Which to buy, Projector or TV?

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 21:19

Hi,

In January I will be looking to buy either a projector or TV with about £1,000 to spend.. I could possibly stretch a little further if I will see a noticeable improvement.

I’m looking for a good compromise between size and image quality.

I’m currently using my Dell 2407wfp to watch TV while in bed about 2m away..

And before that i was using a projector at about 80" from the same difference.. So something in the middle would be nice.

A good PC input would be a bonus but no really necessary..

Any suggestions??

Thanks for any advice given.

StevenG

Droolinggimp · 14 Nov 2006 at 21:33

I would think you sitting 2m away having a PJ isnt the best option. I have a Pj and sit roughly 18ft away with my 92" screen. This is what I think and what Avfroums members think is a good viewing distance. I personlay think you are too close even for a 80" screen..

Unless you can get another meter distance or so.. I would consider a TV and not the PJ.

If you do decide to go for a PJ I can help you out.

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 21:43

well ive used a projector for about 2 year at that size with no problem.. but the throw distance is about 2.5m so i dont think i would get an 80" screen at that distance anyway.

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 21:53

Personally I don't think at that price you will get as good a projector as a TV. Also it seems a little over kill considering the distance. Sure I know playing games and watching films on your wall is great, but I think you will get a better picture from a TV. Projectors of similar quality start at a bit more expencive and range to a lot more expencive.

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:20

Okay. the best TV i can get for £1,000 any ideas?

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:27

StevenG said:
Okay. the best TV i can get for £1,000 any ideas?

I'd say Sony Bravia

but I don't know if you can get them that cheep. A samsung or LG might be your best bet. If you can get Toshibas at that price I would also have a look at them.

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:29

wheres the best place to be looking for these?? No competitors..

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:36

Other people will tell you that online retailers are fine. But imo for this sort of product it would best to go to a big box retailer.

My view on this is, whilst faults are highly unlikely. You would not want to spend a grand on something to find that it is faulty and that you then have to spend more time money and effort in getting it replaced/fixed. So I cant give you any online advice because I would not buy one online. I would rather pay a bit extra and garentee I will have my product covered with no hassle involved.

I would look around in your local area (or at the local stores websites) and see what has the best deal/garentee.

Droolinggimp · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:41

Kronologic said:
Personally I don't think at that price you will get as good a projector as a TV. Also it seems a little over kill considering the distance. Sure I know playing games and watching films on your wall is great, but I think you will get a better picture from a TV. Projectors of similar quality start at a bit more expencive and range to a lot more expencive.

£1500 for my PJ screen and mount.. The PQ is far better than my TV considering its 3(ish) times the size of my tv. Screen 92" and TV 32"

Saying that, my Pj is HD ready.... thats "ready", not "Compatible"

Sky looks amazing on it and my streaming of HD stuff from my pc to 360 onto the PJ is awsome..

You can get a very good Pj for £1300 nowadays

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:42

i just looked at the bravia's and there a quite a few at 40" there are about 3-4 at just over £1,000

i'll have to have a look round then.. i'll have the money about a week or 2 after xmas.. so i may get a good deal..

is there anything i should look for? ive never really bought a *expensive* Tv before..

EDIT: the only problem i would have with buying another Projector is the bulb price and life.. i watch far too much tv and thats why the 3000 hours on the one i currenty have has only lasted me about 2 years.

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:48

StevenG said:
i just looked at the bravia's and there a quite a few at 40" there are about 3-4 at just over £1,000

i'll have to have a look round then.. i'll have the money about a week or 2 after xmas.. so i may get a good deal..

is there anything i should look for? ive never really bought a *expensive* Tv before..

EDIT: the only problem i would have with buying another Projector is the bulb price and life.. i watch far too much tv and thats why the 3000 hours on the one i currenty have has only lasted me about 2 years.

The bravias have everything you need... If you go to a big box retailer and they offer you extended warnties (and they will) umm and ahh and tell them that you only have <the price of the tv> to spend. If you procrastinate enough they will start throwing in discounts. At this point try telling them that you will take the 5 year warenty if they discount the TV by that value. (they should do this or make it so there is not much in it) They will make it sound like they cant do this and any discount is them bedning the rules in your favour. Play along, but keep pushing them. They get bonuses/commission based on the number of warenties sold.

