Buying my first projector - £1k budget

Dan_P · 29 Nov 2020 at 21:22

Hi all,

We are moving to our new house on Friday and we have decided to get a projector for the bedroom as the room layout doesn't allow for a TV.

Initially, we are going to project onto a brand new white wall (4.2 meters away), however early next year i plan to get a screen too. I've never had a projector before so don't know exactly what i am looking for, so hope someone can help me.

I have a strict £1k budget, ideally under £900 but will stretch to no more than £1000 if necessary.

I was looking at the BenQ W1720 however it is out of stock at Richer Sounds and discontinued.

I like both the BenQ TK800M and Optoma UHD30 but don't know if these are good or there is something better.

What do people recommend?

Thanks
Dan

Dan_P · 1 Dec 2020 at 13:39

Anyone at all please?

aoaaron · 1 Dec 2020 at 14:47

Hi mate.

£1k budget

First and foremost if you want the best value for your money, do NOT buy new. At £1k you do not get good value in projector land. If you want a bright projector which will have placement issues, not the best black levels but great 3D, then go for the 2 projectors you listed above.

Ok now that out of the way, if you want best in class, filmic, awesome black levels, you have 2 different routes to go down.

1. <£500 Route - this is, get a £2000+ projector from 5 years ago which is premium, has amazing lens, amazing picture processing, amazing motion, amazing blacks and contrast BUT is 1080p.
Your options here are Sony HW40ES+, JVC X30+ and the Panasonic AE8000.

Sony = Awesome input lag, good all-rounder,
JVC = Best in class contrast/Blacks, dimmer
Panasonic = Some cool lens memory functions not found on any other projector, smaller form factor, brighter

2. <£1000 Route - this is Epson or JVC. 4K E shift, premium features like electrical zoom and lens shift.
Epson 9300 = 4K (not native but close), HDR - only limitation is its capped to 4K/30 so not 4K gaming, so you will have to do 1080p HDR gaming 60fps. standard price is <£1100
JVC X5000 = best in class blacks, beautiful, best contrast, just a better projector than the above but dimmer, 4K (not native), HDR, 4K/60, normally its available for £1250-£2500

The cons of the JVC are the lamps are VERY expensive so they will cost you.. and if someone has already clocked 2000 hours, a £1000 purchase is going to end up costing you £1500. JVC has crap customer support and warranty is not transferrable so that sucks too for a projector which can break easily. also no 3D emitter.. so you buy it seperately... so as I said.. it all adds up sneakily.

Epson pros over the JVC - this is a big one - every projector has 5 year warranty if bought in the UK. Just need serial numbers. bulbs are cheap AND the bulb also has 5 year warranty. The repairs are quick, seemless, easy. The Epson is also much brighter, its a light cannon so if you in a normal room which doesnt have black ceiling and walls, this PJ will come in use more. And its cheaper.

If you want to go new.. then just ask RS what they suggest. All have pros and cons and it comes down to more so placement and what lens shift they do or don't offer.

If you go down the £1000 route, download MADVR BETA version and enable dynamic tone mapping for HDR content and films and TV shows and play them locally off PC and let the PC decode and map the HDR content to the projecotrs (either in SDR or HDR colors.. u can pick.. the SDR will be brighter).

If you go down the Epson line to the 9200, 9100.. you lose 4K but most other things I stated stand. Similar to JVC.

also the BEST improvement to ur PJ experience will be an ALR screen. These are EXPENSIVE to buy new but good deals can come up for them. Best ones I found are draper react 3.0 screens.. these screens allow u to watch the projector with some light on in the room and fight sunlight really well.. especially with an epson.

aoaaron · 1 Dec 2020 at 14:48

if u are only watching 1080p films, i would be tempted to get a Panasonic AE8000 or Epson 9200 + a Draper React 3.0 ALR screen electric for ur budget.

Dan_P · 1 Dec 2020 at 15:15

aoaaron said:
if u are only watching 1080p films, i would be tempted to get a Panasonic AE8000 or Epson 9200 + a Draper React 3.0 ALR screen electric for ur budget.

aoaaron said:
Hi mate.

