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If you only had $1000 for a home theater PJ set up

funboy6942

funboy6942

Lifer
What would be your thoughts on this one or one you know about.

Keep in mind you only have $1000 to play with, must have a screen and offer 100" or larger only, must have a low bulb cost, say $400 is the limit with long bulb life like nothing under 2000 hours in eco mode, and must be on the market today to buy.

Anything more would be great but like I said screen, $1000, and bulb replacement costs/hours are top of list. Being HD isnt high on the list but being HD compatible would be a nice touch.

Lets see what beter deals you can come up with in that price range and please link to your findings.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Isn't this like the third thread you've mentioned this product in? 😛
Click to expand...

Yeah Im projector window shopping since my Toshiba 65" went out and Toshiba is buying it back and I just want to see if I missed anything or get some ideas from oters. BTW arent you the resident audio video guru? Any input for the man on a tight budget?
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Might want to check out the new projector from Lumenlab. $400 or $500 or so but with a bulb that lasts 6000+ hours and only cost $30.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/08/new-...ab-1000-lumens-projector-on-the-cheap/

Then you can pick up a Home Theater in a Box setup for the rest.

An dI"d just make your own screen. http://www.backyardtheater.com
Click to expand...



That really sounds like the way to go maybe. Only thing I see holding back is the 500:1 contrast. But yeah 6000 hours on the bulb, 1 year warranty on the projector and bulb, and replacement cost of only $30 it just all seems to good to be true.
 
Originally posted by: funboy42
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Isn't this like the third thread you've mentioned this product in? 😛
Click to expand...

Yeah Im projector window shopping since my Toshiba 65" went out and Toshiba is buying it back and I just want to see if I missed anything or get some ideas from oters. BTW arent you the resident audio video guru? Any input for the man on a tight budget?
Click to expand...

I haven't been keeping up on budget projectors. I recently had to replace my Infocus 4805 from costco and got in on a Panasonic AE900U for $1499.

Have you thought about a DIY screen? I only spent about $30-ish making my own screen from blackout cloth. I haven't put the effort into making a black velvet border yet, but that's next on the list. Might be something to think about if it means pumping another $100 or so into the projector itself.

Right not I'm working on bringing my parents out of the stone age 🙂
I'm picking up some a pair of Axiom M22s + stands , Axiom VP150, Onix Rocket ULW-10 sub, and Onkyo 602 from a guy on Craigslist for them. No plans on a new display at the moment though.



 
I also used Blackout cloth for my screen. it's 200+ inches diagonal and cost around $50 or so for the fabric. Had to sew two pieces together. Also cost $50 or so to make the frame I use but could be less if it was something permanently mounted somewhere.

 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: funboy42
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Isn't this like the third thread you've mentioned this product in? 😛
Click to expand...

Yeah Im projector window shopping since my Toshiba 65" went out and Toshiba is buying it back and I just want to see if I missed anything or get some ideas from oters. BTW arent you the resident audio video guru? Any input for the man on a tight budget?
Click to expand...

I haven't been keeping up on budget projectors. I recently had to replace my Infocus 4805 from costco and got in on a Panasonic AE900U for $1499.

Have you thought about a DIY screen? I only spent about $30-ish making my own screen from blackout cloth. I haven't put the effort into making a black velvet border yet, but that's next on the list. Might be something to think about if it means pumping another $100 or so into the projector itself.

Right not I'm working on bringing my parents out of the stone age 🙂
I'm picking up some a pair of Axiom M22s + stands , Axiom VP150, Onix Rocket ULW-10 sub, and Onkyo 602 from a guy on Craigslist for them. No plans on a new display at the moment though.
Click to expand...


Well technicly the pj in the link really isnt a budjet one is it? Every where else including ebay sells for over $1000 by itself (unless refurbed then its $900) its just priced as it is in the link because it is a refurb which wouldnt scare me off. As for making a screen I just cant do that in my condition so I would have to buy one.

Just way I see it is the screen from the link would be $300, the mount another $100, wont count the cable, no shipping charges, so that means after it all I be paying about $600 for the PJ. And in the $600 range I just cant find anything myself that gets as good of a revew, has a high res (it sits between 480P and 720P) and a 4000 hour bulb life.

I was hoping that someone else here has looked at a HT PJ set up and found a better deal could point me to it or conferm what I had found just cannot be beat. Also anyone heard of the people having the such good deal?
 
