Projectors and gaming

Cavallino

Cavallino

Cavallino

Soldato
Joined
8 Dec 2004
Posts
15,048
Location
Hampshire
As title folks, looking to get myself a projector to use with my PC (and PS3 eventually).
The size of the room is not massive, I am thinking of attaching the projector to the ceiling one end of the room to be projected on a wall about 2.5-3m away.

1. Will this give me a decent size screen?

2. Any recommendations of decent gaming projectors (if any). Thanks.
 
What's your price range? It's easier to achieve greater colour and clarity on standard TV's so if you want something to match up to this and be 'decent' it could end up costing you a pretty penny (and forcing you to play in the dark).
 
Might be worth looking at "120Hz" projectors as they tend to be more designed for gaming than a typical multi-media or business projector. Also avoid projectors aimed at business use as they tend to be designed for clearly projecting low color depth static images and aren't generally good for gaming (tho most you'd be looking at would be multi-media ones).

Look at the specs for the throw distance on some projectors this will give you an idea of whats possible.
 
So are you guys saying its worthwhile just getting a BIGGER screen (e.g. a 55" or equivalent) rather than splashing out on a projector?

Are there any online comparisons of big LCDs vs Projectors?
 
it doesn't sound right but it depends on the throw of the projector. for example i get around 90 inch from 11-12 foot although you can get other projectors that would give a 120 inch image at that range.

i recently upgraded my acer h5360 to a optoma hd131x which is basically a black hd25, i'll never go back to a tv now. the optoma is 1080p and the acer was just 720p, the difference in image quality between the two is massive in games and noticeable in films. i play games downsampled from 4k on it and it looks incredible, rayman legends especially.

maybe check out the benq w1070 as that should be able to provide a large image from a short distance
 
Wow, thanks for the input bee (and all). Very informative.

I dont suppose you could post pictures of your setup? Would be very interested!

You said you play games downsampled from 4k? What do you mean exactly?
 
The 48" you mention for the EH-TW3200 is with no zoom (1x). At full zoom it will project a 103" image at the same 3m distance. The large zoom of LCD projectors gives you more flexibility.

The hd131x is a good choice for gaming and movies imo, so long as you don't suffer from rainbows. It will also accept 1280x720 @ 120hz from your PC for super smooth gaming. At 3m it will throw an image of between 85" and 102".

You may also consider the Optoma GT760. While only 720p (with 120hz input), it is short throw and could be placed on a coffee table.

Size up the exact location of the projector lens and distance to wall - you need to allow the depth of projector and a few cm at least for airflow. Decide how large you want the image. This may narrow your choices to either LCD, DLP or short throw.

Just for kicks, this is the best gaming projector money can buy (3,200 by 2,560 and easily 120hz @ 1080p):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BarcoReal...55?pt=US_Video_Projectors&hash=item3cd5cde3c3

If only I had the cash and a room large enough :)
 
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Great thanks sbt.
Why would one get a 1280x720 projector for gaming? Surely you would want at least a 1080?
(E.g. similar to monitors?)
 
I guess its because of input lag.

I have an Epson EH-TW9000 and have used it for gaming but the input lag is noticable to me as someone who doesn't normally have a problem with it.

Essentially in my experience, with a projector you trade some image clarity and input lag for size and immersion.
 
If you plan to game at 120hz from a PC then currently you're limited to 1280x720p, even on a 1080p projector. If most of your gaming is on a console or at 60hz then you'd be better off with 1080p.

As B1gbeard mentions tho, input lag is an issue to consider. I would assume gaming projectors to be better, but cannot confirm. I've no idea what the values of different projectors are, but do know mine is in the 50ms range (Panasonic AX200). It's high enough that even for movies I had to offset the audio. Some can be upto 150ms from past reading.
 
sadbuttrue said:
I've no idea what the values of different projectors are, but do know mine is in the 50ms range (Panasonic AX200). It's high enough that even for movies I had to offset the audio. Some can be upto 150ms from past reading.
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I agree with Sadbut true about audio. Unless you are using a home cinema reciever as the HDMI source, you are going to really struggle getting your audio synced up with the picture. If you are planning on going through a receiver, then you can offset, but trying to do this via the audio drivers is a pain.

To get the level of colour depth and blackness of a decent TV, then your room will need to be very dark and you will need to be projecting onto a screen, not a wall (unless specially painted).

I dont really suffer with input lag when playing games (SF4 with a few mates on the big screen is awesome!!), but some games can become a bit overwhelming at that size and you struggle to keep track of whats going on as you struggle to focus on the whole screen (FPS in particular i find).

Before yu spend big money on this, I would suggest you try and demo one for gaming, as it's a different experience to using a TV/Monitor for gaming.
 
Cavallino said:
I dont suppose you could post pictures of your setup? Would be very interested!
Click to expand...

some high quality (lol) phone pics i took when i first set it up in the spare room, no colour adjustments were done and it was on the window sill and kinda wonky :p also ignore the random hardrives, plugs and wii motes directly in the image haha

it looks much better in person believe me :D


hB3G18W.jpg


the screen is 92 inch
47RPa88.jpg


Cavallino said:
You said you play games downsampled from 4k? What do you mean exactly?
Click to expand...

read this, it's similar to super sampling, the resolution you can achieve varies from display to display though. with the optoma i went straight to 3820x2160@60hz and it worked, although curiously i have installed the acer edid override so its detected as a 3D vision display for 3D gaming but now with that it'll only do 3200x1800@60hz, no biggie though

http://screenarchery.wikia.com/wiki/Downsampling_%E2%80%93_A_full_guide_to_achieve_3840x2160_resolution_%E2%80%93_NVIDIA_only

i also have 3 x 120hz monitors with i believe 0ms input lag (lg w2363d) , the acer was very fast in 120hz with a minor hint of lag compared to the monitors , the optoma has slightly more but its not severe like the old dell 2410 monitors or something and every game is perfectly playable although maybe your not gonna do too well on quake or cs :)
 
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Have a look at my video (not the best, sorry)

This is barely 2m from the wall and i think its roughly 125" image projected onto a blue wall with no screen either!!

But i tell you something, its bloody amazing for gaming, no TV can beat this experience mate trust me :cool:
 
I have recently bought a Benq W1070 projector and an electric 100" screen for our bedroom and playing the PS3 on it is just amazing. Cant really say that I have noticed any significant input lag but I have only been playing GTA 5 (flying is just a joy on a huge screen. The room is 3.2 metres from wall to wall with the screen at one end and the projector on a high shelf at the other wall so about 2.9m from the lens to the screen and the picture could probably go to around 110-115". The only thing that has been a little disappointing with the projector is shadow detail/blacks are a little bit lacking in detail.
 
have recently bought a Benq W1070 *snap* got mine setup in my living room just put up lining paper and im painting it Dulux grey steel 3 at the weekend according to to avforums will help with keeping reflections to a minimum. If im not too keen on it then the walls getting painted a bright color with a screen recessed into the ceiling instead. Marvellous for gaming :)
 
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