projectors...

[ShadowBlade]

im probably going to buy a projector this summer for watching movies and playing console games, but i need to stay around $800 in price.
im looking at this right now, is this good?

no rush...just trying to plan

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I think you'd be best off waiting to decide just before you're going to do the purchasing. Unless there's a super hot deal (like the $400 I saved on my 4805 and screen combo), prices are going to be lower by the summer in general. I was originally planning on waiting until summer too, but $999 including a screen too was too good for me to pass up.

Looks like $700 is the standard price for that one right now. I didn't look at epson's models as I was planning on the $1000 to $1500 range where benq, sanyo, infocus, panasonic, optoma, and a couple others offer the best options from what I read.

If you want computer advice, anandtech is great, but for hometheater I didn't find it very helpful.

A good place to start would be projector central. For the HT equivalent of anandtech, check out AVSforum.

For now, you might want to think about DLP vs LCD, 4:3 vs 16:9 and other general things like that. I'd wait until you're about to buy to check out what best fits your needs at the time.

 

[n7]

Depending on what you're planning on using it for, i'd recommend checking out the XGAs as well.

But seeing as you have a budget & just want in for console gaming & movies, that SVGA one is likely okay. I'd look for a DLP based on your uses though.

For both, as in computer use as well, i would recommend an XGA (1024x768), simply since the resolution looks so much better IMO.

Generally speaking, LCDs are preferred for presentations, etc., & DLPs are thought to be best video video/mulitmedia.

I got myself an Optoma EZPro 739, & have been quite happy with it. Certainly beats wasting money on a bigscreen 🙂

 

[ShadowBlade]

thanks for the links, yoyo, they helped
and thanks for the DLP tip n7

 

[Rogue 2]

I liked DLP projectors until I noticed the rainbow effect for the first time yesterday... ugh!

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Rogue 2
I liked DLP projectors until I noticed the rainbow effect for the first time yesterday... ugh!

Yeah, the rainbow effect is an interesting thing.

I personally feel it's similar to ghosting.
Some people can see it, & others cannot.

I'm one of those who's never been able to see ghosting on any monitor except for one horrible 38ms one i saw once.
Even at 25ms, i can play games & love them.
The story is the same with my projector.

One of my buddies was over to watch a movie on mine, & he commented on the little rainbow effect.
However, i couldn't see what he meant 😕

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: Rogue 2
I liked DLP projectors until I noticed the rainbow effect for the first time yesterday... ugh!

Yeah, the rainbow effect is an interesting thing.

I personally feel it's similar to ghosting.
Some people can see it, & others cannot.

I'm one of those who's never been able to see ghosting on any monitor except for one horrible 38ms one i saw once.
Even at 25ms, i can play games & love them.
The story is the same with my projector.

One of my buddies was over to watch a movie on mine, & he commented on the little rainbow effect.
However, i couldn't see what he meant 😕

DON'T READ THIS IS YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE RAINBOWS ON YOUR DLP PROJECTOR








































































It's a lot easier to see them if during a scene with bright white on a dark background. Shake your head back and forth or look left and right quickly across the screen. I don't notice them unless it's a very high contrast scene and I look quickly from one part of the screen to another.