At what screen size does a projector become cost effective?

[ControlD]

So I am in the middle of remodeling my basement after some water damage. One of the rooms is our movie room, but I have been "making do" with a 46" TV up until now. My wife keeps suggesting that we get a bigger screen for that room so it feels more like a movie theater, so I am think something 70" or larger will be in order.

I know almost nothing about projectors at all, and it seems like the ones I have seen in use were for REALLY big screens .. like 100" or more which I don't believe will fit this application.

So this got me to wondering. At what picture size is a projector a better option than a TV with a physical screen? Looking at prices, projectors are sort of all over the place. Let's just say for a good quality HD display (does not need to be 4K).

 

[sdifox]

What are the dimensions of the room? Anything less than 80" is a bit of waste of time.

 

[ControlD]

The room is 25 feet wide by 15 feet deep. It might be a touch deeper than that but I can't quite remember the actual dimensions. I am getting ready to do the walls, so I will know exact dimensions soon.

 

[sdifox]

Should be able to throw 100+ inch with 15 foot depth.

Prewire before you drywall!

 

[purbeast0]

i sit 13 feet back from a 120" screen and wish i could have gone bigger, but i just couldn't have due to the height of the room. go as big as you can.

as for cost prohibitive, i'd say around 80" is when you'd start to want to go into the projector level. an 80" tv would probably get you better picture quality, but that's going to cost you an arm and a leg. plus, if you have space for something bigger than 80", for sure do it if you can logistically set it up.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Prices jump on TVs after 65 inches.

 

[ControlD]

Now I just need to convince my wife this is her idea and I'm set!

 

[sdifox]

Now I just need to convince my wife this is her idea and I'm set!

Tell her Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are wee bit bigger than life size on a 120"

 

[ControlD]

Tell her Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are wee bit bigger than life size on a 120"

Haha. She is more of a Walking Dead type of girl, but that would be awesome as well. Time to do some research.

 

[sdifox]

Haha. She is more of a Walking Dead type of girl, but that would be awesome as well. Time to do some research.

Projector central is a pretty good resource with reviews and calculator

 

[ControlD]

Projector central is a pretty good resource with reviews and calculator

Awesome. Thanks!

 

[Kaido]

Now I just need to convince my wife this is her idea and I'm set!

FYI I did this & it works, so there is hope for you :biggrin: :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Haha. She is more of a Walking Dead type of girl, but that would be awesome as well. Time to do some research.

Ah. Then if she needs some convincing:

 

[ControlD]

Ah. Then if she needs some convincing:

Well. I'm convinced.

Knowing how I am, I will still be researching this six months from now.

First I need to work out how to mount the thing.

 

[sdifox]

Ceiling mount of course.

 

[ControlD]

Ceiling mount of course.

Yep, I am that far. Just thinking about getting the power and HDMI run in a finished ceiling. Luckily I am doing renovations in this room anyhow so a little extra drywall work won't be a huge deal.

 

[tential]

My W1070 is about $1000 setup?
That includes Ceiling Mount, Screen, other costs, etc.

And I'm being high on the cost, it cost less, but I just want to use that as a good price point.

Now, you can find 55-60 inch maybe at that price/size for LCD/LED. They also consume less power, unless you use the LG LED model (Which I would if you aren't a home theater buff) which is a great choice IMO.

I think it's effective at 70+. I was personally looking at an 80 inch or bigger screen. Really, I like the projector because the only thing I need to do is replace the bulb, and screen if I decide I want a bigger/smaller screen(and bulb just because it needs to be replaced eventually).

My next upgrade will be to an LED projector, and then a Freesync 65 inch monitor. That way I can use less power and not have to worry about replacing bulbs (and my room getting hot from a projector+gaming rig), and freesync monitor 65 inches next to it for gaming, well just because if I can have freeesync at 65 inches 4k.... I want it. I never thought it would happen, if it's released, I'll find a way to get it.

Edit: It's a dedicated movie room? At a Minimum the W1070/LG LED projector is what I'd go with. I would NOT go with a HDTV in a dedicated theater room with projectors. I already made the mistake of dropping twice as much on my 70 inch tv than my projector, and it hasn't been used in a long long time.

My projector screen is 80 inches by the way. Any larger in my bedroom would have been distracting.

 

[MongGrel]

The room is 25 feet wide by 15 feet deep. It might be a touch deeper than that but I can't quite remember the actual dimensions. I am getting ready to do the walls, so I will know exact dimensions soon.

