Questions about Projector Setups

Baplad

Baplad

Baplad

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Belfast, N. Ireland
I am really really interested in getting myself a projector setup rather than my 37" lcd tv which ive got a little fed up of, so a few questions and well your advice would be helpful :)

I dont really know a lot about projectors, so below is what my budgets are and a few questions about projector setups.

  • I would be wanting a HD Projector my budget for the projector would be around the £500 mark.
  • What screen would i need to get for it? (pref 16:9 and around about 70") and how much do the screens usually cost?
  • What is the recommended distance the projector should be from the screen?
  • Can you use HDMI switchers with projectors? (skyhd, mediacentre, xbox360, ps3)

I will also be re-decorating my room around the same time, so what colours (im assuming darker colours would provide a better environment for a projector setup)

And im guessing investing in a good pair of thick/blackout curtains also?


I know im asking a bit more than the usual spec me threads, but i appreciate any responses.

Cheers,

Mark.
 
Plenty around for you budget, Optoma HD700x or HD65 come in highly recommended around the £400-£450 mark.

You can get any screen you want providing you have the space and right projector. Panoview make decent screens, you'd be looking at around £100 for a pull down (maybe a bit less) and just over £200 for a motorised unit.

With a Optoma HD65 and a 16:9 70" screen, the throw would need to be between 2.32m and 2.63m. With an 16:9 80" screen, it would be 2.66m to 3.01m. This will change from projector to projector and screen to screen. There's a calculator on the Optoma website which will give you a good idea.

You can use hdmi switchers.

You want the room as dark as possible, so blackout curtains would be good. Not sure about colours, etc. I wouldnt worry about that really.

Oh and dont forget, projectors dont have speakers! So if you're replacing a tv I hope you've got that covered!
 
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Cheers for the info, and yes i forgot to mention about speakers, plan to buy a new set.
 
Baplad said:
I am really really interested in getting myself a projector setup rather than my 37" lcd tv which ive got a little fed up of, so a few questions and well your advice would be helpful :)

I dont really know a lot about projectors, so below is what my budgets are and a few questions about projector setups.

  • I would be wanting a HD Projector my budget for the projector would be around the £500 mark.
  • What screen would i need to get for it? (pref 16:9 and around about 70") and how much do the screens usually cost?
  • What is the recommended distance the projector should be from the screen?
  • Can you use HDMI switchers with projectors? (skyhd, mediacentre, xbox360, ps3)

I will also be re-decorating my room around the same time, so what colours (im assuming darker colours would provide a better environment for a projector setup)

And im guessing investing in a good pair of thick/blackout curtains also?


I know im asking a bit more than the usual spec me threads, but i appreciate any responses.

Cheers,

Mark.
Click to expand...

Optoma HD65 is a good bet. I had one briefly for about 2 months before I had to sell due to moving home.

I had it about 8-10ft from the screen and my image was about 92" diagonally, just to give you an idea.

As for the environment, this is very important. Do you get a lot of light in the room? If so look into investing in some black out blinds to get it as dark as possible during daylight. Also, a 'high gain' screen will reflect more light back to your viewing position and SHOULD increase contrast in the imagine.

I had a high gain GrayWolf II screen which was a grey colour, rough surface, and on white images you could kind of see the roughness of the screen which was it's only downfull. Having a dark 'frame' makes a world of different to the contrast though.

I would say check out these forums:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/dlp-lcd-d-ila-projectors/ - Projectors
http://www.avforums.com/forums/dlp-lcd-d-ila-projectors/ - Projection Screens

For the time I had it, it was a good experience :)
I had a PS3 and 360 hooked up through an Onkyo amp via HDMI, so yes that is possible too.

From my (ex) Optoma 65HD:

http://scary-squirrel.com/nick/62.jpg
http://scary-squirrel.com/nick/65.jpg

The screen (never got around to mounting it)
http://scary-squirrel.com/nick/40.jpg
 
Use the projector to compliment your TV, not replace it!

It gets quite old quite fast having to sit in pretty much darkness every time you want to view anything, especially during the day!


I've got a 42" LCD I use primarily, but I've just put up my 5ft-wide pull-down screen (which gives a 72" diagonal image... small, but I got the screen for nothing!) and am about to mount my projector :)
 
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Thanks ScarySquirrel ill have a check when i get in from work, and referring to your distance my room is about 10ft square so give or take a foot taking the projector + screen into consideration.

My room very rarely gets the sunlight through the window, not to mention living in N.Ireland you get more moonlight than sunlight!

Confused said:
Use the projector to compliment your TV, not replace it!

It gets quite old quite fast having to sit in pretty much darkness every time you want to view anything, especially during the day!


I've got a 42" LCD I use primarily, but I've just put up my 5ft-wide pull-down screen (which gives a 72" diagonal image... small, but I got the screen for nothing!) and am about to mount my projector :)
Click to expand...

I was thinking about mounting my tv with the sceen to pull down infront of it, but i live like a vampire anyway! Work late most nights so its usually dark when i get home, apart from the summer!

And rarely get to watch stuff during the day, if i do its football in the pub on a saturday/sunday. That's why im thinking of going to a projector setup, it seems perfect for me.


Thanks again for the advice! ;)
 
Need some more help,

I measured my wall i want the projector to project from and to, and its 10ft(120inches)

Using the projector calc, for the Optoma HD65 its saying screen size for 16:9 is 89" on 1x zoom or 81" on normal, if im reading it right!

So my question is, what would be a suitable screen for this distance, like i said before this is my first time venturing down this road, so not really sure what type of screen to get and what gain etc?

Thanks,

Mark.
 
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I can't stress how much a positive impact a darkly decorated room has on picture quality. Go as dark as you can stand or are allowed (the misses often has something to say about this). It doesn't have to be a cave - although that's best :)
 
Warbie said:
I can't stress how much a positive impact a darkly decorated room has on picture quality. Go as dark as you can stand or are allowed (the misses often has something to say about this). It doesn't have to be a cave - although that's best :)
Click to expand...

Would the whole room need to be the same colour, or would the wall where the screen is going be sufficient enough?
 
Baplad said:
Would the whole room need to be the same colour, or would the wall where the screen is going be sufficient enough?
Click to expand...

The more the better really. Making the wall behind the screen a dark colour helps (dark chocolate brown/black/dark blue gives a nice feature wall and makes the screen pop right out). If possible, really try to do something with the ceiling directly above the screen and the walls to its side too - some black material/curtains/dark paint that come out a meter or two, for example. Painting the walls other than cream/white is also quite doable without making the room look like a cave - brown/red/blue etc. It takes some work, but you can get good result without completely caving the room. Just making a feature wall won't really help much with ambient light, though.
 
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