Projector recommendation... up to £1500

ELiTECH · 23 May 2017 at 02:35

I used a thin sheet of mdf screwed into an oak frame made of very narrow long pieces T and L plated together and then painted it in the popular Blackwidow screen paint which is easily made, the screen is excellent and has much better contrast compared to these cheap white screens, also gives an amazing quality of picture, even though I use a budget £500 projector. (still need some black border tape)
Some pics

^^ The screen is hung up by a french cleat system.

And this is a video example, it was filmed on an old Galaxy Note 4 so the quality of the video is not great, and it looks much better in person.

Legend · 23 May 2017 at 13:05

Yes I know not to cheap out on the screen... most I can fit is 100" realistically, but may settle at 92" as I found this Sapphire one which seems to get good feedback based on what I've read, and won't cost the moon.

ELiTECH · 23 May 2017 at 23:18

Legend said:
Yes I know not to cheap out on the screen... most I can fit is 100" realistically, but may settle at 92" as I found this Sapphire one which seems to get good feedback based on what I've read, and won't cost the moon.

All I'm saying is you should try building one, my one cost only £60 to build, with fixings and paint left over. It's just an option. But if your okay with spending the money on the Sapphire, then go for it, it looks pretty good,

ghutchison14078 · 27 May 2017 at 23:46

I use an Acer Z650 for movies and gaming. Fantastic projector.

nightrider1470 · 28 May 2017 at 01:16

Buy a JVC X3

Stop moaning on as your not listening to people.....

Bottom line, your budgets crap for brilliant black levels, so you are forced to come down the food chain.

Legend · 28 May 2017 at 16:51

nightrider1470 said:
Buy a JVC X3

Stop moaning on as your not listening to people.....

Bottom line, your budgets crap for brilliant black levels, so you are forced to come down the food chain.

I know I won't get BRILLIANT blacks... but it's a case of finding the best WITHIN a certain budget. And how exactly am I "moaning on" lol??

nightrider1470 · 2 Jun 2017 at 00:02

Acer v7500

Phonesis · 8 Aug 2017 at 11:09

Dragging this thread up but I'm still rocking an Epson TW3200 which I bought in 2012. Very good projector. Still very happy with it. Can be had cheap now too, although a discontinued line.

Saying that though, I am considering an upgrade and have a similar budget in mind to the OP. About £1500 max. From what I can tell, the latest Epson EH-TW6700W looks like a good bet. Little over budget but probably worth it.

The thing about Epsons I've grown to love is that lens shift feature. It's vital for me. I think it's more common now with other brands but when I got the TW3200 it was the main selling point at that time.

The thing is, I am not sure that the picture will be dramatically better between the TW3200 and the TW6700W really. Anyone got any thoughts? For HD content, just not sure it's worth the upgrade.

Chris1712 · 8 Aug 2017 at 11:59

Phonesis said:
Dragging this thread up but I'm still rocking an Epson TW3200 which I bought in 2012. Very good projector. Still very happy with it. Can be had cheap now too, although a discontinued line.

Saying that though, I am considering an upgrade and have a similar budget in mind to the OP. About £1500 max. From what I can tell, the latest Epson EH-TW6700W looks like a good bet. Little over budget but probably worth it.

The thing about Epsons I've grown to love is that lens shift feature. It's vital for me. I think it's more common now with other brands but when I got the TW3200 it was the main selling point at that time.

The thing is, I am not sure that the picture will be dramatically better between the TW3200 and the TW6700W really. Anyone got any thoughts? For HD content, just not sure it's worth the upgrade.

I upgraded from a TW3200 to a JVC-X3 and the jump was gigantic. Absolutely massive step up in quality. For £1500 I'd be looking at JVC 2014 ish models and newer Sony models.

Warbie · 8 Aug 2017 at 12:27

Agreed. A 2nd hand JVC can be an amazing bargain.

Surfer · 8 Aug 2017 at 12:37

if it were me upgrading (from a w1070) then i'd go for the Epson EH-TW7300

Phonesis · 8 Aug 2017 at 12:50

Chris1712 said:
I upgraded from a TW3200 to a JVC-X3 and the jump was gigantic. Absolutely massive step up in quality. For £1500 I'd be looking at JVC 2014 ish models and newer Sony models.

Interesting. So you found the picture quality far better I take it? What about stuff like projector noise (bit of an issue with the 3200 that) and physical size of the unit (I can't go larger than a 3200, ideally want something smaller so it fits on my tallboy shelf).

Chris1712 · 8 Aug 2017 at 15:02

Phonesis said:
Interesting. So you found the picture quality far better I take it? What about stuff like projector noise (bit of an issue with the 3200 that) and physical size of the unit (I can't go larger than a 3200, ideally want something smaller so it fits on my tallboy shelf).

Yes the picture quality is honestly a huge step up. The contrast is considerably better, black levels are comparable to LCD TVs (assuming you have a grey screen / some room control). Noise wise it was about the same, convenience wise it's a huge step up aswell. Automated lens shift! Brilliant for shifting from 16:9 to scope. The unit itself is gigantic though, the TW3200 is practically a mobile projector in comparison, I needed to build a bigger shelf. Totally worth it though. As soon as I have room for a projector again I won't even think twice about going straight back to JVC, honestly once you see one you'll be hooked.

TW3200 DIMENSIONS (D x W x H) 360 x 450 x 136mm
JVC X3 DIMENSIONS (D x W x H) 472 x 455 x 179mm

Actually not that much bigger, mostly in depth. It's overall a more imposing design/shape though.

Phonesis · 8 Aug 2017 at 17:14

Chris1712 said:
Yes the picture quality is honestly a huge step up. The contrast is considerably better, black levels are comparable to LCD TVs (assuming you have a grey screen / some room control). Noise wise it was about the same, convenience wise it's a huge step up aswell. Automated lens shift! Brilliant for shifting from 16:9 to scope. The unit itself is gigantic though, the TW3200 is practically a mobile projector in comparison, I needed to build a bigger shelf. Totally worth it though. As soon as I have room for a projector again I won't even think twice about going straight back to JVC, honestly once you see one you'll be hooked.

TW3200 DIMENSIONS (D x W x H) 360 x 450 x 136mm
JVC X3 DIMENSIONS (D x W x H) 472 x 455 x 179mm

Actually not that much bigger, mostly in depth. It's overall a more imposing design/shape though.

Do you know much about the latest JVC range?

Chris1712 · 8 Aug 2017 at 17:26

To be honest I only pay attention to the ones a few years old because they're the ones in my budget. I've heard anecdotally Sony & Epson are/have caught up at the top end but I'd want a demo.

signs · 10 Aug 2017 at 12:12

ive had a JVC X7 and now currently have a x500 , love it !