Ah. Then if she needs some convincing:

I have a room that size I hang out in most of the time and a wall pretty much like that i could swing my sound system around and set it up even better than it is where the couch is sitting for a lot of it.

Maybe one of these days

I shouldn't have let her talk me out of it a couple years ago.

 

[ControlD]

My W1070 is about $1000 setup?
That includes Ceiling Mount, Screen, other costs, etc.

And I'm being high on the cost, it cost less, but I just want to use that as a good price point.

Now, you can find 55-60 inch maybe at that price/size for LCD/LED. They also consume less power, unless you use the LG LED model (Which I would if you aren't a home theater buff) which is a great choice IMO.

I think it's effective at 70+. I was personally looking at an 80 inch or bigger screen. Really, I like the projector because the only thing I need to do is replace the bulb, and screen if I decide I want a bigger/smaller screen(and bulb just because it needs to be replaced eventually).

My next upgrade will be to an LED projector, and then a Freesync 65 inch monitor. That way I can use less power and not have to worry about replacing bulbs (and my room getting hot from a projector+gaming rig), and freesync monitor 65 inches next to it for gaming, well just because if I can have freeesync at 65 inches 4k.... I want it. I never thought it would happen, if it's released, I'll find a way to get it.

Edit: It's a dedicated movie room? At a Minimum the W1070/LG LED projector is what I'd go with. I would NOT go with a HDTV in a dedicated theater room with projectors. I already made the mistake of dropping twice as much on my 70 inch tv than my projector, and it hasn't been used in a long long time.

My projector screen is 80 inches by the way. Any larger in my bedroom would have been distracting.

That's great information. Are you happy with the W1070? I was also looking at the HT1075. How is the fan noise? Chances are this will be mounted almost overhead if I am reading the charts correctly.

This is a semi-dedicated movie room if that makes sense. I also have a couple of arcade machines and aquariums in the room.

 

[purbeast0]

Yep, I am that far. Just thinking about getting the power and HDMI run in a finished ceiling. Luckily I am doing renovations in this room anyhow so a little extra drywall work won't be a huge deal.

i did in wall installation of my entire HT in a finished basement. my buddy who's an electrician helped me do it but just fished a buncha wires and installed an outlet in my ceiling, and closet where my a/v rack is.

thankfully the joists in the ceiling ran the direction the projector was going, because i had to run some speaker wire that way too. would have had to make a lot more holes and drill through joists otherwise, got lucky with that.

i'd strongly recommend putting extra wires in the wall, or at least pull strings, just in case. i have an extra hdmi cable in my wall just in case something happens to mine and it malfunctions.

one thing to keep in mind - are you going to be gaming on your projector? if so, pay close attention to input delay, some of them are really really bad. i got my projector specifically because it has minimal delay in game mode.

 

[ControlD]

i did in wall installation of my entire HT in a finished basement. my buddy who's an electrician helped me do it but just fished a buncha wires and installed an outlet in my ceiling, and closet where my a/v rack is.

thankfully the joists in the ceiling ran the direction the projector was going, because i had to run some speaker wire that way too. would have had to make a lot more holes and drill through joists otherwise, got lucky with that.

i'd strongly recommend putting extra wires in the wall, or at least pull strings, just in case. i have an extra hdmi cable in my wall just in case something happens to mine and it malfunctions.

one thing to keep in mind - are you going to be gaming on your projector? if so, pay close attention to input delay, some of them are really really bad. i got my projector specifically because it has minimal delay in game mode.

My joists are running the correct direction as well. I actually just ran all of the surround speaker wiring about one week before my water issues so that is taken care of already.

I don't game much on that TV now, but I guess I would like to keep that option open.

 

[sdifox]

My joists are running the correct direction as well. I actually just ran all of the surround speaker wiring about one week before my water issues so that is taken care of already.

I don't game much on that TV now, but I guess I would like to keep that option open.

Kinect on projector is epic. So is Mechwarrior.

 

[ControlD]

Kinect on projector is epic. So is Mechwarrior.

I have a Kinect on that TV right now. I bet that would be fun!

I imagine PC gaming would be quite the experience on a screen like that too.

 

[sdifox]

I have a Kinect on that TV right now. I bet that would be fun!

I imagine PC gaming would be quite the experience on a screen like that too.

RTS is fine, FPS is not a good idea, possibly vomit inducing.

 

[ControlD]

The LG LED units look pretty sweet, but having 3D would really be nice. I guess we are one of the only families that likes 3D, but there it is.

So, somewhere in the $1000 range for the projector (this is a little flexible) are there any good options? It looks like BENQ has a couple of decent units but I see complaints of dust issues.