Projectors? LCD? DLT? Which is best for home theater setup?

[Keysplayr]

Hello folks,

This seemed like the best forum to post this in. I hope some of you can help.

I would like to setup an home theater system consisting of an HTPC, LCD or DLT projector, surround speaker system and a 84" electric or manual (doesn't matter) white screen in my living room/family room.

I have been checking out various projectors but can't make real sense of what would be best for my purposes.

The way I see it, I will be saving thousands of dollars going this route instead of the LCD/Plasma Televisions. I went to BestBuy yesterday and almost choked on the price tags of these things.

Mitsubishi 42" LCD display OVER 5000.00 YIKES.
I probably can get the projector and screen for about 1000.00 to 1300.00. Then build the HTPC for cheap.

Any ideas, experience?

Very much appreciated.

Keys

EDIT: Here are some room specs...

14' x 24' room with 10' ceiling. Projector will be ceiling mounted and will hang down to approximately 8.5 to 9' height. Will be about 15' from the screen.

Usage: For movies primarily, maybe some gaming, and possibly regular TV.

Also would like to know the best video card for nicest output type (DVI or composite or whatever) to the projector for best video reproduction.

Sorry this is so long. I'm new to this.

 

[imported_marklar]

You definitely want to check out www.projectorcentral.com. They have a lot of information and reviews for front projection systems.

 

[Keysplayr]

Sounds great. I will check it out. Thank you.

 

[Matthias99]

AVSForum.com also has a *LOT* of information, and several forums dedicated just to projectors.

If you know the size of the room, you can find calculators for throw distance, and thus figure out which projectors will work at that distance.

 

[tbradsha]

I think that projectors are the best thing since sliced bread. I have a Benq 7200 (1024x768) and love it for games and movies on my HTPC setup. It's truly amazing and far, far better than any television I could get for 2x, 3x, or even 4x the price. Actually I think it's better than any television that exists, because no television can compare to my 10-foot screen in my darkened bedroom.

The primary disadvantage of projectors is the need for light control. You need a projector (and screen for that matter) that will produce a nice image in *your* living room. This totally depends on whether you have windows, how many windows, whether the windows have blinds that can block the light, what time of day you will be watching, etc. Even a small amount of light can significantly wash out an image, decrease contrast, etc. This is a serious disadvantage of projectors as compared to televisions, and it is why most projectors are in a basement or other dedicated viewing room. But really, other than this, I think projectors are by far the better route. You can probably get by with a little ambient light, but you should probably forget about daytime viewing if you have a few windows.

At the $1k-1.3k price range, you might start by looking seriously at the Infocus 4805. This is pretty much last year's most popular projector on the avsforum site. It's a widescreen regular definition DLP projector. There used to be a great deal at Costco for projector plus screen for around $1100. Screens sold separately will run you around $100-400, so budget your projector purchase accordingly.

If your budget will allow, I would spend around $2500 to get a 720p DLP projector (e.g., the Benq 8700 or 7700 at www.projectorpeople.com). Keep in mind that Xbox 360 and PS3 will output games at 720p, and the new DVD formats will likely do the same. Plus, a higher resolution allows you to sit closer to the screen without noticing the pixelation/screen door effect (SDE).

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: tbradsha
I think that projectors are the best thing since sliced bread. I have a Benq 7200 (1024x768) and love it for games and movies on my HTPC setup. It's truly amazing and far, far better than any television I could get for 2x, 3x, or even 4x the price. Actually I think it's better than any television that exists, because no television can compare to my 10-foot screen in my darkened bedroom.

The primary disadvantage of projectors is the need for light control. You need a projector (and screen for that matter) that will produce a nice image in *your* living room. This totally depends on whether you have windows, how many windows, whether the windows have blinds that can block the light, what time of day you will be watching, etc. Even a small amount of light can significantly wash out an image, decrease contrast, etc. This is a serious disadvantage of projectors as compared to televisions, and it is why most projectors are in a basement or other dedicated viewing room. But really, other than this, I think projectors are by far the better route. You can probably get by with a little ambient light, but you should probably forget about daytime viewing if you have a few windows.

At the $1k-1.3k price range, you might start by looking seriously at the Infocus 4805. This is pretty much last year's most popular projector on the avsforum site. It's a widescreen regular definition DLP projector. There used to be a great deal at Costco for projector plus screen for around $1100. Screens sold separately will run you around $100-400, so budget your projector purchase accordingly.

