBR Hi-Scan TV

Clearly you haven't seen any of the good plasmas then. The better plasmas are widely regarded as superior to directview/tube sets.

 

[BalAtWork]

READ AVSFORUM

Someone already listed it for you. If you buy ANY projector or plasma, without researching that site, you are making an extrememly uninformed purchase.

 

[Tom]

Yea, but the previous poster gave the wrong link, there shouldn't be an S on the end or you end up at a scammers search site.

www.avsforum.com

Any opinions here about the new Epson projector that's only $999 ?? Think its called the Powerlite S1. Has 1200 lumens and a 2 year warranty. Bulb is only $200 too.