£1k budget

First and foremost if you want the best value for your money, do NOT buy new. At £1k you do not get good value in projector land. If you want a bright projector which will have placement issues, not the best black levels but great 3D, then go for the 2 projectors you listed above.

Ok now that out of the way, if you want best in class, filmic, awesome black levels, you have 2 different routes to go down.

1. <£500 Route - this is, get a £2000+ projector from 5 years ago which is premium, has amazing lens, amazing picture processing, amazing motion, amazing blacks and contrast BUT is 1080p.
Your options here are Sony HW40ES+, JVC X30+ and the Panasonic AE8000.

Sony = Awesome input lag, good all-rounder,
JVC = Best in class contrast/Blacks, dimmer
Panasonic = Some cool lens memory functions not found on any other projector, smaller form factor, brighter

2. <£1000 Route - this is Epson or JVC. 4K E shift, premium features like electrical zoom and lens shift.
Epson 9300 = 4K (not native but close), HDR - only limitation is its capped to 4K/30 so not 4K gaming, so you will have to do 1080p HDR gaming 60fps. standard price is <£1100
JVC X5000 = best in class blacks, beautiful, best contrast, just a better projector than the above but dimmer, 4K (not native), HDR, 4K/60, normally its available for £1250-£2500

The cons of the JVC are the lamps are VERY expensive so they will cost you.. and if someone has already clocked 2000 hours, a £1000 purchase is going to end up costing you £1500. JVC has crap customer support and warranty is not transferrable so that sucks too for a projector which can break easily. also no 3D emitter.. so you buy it seperately... so as I said.. it all adds up sneakily.

Epson pros over the JVC - this is a big one - every projector has 5 year warranty if bought in the UK. Just need serial numbers. bulbs are cheap AND the bulb also has 5 year warranty. The repairs are quick, seemless, easy. The Epson is also much brighter, its a light cannon so if you in a normal room which doesnt have black ceiling and walls, this PJ will come in use more. And its cheaper.

If you want to go new.. then just ask RS what they suggest. All have pros and cons and it comes down to more so placement and what lens shift they do or don't offer.

If you go down the £1000 route, download MADVR BETA version and enable dynamic tone mapping for HDR content and films and TV shows and play them locally off PC and let the PC decode and map the HDR content to the projecotrs (either in SDR or HDR colors.. u can pick.. the SDR will be brighter).

If you go down the Epson line to the 9200, 9100.. you lose 4K but most other things I stated stand. Similar to JVC.

also the BEST improvement to ur PJ experience will be an ALR screen. These are EXPENSIVE to buy new but good deals can come up for them. Best ones I found are draper react 3.0 screens.. these screens allow u to watch the projector with some light on in the room and fight sunlight really well.. especially with an epson.

Thanks both, i struggle going used as i like the reassurance of a warranty and returns process if something goes wrong. RS recommended the models in my OP however it didn't sound like he was that knowledgeable which is a first for me with RS.

However have been on ebay and found a Sony HW50ES for £799 with a "new original Philips replacement lamp".

aoaaron · 1 Dec 2020 at 18:24

Dan_P said:
Thanks both, i struggle going used as i like the reassurance of a warranty and returns process if something goes wrong. RS recommended the models in my OP however it didn't sound like he was that knowledgeable which is a first for me with RS.

However have been on ebay and found a Sony HW50ES for £799 with a "new original Philips replacement lamp".

I'll be blunt in that if you new, you are going for a cheap projector.
If you go used, you are getting a premium multi-thousand pound home cinema projector with cinema-level motion and picture processing and a beautiful lens and contrast. So you just need to pick which you like.
RS will never recommend you buy a JVC or Sony projector because they don't sell them. The only projectors I rate which RS sell are Epson unless you want a DLP for 3D motion and no crosstalk.

Seems expensive for a HW50ES because the only benefit is the dynamic iris which does nothing except improve fade to black IMO.

