Projector vs large TV - Bang for buck

Yucca · 16 Nov 2017 at 13:16

Hi all

So iv been considering a 'budget projector' and a 92" fixed frame screen. My calculations put total cost at approx £500+£280+£100 install = £880.

But a budget projector is not 4K, nor does it seem to give you a particulary crips picture as large TV's do.

My father believes we can get ourselves a decent 72" LCD 4K for around £2000ish. His opinion is that though the projector set up is much cheaper and a bit bigger the 72" TV would give us a far superior imagine.

If we were to buy a projector that provides a 4k quality imagine similar to the tv it would cost much much more.

Which brings me to my question. Why do people buy projectors and screens when you seem to get a far better quality imagine from spending a little more on a 4K TV?

Yucca · 21 Nov 2017 at 21:10

Im back guys!! Sorry for the late reply.

So iv decided to go for a 92" fixed screen and best projector I can get for £650 max.

Screen - These seem to range from £280 to about £800 based on brand!?

Projector - The Epson EH-TW5350 as xs2man said won an award for best projector under £1000. What is the consensus on the forums? Do you guys agree? The Optima HD28DSE is currently on offer, reduced from £700 to £600 making it same price as the Epsom. Is that better?

Any thoughts?

Yucca · 22 Nov 2017 at 09:20

darreny said:
Non recessed lighting would also be a consideration when ceiling mounting in relation to screen height

No idea what you mean here ?

Yucca · 22 Nov 2017 at 09:24

My father is keen on having a fixed screen as the builders can put it up now while building the house.

He feels a bare wall may look a bit naff when the projectors off. Especially as under it will be a large cabinet with sky box etc etc. It will almost look like someone's run off with the tv lol

Also, so many people have screens rather than projecting directly on to the wall. Surly picture quality must be better with a screen else why would anyone ever bother??

They range from £280-£800 for fixed 92'' screens. Perhaps the cheap one will do the job just fine then if you guys think screen is not even needed!?

Can't go bigger than 92'' that's all the wall I got

Yucca · 22 Nov 2017 at 13:40

darreny said:
External sound is also an absolute must so speakers near the screen. Projector built in speakers are rubbish and it also sounds of with picture and sound at opposite sides of the room

I will have 5 ceiling speakers and an amp for sound.

Yucca · 22 Nov 2017 at 18:57

signs said:
5 ceiling speakers ?

Yes. 2 rear. 1 front left, 1 centre, 1 right. For 5.1 surround sound?

Yucca · 22 Nov 2017 at 19:23

darreny said:
It needs to be more directional than firing down

I could put the speakers in the walls?! Lot more work and cost involved..... Really worth it?!

Yucca · 29 Nov 2017 at 00:36

So guys...... Not sure what you lot are all arguing about but:

1) Will a screen give me a better image than using the wall - General consensus please folks

2) If I get a screen it will be a fixed screen. They seem to range from £250 odd to £700/£800. Any advice on what brand I should go for and why. What does a £700 screen do that a £250 can't?!

3) How long do the bulbs last? Are they expensive to replace?

4) Can projectors be used during the day. Ie daylight coming through windows.

Yucca · 30 Nov 2017 at 14:15

Rroff said:
A screen will usually be better.

The more expensive screens will have a "better" gain, etc. which can really help to bring out black levels - but you really need to match them up with your projector at those kind of price levels to get the best out of them i.e. some projectors will work with varying degrees of grey screens while others won't.

non-LED bulbs are usually <10,000 hours, LED type bulbs usually 20,000+ hours.

Daylight depends a lot projector to projector and just how much and how direct the daylight is plus distance between the projector and screen, etc.

As its won the What HiFi award for best projector under £1000 I'm going for the Epson EH-TW530. Ref 92" fixed screen my choice is either the 'Sapphire SFSC203' (£279.95) or the far more expensive Vutec Elegante Fixed 92" (799.95). Are you able to better advise me now that I have confirmed which projector I am going for? There is a hell of a difference between the two prices. There really needs to be a clear difference in picture quality to warrant spending almost 3x the price.

Non-LED vs LED - This is optional or you must have one or the other depending on what your projector takes? The Epson is a LCD projector?! Are the bulbs expensive?

