So i'm thinking about getting a projector (but know nothing!)

snow patrol · 16 Jan 2011 at 15:08

At the beginning of feb i will be totally rearranging my front room, as at the moment it's not particularly asthetically pleasing. The only good thing about the current setup is that my 40" sony is 'optimally' placed about 6 feet from my couch.

However, i'm buying a new couch and will be putting it in another place AND putting the tv on the other wall. This will more than double the viewing distance to about 13.5"...I have realised though, that despite the fact that the room will look much nicer (really, it will), my tv is going to be too far away and i'll end up hating that.

So, given that i don't want to blow a load of cash on a 60" lcd, i've started to think about a projector, but i have some questions:

- how much am i looking at for a good quality 1080p one
- is it easy to hook it all up to my av amp etc...i have xbox, wii, v-media and htpc...
- do i still actually need to keep my tv??
- can it fit easily to the ceiling? (no option to put it behind the couch, as there's a window there that goes almost to the ceiling)
- i gather the screens are really cheap, even for 100" etc. What's a good size to get, and do they just pull down from the ceiling like a blind or something?

thanks guys!

Demon · 16 Jan 2011 at 16:36

snow patrol said:
At the beginning of feb i will be totally rearranging my front room, as at the moment it's not particularly asthetically pleasing. The only good thing about the current setup is that my 40" sony is 'optimally' placed about 6 feet from my couch.

However, i'm buying a new couch and will be putting it in another place AND putting the tv on the other wall. This will more than double the viewing distance to about 13.5"...I have realised though, that despite the fact that the room will look much nicer (really, it will), my tv is going to be too far away and i'll end up hating that.

So, given that i don't want to blow a load of cash on a 60" lcd, i've started to think about a projector, but i have some questions:

There is nothing like a PJ with a 100"+ Screen for that true "cinema" level of presence/scale etc.. People are usually amazed by how pixel perfectly sharp they are, and the vibrancy of the colours etc.

- how much am i looking at for a good quality 1080p one

£1500-£2000 tops, you may even find (as I did) for something stunning, you can go £1000 or just under for something pretty decent still.

- is it easy to hook it all up to my av amp etc...i have xbox, wii, v-media and htpc...

It's easier to just connect everything to a reasonable AV Receiver like the Yamaha 667, it will convert analogue sources to HDMI, so you can connect everything to that, then just 1 HDMI lead to the Projector, otherwise getting long cables to the Projector without compromising on signal quality can be expensive and bulky

- do i still actually need to keep my tv??

Yes, really, for normal viewing when the room is normally lit, a TV is best, for the PJ to be stunning, you need the room light controlled, as in lights turned out, curtains drawn, etc..

- can it fit easily to the ceiling? (no option to put it behind the couch, as there's a window there that goes almost to the ceiling)

It is easy to ceiling mount, plenty of cheap mounts around, I have mine on a 6ft tall glass shelving unit, but would ceiling mount if not.

- i gather the screens are really cheap, even for 100" etc (I paid £130 for a 110" screen, and it works really well). What's a good size to get, and do they just pull down from the ceiling like a blind or something?

The beauty of a PJ is the fact that even in a normal room, as long as you can effectively light control (i.e. curtains blacking out the windows, lights off) you can easily go to 100-120" with no issues, and on that size, 1080p HD films etc look stunning at 12-14 feet. I use a cheap pull down screen, which is mounted above our main window, they are housed in roughly a long 4" square long 'box' (the same height as the coving, so I just cut into the coving, and the screen looks very stealth when retracted).

I would never be without a projector, I hate watching films on my 46" LCD at even 8 feet seems like a portable TV! I use mine for films/HD TV (Topgear/F1/Football), HTPC, Xbox etc, etc.. Although It takes 20 seconds to turn the lights, slightly adjust the sofa and pull the screen down (can get electric ones if you want)..

They aren't for everyone, some people can't compromise on having what are another bulky box in the front room, but you can be creative in making it not stand out so much.. My sister ceiling mounted hers above a window, largely hidden by a small pelmet that slides back when in use, and the screen is hidden in the ceiling on the opposite wall, and pulls down just in front of her 50" Plasma that is on the wall, and it didn't take much effort, and looks very hidden indeed.

snow patrol · 16 Jan 2011 at 16:52

thanks for the response. To be honest, I don't think i can quite justify £2k at the moment, especially as i'm going to be spending money on new furniture etc. I saw a few reviews of the BenQ W1000+ which looks quite good and is under £800 i think...any thoughts?

i'm not sure, but i think my av amp only has one hdmi out, which obviously at the moment goes to my tv. Can i use a splitter to put one hdmi to my tv and one to the projector?

Demon · 16 Jan 2011 at 17:08

snow patrol said:
thanks for the response. To be honest, I don't think i can quite justify £2k at the moment, especially as i'm going to be spending money on new furniture etc. I saw a few reviews of the BenQ W1000+ which looks quite good and is under £800 i think...any thoughts?

i'm not sure, but i think my av amp only has one hdmi out, which obviously at the moment goes to my tv. Can i use a splitter to put one hdmi to my tv and one to the projector?

I only paid £1000 for a Sanyo PLV-Z2000, and it's turned out to be superb, you could head over to http://www.avforums.com/forums/projectors/ for some excellent owner reviews/experiences with any projector.

The Benq W1000 is a good Pj, the other notable one for under £1000 is the Epson TW3200, they use different technologues, the Benq is DLP and the Epson is LCD, the only issue is that DLP can cause some people to experience the rainbow effect, but do offer good performance for the money. I personally do suffer a little with DLP's, I've demo'd a few and have always gone for LCD in the end, luckily you have the choice of either at under £1000 and really don't have to compromise anything, both would be superb..

