Recommendations for a home projector

[imported_nunya]

Hi all, I'm really interested in picking up a projector but know almost nothing about them. THIS looks like a really good deal to me but I thought I'd ask for the advice of people who know better than I before I pull the trigger. I'll be using it to watch movies and would probably like to play some games on it through my htpc. I have a few questions: It says data compatibility: 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768. Considering it's a 480P projector, what should I expect to see if I want to play a game at 1024 x 768? Also, it's rated at 900 lumens, which means almost nothing to me. Does the room need to be theater-dark to use this or can I just close the blinds in the afternoon and get a good picture? Finally, if anyone has any recommendations for something else in the same general price range I'm certainly open to suggestions. The replacement bulb on this is $400 (for 3000 hours) which seems really steep to me so I'm not at all opposed to buying something else if it's a better value. Thanks alot.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Too bad the IN72 deal isn't as hot as it was just last week.

Woot had them for $399 AR :shocked:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1977148&enterthread=y

The IN72 is basically the replacement to the 4805 which was my first projector.

More info on it including a screen size calculator if you haven't seen one already
http://www.projectorcentral.com/InFocus_Home-Play_Big_IN72.htm

Since it's widescreen, I would recommend using 480p or 720p as the resolution you use with your computer. If you need to do text, 480p is what you should use and it will of course be very low res. 480p or 720p will look good for games. I have some CS:S shots of a 720p signal with the 4805 in here.

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/3%20Projector/SP%204805/">https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/3%20Projector/SP%204805/</a>

The blurriness is just my camera having trouble taking shots in the dark.

Going off the lumen rating, both projectors I've used (Infocus 4805 and Panasonic AE900U) as well as ones I've seen in action (many) have all looked pretty darn crappy in a situation with significant light in the room. Once you see how good it looks in the dark, I suspect that's the only way you're going to want to use it.

I guess it comes down to how good your window coverings are. We use some room darkening curtains designed to block light and they work very well. The darker you can get it, the better.

 

[imported_nunya]

Thanks for the response, you answered alot of my questions. Your pictures give me a good idea of what to expect. Also, the screen size calculator is very handy. The picture you're getting looks really good, is that just being projected onto a blank wall? Also, I was reading about all sorts of paint mixtures and what-not on avsforum, you use anything like that?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: nunya
Thanks for the response, you answered alot of my questions. Your pictures give me a good idea of what to expect. Also, the screen size calculator is very handy. The picture you're getting looks really good, is that just being projected onto a blank wall? Also, I was reading about all sorts of paint mixtures and what-not on avsforum, you use anything like that?

That was a blank wall in my dorm room at the time I think. That was a couple years ago and since then I've made a DIY screen and moved up to a Panasonic AE900U projector.

I tried to take the same shots that I took long ago with CS:S feeding 720p to the 720p native projector to try to capture the difference. It didn't work very well since the cameras were different and I compressed the images to host them

At any rate:
AE900U shots

DIY screen

Thread about it

EDIT: feel free to post in my screen thread to bump it by the way :evil: