Talk to me about home projectors

[Ferris]

Our telly cost about 200 quid 10 years ago, and its been absolutely fine. 33" fella, plays all the films and games and telly and that, no drama. That said, our TV room is a rectangle about 15' by 25' and our sofa and TV are at opposite ends for boring layout reasons, which means I have to move a chair about if I want to play games for more than 20 minutes. I have 20/20 vision but even I have my limits.

Some unexpected consulting work means we have about 600 quid all in (screen + projector), but could go a little higher if it was worth it. Our sound system is fine (?) but I'd consider a new one (sound bar + ???) if that was going to be worthwhile. Our setup is in the basement so we can control the light pretty well, and it's our gaff so if we want to start drilling holes in ceilings etc we can.

From my reading:

We don't need a short-throw projector, a regular one is preferable for us (does that make life cheaper or what). I reckon 90" is plenty for our setup and I reckon I'd like 4K, but is that actually a factor? Also what do I plug it into, the telly? The PS4? Do I need to run the cables the length of the room from the telly to the back of the room projector to make it all work? Is a sound system worth it? I'd like a pull-down type projector screen because I don't want to hang out in a lecturer's waiting room but is that alright?

Also has anyone got one, and is the picture decent or is it washed out shite like my mum's from 10 years ago before she ditched it? What about these dead cheapo ones on Amazon - I'd rather spend the extra and get a nice one but are cheapo ones pretty good these days?

I know fuck all but I've got the money and I'm ready to pull the trigger if someone can make me feel halfway informed.

Ok cheers.

[Memorex MP3]

Seriously doubt you'll get a high quality 4K projector for that price range; my 1080p optoma that's like 6 years old still seems to go around £200 on eBay.

Lots of additional faff around lumens, power consumption, various parts breaking, a fuckton of fake numbers on spec sheets... I'd just get an OLED tv and make the room work around it; wayyyy better colors, no issues using during the day, much quieter

[Ferris]

Yeah but the screen! The cool screen!!

Honestly could go a fair bit higher depending on how well it all works (maybe 1500 quid) but what I really don't want is a £750 lemon.

Screen seems to be about 200 quid, so £300-600 on a projector. Is that mad? Is that even realistic or what?

Sorry these are such shit questions, I'm really at a loss but trying to get up to speed

[Memorex MP3]

Probably better to get a decent used 720p or 1080p one, get a bit of an idea of what's involved and sell it on when you get the next one.
Just had a look on eBay and my 6 year old optoma gt1080 seems to go for about £350 now


The cheap ones are an absolute wildcard. The specs are basically all lies. I got my friend a 720p one a YouTube video recommended as the best under £100 for £40 last year. Was absolutely shite when I tried it (but still good for £40) and was amazed he was so happy with it, visited him a bit ago and it was shockingly good for the price; so I guess either the cable or the output device massively impacted the quality.

[Ferris]

We're going to keep the old telly (it's fine), it sounds like this is gonna be a bit of frivolous novelty that we set up twice a year to watch Star Wars on cos it's gonna be such a faff.

I'll go cheaper, then see how we like it. If it's alright then yeah maybe we'll upgrade as you suggest. Watch this space (but not in daylight).

Thanks!

[touchingcloth]

The best home projector is Tim Allen.

[Dex Sawash]

Even an idiot can use a roku device to stream plex from a computer wirelessly or for whatever streaming service.


Son in law set up a basemnent room with a projector and screen that powers down. Did a grid of 4 cheapish 55" televisions on the wall behind the screen for multi-game football days. He wasn't able to control the matching TVs individually and it was all a big waste of 3 TVs and a power screen. Hard to imagine you'll top that level of disappointment

[Ferris]

Oh you'd be amazed

[mojo filters]

If you're really after the proper home cinema experience, I'd start by investing in the sound system. There's nothing more disappointing than a man with a massive screen, supported only by a compact, tinny loudspeaker or two!

As a homeowner you can save money using installation-style speakers, which afford you a very effective minimum of genuine 5/6/7.1 surround sound (which is basically the format used in mixdown for anything other than some recent, wretched comic book blockbusters) derived from discrete DTS or Dolby Digital encoding.

Unless you want to adventure into critical listening via specialized surround sound music formats, you can get away with using an inexpensive free-standing subwoofer that booms loudly at all the right frequencies, shaking the floor in all the right places for film and TV consumption, saving the hassle of installing something into the walls which requires a specific rear loading.

For the higher frequencies, you can save by taking advantage of designs that utilize your walls as part of the front baffle loading. I know from personal experience that I've increased the saleability of a relatively upscale house, through having the rear surrounds neatly and discreetly wired up to fire down from the ceiling. For the prospective buyers, the quality of those loudspeakers matters much less than the incognito wiring already routed in place.