Even though pricing talk isn't allowed on AVSforum, it would probably still be the best place to look to see what your options are.

I think the popular 480p DLP projectors are ~$600 now for a new one. I think budget 720p DLP just broke the $1k barrier. I think the good 720p LCD projectors are around $1300-ish.

Just a random comment - weren't you anti-projector for quite a while? Has anything changed to make you want one now?

I used to be a CRT and computer speaker guy and have since seen the light 😉
If I'm thinking of someone else then nevermind 😱

Some of the better deals on refurb projectors I've seen has been through woot.
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Might want to check out the new projector from Lumenlab. $400 or $500 or so but with a bulb that lasts 6000+ hours and only cost $30.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/08/new-...ab-1000-lumens-projector-on-the-cheap/

Then you can pick up a Home Theater in a Box setup for the rest.

An dI"d just make your own screen. http://www.backyardtheater.com
Click to expand...


That things looks awesome. I signed up for email updates. I want one of those badass projectors.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Even though pricing talk isn't allowed on AVSforum, it would probably still be the best place to look to see what your options are.

I think the popular 480p DLP projectors are ~$600 now for a new one. I think budget 720p DLP just broke the $1k barrier. I think the good 720p LCD projectors are around $1300-ish.

Just a random comment - weren't you anti-projector for quite a while? Has anything changed to make you want one now?

I used to be a CRT and computer speaker guy and have since seen the light 😉
If I'm thinking of someone else then nevermind 😱

Some of the better deals on refurb projectors I've seen has been through woot.
Click to expand...


Yes I am anti projector, dlp. lcd, andything that needs a ightbulb but I am being forced into this not by choice. My new(ish) CRT Toshiba 65" crt tv broke and as my luck would have it dont make the part that broke. I wanted the biggest CRT HD tv at the time I could afford. And now no one really makes another 65" crt other then Hitachi but where I live the nearest CC that sells it is 100 miles away. It is also $1400 and its a little more then what I want to spend for I want to pocket some of this money I am getting back but want a large tv so we can once again resume family nights of watching movies and playing games larger then life itself.

So for me in the $1000~ range I either can get a 50" CRT rca from walmart and thats RCA so no real quality there and were going from 65-50 inches. If I want to go larger I have to spend more on a dlp or lcd one but at 65 inches at 1K its un heard of so if Im stuck with crap or DLP and changing bulbs felt I may as well go all out if Im changing bulbs and get a projector and the biggest/best screen for my money and so far I dont think what I had found is going to be in terms of quality projector, larg 106" screen instead of a 92 or smaller, 4000 hours on eco bulb life, and replacement bulbs at $300 or less.

Hate it but since im being forced into it going to try to make the best of it 😉

Originally posted by: Excelsior
Costco has a decent deal on a 480p PJ w/screen: Link.
Click to expand...

Before I found the one I linked that was going to be my choice but after taxes, shipping, non member fees, came out close to $900. With the linked one and 167 more I feel Im geeting a better projector, larger screen, celing mount, and componant cables plus free shipping which the extra screen size seems worth it to me alone for the extra money not to mention bulb cost and hour life and a brighter picture.

But if the linked one doesnt work out (I never heard of them and dont feel like getting taken) that is my second choice.
 
Thanks for letting me know about the reasoning. I was in a similar technological situation recently where I wanted to get one or two nice 22" CRTs to replace my 19" and after a couple RMAs and a terrible experience I switched over to LCD. I'm very happy with the deal I was able to get on my new monitors. I hope this switch for you works out as well as my switch did.

I wanted to mention one thing. I seem to remember one reason you were hesitant to get a bulb based display was the number of hours you were going to be using the display. I thought I would mention that some retailers will give you or let you buy a lamp replacement plan that is fairly reasonable.

Visual Apex is almost where I ended up buying my newest projector. On some units they include a 3 year lamp replacement plan in the cost or have the option for a reasonable price. (Some come with a free bulb too)

As for the screen, I hear you on the trouble with DIY, but I ended up making my screen with my mother and gf. It might be a fun project to do with family / friends? Depending on how you put it together it's not a huge project. For my own screen I just just had to cut some 45 degree angles in my 1x3s and cut them to length (I think you can ask some hardware stores to do this for you when you buy the wood), then drill some small holes and attach the L-brackets and T-brackets with screws, and then stretch some blackout cloth around the frame. If that's not going to happen with you I understand, but it might be a fun project to do with some people.

