Projector as main TV
Discussion
your main concern will be bulb life. lets say the projector is on for 6 hrs a day average, with a bulb life of 2000 hours, that is just under a year bulb life realistically. bulb units are circa £50 apiece...
obviously, if you go for an LED projector, bulb life isn't an issue and the LED diode itself will most probably last the life of the projector.
obviously, if you go for an LED projector, bulb life isn't an issue and the LED diode itself will most probably last the life of the projector.
The amount of light in the room will be a major issue for a projector. And going by the pictures if your room it'll be a worse problem than most! Full height windows and open plan living do not suit a projector.
I've got a Dru fire too (different model completely to yours), and my TV is mounted above it, so it can be done.
I've got a Dru fire too (different model completely to yours), and my TV is mounted above it, so it can be done.
Hi GriffBoy - is you TV recessed over the fireplace?
I really do not watch TV during the day so I would say 95% will be at night when it's dark. We're also having curtains along the whole of the glass wall so can cut out the light when needed anyway.
My real question is whether theres any drawback, other than replacement parts, to a PJ system that I've not thought of.
I really do not watch TV during the day so I would say 95% will be at night when it's dark. We're also having curtains along the whole of the glass wall so can cut out the light when needed anyway.
My real question is whether theres any drawback, other than replacement parts, to a PJ system that I've not thought of.
The only real issue in terms of running a PJ as a TV is they tend to not like constant on / off usage. I use my PJ as my TV source, but I watch very little (F1 / Top Gear / Sherlock - that's about it really). Ideally if you intend to use it for 5 or 6 hours a day, it's sometimes better to do it all in one sitting. Lamp life can be reduced if it's used like a normal TV where you just fire it up whenever you wish. That isn't to say they cant hack that sort of treatment, it's more about preserving their performance by sensible usage. Something like an Optoma HD91 would be a cracking PJ was daily use as the 20,000 lamp life is nice and it's instant fire up and shutdown is more akin to a regular TV. It's £3k though, so budget constraints might stop that idea short.
At this point an ambient light screen comes into play as you'll find the picture washed out and in some cases un-watchable. The bottom line really is, if you just want a big projected image with quality of image being secondary, or if you want a nicely resolved, punchy image. If it's the latter, it's more than the projector itself to factor into the equation.
My viewing room is an ordinary living room, with a white ceiling, light walls and a dark carpet. I use blackout material on the one skylight I have, and blackout curtains for the windows. It makes a difference, but the greatest improvement was my choice of screen, a Draper ReAct 2.1 that's designed for rooms where you don't have a batcave and have ambient light issues.
At this point an ambient light screen comes into play as you'll find the picture washed out and in some cases un-watchable. The bottom line really is, if you just want a big projected image with quality of image being secondary, or if you want a nicely resolved, punchy image. If it's the latter, it's more than the projector itself to factor into the equation.
My viewing room is an ordinary living room, with a white ceiling, light walls and a dark carpet. I use blackout material on the one skylight I have, and blackout curtains for the windows. It makes a difference, but the greatest improvement was my choice of screen, a Draper ReAct 2.1 that's designed for rooms where you don't have a batcave and have ambient light issues.
garyhun said:
Hi GriffBoy - is you TV recessed over the fireplace?
I really do not watch TV during the day so I would say 95% will be at night when it's dark. We're also having curtains along the whole of the glass wall so can cut out the light when needed anyway.
My real question is whether theres any drawback, other than replacement parts, to a PJ system that I've not thought of.
Hi, I really do not watch TV during the day so I would say 95% will be at night when it's dark. We're also having curtains along the whole of the glass wall so can cut out the light when needed anyway.
My real question is whether theres any drawback, other than replacement parts, to a PJ system that I've not thought of.
I didn't want to recess it as it limits you for changing it in the future, so I went for the stepped route, and created a depth change between the fire (7kw) and the TV. Then I used a slab of solid oak to create a shelf that also serves to direct the heat away from the TV, been fine for the last couple of years, and I've checked the TV a few times, and real additional heat. But, like I say, it's quite a different installation to yours,
I ran a Optoma HD20 as sole media viewer/TV for last 4 1/2 years.
Will agree that you really need a dark room, we were lucky that we had 2 lounges, so one was kept pretty dark and was the TV room.
It worked really well for us, but most of the usage was for films and pre recorded things played back on Iplayer / VLC. Very little live TV. We projected onto a 3m wide wall so was a very large picture and dominated the room. So if you just want to catch 30 minutes of News while other people are doing other things in the room its quite intruding. Plus as it needs to start up and shut down we tended to only put in on if you were going to watch it for a while, and use laptop/tablets for short things like news/ 30 minute show on iplayer etc.
The Optoma was great and lasted 4 years till this Feb when the colour wheel died. Will hope to get another projector in the future.
One other thing, if you have young kids, projectors are great, no risk of broken TVs from flying Lego/Dinosaurs/Books/Siblings !!
Cheers
Andy
Will agree that you really need a dark room, we were lucky that we had 2 lounges, so one was kept pretty dark and was the TV room.
It worked really well for us, but most of the usage was for films and pre recorded things played back on Iplayer / VLC. Very little live TV. We projected onto a 3m wide wall so was a very large picture and dominated the room. So if you just want to catch 30 minutes of News while other people are doing other things in the room its quite intruding. Plus as it needs to start up and shut down we tended to only put in on if you were going to watch it for a while, and use laptop/tablets for short things like news/ 30 minute show on iplayer etc.
