Which Projector?

Burned_Alive · 25 Jul 2019 at 07:58

Currently in the process of building an extension in which there will be a dedicated “TV Room” with a projector. The room is around 5 meters long and the projector is likely to be ceiling mounted at around 3.5m (depending on throw, cable run likely to be around 7-8m) and will probably use a Sapphire screen, likely to be 82".

As much as I’d like to go 4k, it seems it isn’t quite there yet (cost and cabling issues), so probably looking at a 1080p projector unless I’m misguided.

It will need to have a good zoom and vertical lens shift, for ease of installation and then after that I’m just looking for something that will be a good all rounder for films and gaming, preferably as quiet as possible. Budget wise I’m probably looking around the £750 mark, but that’s not too set in stone.

Have initially been looking at the Optoma HD39Darbee and the Epson TW5650, but open to suggestions. Potentially considering the TW6700 as well because of the high vertical lens shift.

rubberduck · 25 Jul 2019 at 08:07

What size screen are you looking to project on to?

Burned_Alive · 25 Jul 2019 at 08:17

rubberduck said:
What size screen are you looking to project on to?

It's likely to be around a 82" screen as the room is around 2100-2200mm wide.

mid_gen · 25 Jul 2019 at 09:03

I went for the the Optoma UHD300x recently, and I'm glad I went for the the 4k option, it's pretty close to your budget. 4k content looks incredible, definitely worth it on a large screen.

Burned_Alive · 25 Jul 2019 at 09:12

mid_gen said:
I went for the the Optoma UHD300x recently, and I'm glad I went for the the 4k option, it's pretty close to your budget. 4k content looks incredible, definitely worth it on a large screen.

It's certainly one I've considered it but there seems to be a real challenge with being able run a cable that can carry the 4k signal over this type of distance?

mid_gen · 25 Jul 2019 at 09:24

Burned_Alive said:
It's certainly one I've considered it but there seems to be a real challenge with being able run a cable that can carry the 4k signal over this type of distance?

I'm using a cheap EUR 10 cable 7.5m for mine, it does occasionally need a re-sync (just press a button on the remote), maybe once in an evening's viewing, but I knew that when I bought a cheap cable, I'm moving soon so I'll plumb it in with a better quality cable then. I could probably sort it out just by routing it better away from the noisy electrical stuff.

Burned_Alive · 25 Jul 2019 at 10:18

mid_gen said:
I'm using a cheap EUR 10 cable 7.5m for mine, it does occasionally need a re-sync (just press a button on the remote), maybe once in an evening's viewing, but I knew that when I bought a cheap cable, I'm moving soon so I'll plumb it in with a better quality cable then. I could probably sort it out just by routing it better away from the noisy electrical stuff.

Just having a look at the Ruipro fibre cables and a 10m is only £120, so not as bad as I thought originally. Just need to work out my ceiling cable solution to see if I can get away with just putting one in, rather than having to put a 2nd in as backup.

I don't really have any 4K sources at the moment (what do you use?), so still not sure what to do projector wise. Might just put a 4k supporting cable in, but opt for a 1080p projector for now.

Pottsey · 25 Jul 2019 at 15:06

Burned_Alive said:
Currently in the process of building an extension in which there will be a dedicated “TV Room” with a projector. The room is around 5 meters long and the projector is likely to be ceiling mounted at around 3.5m (depending on throw, cable run likely to be around 7-8m) and will probably use a Sapphire screen, likely to be 82".

As much as I’d like to go 4k, it seems it isn’t quite there yet (cost and cabling issues), so probably looking at a 1080p projector unless I’m misguided.

It will need to have a good zoom and vertical lens shift, for ease of installation and then after that I’m just looking for something that will be a good all rounder for films and gaming, preferably as quiet as possible. Budget wise I’m probably looking around the £750 mark, but that’s not too set in stone.

Have initially been looking at the Optoma HD39Darbee and the Epson TW5650, but open to suggestions. Potentially considering the TW6700 as well because of the high vertical lens shift.

What about the BenQ W5700/HT5550 or W2700/HT3550 both these two projectors are meant to be good at 4k and HDR although a little over your price range. W5700/HT5550 is the same projector just a different name based on location.

Burned_Alive · 25 Jul 2019 at 22:14

Any reason to consider them over the others or just another option?

Just seen the prices. Way over my budget.

Burned_Alive · 26 Jul 2019 at 11:19

Swaying towards the Epson 6700 at the moment. I think by the fact that it's LCD rather than DLP and also has a very large vertical lens shift which means i can mount it directly to the ceiling without an extension pole. Otherwise I don't see a benefit of the Optoma HD39 over it, other than the Optoma has a 12 trigger which i can work around with a wireless trigger box.

I have been tempted by the 300x however, slightly put off that it would need to sit at 2.5m from the screen which is directly over head, whilst the two 1080p projectors would sit more readily at 3m, so slightly behind.

mid_gen · 26 Jul 2019 at 11:41

Burned_Alive said:
Just having a look at the Ruipro fibre cables and a 10m is only £120, so not as bad as I thought originally. Just need to work out my ceiling cable solution to see if I can get away with just putting one in, rather than having to put a 2nd in as backup.

I don't really have any 4K sources at the moment (what do you use?), so still not sure what to do projector wise. Might just put a 4k supporting cable in, but opt for a 1080p projector for now.

I just use an Xbox One X as my 4k source, does Netflix, Amazon, etc all 4k. Also have a FireTV (non4k) in the other input as the other half prefers the UI and remote.

There's a fair bit of zoom available on the 300x, which might help your placement?

Burned_Alive · 26 Jul 2019 at 11:53

mid_gen said:
There's a fair bit of zoom available on the 300x, which might help your placement?

Yeah, it's a 1.3x zoom, but at an 82" screen size I'd be looking at 2.5m as optimal placement, with a 2.89m maximum distance from screen. this just so happens to be the optimal viewing distance as well, so it'd be directly overhead (although set back by projector width i guess). Does appear to be quite a quiet projector though so might not be an issue.

Burned_Alive · 26 Jul 2019 at 13:24

I've actually just had an update from the builder, which means the room is slightly wider than expected, so should be able to fit a 91" screen in instead. Largley doesn't change much as although it pushes back the projector optimal position, it also pushes back the viewing distance equally.