We’ve been looking at front LCD projectors (such as the one here), but we’re curious about a few things. Does anyone have one? Do you like it? Plasma TVs are more expensive than a front LCD projector, so why chose the plasma over the projector? Basically, I’m trying to figure out the negatives on it, to see if there’s any reason not to get one.
DeadlyAcurate - I’ve been living with a LCD front projector for nearly a year now and I’m blown away every time I use it. Phenomenal picture for a price significantly lower than that of Plasma. However, there are a few issues you need to consider before you go the front projector route.
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Are you able to block out ambient light? Projectors work best in a very dimly lit environment.
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How far will you be sitting from the screen? In order to minimize “screen door” effect (i.e. being able to see the pixel structure) you need to sit back approximately 1.5x the screen width from the screen.
As long as you can block out ambient light and sit 1.5x the screen width back or further, IMHO, there is no better option for the money.
If you want to read up on projectors, a couple of the best sites are www.projectorcentral.com and www.avsforum.com.
One final note, the Sony HS-20 projector you linked to is a very well respected projector. However, both Panasonic (PT-L500U) and Sanyo (PLV-Z2) have recently released 720P LCD projectors that should give you at least 95% of the Sony’s performance for under $2,000. If you have any additional questions, I’d be glad to help.
Wow, Unpossible, I’m honored you chose my thread for your very first post. Welcome to the Boards!
Thanks for those links; I’ll definitely check them out.
Another question: We want to get a swivel mount in order to project images onto the table. Our thought is to hook it up to the computer and project a grid onto the table for our D&D games. Is there any reason this wouldn’t work? Obviously, our primary use for the projector is movies, but it would be really cool to be able to use it for our games.
Another issue to be aware of with projectors is the “Down in front!” syndrome.
If you set the projector on a table, for example, anyone that walks by will wind up wearing the image, leaving a dark shadow on screen. This applies equally well to kids and dogs. Of course, if you have kids and dogs running around, you probably don’t want the projector on a table where they could bump into it.
As for the D&D backgrounds - that does sound cool. Only problem I can envision is in getting the PC’s image to the projector. Of course, if you’re running the whole show with a multimedia PC, (the PC has a TV tuner, DVD player, etc) it’s not a problem at all. You’ll just need to work up a stable and secure tilt mount for the projector.
One thing to keep in mind: plasmas don’t play well with computers or video games. They’ve got a burn-in problem that LCDs don’t have.
Unless things have changed recently, front projectors have very expensive bulbs with a limited lifespan and you need to pay a tech to replace the bulbs. This makes them less than ideal for day to day viewing.
I personally like the new rear projection options, the DLP systems and the LCD systems. Both work well in less than perfect light conditions, neither suffer from burn-in like Plasma can, and they are much lighter than the huge coffin-like CRT rear projection TVs. These sets also have a bulb that needs to be replaced, but from what I understand they are much cheaper than front projection bulbs and are user-replaceable.
Bulbs are fairly expensive (~$250), but with lifespans of 3-5k hours, it’s not really an issue. And it’s not terribly difficult to do on one’s own.
By projecting DD games onto a table, do you mean with the FP on the ceiling pointing straight down onto it? You may want to verify with the manufacturer that whatever projector you buy can do this. I remember a discussion over at AVS on whether an LCD/DLP front projector could work projecting over a bed (the guy and his wife were screwing like rabbits) at close to a 90degree angle, and the responses were sketchy.
As for plasma vs. projector, the only reason for plasma IMO is lack of space for a FP to display a fairly large image, and the aforementioned screendoor/pixelation and lack of light control.
Okay, I gotta ask – why did the sex-crazed couple wanted a projector that could project over a bed? What kind of fetish are we talking about here?
Because a mirror was permanent and too difficult to install? 
First, let me second the information in UnPossible’s first post. I would also highlight the fact that plasma TVs do have a potential burn-in problem, as well as failing pixels. Their effective lifetime is not well known.
I went the projector route about a year ago. I purchased the InFocus X1 for less than $1,000, based significantly on the review at projectorcentral.com.
