Home projector, HELP!!
Discussion
Just put a deposit down on an aparment ( first time buying, so this will propbaly be the first of many questions lol ) I have a huge white wall spare in the living area ( open plan ) where the TV was going to go, but had second thoughts and thought i would buy a projector unit ( sure they are alot better than they used to be ) Had a quick look on fleabay, and quickly got lost with all the jargon, models etc, can anyone recommend one or a well priced shop, budget around £800 but flexible, many thanx Jez
jexgod
I would recommend going to a decent AV shop and having a demo of a few units.
You main choice is between LCD and DLP technology, there are pros and cons with both. It is especially important that you demo the units as with LCDs some people can see the 'wires' and with DLP other suffer from Rainbow effects. Some projectors are brighter than others and some are quieter/noisier. Go with your partner if you have one, there is not point in getting something that won't suit both of you.
You also need to decide what format screen you want (16:9, 4:3), how far the projector will be from the viewing wall (resultant size of image). And what native resolution you want to run the projector in, many cheaper units are only 480 line resolution and therefore DVD which is 576 line is scaled to fit. Equally some other units are 720 line and are scaled up. You may already have a scaler within your DVD player, if not there will probably be one within the projector.
You may also find that your wall is not ideal as it may not be very flat and the picture won't be as bright as when used with a screen.
I would really recommend going to a dealer as you will end up with something that you really like. Try a local branch of Sevenoaks for a starter.
Just remember though a BIG picture requires BIG sound so be preapred to invest in a decent AV setup!
davidy
I would recommend going to a decent AV shop and having a demo of a few units.
You main choice is between LCD and DLP technology, there are pros and cons with both. It is especially important that you demo the units as with LCDs some people can see the 'wires' and with DLP other suffer from Rainbow effects. Some projectors are brighter than others and some are quieter/noisier. Go with your partner if you have one, there is not point in getting something that won't suit both of you.
You also need to decide what format screen you want (16:9, 4:3), how far the projector will be from the viewing wall (resultant size of image). And what native resolution you want to run the projector in, many cheaper units are only 480 line resolution and therefore DVD which is 576 line is scaled to fit. Equally some other units are 720 line and are scaled up. You may already have a scaler within your DVD player, if not there will probably be one within the projector.
You may also find that your wall is not ideal as it may not be very flat and the picture won't be as bright as when used with a screen.
I would really recommend going to a dealer as you will end up with something that you really like. Try a local branch of Sevenoaks for a starter.
Just remember though a BIG picture requires BIG sound so be preapred to invest in a decent AV setup!
davidy
Go for a DLP projector. LCD is old technology and I would imagine that you won't be able to get it pitch black in an open plan living room which will over power a CRT pretty easily, though if you can black out completely then it is the way to go. My 808 is about as close to cinema quality as I have seen this side of £20,000. It does require tweaking every couple of months though especially if there has been alot of activity in the room. I got mine from these guys www.crtprojectors.co.uk
thebluemonkey said:
Go for a DLP projector. LCD is old technology
Wasn't there a back to back blind test on The Gadget Show?
All the experts picked the LCD projector because it gave the best picture for them.
They all bar one said they'd picked the DLP because they expected that the newest technology would give the best picture. The odd one out said it was LCD because he had an LCD projector and recognised the picture characteristics.
Try before you buy seems to be the best option.
Thanks so far, living in darkest north wales, i am not sure of any dealers or demo rooms near me, plus i am a sit at home shopper lol
new technology is great, but doesnt half make buying stuff alots more complicated. Not liek the days of my dad buying my first black and white telly (14 inch mind you lol ) for £150 at rumbalows for my 13th xmas :-) and it snowed every winter then too lol
new technology is great, but doesnt half make buying stuff alots more complicated. Not liek the days of my dad buying my first black and white telly (14 inch mind you lol ) for £150 at rumbalows for my 13th xmas :-) and it snowed every winter then too lol
For what it's worth, what hi-fi sound and vision mag reviewed budget projectors in june '05. Their recommendation was the BenQ PE5120 DLP*, 2000:1 contrast and 1100 lumens. Their best-buy LCD alternative was the Viewsonic PJ552 at £885 (400:1 and 1600).
* looks like the street price is now below £500 - I bought one for office use at nearer to £800
There are superb projectors around if you can stretch to five figures...
>> Edited by mikef on Saturday 15th October 23:30
* looks like the street price is now below £500 - I bought one for office use at nearer to £800
There are superb projectors around if you can stretch to five figures...
>> Edited by mikef on Saturday 15th October 23:30
thanks C, but during the week i look after my perents ( both in thier 80's and not best of health ) the place i have just bought is 10 miles away and just my weekend getaway, so the plasma stays here and i would love to be able to afford both, but its one or the other ( unless my numbers come up next week lol )
coach said:
Projectors are great but not so keen on the "oh, I just want to watch a bit of news" capability.
