Need advice from the pros

[arcenite]

I already have a nice little home theatre set up in my den with a 55" TV and 7.1 surround. So I'm not a complete noob, but I need to know how to handle this best.

We want to host a new years party. I need to setup a TV in our living room. My wife has given me permission to go the projector route after months of me begging, but now I'm not so sure. We are on a budget, but I want it to be enjoyable as well. I really don't want to shell out for a surround system if I don't have to.

The viewing distance from couch to wall is 21-22'. Questions:

1.) If I get a projector with built in speakers, am I asking for trouble?
2.) Should I just get the largest TV I can afford that has built in speakers?

The alternative I have is to put the TV on an angle from the left side wall, but there are floor to ceiling windows there so it'd look kind of funky.

Anything other comments are more than welcome. I want to do this right.

 

[Rifter]

for 22' you will need a projector, or a TV in the 70+" range. So the projector is great idea.

I think even cheap standalone speakers would be a better bet than built in speakers either from the TV or projector.

 

[sdifox]

err, I am assuming this party will be well lit? Unless you go commercial grade or rear projection, you probably will have washout image due to ambient light. One way to help is to turn off light around the screen area can't you just move your existing sound system over?

 

[Exterous]

Are there projectors that come with built in speakers? If so I would think they would be really really bad. Not much room in a projector housing for speakers

What is your budget? And what is the long term plan? If you want to watch TV and movies on a big screen then a projector is a great option. The downside is as sdifox said in terms of lighting. You might want to invest in some blackout curtains as well

Another option might be a rear projection DLP if you have the room. I am just going off my own experience here but the one I have does better in well lite rooms than my projector (Which is still not as good as an LCD). They can suffer from viewing angle issues and will also have visability issues if sunlight is hitting the screen

 

[queequeg99]

I'm not aware of any decent projectors that have built in speakers. Perhaps some models aimed at business presentations, but nothing for home theater that is worth looking at.

As already noted, ambient light is a big issue with projectors. I have a Benq W6000, which is a veritable light cannon for the price. It does a so-so job with ambient light (i.e. someone opening a door into the viewing room). But you really need to deal with light from the windows. I installed blackout curtains and it made all the difference in the world.

If you cannot deal with ambient light from windows, I would seriously consider a rear projection set if your space permits. There are some seriously large sets available for surprisingly low prices (at least when compared to plasma and LCD). The picture quality isn't quite as good as LCD and plasma, but the viewing will be much better than a projector in ambient lighting situations. Also, the set will come with some speakers built in. They will suck, but you'll have something to listen to when you plug it in (and until you get an AVR and some decent speakers).

 

[SithSolo1]

Large screen Mitsu DLP

http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-WD-.../dp/B004ZL2OOU