Spec grandparents projector setup

GinG · 18 Oct 2008 at 15:39

Hi All,

My grandparents want to update their 'home entertainment' setup by adding a projector setup in their front room.

Would a £1500 budget be enough for a HTPC, projector & screen?

Could people point me in the right direction for what they should go for?

Thanks

Attu90 · 18 Oct 2008 at 16:58

I would go for an InFocus IN80 and a fixed screen which you should be able to get for less than £1500 but that doesn't leave any room for the HTPC

Do they really need/want a HTPC, wouldn't they be better off with normal Blu-Ray player which you can pick up for reasonable prices now ?

GinG · 18 Oct 2008 at 17:18

Thanks for the reply, well they like the idea to be able to store all their media and play whatever they want at a touch of the button. £1500 is a starting point, if they were to get a decent setup for say £2000 they would be happy.

End of the day if the budget needs to be really stretched they probabally could do without the HTPC.

Forgot to mention that the screen needs to be able to retract as it will be either infornt of the window or near the stairs.

Thanks

wolvers · 18 Oct 2008 at 17:29

InFocus X10 or HD800X and a Draper Luma manual screen for 1080p lovelyness

should leave you 400-500 notes to build em a HTPC with BD drive.

Grimley · 18 Oct 2008 at 19:21

Have you seen the size of the HD80, Its bloomin' enormous!
HD65 is still good & less than half the price of the HD80 (720p projector instead of 1080p)
Should give you more of a budget for the HTPC. 720p will be better than 1080p for normal TV viewing & DVD, still good enough for HD if the viewing area is small enough IMO.

rubberduck · 19 Oct 2008 at 14:08

I agree with Grimley, do they really need a 1080p projector? If most of their viewing is from standard definition sources then maybe a 720p model would be sufficient. That said all of the latest models are 1080p and would have course have added benefit over a 720p projector other than just the resolution difference.

You need to find out a few things before we can recommend specific models. Throw distance? How will the projector be mounted and where (in relation to the screen)? Light control and brigtness of the room? What size screen do they desire?

I would deffinetely recommend a good motorised screen and a decent HTPC so they can rip all their content to it. I'm guessing you will have to set this up for them but other than that I find having a good system for controlling the htpc really makes or breaks it

Are they interested in surround sound at all? Obvioulsy projectors don't have speakers so this will be a consideration if they don't currently have an audio setup.

Some things to consider....