If your budget will allow, I would spend around $2500 to get a 720p DLP projector (e.g., the Benq 8700 or 7700 at www.projectorpeople.com). Keep in mind that Xbox 360 and PS3 will output games at 720p, and the new DVD formats will likely do the same. Plus, a higher resolution allows you to sit closer to the screen without noticing the pixelation/screen door effect (SDE).

Thanks very much!! It looks like its going to be the InFocus Screenplay 4805. It does 1024x768 1080i, 720p HDTV. Seems to fit it my budget and needs.
Thanks for the links guys, they were very helpful. Still reading through them.

 

[Excelsior]

Remember, it truly only displays 480p, but it accepts 720p and 1080i, and just downconverts it. Still an excellent prjoector though.

 

[Paktu]

I've also heard very positive things about the Infocus 4805.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I have the 4805. Excelsior is definately correct about 720p etc. getting scaled down to the resolution of the 4805.

I've played games on 720p setting and they have scaled down very nicely.
It's not really a good choice if you want to do any text reading as the native res is so low that internet browsing etc. is really cramped (720x480). For video and games though, it's working great for me.

I have some crappy screenshots I took of it with my 2mp canon A40 that doesn't do low light shots very well (just to say that it looks better in real life than my pictures show).

If DVDs are your main source material, this could be a very good option for you.

I've spent over $3000 on upgrading sound equipment over the 15 months but I have no desire to replace my Infocus 4805. It does exactly what I want it to and it does a spectacular job.

Regular tv looks pretty darn good on it to due to the nice faroudja deinterlacer chip that does a good job taking 480i signals and changing them to 480p. Naturally it doesn't look as great as higher quality material, but it was much better than I was expecting.

I picked mine up around Christmas time for $999 from Costco and it came with a 76" screen.

I haven't been keeping up with new models the past couple months (partly to prevent the onset of upgraditis), but I know that the Optima H31 is another similar projector that has gotten good reviews. Of course AVSforum will have a lot of up to date info for you, so it's good you're checking it out.

Oh, and check out AVSforum for building your own screen if you want to. You can make one a custom size with good performance for pretty cheap if you don't get a bundle deal with your projector. I was planning on making my own before I found the great costco deal I jumped on.

I've used both an ATI radeon 9800pro with component adapter and a 6600gt component out to the 4805 and both have produced great results.

By the way, you can get cheap component cables from cablesforless (that's where I got mine)

Glad to hear you're getting a sound system to go with this. A big picture needs big sound to go with it :thumbsup:
You probably aren't planning on spending three times as much on sound as video like I did, but do you have a budget in mind? I could make some suggestions, but of course check out AVSforum too as they'll have tons of info for you on this topic too.

 

[Sonikku]

Projectors are awesome. I got the Infocus 4800 and have never looked back. Projectors just fit the theme of a "Home Theater" more then anything else. They also break the rules. 480p has NO business looking as good as it does at 100". I don't know why, but even 480i and 480p looks better at 100" on my projector then it would on a 50" or so TV.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Foxy_McCloud/Sonic_themovie.jpg
"Sonic The Movie"

 

[Keysplayr]

Thanks Excelsior, and Paktu.

YOyoYOhowsDAjello: Great Info thanks. I will be using it most likely for DVD movies 90% if not 100% of the time. I would maybe like to try some gaming on it but I doubt it.
Sound sytem Budget: Very low for the beginning. I'm talking maybe a 300.00 5.1 setup.
The room is just 14x24 so its not very huge. The sound doesn't have to be deafening, just decent and solid with good bass. I'll find something with a 8 or 10" sub. So, most of the money goes to the projector and HTPC.

HTPC: Is basically just going to be a regular PC with NVDVD. I have an ASUS N6600 (AGP 6600 128MB) Shown Here

The cable on the left, is that a component cable? It came with the card. I have seen on the back of the 4805 what looks like a DVI connector. Would this be component? Sorry, I'm new to this but learn quickly. Basically what I'm asking is, will this card do?

Thanks again for all your help. I read that do it yourself screen post by the way, very nice. But your 999.00 costco deal was sweet!

keys

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If the only think you're hooking up in your HT system is your computer, you might just want to get a computer speaker system for a $300 budget.

A HT sub alone is going to run you over $100, and a budget receiver would eat the rest of your budget not leaving you anything for speakers.

If you got a HTIB (hometheater in a box) set, you wouldn't be able to get a very good one for $300. I think at that pricepoint a computer speaker set makes more sense.