I was selling a HW40ES for £400 but I've just agreed to sell it to a guy in Northern Ireland. Otherwise I could have hooked you up (350h on the lamp).

Look out for JVC X30 and above, HW40ES and above and if you want a smaller PJ, a Panasonic AE8000.
Aim to spend on them less than £450.
Models up and above, be prepared to spend more.

Is this for films&TV shows or games too? A lot of HDR content? again games or TV&Film?

If you can just snap up an Epson 9300 for £1000, I'd be very inclined to suggest that because you have 5 years warranty on PJ and bulb, its is an absolute light cannon, its black levels don't reach the JVC and Sony but they get close for an un-treated room and it has a lot of VERY premium features which the older projectors (and new ones which RS sell) don't have. Because you're understandably apprehensive about buying used, the Epson warranty on PJ AND bulb for 60 months is pretty much ideal for you.

Let me know what you find on the market for JVC, Sony and Epson and I'll try to advise you best I can.

Dan_P · 1 Dec 2020 at 18:48

aoaaron said:
I'll be blunt in that if you new, you are going for a cheap projector.
If you go used, you are getting a premium multi-thousand pound home cinema projector with cinema-level motion and picture processing and a beautiful lens and contrast. So you just need to pick which you like.
RS will never recommend you buy a JVC or Sony projector because they don't sell them. The only projectors I rate which RS sell are Epson unless you want a DLP for 3D motion and no crosstalk.

Seems expensive for a HW50ES because the only benefit is the dynamic iris which does nothing except improve fade to black IMO.

I was selling a HW40ES for £400 but I've just agreed to sell it to a guy in Northern Ireland. Otherwise I could have hooked you up (350h on the lamp).

Look out for JVC X30 and above, HW40ES and above and if you want a smaller PJ, a Panasonic AE8000.
Aim to spend on them less than £450.
Models up and above, be prepared to spend more.

Is this for films&TV shows or games too? A lot of HDR content? again games or TV&Film?

If you can just snap up an Epson 9300 for £1000, I'd be very inclined to suggest that because you have 5 years warranty on PJ and bulb, its is an absolute light cannon, its black levels don't reach the JVC and Sony but they get close for an un-treated room and it has a lot of VERY premium features which the older projectors (and new ones which RS sell) don't have. Because you're understandably apprehensive about buying used, the Epson warranty on PJ AND bulb for 60 months is pretty much ideal for you.

Let me know what you find on the market for JVC, Sony and Epson and I'll try to advise you best I can.

thanks, the only Epson is £1699 on eBay. I’ll keep looking but I was hoping to buy in the coming days. Is there another model I should be looking at that’s more affordable or is this overpriced? I like the idea of the 5 year warranty however suspect these are going to be nearly that old?

out of interest what would you be suggested if I bought new of £1500 or still no better?

Just a reminder this is for a bedroom so doesn’t need to be amazing but I want it to be good, Content will be used for Netflix, Disney+ From a 4K fire stick And bit of Xbox and pc gaming.

aoaaron · 1 Dec 2020 at 19:42

Dan_P said:
thanks, the only Epson is £1699 on eBay. I’ll keep looking but I was hoping to buy in the coming days. Is there another model I should be looking at that’s more affordable or is this overpriced? I like the idea of the 5 year warranty however suspect these are going to be nearly that old?

out of interest what would you be suggested if I bought new of £1500 or still no better?

Just a reminder this is for a bedroom so doesn’t need to be amazing but I want it to be good, Content will be used for Netflix, Disney+ From a 4K fire stick And bit of Xbox and pc gaming.

£1500 is tough as in just buy whatever projectors are available new at £1500. The differences between them are minimal. BenQ is marginally better but I'd just go based off of feature set, looks and lens shift (for placement flexibility) rather than worry about PQ then.

9300 will be 2 years old so no, you will have 3 years left.

As I said, if you don't care about PQ, get anything for its relavant price range but if you want a bargain and home cinema grade projector, the advice above is IMO the best.