The bulb has a 4,000 hour lifetime (probably about two years for me), and it is simple to replace. The X1 is actually a DLP projector.
I have ceiling mounted the projector in a room that has little ambient light and the walls are painted navy blue (the previous owner also used the room as a home theater). The image is projected onto white panel painted with flat white paint. The image ends up being 80" diagonal.
In addition to my A/V receiver (with satellite, cable, VCR, and DVD video sources), I also run a VGA cable directly from one of my computers.
I can’t even imagine going any other route. I’m ecstatic with the picture quality (and mind you, the X1 is really low-end). Except for bright environments, I’m not really sure why anyone would buy a TV for a home theater, plasma or otherwise, and regardless of the money.
I went for the Panasonic l300U (the AE300 in Europe) about a year ago.
I only use it to watch DVD’s via my PC (I don’t have a television. I am sane)
I forget the specs now - it’s 960x540 (widescreen) and about 800 lumens & is 10x quieter than my current PC.
look it up, I expect it’s dropped in price sine the l500U came out.
It’s a great projector and the picture is brilliant even though there are some issues:
Ambient light = Bad
Once you’ve watched a movie in the dark you’ll be able to tolerate some candles (3 or so) nothing more. The room cannot be used for anything else if you’re serious about watching what’s on the screen.
DUST!
Dust is your enemy unless your projector has a hermetically sealed bulb enclosure. Flecks of even the tiniest dust can be inches across on your screen - they appear as circles of off-colour (colour based on what LCD panel it landed on)
Keystone correction - not as bad as people say
Yes, the picture is worse, but the benefits of having the PJ to the left or the right of your sofa (or sandwiched in the gap under the desk and on top of the chest of drawers, like me) means that it’s not a central ‘feature’ to the room.
The loss of picture quality is significant when looking at the desktop or surfing but for movies it’s fine HOWEVER: The projector will throw a trapezoid dark-grey box (it’s natural screen shape) of near-black pixels. I’ve learnt to live with that because the room I have isn’t big enough to have the projector normal to the screen.
1:1 pixel mapping
If you intend to surf the net or use your PC on the projector, make sure you can get 1:1 - this is easy for regular 4:3 projectors as they tend to use standard resolutions, but the widescreen ones do not. Make sure you can get 1:1 if you can, it’s quite important from a picture-quality perspective.
Progressive Scan DVD
Recommended - when the picture is huge it will look a lot more stable if played through a computer or a prog-scan DVD.
Blub
I’ve had mine for a year, moderate use - 1 or 2 movies a week. I’ve got 250 hours on my 6000 hour bulb (in economy low-lamp level, which to me is not too different to high) - even on the 2000hr high setting, I’m not looking at getting a new bulb for a while. They are expensive though (£200 or so here) - but the manual included instructions on how to change it. Doesn’t look hard at all.
Dead pixels
They happen. Live with it. I had one, but honestly - I’ve not noticed it for months and haven’t thought about it either. It may have gone away or I’ve learnt not to see it. Either way - they are annoying and SO disappointing when one happens. However, it happens to plasma too (check out the ones in the train station in Stanstead Airport UK - EUGH!) - though plasma screens are considerably smaller (on average) than FP and so little dots mightn’t be an issue.
Screen
Don’t think you’ll get good colour reproduction from a painted wall. Get a screen. I use a sheet of plasticy matt perspex-like stuff (I don’t know what it is since it came with my dad’s second-hand projector) It’s great. The wall, while looking white is slightly off-white and so people have a green tint when it’s thrown onto that.
Crikey, after reading that I’d probably not get a projector. The fact is, even with all those worries and ‘issues’, every time I watch a movie on it I am glad I got it.
However - if you’re wealthy enough to get a plasma screen, I’m sure you’d be happy with that too. Best thing I did in recent years was to get rid of TV entirely - focused on film and the internet. I have a better-than-cinema experience in my lounge without a huge black object filling it up when it’s not on. Hurrah!
When I worked at ‘the’ big box electronics retailer, we were told to steer people away from Plasma. The pixels die rather frequently (for a $10,000 tv, anyway) and toward DLP.
