Projectors?

Quddy

Quddy

Quddy

Associate
Joined
28 May 2004
Posts
255
Location
Japan
Hi,

I am thinking about buying a HD projector and am doing some research on them to see if it is suitable for my home. I know some you of you have one so I thought I would seek some of your general opinions on them. I intend to use it mainly for gaming (PC & Xbox360) and occasionally some DVDs.

Specifically,

1. Is the bulb life expectancy accurate? If it is then a 3000hr bulb would last me quite a few years.

2. Are bulbs usually covered under the warranty? If a bulb only lasts 500hrs instead of the quoted 3000hrs then would this be replaced for free?

3. Screens? I've done a bit of research (there doesn't seem to be that much information/reviews on the web about them). There seem to be different materials used depending on the audience and media to be displayed, and prices seem to vary quite a lot from £60 to over £300? What sort of screens should I be looking for and where? Can you get screens that don't have to be permanantly fixed to a wall/ceiling?

4. Viewing distances/Picture size: what's the minimum distance you need to sit from the screen compared to picture size? I have read that the latest projectors can display a picture only 1-2m away.

Projectors I have on my shortlist so far (budget around £1K):
- Epson EMP-TW600
- Panasonic PT-AE900

Any info on any of the above questions would be great, thanks.
 
Thanks very much for the input.

Are projectors easy to setup? I've read some reviews and most of them always seem to talk about a plethora of video settings, especially getting the colours right. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to advanced audio/video. Will one of the presets usually give a good enough picture? (at least until I get a bit more experienced)
 
Thanks.

I leaning towards the PT-AE900 at the moment but am a bit confused by the different types of screens. Is there much difference between matt white, high power, gray screens etc...?

Also what aspect ratio should I go for? There seem to be choices of 1:1, 4:3, and 16:9. I would not like to spend more than £150 on the screen.
 
Cheers everyone for your valuable input.

I've pretty much decided on the AE900, every review I have read seems to think it is great.

Still thinking about what screen to get, didn't realise there was so much choice and price bands! Decided against any high gain ones as I don't think it is required for this projector/room combination. Is it possible to get portable 16:9 screens that are not too expensive, i.e. < £200?
 
One more question, what does "light waves in fabric" mean regarding the b-grade stuff?

Thinking about getting one of the 179x101 R-black screens for £95.
 
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