Projector in the bedroom?

unwashed potato! · 6 Jul 2020 at 01:55

Needing a TV for a way to infrequently watch Netflix/movies in the bedroom

The space between the end of our bed and the wall isn't huge so a thin tv that's right up on the wall would be needed to avoid hitting the tv feeling like it's taking up too kuch of the small gap we have at the end of the bed.

Intially had thought to get a thin tv but now considering if a projector might do the trick.

This would solve the issues of cables as where the TV would go there isn't a socket and I didn't really want a power cable running down the wall and this would solve the space issue, as we can get a thin screen and just put that up wheneber we watch a film in bed.l

My concerns are with quality, I'd not want to spend too much as it wouldn't be our main way to watch movies, more a way to start drifting off too, though I don't know how bad a cheap projector is in comparison to a cheap TV.

Also with noise from the projector itself. How loud can they get? My friend has a projector, though extremely old now, and it can be distracting when the film is in a quiet scene, so feel in the bedroom it'll be even worse as you're starting to drift off.

I guess for sound we'd have to buy speakers?

Finally do you get control with things like brightness? When I had a TV in the bedroom years ago I'd turn the brightness way down as I like it much dimmer when in bed. Can projectors do this?

I'm hoping £300 all in for either tv or projector/screen /speakers

Rroff · 6 Jul 2020 at 02:16

Cheap projectors tend to be quite noisy and produce a fair bit of heat (depending a bit on the tech used). TBH though I love mine and there is no experience quite like it I find it a bit inconvenient for day to day use and tend to use just a large monitor or TV for most of my content consumption though sounds like in your case that would be a bit less of a factor.

Any half decent projector will have a good amount of control over the brightness and other settings.

lucid · 6 Jul 2020 at 03:35

A projector in a bedroom is absolutely do-able, but I do wonder if at £300 it's worth the hassle and what sort of quality you'll get.

To put it in perspective, £300 for a TV with some kind of better sound system to go with it and a wall bracket is going to leave you looking at £200-£250 TVs, and that means a 32" HD Ready / 1080p set, or a bottom of the barrel 40-43" 4K UHD that probably comes with a Turkish/Czech/Chinese accent.

IOW, the budget is already bloody tight just for an ordinary TV, so although there are some very cheap projectors available with names you've never really heard of, they cut a lot of corners to get the price down. A projector worth owning for home cinema/home entertainment is going to cost (new) all of your budget and a bit more besides; and that's before you've added in the cost of a screen and a ceiling bracket and some kind of better audio system and cables and... and... and...

I'm a big fan of projectors, but even I have to concede sometimes that a TV really is the better option when the budget is super tight.

Your main problem right now is that a TV - even a thin one on a low profile bracket - is going to take up wall space in the bedroom, and that presents you with a practical problem of it getting knocked or just being in the way as the room is used. Here's an idea then... Have you thought about a flip-down ceiling mount for the TV?

It's not as daft as you might first imagine. A UK company called FutureAutomation does all sorts of fancy motorised mounts to hide TVs in calls, in ceilings, under beds and in cupboards. Quite a lot of this stuff finds its way in to luxury apartments and on to super yatchs. The rub is the price. You won't get much change from £1000 to £2000. However, there are manual flip-down ceiling brackets for £30 to £50 if you don't mind moving the TV by hand.

For up to 32"~37", this sort of thing might be just the ticket for around £30. LINK

Larger screens up to 46" would need something a bit more heavy duty. LINK

With either solution, the TV will be closer to you than a wall screen, so would you really need anything that big to get the visual impact?

In a room with a standard 7-7.5ft ceiling height, the TV folded up on its bracket isn't going to hang down any lower than about 6" or 7", so unless someone is 6' 6" or taller, there's little chance of it getting knocked when parked away. Also, aesthetically, is this going to look any worse than a projector hanging on a ceiling bracket?

You've got no noise. No excess heat. Lower power consumption. Better contrast and superior blacks. Multiple inputs including a TV tuner. All the wiring is centralised. You could easily mount a slim soundbar just in front of the hinge point which solves the 'better audio' quest as well as softening the impact of the TV installation. You could even finish it off with an elasticated fabric cover in a similar colour to the ceiling to disguise the black panel of the TV screen.

aoaaron · 6 Jul 2020 at 14:13

TV.

Projectors are really for high end dedicated setups. They are the least versatile home cinema device with the most compromises if you want a good experience. I know in theory projectors sound awesome and look convenient, but they aren't.

Haggisman · 6 Jul 2020 at 16:32

I have a Benq TH670 projector that cost me £350 a few years ago, plus a white ikea blackout blind for a screen, total cost (plus a mount for ~£20 on Amazon) ~£400.

If I was to do it again, I'd put that £400 towards a better, bigger TV (or spend way more on a better projector)

Don't get me wrong, the projector is great - especially for gaming (playing the Witcher 3 with a lifesize Geralt is awesome

) - but there are a few major downsides:

It's noisy - which isn't too bad watching things during the day, but can be annoying at night with the volume low when the kids are in bed
The PQ is OK when watching something at night when it's dark, but almost useless during the day

As you can see, the 2 above issues compound each other

Also, it needs a new bulb soon, which is looking like ~£120 (I probably won't bother tbh).

A more expensive LED projector would probably address both of the above.

Or I could buy a 65" FALD TV for the same (if not less), which is going to be way more versatile and have better PQ in 99% of situations - sure it isn't going to be quite as big as the projected image, but IMO without a dedicated home cinema room, £ for £ a TV is going to be a better option.

TL;DR - don't buy a cheap projector, a budget TV is probably going to be better

unwashed potato! · 6 Jul 2020 at 17:13

Heard you guys loud and clear. TV it is