Yucca · 30 Nov 2017 at 14:17

Actually the Epson which won the What HiFi award seems to have a REALLY bad review from Trusted Reviews which only gave it 3 star. Im a little lost now as to which projector to go for in my price range £500-£700.

Yucca · 30 Nov 2017 at 15:39

darreny said:
Whats the distance between where the projector will be and the screen as throw distance can vary a lot. Have you been to view any to check if you or anyone watching suffers from the rainbow effect of dlp projectors and do you like sitting in dark rooms?

I will check this tomorrow and revert back to you mate.

Yucca · 30 Nov 2017 at 18:28

lol guys you could always argue directly via trust!

Seen as you both seem to know a lot... Perhaps you could give me some advice on my questions

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 13:26

Having decided on the Epsom projector

Yucca said:
I will check this tomorrow and revert back to you mate.

Guys the room is about 5 meters wide from back wall to front wall where the screen will go.

My electrician wants to know where to put the socket on the ceiling for the projector. Ie where about should the projector be positioned.

Any advice on best throw distance between projector and the 92'' screen il be having???

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 14:28

vila said:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Eps...ojection-calculator-pro.htm?haveflashipromise

You should be able to hit 92" between 2.5meters to 3 meters lens to screen, the projector will be on the brighter side with these throws and size.

I'd get the projector and run it on to of a table / some books between these distances to check you're happy with the setup. The have your ceiling mount / electrics installed.

Im on the projector central website looking at throw ratios. Seems same series same brand projectors have same throw distances. Ie the Epson 5300, 5350 and the 5600 all give me a range of 2.48m to 2.99m with 2.71 being optimum.

But then if I look at other brands such as the Optima HD28DES (similar price to the Epson) is gives me 3m to 3.3m with 3.2 optimum.

Seems I need to make a final decision on projector before I can decide throw distance!! Electrician in wiring the plug today!!

Apparently the Epson 5300 and 5350 that won the What HiFi awards is being replaced with the newer model the 5600. What other projector in that price range £600-800 would you guys recommend? The Optima HD28DES has been recommended to me as an alternative. Your thoughts very welcome.......

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 15:17

darreny said:
You also have a zoom on them so make sure that's zoomed out on projector central

Its set to be at 1.05x zoom as standard. Is that wrong? Should I be working it on 0 zoom?

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 15:39

Each projector when you select them from the drop down menu has the zoom set as a standard which can't be adjusted.

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 16:14

Having spent the last 2 hours in RS store chatting to staff iv decided to increase my budget and go for a Epson 6700 £1300. I discussed the Epson 5350 and its newer version the 5600 and asked whether the picture quality would be as good as my current 55'' Sony 9 series tv and they all said probably not. My Sony TV, though 6 years old is fantastic.

I don't want to spend money upgrading to a projector set up and end up with a noticeably poorer picture. They advised me to go for the 6700, though much more, it has better processing and they said picture quality should be much closer to/better than my Sony Tv. I have a viewing arranged for end of the week.

Iv worked out I can go up to a 100'' screen also rather than 92''.

My father wants to plug socket on the wall as close to the projector as possible to avoid visible wires. Im trying to work it out on the projector central website but when I select the 6700 it comes up with a zoom set to 1.31x and I can't seem to change it. Shouldn't this be set to 0 or is it coming up with 1.31x as thats what the manufacturer recommends for best image?!

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 17:10

vila said:
in the top left box of the calculator change it from throw range to diagonal range.

That doesn't allow you to change the zoom ratio.

Yucca · 4 Dec 2017 at 17:18

darreny said:
I'll have a look later when I have some time. Zoom also gives you quite a large margin of error on projector to screen measurement if you set it halfway when rough placing the projector

Thank you mate. Let me know if you work it out. As I can currently put it at any distance that I want I may as well do the best I can!

Yucca · 5 Dec 2017 at 01:41

vila said:
? Does on mine ; when you click on diagonal range you can then adjust the Zoom ratio from 1.00 - 1.63 on say the TW 6700

darreny said:
Out of interest does anyone know if the zoom degrades image quality at all?

Ok sorry, Iv found it! If I play with the zoom and set it to more or less, i.e. set it to 1x or 1.62x then the throw distance recommended changes considerably.

I don't think I know what I'm doing using this calculator!!

What zoom am I meant to use for optimum picture quality!?