I lust for a DLP tv.
The way our living room is set up there is no way to block out ambient light except for opaque curtains, and the cats wouldn’t stand for that, and there is no way to sit 1.5 times the size away from the screen, with out a very small projection.
So that’s why people still buy tvs.
Any word on DLP tvs and video games?
Thanks for all the advice. We’re looking at either the Sanyo PLV-Z2 or the Panasonic L500U (the next model up from flapcats model). We do need to get some blinds for the dining room. We might also get someone to come in and install french doors in our living room to replace the sliding glass doors. That way, we don’t have to find some other temporary method of covering those doors. We’re still trying to figure out what to do about the small window on our front doors.
We do have a new progressive scan DVD player coming in. Our old ones are dying anyway, so we were ordering it regardless of anything else. I love the idea of reclaiming the space where our 32" TV is (plus I get to put the 32" in my exercise room).
Oh, and we measured our living room yesterday and figured out that we could fit the projector in there with an 80" screen. We’re also going to try to find a gray screen, since that was recommended on Projector Central (thanks again for that awesome link).
Oh, and another link I found while searching was www.ecoustics.com. It compiled reviews from various sites.
In my opinion, if you have a room where you can control ambient light a front projector is the ONLY way to go.
I have a front projector (NEC LT-150) mounted on the ceiling, with a 106" screen (92 x 52 widescreen). It is absolutely amazing. In fact, it was so amazing that I’m now building a dedicated theater in my basement, complete with raised platform for a second row of seats, a proscenium, speakers behind the screen wall, etc. Here’s a web site for a theater very similar to the one I’m building, so you can see what you can do with a front projector: Cinema Paradiso. If you did the work yourself, you could build a room like that AND buy a projector for the cost of a large plasma screen alone.
The difference between a front projector and even a big rear-projection TV is like, well, the difference between watching a big TV and watching a movie in a theater. You just don’t get the same sense of immersion staring at a 50" screen that you get when the screen fills up most of the wall.
Plus, a rear projection TV is huge, difficult to move, and a pain in the butt if it needs service. My projector weighs a couple of pounds. If it needs service it goes in its case and I can carry it into a shop (it’s never needed service, though. I’ve had it for about 3 years).
Plus, a $1000 projector will give you a better picture quality than a $5,000 television.
I use my projector with a DVD player and a dedicated home theater PC. The HTPC does all the scaling and deinterlacing, and produces a phenomenally good picture. Plus, there are sites on the internet now where you can download HDTV quality episodes of television shows. So instead of watching The Sopranos in crappy cable resolution, I can download it in HDTV and watch it on a 9’ screen. It’s fantastic.
I built my own screen. If anyone wants the plans for doing it, here’s my website: Do It Yourself Projection Screen.
I’ll have another set up pages up soon detailing the design/construction of my theater.
If you don’t want to tilt the projector to do the D&D table, how about rigging a mirror - flip it down to do the table?
If you want to use a mirror, it would have to be silver fronted - otherwise you’ll get a double reflection - also, make sure the pj has adequate airflow around it (the manual will say how much space is needed) or it may overheat.
Well, we finally decided on the InFocus X1. We found a model at BestBuy for the same price as online ($1000 - $100 mail-in rebate) and decided that paying tax was worth the easier return policy. We’ve already watched both movies and TV shows on DVD, and we’re positively hooked on the screen size. We’ve ordered a screen, but in the meantime, we bought a pack of white posterboard and taped it to the wall. It works surprisingly well.
Both of us can see the rainbow effect that’s a problem with some DLP projectors, but we both decided it’s something we can live with. By the third movie, we’d almost tuned it out. Oddly, we couldn’t see any rainbow effect when we stuck SSX Tricky in the XBox and tried it out. We had to get some blinds for the kitchen for daylight viewing, and we need to do something with the patio doors, but daylight viewing is decent for the time being.
Thanks for all the advice. We’re still trying to decide if we want to do the mirror thing to project onto the table, or just not worry about it.