Nonsense, I watch all my TV on a projector, even the missus watches Coronation Street on a 7ft screen. It's a bit of a pain having to drop the black out blinds during the day but you get used to it
The marantz remote is programmed to switch all the stuff on with a single button and the buttons are programmed to alter volume via the hifi and channel via the sky box on the one screen.
The projector is a Hitachi PJ-TX10 and I'm throwing it across a 5m room onto a 9ft (corner to corner)screen.
It is pretty old now and I'm sure there's better ones out there, but at the time, it was the best I could afford (£1500 budget).
Kenwood surround sound amp which is really old, the one prior to dolby 5.1, but hell, it works ok for me.
Sony digibox to give you a tuner, the other channel is connected to the video for terrestrial and the third to the DVD player.
Tannoy main speakers and Kenwood surrounds. I've not got a center or sub speakers, always mean to get them, but never get round to it. I might upgrade to some Keff eggs and have them all match instead although I'd like the B&W satellites but the wife would have a heart attack if she found out how much they were.
All controlled by a marantz programmable remote which is also very old and rattles. The batteries are shot and won't recharge over 5% now.
So basically, my set-up is really old and all mis-matched, but it works and I'm happy with it......for now
It is pretty old now and I'm sure there's better ones out there, but at the time, it was the best I could afford (£1500 budget).
Kenwood surround sound amp which is really old, the one prior to dolby 5.1, but hell, it works ok for me.
Sony digibox to give you a tuner, the other channel is connected to the video for terrestrial and the third to the DVD player.
Tannoy main speakers and Kenwood surrounds. I've not got a center or sub speakers, always mean to get them, but never get round to it. I might upgrade to some Keff eggs and have them all match instead although I'd like the B&W satellites but the wife would have a heart attack if she found out how much they were.
All controlled by a marantz programmable remote which is also very old and rattles. The batteries are shot and won't recharge over 5% now.
So basically, my set-up is really old and all mis-matched, but it works and I'm happy with it......for now
Byff
With the speakers at the corner of the screen, I don't reckon you need a centre if your AV amp does a good 'phantom centre'
I have a similar arrangement, (but a wider room), but I still run two speakers at the bottom corners of the screen. My speakers are pseudo-omnidirectional so they really do fill the room the sound and a pair of rear fill in the effects.
I also run with no sub, I've tried integrating a few but just cannot get them to work propoerly with my main speakers, which go down to 28Hz at the -3db point anyway so I'm not sure a sub will have much affect unless its very large!
Personally I prefer full range speakers to the sub/sat arrangement, I was really disappointed when I heard KEF eggs.
jezgod
You really have to do some leg work on this one, you are spending a reasonable pile of cash, I'd suggest a trip to one of Chester, Warrington, Wrexham or Shrewsbury should be order. I can throughly recommend Acton Gate Audio in Wrexham and Creative Audio oin Shrewsbury.
davidy
With the speakers at the corner of the screen, I don't reckon you need a centre if your AV amp does a good 'phantom centre'
I have a similar arrangement, (but a wider room), but I still run two speakers at the bottom corners of the screen. My speakers are pseudo-omnidirectional so they really do fill the room the sound and a pair of rear fill in the effects.
I also run with no sub, I've tried integrating a few but just cannot get them to work propoerly with my main speakers, which go down to 28Hz at the -3db point anyway so I'm not sure a sub will have much affect unless its very large!
Personally I prefer full range speakers to the sub/sat arrangement, I was really disappointed when I heard KEF eggs.
jezgod
You really have to do some leg work on this one, you are spending a reasonable pile of cash, I'd suggest a trip to one of Chester, Warrington, Wrexham or Shrewsbury should be order. I can throughly recommend Acton Gate Audio in Wrexham and Creative Audio oin Shrewsbury.
davidy
seems that way, at least i know there are 3 basic things to look for, brightness, res and lamp life/price.
i also have probably the same kenwood amp and tannoys as byff, so at least i know that set up works. i always find shops selling this kind of gear to be very snobby and i dont want to pay for staff inflated wages and decor, thats why i love fleabay :-)
i also have probably the same kenwood amp and tannoys as byff, so at least i know that set up works. i always find shops selling this kind of gear to be very snobby and i dont want to pay for staff inflated wages and decor, thats why i love fleabay :-)
Acton Gate Audio in Wrexham (not open on a Monday!)are far from snobby, often have quite a bit of secondhand and ex-dem kit as well. Often on ePay stuff goes for top dollar (at least second-hand top dollar), there seem to be more reasonable prices on AVForums Classifieds.
Best of luck in hunting down what you want, it can get a bit addictive though, I've 'upgarded' several times in quite a short space of time.
If you do visit Acton Gate, say hello from the man who has some Shahinians, they'll know who you mean!
davidy
Best of luck in hunting down what you want, it can get a bit addictive though, I've 'upgarded' several times in quite a short space of time.
If you do visit Acton Gate, say hello from the man who has some Shahinians, they'll know who you mean!
davidy
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