Are Projectors good for gaming?

WatchTower

WatchTower

WatchTower

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I have PlayTV on my Playstation so freeview is covered, I also play a lot of games and watch BluRays. I've never use a projector for gaming. I thought if I could just pull a screen down when ever I wanted to either watch TV, Movie or play a game. My living room would look a lot tidier if it didn't have a TV stand & TV etc.

My main concern is if I get one and games look like poo on it.
 
When the screen is large, playing an FPS can be really disorientating. But otherwise, yes, it's awesome.

Make sure to get one with a decent native resolution (720p minimum).
 
Projectors are fantastic for gaming.

But like daz has just said, get a good projector with a decent native res and not some 640x480 dealy.
 
I don't even have a normal TV in our lounge, just a projector. It's used for gaming, TV and movies. Looks great on all.
For all that, as already stated, don't buy a cheap and nasty one. If possible try to get a full HD capable one. They're now a lot cheaper than they used to be, though for a good one, still easy to spend more than on say a plasma.
The other thing to bear in mind is that it WILL look pants unless you can create a low light situation and control sunlight into the room. Blackout linings on your curtains are a must.
Additionally, I ended up painting my lounge in "Dulux greysteel 3", which looks white, but actually has a light grey tint. The tint is enough to massively improve contrast ratios when projected directly onto, and also reduces reflections from side walls. Doesn't cost much more than normal paint and really is worth investigating.
 
I have an infocus x9 projecting onto a 100" matte screen and it’s bloody awesome. I also have a 42" panny plasma which I bought a few years ago but since I got the projector I haven’t looked back. PQ is excellent and as an overall experience gaming on a 100" screen is just brilliant. Gaming on the plasma just doesn’t cut it anymore.

As Mr Sukebe says you need to have the correct lighting conditions, blackout blinds or heavy curtains which can block out the light is a must.
My TV hardly ever gets used these days, get one, you won’t regret it.
 
HD projectors are awesome as long as you have the ability to control ambient light adequately. White ceilings, walls, reflections e.t.c. all become your enemy (unless you have the money for a Black Diamond 2 screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9jy5tu55to) and it can be a lot of faffing if you want to get the best out of the picture, not to mention that every time you turn it on, you have to set the room up for it.

A personal recommendation would be go for a fixed screen and disguise it (there's a variety of ways) when not in use. You save a lot of money and if you use AVForums Black Widow home-brew mix you get basically a £1000 screen for peanuts.

I have a 40" TV in my bedroom and while it's fine for news/TV/generally programming, films letterboxing knocking the overall image size down annoys me, so I'm going to make myself a fixed screen and hide it with a wall-hanging. It'll only be 72", but any bigger and too much of my vision would start getting filled, which can be detrimental if you're playing something like FPS where you need to be able to spot things moving anywhere on the screen, plus when you're rushing round it can be a bit disorientating, as others have said... but this is why you use the online calculators.
 
I've seen this

Acer H7531D - DLP Projector - 2000 ANSI lumens - 1920 x 1080 - widescreen - High Definition 1080p

# Product Description: Acer H7531D - DLP Projector
# Device Type: DLP Projector - High Definition 1080p
# Built-in Devices: Speaker
# Dimensions (WxDxH): 29.4 cm x 22.9 cm x 9.5 cm
# Weight: 3.2 kg
# Image Brightness: 2000 ANSI lumens
# Image Contrast Ratio: 50000:1
# Resolution: 1920 x 1080
# Native Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
# Colour Support: 1.07 billion colours
# Bulb type: P-VIP 230 Watt
# Bulb life cycle: 2500 hour(s) / 4000 hour(s) (economic mode)
# Video Input: RGB, S-Video, composite video, component video ( PAL-B/G, PAL-N, PAL-M, PAL-I, NTSC 4.43, NTSC 3.58, PAL-D, SECAM L, PAL-H, SECAM K1, SECAM D/K, SECAM B/G )
# Digital Video Standard: High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
# Video Modes: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 480i, 576i, 576p
# Audio Output: Speaker(s) - integrated
# Sound Output Mode: Mono 2 Watt
# Input Device: Remote control
# Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
# Power Consumption Operational: 305 Watt

For £849.27
 
Pretty much. Unless you have a LOT of money and can afford this screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpy4HCIRNxs&feature=related and even then, as you can see, it's only passable. It's sort of the opposite to an LCD, where the black levels always look great in the day, but if you watch in a dark room you suddenly lose a ton of contrast. Projectors need darkness to perform optimally, which is why you get people making dedicated cinema rooms in their home, caked in black non-reflective materials so that virtually no light is bouncing round the room back on the screen.

