how much have projectors moved on??

Zairs

Zairs

Zairs

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i bought a projector about 4 years ago, although it was kinda cool the novelty soon disapeared and i was left with a loud noise from the fan:( it was an ALLY PTV-01B LCD PROJECTOR that i got from ebay. I used it for about a year then bought a 50" full hd tv as the noise a picture quality wasnt up to scratch.
how do newer hd ones compare, do they actually have a sharp picture???
 
The PTV-01B wasn't really a good projector to start with, so your base for comparison is a bit flawed... lol

It was ridiculously cheap though - mostly because it used what amounts to an in-car headrest TV panel to make the image instead of 3 LCD panels or a DLP light engine.
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LINKY with more pictures of the internals

The current equivalent to what you had is is the Clearco HD9000 (A.K.A. Technicia HD500) for £200. It's "better" in the same way as a smack in the gob is better than a kick in the bollix. If you want one I can introduce you to a whole bunch of people who are kicking themselves for being so gullible and would love for you to take theirs off their hands.

These cheap Chinese toy projectors show you that you get exactly what you pay for. The quality is still a long way behind what you'd get from a proper entry level projector such as the Optoma HD600x (£380). In turn, the Optoma isn't as good as a £1000 projector, but it's great for casual viewers who want a bit of TV, DVD, games and football on a wall at home without spending the earth. :)
 
A good hi def projector thats been well set up can give great results. The best way to get an appreciation is to arrange a demo of the pj you're interested in.
 
lucid said:
The PTV-01B wasn't really a good projector to start with, so your base for comparison is a bit flawed... lol
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Couldn't agree more, it's like saying "5 years ago I bought a milk-float off some guy in the pub, it was rubbish. How are milk-floats these days?" :D

Not your fault though OP; although I think we can all agree that there were projectors 5 years ago that would blow your mind and there still are now. It's just a matter of whether your prepared to pay enough to get one of the good ones?

EDIT: If your budget allows, take a look at the BenQ W1000+
 
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I've got an optoma hd200x and its brilliant. Its not the best projector on the market and there are others that are better, but they can cost a lot more. I spent near enough £700 and I don't regret it in the slightest. Here's some pics of my set up.

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All of this is on a 84 inch screen and the pics still dont show how bright and vivid the picture is. I've tried to get the images as close as I can to what I see but I'm not that good with the camera :(
 
I have the same projector ^

Excellent value for money, having a projector really transforms films. :)
 
I'm thinking of getting a projector and adding to the AV build I did last year. I have a great amount of space so would look awesome. However, it sure would be a nice amount of DIY :(
Would only have to buy a projector and very long HDMI cable.
Presuming at this size it really is worth going for 1080P?
 
I haven't seen what films in 720p look like compared to 1080p at this size so I cant really comment. I sit about 3.5 meters away from the screen and blu-rays look pin sharp (obviously depends on the film). The only low res stuff I have watched on my projector are some dvds and it looked pretty rubbish in my opinion, I only buy blu-rays now. I'm sure 720p would still look pretty decent though and probably far superior to dvd quality.
 
100" Optoma HD20, if I'm honest the difference between 720p and 1080p is not noticeable in films, obviously the desktop looks much better in 1080p.
Everyone who's seen the Projector in action wants one, even the most sceptical are amazed at the quality and this is a ‘budget’ 1080p, if you have the right room, get one you won’t be disappointed.
 
I've a Panasonic AX200 720p projector with a 120" screen that's used for most evening tv and movie watching. As has been stated, anyone coming round is pretty much in awe of it and wants a projector. Wouldn't be without one now.
 
ssmacc said:
100" Optoma HD20, if I'm honest the difference between 720p and 1080p is not noticeable in films, obviously the desktop looks much better in 1080p.
Click to expand...

It's funny you say that... There was a shootout done at CES a few years ago to see whether resolution or colour & brightness made the most impact. Several projectors were set up in identical viewing conditions. The projectors were hidden so there was no bias. The overwhelming result... brightness & colour wins.

I did something similar for one of my customers this weekend. I calibrated his projector for DVD, and left it uncalibrated for the Blu-ray which he was considering buying. His projector is a Digital Projection iVision (720p DLP) which was £10k new back on '03, so a very good projector. His screen is 10ft wide (138" 16:9 diagonal) and the room is an 18 x 34ft dedicated cinema. Again colour and brightness wins. Good set-up makes a bigger difference than resolution. :D
 
Based on that Lucid, is it good to bare in mind the lumens ratio when buying one? i.e. the higher the brighter?
 
Absolute brightness doesn't guarantee quality, and you have to take some of the contrast measurements thrown about with a very large pinch of salt ...lol

The best thing to do is go see before you buy. Even then you are at the mercy of dealer competence.

I can tell you something that shocked me... I was speaking to several stores in a national home cinema/hi-fi chain in regards to a problem with an Arcam Blu-ray player. I asked if they'd seen an issue with black level when setting up the player. The four branches I spoke to all told me they don't do anything about set up other than take the TV or projector out of the box and hook it up!!!
 
Certainly worth doing if you have space for a decent sized image (say > 80") ... and yes if you plan on buying then defo get some practical screenings as DLP can leave some people with a rainbow effect going on due to the nature of how the image is created - a bit like how some suffer from noticing plasma flicker - but it has its advantages etc :)
 
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