Any new developments coming with projectors?

[mizzou]

I finally have a place that has proper walls and rooms for a projector system...probably in the next few years I will throw $ down on one and hopefully get a 720p or 1080p display unit.

Anything exciting coming? It seems like the last several years have been amazing, going from basically school/office 480i units to cutting edge HD systems, with costs dropping and dropping.

I'm not in any hurry at the moment, because my 60" tv sits very close to the couch and is honestly overwhelming sometimes just for normal TV watching. I'd love to replicate that huge theater experience at some point, since it doesn't really cost a whole lot 🙂.

 

[darkswordsman17]

LED didn't really take over like expected (there are some, and some good quality ones though), but there are some laser models although they're fairly pricey and not sure how good they are. 4K is getting affordable, so splurge for native 4K with good quality is about the only thing I can think of to recommend.

 

[JackBurton]

Look no further than Sony's 4K projector, model VPL-VW350ES. I saw this in person and was blown away. Easily the best picture quality I've seen from a projector. It looked so amazing, I thought I was looking at a 100" LCD without the LCD shortcomings. Just make sure you get a quality screen as well.

 

[Kaido]

I'll give you my perspective:

1. I love projectors. Huge picture, feels like you're at the theater. SO much fun.

2. Plus you can use them outdoors! Awesome for outdoor movie parties.

3. I had a bulb-based projector to start out with, then switched to LED. As many benefits as there are to bulb-based projectors right now (screen size, brightness, and other special features), I don't think I could ever go back. My LED turns on instantly, it's so much quieter than my old projectors were, the bulb lasts forever (13 years @ 4 hours a day of use), it's tiny, it was relatively cheap ($650 new!), and the contrast is OUTSTANDING! (which is a BIG deal with projectors). Even difficult tonal ranges like white clouds & dark skintones come out excellent!

4. Currently using a Viewsonic 720p LED (500-lumen), planning on upgrading to the somewhat brighter 800-lumen model. imo you need at least 700 lumens (I use a 700-lumen Optoma LED projector at work & that is what I'd consider minimum brightness for an LED-based projector for home theater use).

There aren't many 1080p (or 4K) models out yet because the chips are still pretty new. The existing ones use a 720p-ish TI DLP chip, and there's really only so much brightness you can get out of them. I also have a Laser-LED hybrid at work (Casio) and while it's okay, the IRL contrast just isn't that great for HT (super super bright tho, which is great for daytime presentations). Once they get a good 4K chip out there & have something like a 1,000-lumen LED bulb available, that's going to be the way to go. The ML750, one of my travel projectors, is literally the size of your hand (like 4" x 4"), so if you could get an improved resolution out of that, you'd have the ultimate "HTIB".

The only catch is what kind of content you watch. I actually prefer 720p for my projector because I'll throw a lot of Youtube stuff up there, as well as old TV shows on Netflix (like the X-files) and DVD movies, which are not HD. So I feel that 720p is a really nice middle ground in terms of not stretching out the picture on SD content so much that you start to get bad pixelation. Then think about that in terms of 4K & how it'd look watching a DVD or Youtube clip at that resolution.

At any rate, it's only going to get better & cheaper the longer you wait. I have a DLP upstairs for daytime viewing & a projector downstairs for "movie night". Love it! Would highly recommend one. Unless you have the budget for a super-expensive 4K model, my recommendation is the Viewsonic PLED-W800 800-lumen 720 projector, which just came out: (I've been using the 500-lumen model with great results for a couple years now)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0x800_800.html

 

[mizzou]

Look no further than Sony's 4K projector, model VPL-VW350ES. I saw this in person and was blown away. Easily the best picture quality I've seen from a projector. It looked so amazing, I thought I was looking at a 100" LCD without the LCD shortcomings. Just make sure you get a quality screen as well.

Wow that's nice! I always wanted to set up an indie movie club in an old store building and something like that would be awesome.

Too bad I did some research and found out you basically can't show any movies period, even if it's a not-for-profit 🙁 Wayyy too much red tape!


I suppose I can do it in the comforts of my home... :sneaky:

 

[JackBurton]

Wow that's nice! I always wanted to set up an indie movie club in an old store building and something like that would be awesome.

Too bad I did some research and found out you basically can't show any movies period, even if it's a not-for-profit 🙁 Wayyy too much red tape!


I suppose I can do it in the comforts of my home... :sneaky:

That would be best. But seriously, that projector represents a huge jump in PQ and value (relatively speaking). When Sony released their first 4K projector it was $25K, now it's <$8K. And let me tell you, it is amazing! I'm wondering if next year Sony will release a new version for under $5K.

 

[Chapbass]

That would be best. But seriously, that projector represents a huge jump in PQ and value (relatively speaking). When Sony released their first 4K projector it was $25K, now it's <$8K. And let me tell you, it is amazing! I'm wondering if next year Sony will release a new version for under $5K.

Man, if its under 5k, I might consider it. Need some content, but even upscaling, i think it may be worth it.

 

[Anubis]

JVC also makes fantastic PJs, their base model 4k unit is only 5k and it still looks fantastic just lacks some of the extra features of the more expensive ones

they also have more expensive ones
http://procision.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL029154&pathId=140&page=10