For most people in rooms where they can't totally tame the light, a grey screen, or grey/aluminium mix offers good results, and as long as you can close all the curtains then you'll probably get something watchable in the day, but it wouldn't be anything near as good as the results at night.
 
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Another for Projectors for Gaming Are Amazing.. :) I have a hardly used Sony 720P projector (Cost him £5600 8 years ago and has original lamp with 60 hours on it) and a 3M Screen.. I get about 120" screen out of the PS3 and its incredible.. Playing GT5 is sooo much better and you can actually use the incar view.. Killzone 3 made me a little queazy at first but the sheer effect of a 120" PS3 screen is beyond comprehension..
 
quite interested in this as well for movies and gaming but dont really want to spend that much. light levels are not a problem as i only play in the dark anyway.

woluld projecting onto the wall (sorta grey and brown patterned wallpaper tho) be ok if it was dark?

interested in this one Optoma HD600X 720P £400 on amazon.
 
You'll see the pattern on the wall with light colours/whites, it'll look weird. Also the thing to remember with light levels is that the projector screen itself becomes a big light in a room, so you get light bounce off the walls/ceiling and back onto the screen, washing it out. It can also be a bit distracting too (glare on the ceiling), which is why I'm a big fan of some of the DIY screens or paint solutions that are designed for typical living rooms rather than velvet-coated home cinema rooms. I've seen a few ways of creating disguises for cheap home-made fixed screens; roman blind, wall-hanging, a canvas that can be taken off, and one that was hidden under the sofa when not in use.
 
Somnambulist said:
You'll see the pattern on the wall with light colours/whites, it'll look weird. Also the thing to remember with light levels is that the projector screen itself becomes a big light in a room, so you get light bounce off the walls/ceiling and back onto the screen, washing it out. It can also be a bit distracting too (glare on the ceiling), which is why I'm a big fan of some of the DIY screens or paint solutions that are designed for typical living rooms rather than velvet-coated home cinema rooms. I've seen a few ways of creating disguises for cheap home-made fixed screens; roman blind, wall-hanging, a canvas that can be taken off, and one that was hidden under the sofa when not in use.
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From reading various threads at avforums Seems to be quite a complex issue. Not in favour of the idea of using a chipboard and painting it etc. Might just try different paint combinations on the wall if i go for the projector.
 
i thought id chip in, i have the(massive) Benq W5000 projector, had it for almost 3 years on the same bulb and a replacement bulb is only £150 !

got benq to flash the firmware, had it calibrated and the image is stunning! you would expect a big screen to ruin the image, but on the contrary it looks a million miles in front of any plasma or lcd ive seen.

why? because the image just hangs there in space, its not 'backlit' so there isn't the glow that can hurt your eyes, its colors are deeper and more saturated than lcd (hell theres color on there than my monitor cant do)

being a DLP there is no motion blur (takes getting used to after watching LCD) and the image on mine is 85fps (85hz) rock solid and very detailed.

i only run an 84" screen but unlike an LCD your pretty much getting the pure image cast digitally onto the screen with no physical restraint like panel type and response on an LCD.

input lag in less also.

just spend over £1k on a decent 1080p PJ and make sure its well proven and tested. also do yourself a favor, budget a PJ mount compatible with your projector and specify the right length cables i had problems with my 12 meter HDMI yet 10 meter was fine and all i needed.

get the room in shape (many create a bat cave or paint the walls darker) mine are actually light blue and i have no light control in the day its still ok and at night its pretty good but if im honest i know it can be sensational if i got it into a dedicated theater room.. which is what im working on now ;)

keep an lcd tv for the times you dont want to fire up the pj.


btw LED PJ`s are the future, it will take time for them to mature in terms of color purity and temps but given time these units will change how people watch tv as they fire up instantly, and do 30,000+ hours on a single bulb ! also due to 3D next years projectors are going to have to be around 3x as bright :O and 120hz compatible ! so there are some really good 3d times ahead but more so, some really amazing 120hz,120" 2D pc gaming times :cool:
 
I'm getting one for my birthday in july, i cant wait!! ive also managed to talk the misses into letting me use the lean to as a projector room, it will need a lot of work starting with taking the roof of and raising it and then doing all the walls but i know it will be well worth it as i will be able to do every thing to make it into a perfect cinema room:)
 
Hrmm well im reluctant to pay £1k for a projector i just need something to replace my Samsung plasma. I quite like the idea of projectors instead of a massive tv taking up all the space. The model of plasma i have is a PS42Q97HDX which is 5 or 6 series samsung plasma. It is decent enough, good SD picture. HD picture imo isnt the best and it only does 1080i. Would the optoma hd600x picture be better than that? (bluray and games only)
 
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