Earlier I tried to look up that merchant you have linked to and couldn't find a whole lot on them. I think I would be sort of worried about getting a refub projector from a place such as that. I found a few positive ratings about them through projector central though under adtech systems so maybe they're good.

Something else to think about is the throw range you have to work with if you're buying a screen of specific size. If you haven't looked at it already, projector central has nice screen size calculators for tons of projectors. For your 106" size, you'd be looking at mounting the projector between 12.5 and 15.1 feet fromt the screen. I'm not sure if your room has any issues, but it might be something to keep in mind.
 
Yeah making the screen is just out of the question even though I know it can be done cheaper. Some have mentioned some kind of board you can buy at Homedepot, unfortunatly I have a only a Lowes closest to me and they are 40 min drive each way and Im not sure if that would really work anyway because from all the reading I been doing it seems to really get the most out of a PJ you must use screen material or the special paint for walls.

As for throw range at 106" it is 13.3 feet as the closest. I really want to try no tto use any zoom as possable for from what I read when you use zoom it takes away some of the brightness. My room Im putting it is is 18' wide by about 45' long. Its my HT/Office/Computer/Game/Kids room. With the one coming with a screen mount I will have to ask some one for help in mounting it at exactly $13.3 feet away or my desk is almost 15 feet away where I can use some zoom for the time being till I can mount it to the celing. My proble is the celing is a false celing and to make it worse is on an angle so I would have to remove it and make some sort of an extension to come down and level it out to mount the mout to and of course it all has to be at the right height. Good this is my celing is about 12-13 feet high at the middle so if I can make the mount for the mount I have alot of room to play with as far as hight of the PJ and the top of the screen.

As far as the warranty yeah its a refurb but still comes with a 90 lamp warranty from Mitsu and 1 year on the unit itself. They dont offer any extended warranty there which kinda sux but not a deal breaker. I plan on keeping the filter clean at all times, air filtration in the room to cut it down even more and away use it on eco setting. Were just going to use it on the weekends and they way I figured it out at 18 hours a week the bulb if it lasts the 4000 hours would get 4 years out of it and by that time really I may be in the market for another one or pass this to the kids and make thier living room into a theater room for them.

Im in no means made of money and when I make a big purchase I really study up on it and try to learn everything I can and then the Jew in me comes out and I find the best I can with the money I have. I was hoping I may of over looked something else I missed by making this thread but it look as though for the money it cant be beat. I really wish my tv didnt break I loved it. CRT tubs give the best picture imo and it was just crisp and clear and maybe had 100 hours on it when the green tube went out and took 2 other parts with it. And I still cant understand or want to believe that a 2 year old modle tv doesnt have parts still available for it. But Toshiba was cool enough to take it back and refund all of my money so its not to bad just dislike the "bulb" idea and it sucks that almost all the tv makers went this way jsut so they can keep making money off people and buy bulbs for it when a crt would give about 50,000 hours. I read somewhere that a company is making LED bulbs to replace the ones. If that happends they are projecting 30,000 hours from one and it will be cheaper to replace. I hope that is true 😀

Anyway thanks for the help. I know your the go to guy for audio and visual, maybe you need to look into cheaper stuff as well instead of just high end for the rich so you can litteraly point people in the right direction no matter thier budget 😉

And Im still sticking by my guns on the guy on a super tight budget that a $200 Logitech Z5500 cant be beat for HT if you can make due without a radio tuner and several different kinds of sound reproduction (IE Hall, concert, bathroom, ect) that even when I had a good reciever (Sony, Denon, Pioneer, Panasonic, to name a few when I had money before I was married) I never used anyway. My family, family members, and even I after owning high dollar componant systems and speakers can belive what comes out of what is supposed to be used for a computer set up. When stuff blows up and crap falls off my walls and cracks windows (I can take a pic of the window in the kitchen that cracked) my $200 is well spent 😀
Sounds good too, not just about the bass, thats just a added plus 😉

Man I just keep typing a book dont I 😛
 
You're probably thinking of Parkland Plastic's Polywall for the material you can use? I think Quasmo is using that with his Panasonic AE700U.

As far as projectors, I've tended to do a decent amount of research before purchases and then not look back because things change so rapidly and I don't want to get upgraditis for the next new thing to come out.

Maybe you'll enjoy the new technology of DLP front projection enough that you'll want to upgrade your sounds as well 😉
 
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