If you wanted to get a HTIB set, the onkyo 580 is probably your best bet for that level.

Klipsch promedia ultras would probably be a better idea... maybe z-5500s.

If you need to hook up your cable box for sound, you could run to the line-in on your soundcard and that would allow you to use the comptuer speakers for that too.

When you say "Very low for the beginning" does that mean you'd be investing more in the future? If that's the case, you could start with just a pair of stereo speakers and a receiver and add components as you went along (sub, center channel, then replace the fronts, etc).

The one on the left looks like it's s-video on one end and composite on the other. You don't want to use that.
The 4805 doesn't have a DVI input, it's an M-1 or something like that... I forget the name... anyway, it doesn't fit a DVI cable. There might be an adapter, I'm not sure.
It does come with an adapter for VGA to the M-1 but I haven't used it at all. I think it might only support 4:3 resolutions through that although I'm not sure as I've never used it.

I don't know if that card would get you the most out of the Infocus 4805. The Optoma H31 has a DVI input though I think that would solve those problems (maybe, I haven't really looked into it... check out the H31 thread at AVSforum for any mention of problems with it).

Component is three cables (red, blue, green) that have regular RCA connecitions. pics

 

[Keysplayr]

Dammit on the 6600.
I also have a PCI-e Gigabyte X700pro. This one.
Would this do? Doesn't matter that its PCI-e as I have a platform for it still in boxes.

Just making a short list of everything I'll need. That onkyo setup looks to be perfect. I always liked Onkyo. Price is right. Yes I will be "improving" things little by little as time goes on. But if the Onkyo is sufficient, I may just leave it as is.

List:
Projector........................4805 Infocus ScreenPlay
Projector Ceiling mount XYZ axis adjustable
PC with X700pro
Component cable
Onkyo 5.1 (excellent, thank you)
84" Ceiling/Wall mount manual screen (no budget for electric screen this year )


I think the X700pro might work as I see it has the cable with the S-video type connector on one end and the RGB block on the other. Am I right (pleeeeeze say yes) LOL.

 

[xtknight]

Well it so happens I saw a Head2Head DLP vs. LCD projector review in my MaximumPC magazine last weekend. The particular DLP projector had vastly superior contrast, was lower profile, and something else I probably forgot. To my knowledge, the motion on the DLP will be free of ghosting, unlike the LCD. The DLP projector did win in the end. If you're spending $1000 on a projector, you might as well spend $500 more and get a decent DLP one. Also, Sony just invented a color filter to increase the contrast of LCD projectors, so you could take a look at that too. Obviously you will have to get whatever suits your budget though.

 

[Excelsior]

NP, and it looks like jello is taking care of you. Best of luck.

 

[leeland]

great conversation guys...a wealth of information

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Dammit on the 6600.
I also have a PCI-e Gigabyte X700pro. This one.
Would this do? Doesn't matter that its PCI-e as I have a platform for it still in boxes.

Just making a short list of everything I'll need. That onkyo setup looks to be perfect. I always liked Onkyo. Price is right. Yes I will be "improving" things little by little as time goes on. But if the Onkyo is sufficient, I may just leave it as is.

List:
Projector........................4805 Infocus ScreenPlay
Projector Ceiling mount XYZ axis adjustable
PC with X700pro
Component cable
Onkyo 5.1 (excellent, thank you)
84" Ceiling/Wall mount manual screen (no budget for electric screen this year )


I think the X700pro might work as I see it has the cable with the S-video type connector on one end and the RGB block on the other. Am I right (pleeeeeze say yes) LOL.

I ended up looking throught the GIGABYTE GV-RX70P128D manual to see if it had component output, and it looks like it does :thumbsup:

The HTIB should serve you pretty well for upgrading. The receiver is likely the best part of that system, so if you decide to upgrade it, better speakers should be the first thing to look at.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Dammit on the 6600.
I also have a PCI-e Gigabyte X700pro. This one.
Would this do? Doesn't matter that its PCI-e as I have a platform for it still in boxes.

Just making a short list of everything I'll need. That onkyo setup looks to be perfect. I always liked Onkyo. Price is right. Yes I will be "improving" things little by little as time goes on. But if the Onkyo is sufficient, I may just leave it as is.

List:
Projector........................4805 Infocus ScreenPlay
Projector Ceiling mount XYZ axis adjustable
PC with X700pro
Component cable
Onkyo 5.1 (excellent, thank you)
84" Ceiling/Wall mount manual screen (no budget for electric screen this year )


I think the X700pro might work as I see it has the cable with the S-video type connector on one end and the RGB block on the other. Am I right (pleeeeeze say yes) LOL.