The Optoma was great and lasted 4 years till this Feb when the colour wheel died. Will hope to get another projector in the future.
One other thing, if you have young kids, projectors are great, no risk of broken TVs from flying Lego/Dinosaurs/Books/Siblings !!
Cheers
Andy
We've used a projector as our main (only) television for the last 10 years. To be honest I just couldn't imagine trying to watch stuff on anything less than the 86" 16x9 screen we use and wouldn't ever go smaller.
We do have a backup 22" TV for our son to use, but it rarely gets switched on - an iPad being his preferred screen.
We don't watch casual TV thought. It goes on to watch something specific and then off again after. We rarely (if ever) watch during the day, so outside brightness isn't an issue, although we do have blackout blinds just in case.
Highly recommend it, if your viewing pattern suits.
We do have a backup 22" TV for our son to use, but it rarely gets switched on - an iPad being his preferred screen.
We don't watch casual TV thought. It goes on to watch something specific and then off again after. We rarely (if ever) watch during the day, so outside brightness isn't an issue, although we do have blackout blinds just in case.
Highly recommend it, if your viewing pattern suits.
We've run projector as our primary viewing source for 10+ years (have a small LCD monitor with a video sender if I just want to check what's on). As said, the two major factors are lamp replacement cost (our last one was approx. £150 every 2K hours - approx. 2 years for us, current one looks like it might be double that price) and ambient light. I would only go down that route if you can install proper blackout blinds (if it's in a room with windows)as anything less and you are not getting the picture quality you are paying for.
I have run a projector as a main display for 10 years. Although I do have an ancient 32 inch plasma ( that the the projector screen drops down in front of ) the main thing as already stated is the need to darken the room. When you have friends around , is it a bit weird to have to drop the blackout blinds to watch a movie or TV during the day? - some new projectors claim this is not required hmm.. and lamps only £50 a piece ?? Try minimum of £300 unless importing from far East .
Also, keep the filters clean , no smoking / candles in the room otherwise you will soon end up with dust blobs on the LCD panels.
Also, keep the filters clean , no smoking / candles in the room otherwise you will soon end up with dust blobs on the LCD panels.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I've just come back from John Lewis and a shiny new Samsung UE55F8000 will be delivered on Thursday.I've wired the room for electric screen and projector so will install that for the big cinema experience as Phase 2 when my finances recover in the future.
Cheers for everyones input
Griff Boy said:
Hi,
I didn't want to recess it as it limits you for changing it in the future, so I went for the stepped route, and created a depth change between the fire (7kw) and the TV. Then I used a slab of solid oak to create a shelf that also serves to direct the heat away from the TV, been fine for the last couple of years, and I've checked the TV a few times, and real additional heat. But, like I say, it's quite a different installation to yours,
Sorry to butt in OP - can I ask a question about the fish tank.I didn't want to recess it as it limits you for changing it in the future, so I went for the stepped route, and created a depth change between the fire (7kw) and the TV. Then I used a slab of solid oak to create a shelf that also serves to direct the heat away from the TV, been fine for the last couple of years, and I've checked the TV a few times, and real additional heat. But, like I say, it's quite a different installation to yours,
I'm planning on putting in an in wall tank later this year, how do you find/control the green algae on the inside of the tank? Are the large outside windows a problem with algae?
PAULJ5555 said:
Griff Boy said:
Hi,
I didn't want to recess it as it limits you for changing it in the future, so I went for the stepped route, and created a depth change between the fire (7kw) and the TV. Then I used a slab of solid oak to create a shelf that also serves to direct the heat away from the TV, been fine for the last couple of years, and I've checked the TV a few times, and real additional heat. But, like I say, it's quite a different installation to yours,
Sorry to butt in OP - can I ask a question about the fish tank.I didn't want to recess it as it limits you for changing it in the future, so I went for the stepped route, and created a depth change between the fire (7kw) and the TV. Then I used a slab of solid oak to create a shelf that also serves to direct the heat away from the TV, been fine for the last couple of years, and I've checked the TV a few times, and real additional heat. But, like I say, it's quite a different installation to yours,
I'm planning on putting in an in wall tank later this year, how do you find/control the green algae on the inside of the tank? Are the large outside windows a problem with algae?
The more natural daylight on the tank, then the more chance of algae forming. Firstly, I'm not sure you can see, but it's a marine tank, not tropical, so the problem isn't as acute. I use and used to use on my tropical is to have a UV light system in the tank. It does make a huge difference to the algae levels. As mine is a marine tank, I'm looking to fit an algae scrubber in the main sump system, which really gets rid of the algae!
here's the tank from the other side with the access doors:
Wow what a nice home you have.
I have a large tropical tank now and with little natural light the glass goes green over 2-3 weeks. I could test out an inline UV to see if it helps, maybe change my bulbs (no plants in tank) I will have a chat to my local fish shop.
The inwall tank will form part of an extension that is getting bulit September time, it will also house my projector/cinema room.
I have a large tropical tank now and with little natural light the glass goes green over 2-3 weeks. I could test out an inline UV to see if it helps, maybe change my bulbs (no plants in tank) I will have a chat to my local fish shop.
The inwall tank will form part of an extension that is getting bulit September time, it will also house my projector/cinema room.
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