Suggestions for entry level projector home cinema system

[Mario149]

I appreciate this has probably been done to death on here, but search is not throwing up anything obvious

We're lucky enough to have a large snug type room in our house, and currently the largest TV we can fit onto the built in shelves/cabinets or on a suitable wall etc is a 40". Problem is we're sat about 4m from it whatever, so it's still small relatively. We're thinking that a projector with screen and sound system may be a good shout, esp since it is a naturally dark room and we only really use it at night anyway. Plus as our kids get older it will be fun for them.

Can anyone suggest a decent entry level setup? From my limited understanding we'd need:

- a projector we can bolt onto a wall behind our sofa
- a roll screen we mount on the wall/ceiling on the opposite wall and pull down
- a home cinema sounds system
- some sort of receiver that can we can hook up to freeview, dvd player, stick a chromecast in, get netflix on etc that will drive the projector and sound system
- ideally all that should be wireless (or at least the sound part) but it's not a deal breaker if it isn't.

Now, bearing in mind that we only just transitioned to HD tv about 2 years ago, we're pretty easy to please. So we just need a setup that is decent and works, doesn't have to be fancy i.e. I'm looking for the Ford Focus Zetec setup, not the the BMW M140i setup!

Suggestions/info/links would be great if you have knowledge in this area!

[Imasurv]

There are plenty of budget/entry level projectors available, best to have a look at AV forums for more information and assistance. BenQ, Epson and Optoma do pjs at the cheaper end of the market. There are also plenty of decent second hand pjs available in the AV forums classifieds - which is where I picked my epson 9200 a couple of years ago. For a cheap pull down screen there are plenty of options on eBay and Amazon. Do your research though - I bought an expensive retractable screen so not sure about pull down ones.

For surround sound look at the package deals available at the likes of richer sounds, which usually include a set of, say, q acoustic speakers and a Sony amp for a few hundred. Cheaper than that you are looking at an all in one system by the likes of Sony or Samsung.

Bottom line is I’ve always found it’s about doing your research thoroughly, but as I found, it results in a vastly increased budget!

[Miserablegit]

Main thing to look for is the distance the PJ needs to be from the screen.
I tried to replace a HD projector with a 3d model some years ago only to realise the 3d model needed to be much nearer the screen otherwise the image was too large irrespective of zoom settings. Went back to old PJ and 3d one is in another room gathering dust.
I bought a HD PJ when they were cutting edge for a home set up. I'd be tempted to go for a 4k version now.

[C0ffin D0dger]

No idea what your budget is but I've just bought this lot:

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/project... (Paid £1200 on Black Friday)
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-c...
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/blu-ra...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Inch-16-9-Electric-...
Haven't got the screen yet, could be very cheap and nasty but will hopefully do for now and if it is will upgrade in future,

Plan to add some sort of streaming thingy as well, probably an Nvidia Shield.

Now just to rig the whole lot up, not easy, but the sort of thing I enjoy doing!

[Last Visit]

C0ffin D0dger said:

No idea what your budget is but I've just bought this lot:

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/project... (Paid £1200 on Black Friday)
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-c...
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/blu-ra...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Inch-16-9-Electric-...
Haven't got the screen yet, could be very cheap and nasty but will hopefully do for now and if it is will upgrade in future,

Plan to add some sort of streaming thingy as well, probably an Nvidia Shield.

Now just to rig the whole lot up, not easy, but the sort of thing I enjoy doing!

That's exactly the same projector and speakers I'm looking at currently. For the UHD51 I may wait for after Christmas sales to see if prices dip a little as per BF. The DX2 speakers come in white also which will match my walls.

[Lord Pikey]

I got a Optoma UHD40 for 835€ on BF and i am blown away by it. Its better than i ever thought.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Last Visit said:

That's exactly the same projector and speakers I'm looking at currently. For the UHD51 I may wait for after Christmas sales to see if prices dip a little as per BF. The DX2 speakers come in white also which will match my walls.

Yet to find the time to properly set it up and need to buy cables and all sorts but did a test firing of the projector against a wall last week and it looked pretty good.

[Big Nanas]

C0ffin D0dger said:

No idea what your budget is but I've just bought this lot:

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-projectors/project... (Paid £1200 on Black Friday)
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-c...
https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/blu-ra...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-Inch-16-9-Electric-...
Haven't got the screen yet, could be very cheap and nasty but will hopefully do for now and if it is will upgrade in future,

Plan to add some sort of streaming thingy as well, probably an Nvidia Shield.

Now just to rig the whole lot up, not easy, but the sort of thing I enjoy doing!

That's exactly the same screen I bought around ten years ago. Superb value and really good quality - no wonder they're still selling them.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Big Nanas said:

That's exactly the same screen I bought around ten years ago. Superb value and really good quality - no wonder they're still selling them.

Cool that's exactly what I wanted to hear! I did wonder how some retailers can justify several £100 or more for something so simple. I'm sure they're "better" in some way or another but when you can get one that's essentially the same for less than £60 is it worth the extra?

[justin220]

I went with BenQ W2000 or the 1070 is also good.

Denon Avr Amp which was around £200 and does everything I need.

What's the total budget? And what's important? Picture quality, sound quality, functionality etc?