A TV should not break in 5 years, but it gives you a bit of cover and if it does, just imagine what 1K of TV will be like in 5 years time. :eek:

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 22:52

I just found this online.. i will have a hunt round the shops sometime.. but is this any good?

SONY BRAVIA KDL40W2000U 40" High Definition Ready LCD TV
£1,549.98

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:08

StevenG said:
I just found this online.. i will have a hunt round the shops sometime.. but is this any good?

SONY BRAVIA KDL40W2000U 40" High Definition Ready LCD TV
£1,549.98

£1500 sounds about right for a W model. And I would expect to pay that much for one if I had the money.

But please make sure you demo one before you commit your money. IMO (and a lot of reviewers) the Bravias are head and sholders above the compition. You may not see the difference (or more likely you will see the difference and be more apprecative of your purchace).

By demo I do not mean looking at the various TVs in a store as they are set up in rows. I mean in a dedicated room with your own films and the stores HD sky content.

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:13

Kronologic said:
£1500 sounds about right for a W model. And I would expect to pay that much for one if I had the money.

But please make sure you demo one before you commit your money. IMO (and a lot of reviewers) the Bravias are head and sholders above the compition. You may not see the difference (or more likely you will see the difference and be more apprecative of your purchace).

By demo I do not mean looking at the various TVs in a store as they are set up in rows. I mean in a dedicated room with your own films and the stores HD sky content.

and by dedicaded room and with my own dvd's you mean an Expensive shop.. e.g. L E Concepts or Lintone Audio and such like..

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:19

StevenG said:
and by dedicaded room and with my own dvd's you mean an Expensive shop.. e.g. L E Concepts or Lintone Audio and such like..

I never said buy it from them. I said big box store. Just make use of the more expencive stores facilities if your local big box stores do not have them.

At this price you can not honestly be thinking of buying something based on one person (or many peoples) review on a website, with out checking it out yourself... Can you?

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:24

of course not.. for the simple reason that my dad bought a £1500 panel and he thought it was excellent.. i went to his and had a look.. and it was terrible.. there was banding on gradients and pixelated it was horrible../ un-watchable from my POV

so.. some of the essential things for me would be things like..

smooth panning of landscape shots..
no banding/pixelation
high res

im not expecting 1920x1080 to look like it does on my Dells but it would be nice to see something similar..

am i right in saying that the bravia features that resolution, but doesnt display 1080p.

Manlove is my forte · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:28

StevenG said:
of course not.. for the simple reason that my dad bought a £1500 panel and he thought it was excellent.. i went to his and had a look.. and it was terrible.. there was banding on gradients and pixelated it was horrible../ un-watchable from my POV

so.. some of the essential things for me would be things like..

smooth panning of landscape shots..
no banding/pixelation
high res

im not expecting 1920x1080 to look like it does on my Dells but it would be nice to see something similar..

am i right in saying that the bravia features that resolution, but doesnt display 1080p.

W or X do display 1080p. V (which is cheaper) displays up to 720p.

In terms of picture quality I have not found a better TV for the price (or even a grand more). But that is my opinion.

Anyway thats the end of tonights MSN... Oh

StevenG · 14 Nov 2006 at 23:37

Thanx for the help and your time.. much appreciated..

chaparral · 15 Nov 2006 at 00:15

StevenG said:
im not expecting 1920x1080 to look like it does on my Dells but it would be nice to see something similar...

You would not want something to look anything like a movie picture that you would get on your dell 24" widescreen PC monitor..

I have my 43" plasma and my 24" dell wallmounted right next to each other and i have fed them the same download HD movie clips , dvd SD movies and xbox360 stuff..And the dell 24" picture is very far from good quailty..

For displaying normall PC stuff you can't beat the dell 24" monitors..

StevenG · 15 Nov 2006 at 01:09

well i hope the bravia is as good as people have said! i suppose i'll find out when i go have a look.. i might go out tomorrow/today and see whats out there.