70+ inch tv or tv plus projector?

oulton

oulton

oulton

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The house we have just moved into has a very big lounge and because of the way it is set up the sofas look out of place unless they are at the back wall, which is about 8 meters away from the tv.

My 50 inch panasonic is pretty dwarfed at the moment, but looking at the insane prices of a decent 70+ incher, I'm thinking about going for a projector setup. Any advice on here chaps? :p
 
oulton said:
The house we have just moved into has a very big lounge and because of the way it is set up the sofas look out of place unless they are at the back wall, which is about 8 meters away from the tv.

My 50 inch panasonic is pretty dwarfed at the moment, but looking at the insane prices of a decent 70+ incher, I'm thinking about going for a projector setup. Any advice on here chaps? :p
Click to expand...

I've just made this same decision and went for a projector setup only but before this I was going to go for TV + Projector with a drop down screen.

Projectors, depending on how you do it can work out way cheaper but you do have to think about lighting, brightness and location to get it right.

See my thread HERE for the results
 
StevenG said:
I've just made this same decision and went for a projector setup only but before this I was going to go for TV + Projector with a drop down screen.

Projectors, depending on how you do it can work out way cheaper but you do have to think about lighting, brightness and location to get it right.

See my thread HERE for the results
Click to expand...

Thanks I will have a read!
 
Can you black out the room when you want and more so DO you want to have to black out the room each time you use the PJ?

A higher budget for a screen can avoid this but a screen for daytime use is over £1k unless you want to DIY.
 
Chaps, look at the price of 70+" TVs. This isn't the usual "£500-£1000 to spend - Projector or TV?" question.

I have a client who had the same dilemma. This is going back a while when 58" plasma was still outrageously expensive. That was one dealer's suggestion. A 58" was going to be about £8000. I suggested a 50" for about £3K at the time then putting the balance towards a projector. The result was a better balance for the room. 50" was still a reasonable size for casual TV viewing. I then put in an 11ft (132") screen with a projector. The seating distances are not dissimilar to yours. The difference with my client's room is that the total length is around 30 m. The far end of the room has a bar and 3/4 size snooker table.

You'll be able to pick up a 58"~60" TV for under £1200. That should suffice for day-to-day viewing. Projectors capable of 100"+ image are available from under £1000, but I'd go up a notch to £1600-£2000 and have a look at the Sony and Epson projectors. They're worth the extra money.
 
I'd say stick with your existing TV, and blow the your cash on the best projector you can buy for the dosh. Sony was already mentioned, also worth suggesting the JVC units. The better Sony and JVCs using DILA technology (think Sony call it something else, but it's the same stuff), and it's still rated as providing the best IQ out there. You'll be looking at a min of £2-3k, but that's probably on par with a TV of the size you're talking. If anything, might be cheaper, meaning you can spend more on the audio side of things.
 
I'm sort of in the same boat, when I move into my new flat the sofa will be 4-5m from the TV and I only have a 42" plasma currently.

Thinking of getting a Sony VPL-HW40ES projector (seems to get good reviews), any advice on screens (I'm thinking fixed)? I know screen tend to be very specific for the type of use and room in question, but any advice/recommendations for screens that are suitable for daytime viewing? Sorry to hijack the thread a little!
 
Phate said:
Check out my recent thread. I'm sitting about 9ish FEET from my 50" and I managed to shoe horn a 92" drop down screen in :D

Do it. Don't sod about...just do it :D
Click to expand...

I have convinced the missus, I'm going in! :D

The most sensible idea seems to be keeping the current tv and adding a drop down screen. This will make the missus happier also, she seemed a bit dubious when I told her about making my own screen :confused:

One issue I have is that we have 6 meters of window on the side wall, which will need decent curtains. The room is open plan and lit by 27 spot leds, but these can be turned off and a pretty dark room can be achieved in the evenings.


Projectors capable of 100"+ image are available from under £1000, but I'd go up a notch to £1600-£2000 and have a look at the Sony and Epson projectors. They're worth the extra money.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations. I was thinking something like a 90 inch screen would do the job nicely. Would something like this sony VPLHW40 suffice, or is it a bit lacking in lumens?

Thinking of getting a Sony VPL-HW40ES projector (seems to get good reviews), any advice on screens (I'm thinking fixed)? I know screen tend to be very specific for the type of use and room in question, but any advice/recommendations for screens that are suitable for daytime viewing? Sorry to hijack the thread a little!
Click to expand...

Same projector as me! I'm also interested on your thoughts on screens. If the tv is going to stay a roll down screen would make the most sense, but is there any compromise in IQ?
 
oulton said:
I have convinced the missus, I'm going in! :D

The most sensible idea seems to be keeping the current tv and adding a drop down screen. This will make the missus happier also, she seemed a bit dubious when I told her about making my own screen :confused:

One issue I have is that we have 6 meters of window on the side wall, which will need decent curtains. The room is open plan and lit by 27 spot leds, but these can be turned off and a pretty dark room can be achieved in the evenings.
Click to expand...

You say 'decent' curtains - I use IKEA's own curtains and they black things out well enough to a point I can use the projector during the day if I want. I did for the F1 Final a few weeks back :)

I'll post some pics of my setup tonight (I've been meaning to for the Home Cinema thread anyway) to give you an idea of how I worked it.
 
Some thoughts on rooms. I use black-out linings on the curtains in our lounge. It's just an additional layer that's attached to the curtains, works's wonders. Also ended up with some side "skirts" around where the curtains are to prevent leakage.
Lastly, I did find that the paint on a wall makes a difference. We painted our lounge using Dulux Greysteel 3 (basically white, but with a tint of grey). Looks white when you walk in, but the tint makes a big difference to the reflectitivity of the walls. We find that the walls suffer from far less glare from our projector screen, than does the ceiling, which we missed painting.
If you can, consider doing the same, the paint really isn't expensive.
 
Yep, blackout liner is what you want, as above has said, it's a separate layer that goes behind the curtains and completely blocks out any light. If well used to prevent light spilling round the edges of the curtains, you can achieve a pitch black room even in broad daylight!

I have the liners on all the bedroom curtains in my house and it's great, I can put my little man to bed at normal time in the summer even though it's bright and sunny outside!! :)

One day when I sort myself out a projector, they are certainly what I shall be using.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Some thoughts on rooms. I use black-out linings on the curtains in our lounge. It's just an additional layer that's attached to the curtains, works's wonders. Also ended up with some side "skirts" around where the curtains are to prevent leakage.
Lastly, I did find that the paint on a wall makes a difference. We painted our lounge using Dulux Greysteel 3 (basically white, but with a tint of grey). Looks white when you walk in, but the tint makes a big difference to the reflectitivity of the walls. We find that the walls suffer from far less glare from our projector screen, than does the ceiling, which we missed painting.
If you can, consider doing the same, the paint really isn't expensive.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Our walls are like a matt cream at the moment, I won't be decorating until summer but I will keep that in mind when we choose paints.

Lining sounds like something I can do relatively easily which won't make the place look too strange, as it is our main lounge and not a dedicated movie room. :)
 
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