Projector suggestions

[NewBlackDak]

My wife really wanted a Plasma TV, but I talked her into a "cheaper" projector.
She saw some prices, and I demoed the one at work. Well, she said buy one!!

Well I've done no reasearch on them, and don't even know where to start.
Looking for something with:

• full complement of video inputs

• remote

• invertable(upside-down mount)

• fairly quiet

• bulb bright enough for day viewing

Any help to point me in the right direction is appreciated.

 

[darkswordsman17]

First of all, I'd really recommend checking out AVSForums, you'll find a ton of info and helpful people.

What kind of price/budget are you looking at? Don't forget to include things like a mount if you need one, longer than normal video cables, a screen, and also darker curtains to control the light better. I would include the cost of buying an extra bulb as well, as its always good to have one handy.

 

[NewBlackDak]

Less than the TVs she's been looking at in the $5K~$10K range. I don't really want to spend over $1500 total, but I'm not sure if that's a good point to shoot at.
Would $2000 be a better mark to aim for?
I don't believe I'll need a mount. I'm pretty handy when it comes to that stuff, and I want to hide it as much as possible on the ceiling.
We already have room darkening drapes in there, because she can't stand any glare on a screen.

I'll go chech out AVS Forums as well.
Thanks

 

[thepd7]

Someone more knowledgeable can correct me if I am wrong, but you won't find an HD proj that has good enough brightness to be played in daytime without light control (good curtains) for $1500. I have the Infocus SP4805 which is 480P (ED) and is incredible, but to watch sunday football I had to use a blackout curtain on my 1 window in the living room. Granted it was only $700. I have seen some HD projectors for $1500 ish, but like I said I am assuming that the brightness is not good enough for what you want. Honestly, if you are looking for a TV replacement I wouldn't get a projector. I love mine but its too much hassle to get it going for regular TV watching. I watch DVD's, high def football/basketball, and play xbox on mine.

 

[darkswordsman17]

If you could move to $2000-2500, then I think you could find a pretty decent 720p (meaning it can actually natively display 720p) projector and would leave you some room for extra things (cables or anything).

If you're pretty handy, you could have a nice setup. If you own your house, you might consider painting your wall or making a custom screen. They make paint specifically for this.

 

[SolMiester]

nvd

 

[Gomce]

I can't comment much on the subject,
I don't live in the states and my options are limited here, not to mention prices are 30%+ than those in the states.

However, I just bought Acer PD525D - and it serves me well. The picture is stunning, even via composite cable (the worst option you can get)

This projector however has:
- DVI / VGA connector
- Component to VGA convertor
- Composite

If you use the DVI/VGA/Component the picture is awesome. I just bought it, couple of days ago, still without a projection screen. Using my reddish (appricot color) wall to project 200 inch picture on it and it's stunning. The projector is rated 2600 Ansi lumens but real world is probably round 1900. But if you plan to use it for long viewing, like a TV substitute, well, the bulbs I think burn out quickly on any projector.

I'd recommend the Acer. I compared it to the Infocus X2 at the store and it's no where near Acer's quality. Not to mention the ACER is XGA (1024x768).

Whatever you do, stay away from cheap LCD projectors. For watching TV/DVD/HD-DVDs go with a DLP projector. LCD projectors with good blacks are $2000+ probably.

Go DLP!

Hope I helped a bit

 

[jammur21]

For $1000 or less
Infocus 4805 (480p DLP; loud)

For $2000 or less
Optoma H72 (720p DLP)
Panasonic ae900 (720 LCD)
Sanyo Z4 (720 LCD)

PM me if you have any more ?s

 

[SKoprowski]

The Infocus SP5000 720p LCD projector is rated at 1300 lumens- you can find it for $999.00 now.

 

[NewBlackDak]

We hardly ever just watch TV, and if we do it's never in there. The only time we turn it on in there is to watch something we want the see with the theatre effect(dark, booming surround sound).

Say we have room-darkening drapes, but want to watch a movie(or football game) on a sunday afternoon. What kind of lumen rating would I need?
Now I've stretched my budget to $2500 total project. I read up on the diffs between DLP, and LCD. DLP is the way to go.
We don't have any local broadcasts yet in HD, and the cable company isn't even offering it until June. Should I go ahead and "futureproof", or forget about HD for now?

If I paint the wall with that paint is there any reason I couldn't paint back over it if we decide it was a bad idea?
The walls have no texture in that room, so they would be good candidates for painting.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: NewBlackDak
We hardly ever just watch TV, and if we do it's never in there. The only time we turn it on in there is to watch something we want the see with the theatre effect(dark, booming surround sound).

Say we have room-darkening drapes, but want to watch a movie(or football game) on a sunday afternoon. What kind of lumen rating would I need?
Now I've stretched my budget to $2500 total project. I read up on the diffs between DLP, and LCD. DLP is the way to go.
We don't have any local broadcasts yet in HD, and the cable company isn't even offering it until June. Should I go ahead and "futureproof", or forget about HD for now?

If I paint the wall with that paint is there any reason I couldn't paint back over it if we decide it was a bad idea?
The walls have no texture in that room, so they would be good candidates for painting.

So does your window(s) let really any light in? If its not much, then you'll be fine watching things during the day. What color and how heavy/thick are your curtains? If they're a nice dark color and pretty thick, and so don't let much light in you'll be good. Otherwise you might want to get some thicker/darker ones.

I don't suppose you have pictures of your room do you?

I would get a 720p capable projector at least. If you want to keep it for a while it will come in very handy. Although, you actually might would consider buying something like an Infocus 4805, and then move up later if you decide you need it. Chances are you'd like it so much that you'd be pretty happy with it, even with HD stuff (I had an Xbox360, and it looked great, not quite as good as my HDTV which actually has about 800 lines of vertical resolution, but still noticeably better than original Xbox games).

As far as I know you could easily repaint it, but I'm not sure exactly. There's actually several different options here, and so you'd probably want to check them out to see if there's any issues. You could always just paint it white if its not already and it'll look plenty good. You could also mount a large but not very thick board to the wall (or make a standalone screen) and paint that instead.

 

[NewBlackDak]

I don't have any pictures of the room, but with the blinds down and drapes drawn the only light is from the aquarium.

I've seen 5000 for the same price as the 4805(after rebates on both) is there any reason to not bump up to the 5000?


4805
* 6.8 lbs/3.1 kg
* 854x480 (16:9)
* 750 max ANSI lumens

5000
* 7.5 lbs/3.4 kg
* 1280x720 (16:9)
* 1100 max ANSI lumens


Right now the wall is a "Country White" which is just off-white. I might just paint that entire wall flat white, and see how it goes.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: NewBlackDak
I don't have any pictures of the room, but with the blinds down and drapes drawn the only light is from the aquarium.

I've seen 5000 for the same price as the 4805(after rebates on both) is there any reason to not bump up to the 5000?


4805
* 6.8 lbs/3.1 kg
* 854x480 (16:9)
* 750 max ANSI lumens

5000
* 7.5 lbs/3.4 kg
* 1280x720 (16:9)
* 1100 max ANSI lumens


Right now the wall is a "Country White" which is just off-white. I might just paint that entire wall flat white, and see how it goes.

Are you able to control the light from the aquarium? Any light will affect the projector.

Hmm, if they're the same price, I don't see any reason not to go for the 5000.

Check over at AVSforum to see how well they like it before you go ahead and buy.

The only thing I see is that its an LCD and not DLP (the 4805 is DLP, which seems to be the better tech).