And yes, you can use a HDMI Splitter, I do myself, so I can have all sources on the TV or PJ, it cost £30 for a decent one, but it works flawlessly..

lucid · 16 Jan 2011 at 17:58

Budget projectors are pretty good now. You can definitely get away with spending a grand or so and be perfectly happy. That's not to say that performance doesn't get better the more you spend though.

snow patrol · 17 Jan 2011 at 01:01

thanks for the advice guys. I think, IDEALLY, i'd like to spend aroud 1k for the pj, the screen and the ceiling mount...is that really possible though? I obviously want good image quality but it doesn't have to be the best. Also, i don't mind closing curtains / turning off lights when it comes to watching something.

TW3200 reviews / comments (the thread on avforums) make it look VERY tempting indeed, despite being slightly pricier than ideal.

Phill4321 · 17 Jan 2011 at 06:46

Hi mate, the Optoma HD200X is a good projector and you could probably get all you mentioned for a £1000 budget. There is a site selling it for £850 including an 84inch pull down screen. Leaving you with £150 to buy a ceiling mount. Here is some pics of mine.

Demon · 17 Jan 2011 at 12:23

snow patrol said:
thanks for the advice guys. I think, IDEALLY, i'd like to spend aroud 1k for the pj, the screen and the ceiling mount...is that really possible though? I obviously want good image quality but it doesn't have to be the best. Also, i don't mind closing curtains / turning off lights when it comes to watching something.

TW3200 reviews / comments (the thread on avforums) make it look VERY tempting indeed, despite being slightly pricier than ideal.

I like the sound of the Epson, when I got mine it had just come out, but was much more expensive (£1400), It got good reviews, and seemed the best VFM at the time, it was only the offer of a massively reduced priced end of line deal on the Sanyo, it'd be in my front room now!

But the HD200x/BenQ W1000+ are worth a shout for sure, just check you don't disagree with DLP, a quick demo at Richer Sounds or similar would do, and most people don't..

The other hidden factors are the zoom range and lens shift arrangements of the projectors. Lens shift can allow your projector to be mounted off centre by a fair bit, and the lens shift corrects the offset for you, otherwise you can run into issues with correcting the image digitally as it will have a 'keystone' type effect.

Looking at the specs, the Epson certainly has it all, Lens shift in Horizontal/Vertical planes, and a huge zoom range, the BenQ looks to have no lens shift, but a huge zoom range.. This might affect things if your projector isn't mounted bang on in the middle of the screen, and if it's too much over the 'top' of the image, you might get a bit of keystone (image wider at the bottom then the top).. It might be worth checking..

Places like Projector Central are good places to start, they are in the US, so finding some Espon models is hard, unless you pick a similar one, http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm, all you need to know is roughly how far away your projector will be mounted from the screen, as that will determine the min/max screen size.

Screen wise, If you are 10-12ft+ away, I'd recommend going with as large a screen as you can, 108-120" would be my personal minimum, and being on a budget, I've used sapphire screens (cheap but very cheerful), a 2700mm x 1518mm (120") is £220 or a 2340mm x 1320mm (106") for £175, and these work well in my front room.. But I'm a large screen junkie, with good light control, that size still looks really vibrant and compelling, but on a massive scale..

A universal ceiling mount is around £80

Of course, cables, and all the hassle of installing might add a few more £..

And I can't stress that for that absolute lovely cinema effect, the darker you make the room the better, it's more a daytime viewing thing, if you want to watch something saturday afternnoon, if you have some cheap blackout blinds as well as the curtains, for example, it makes a big difference, you'd be surprised how much light can leak around curtains if it's a bright sunny day, and althoiugh a nice bright PJ like all these discussed can work reasonably well, I still black my room out quite a lot for this reason..

rymz · 24 Jan 2011 at 19:29

Phill4321 said:

This wall-mount Phill, what make/model is it? Also, do ya know if it'll work with an HD800X? - It looks like exactly what I'm after >.<

moody · 24 Jan 2011 at 23:22

snow patrol said:
thanks for the advice guys. I think, IDEALLY, i'd like to spend aroud 1k for the pj, the screen and the ceiling mount...is that really possible though? I obviously want good image quality but it doesn't have to be the best. Also, i don't mind closing curtains / turning off lights when it comes to watching something.

TW3200 reviews / comments (the thread on avforums) make it look VERY tempting indeed, despite being slightly pricier than ideal.

If your budget is 1K then the Optoma HD20 or HD200 is the one to go for. Both are the same just different casings. I've got the HD20 and I couldn't be happier. the picture quality really is superb.

As for the whether to keep tv or not that's something you have to decide. You may need to factor in the fact that a bulb for the HD's last on average about 2k hours. Repleacements are about £130. But the 2k is dependent on how you use it. The biggest strain on the bulbs is starting it up. So you ideally shouldn't use your projector for short bursts. Try to aim for a minimum of 2hrs.

Personally I'd keep your TV and use that for standard definition and when you are only going to watch something for a short time. Then use your projector for HD movies and long gaming sessions.

Phill4321 · 25 Jan 2011 at 13:23

Its a Vogel's Evolution - EPW 6565. It set me back £100 but looked to be the best quality. Its very sturdy and I think it could support a hd800x. I've seen a photo with it holding up a epson tw3200 which I think is of a similar size to your projector.

rymz · 25 Jan 2011 at 17:13

Ah, cheers dude - I'll look into it