I ended up looking throught the GIGABYTE GV-RX70P128D manual to see if it had component output, and it looks like it does :thumbsup:

The HTIB should serve you pretty well for upgrading. The receiver is likely the best part of that system, so if you decide to upgrade it, better speakers should be the first thing to look at.

Thank you for taking the time to check that out for me. X700pro it is (thank goodness). It is in my son's computer right now, but I guess he will have to live with a 6600

I can't wait to get this going. Ordering the projector and ceiling mount today along with 84" screen. Just about to order a 50' component cable. All this is going to take me about a week and a half. But 2 weekends from now, its MOVIE TIME!!

Any other tips that anyone has would be terrific.
I will start putting together the PC tonight

 

[blckgrffn]

Good luck Keys Wish I had the same budget

Actually, I have been able to pick up quite a bit of Audio gear for under $300, including a Dayton 12" sub, an older Yamaha receiver, a pretty nice KLH center channel, and I am just thinking about the surrounds right now.

12" Sub

Center Channel

Fronts - Maybe

Rears - Maybe

I can't decide if I should match all the sattelites or not... decisions, decisions

Those speakers alone add up to just a little over $300 I guess with matching surrounds... but I would hope that the combination would sound better than the speakers that come with the Onkyo set. Finding a reciever for about $100 used doesn't see to be too hard for decent units if you wait a bit. I paid $65, but like I said, mine was older (no optical input). I will likely invest in a more expensive recieved down the road, just wanted something to get me up and started. Besides, when is a stereo reciever not useful to have around?

After all this, then it is time to get going on the DIY projector...

 

[knyghtbyte]

just make sure when u buy the projector its the 4805 and not the 4800, the 4805 is native DVD widescreen, the 4800 is 4:3 native......

im looking at projectors myself, prolly buying one end of this month, but im going a little further up the range, i have done a quick demo of them, but i want to check them out for a few hours next time with various sources, im between getting the Screenplay 5700 (the one after yours) or the 7205......dunno what they sell for in USA, but in England the 4805 is ~£1,000....the 5700 is ~£2,000 and the 7205 is ~£3,500........i'd love to get the new 7210 with the new Darkchip, but its £5,000, way over my budget...lol

oh btw, you can get an adapter for the DVI input on the 4805.....check out the infocus website and they might list a dealer near you who sells it, or just search for it on amazon or somewhere....try searching for DVI M1 adatper......if you are wanting to watch through your computer then this is the better option, component from an s-video output will be slightly degraded....mainly because its converting from Digital to Analogue, then going through various cable adapters, then upconverting Analoque to Digital, luckily component is a very good connection, but it still wont look as sharp as DVI....

anyways, once its set up and stuff, i hope you have much fun watching all the films on it, i know im looking forward to mine...heh

 

[Keysplayr]

Wow!!!! prices over there are murderous!! I picked up the 4805 for $899.00 U.S. and it came with a free 62" screen. I'm buying an 84" anyways.

Thanks for the info on DVI adapter, but I believe I will be running component off of the X700Pro. I heard this offered the best reproduction quality for my setup.

Good Luck in your quest! I know I will enjoy it and I know you will also.

Cheers

 

[blckgrffn]

Nice deal!

Where did you get that oh-so-nice deal on that 4805 and screen? Just curious That sounds like a good enough deal to make me wait and save up and buy a good projector right off the bat...

Thanks in advance

Nat

 

[Keysplayr]

I bought it from an authorized Infocus reseller on Ebay. Had 99.7% positive feedback and over 3000 transactions. I felt pretty safe there.

Check out Ebay.

 

[knyghtbyte]

im wondering now if it'd be worth be buying it in the USA...lol....get a friend of mine over there to ship it to me in the UK....heh....buy a power convertor if it needs one and bobs me uncle

u sure the component would be best signal? i'd have thought DVI would be, if your card has DVI output, no loss due to conversion down and up again.

edit: btw, we always pay more for techonology over here.....the 7800GT just got launched, priced at £300-£325 (basic or BFG OC), thats around US$500-550......which is what u guys pay for the GTX....lol

 

[blckgrffn]

Nice I just checked out, lots of recertified ones to get, which is fine by me, the bulb is all that really matters in "having" to be new for me...

Thanks!

Nat