Once all that infrastructure's in place, then I'd look at enhancing screen options. From a projector perspective, a windowless room is an immediate advantage. However my own experience was that the regular flat screen convenience generally outweighed the bother of pulling down the *big screen* and worrying whether the projector needed a keystone or similar correction.

For the medium-sized room described, I'd not be too worried about using a 33" TV screen. Ideally you'd want something in the region of 55" to 70+" which is surprisingly doable these days, especially if you're happy without all the bells and whistles of the latest and greatest OLED tech.

If you think you'll want a projector, make sure to judiciously place your LCR speakers out of the way, to avoid the extra expense of an acoustically transparent screen. The latter are (or at least were, I've not done this in a few years) much more expensive for the equivalent quality product.

Similarly, I'm not familiar with the current price differences between decent short-throw projectors, and their longer lensed brethren. But I can only imagine some kind of cost saving, given your ability to accommodate a regular type.

I can see the attraction of spaffing all yer $$$ on a fancy new big screen. I just think starting from there, then only adding some kind of soundbar solution - will most likely turn out to be a disappointment, if not in the short, but at at least in the medium to longer term.

I can only offer my own experience. It was around 20 years ago when I first invested in an inexpensive 5.1 surround system for a similarly sized room. I made a poor choice, and quickly upgraded to a much more expensive 6.1 reciever which had DTS as well as the usual Dolby options (DTS was not so common way back then) although I chose it principally for the better quality 2 channel, hifi style reproduction capabilities.

It took several years before I could afford similarly voiced speakers behind me, after choosing some nice monitor types that serve me well to thus day. However I was very quickly inspired to upgrade my screen to a 32" Toshiba that had excellent reviews in magazines of the day (the internet mainly only used as a handy email tool, plus basic indexes and search engines that were functional for work purposes, but mostly a novelty outside of that.)

I'm not entirely sure whether I'm actually helping or just hurting here...nevertheless, I wish you well in your endeavours! Let us know how things work out for you.

[Ferris]

@mojo filters appreciate the detailed response!

Will post once we start making some purchases, it's a good point about speakers because ours are fine for current setup but would probably feel pretty puny paired with a big screen.

[TheGingerAlien]

Never did get around to posting this follow up in the musical wankers gear thread:


Have used a projectors instead of a TV for the last ten years. AMA! If you have the right space (which is sounds like you do @Ferris), it is highly recommended. The above image is just projected onto a horrible magnolia wall, albeit by a very good unit.

I'd recommend just getting something reasonably cheap to start with to see whether it floats your boat. Don't bother with 4k straight away as it's crazy money and you need to be sure it's worth it for you.

1080p is perfectly adequate if you can get one in budget. I had a Sony VPL-HW40ES before I went 4k, which was excellent and had decent response time for gaming (which is something to carefully consider if you want this functionality). Plenty bargains to be had second hand from people downsizing or ones that need new bulbs etc. My current one has gone about 5000 hours before the bulb replacement warning came on- which equates to about 5 years (heavy) use. New bulb is about £200 so that's something else to consider. I think it's totally worth it, but I can see why folks may just steer you towards a big telly.

[steveh]

Interestingly, cinemas are now starting to try out LED screens rather than projection as they're lower maintenance.

[Ferris]

Thanks, @TheGingerAlien! I will likely have some questions for you in the next few weeks.

Annoyingly, I have a really busy week coming up (and I should not be getting distracted browsing CaB, gah! what am I like) so no chance of me even thinking about screens though May should be quite pleasant and quiet for me. When I get my evenings back and have more free time, I'll likely get an hour or two to play video games which will kick this whole thing off again for me.

[Ferris]

Just checked - I've written more words on CaB this morning than on the actual project that pays me actual money.

Sort it out ferris.

[Memorex MP3]

Have used a projectors instead of a TV for the last ten years. AMA!

Have you compared it with OLED much in recent years? What's keeping you with projectors?

One of the things that has me swaying so much towards an OLED is that the pros of a projector will be outweighed by the amount of time I wind up spending on fiddling with things.

I feel like I won't be able to do much about most the grievances I'll have with a big television and that is probably a better scenario for my broken brain then constantly refining a projector space.

[TheGingerAlien]

Have you compared it with OLED much in recent years? What's keeping you with projectors?

One of the things that has me swaying so much towards an OLED is that the pros of a projector will be outweighed by the amount of time I wind up spending on fiddling with things.

I feel like I won't be able to do much about most the grievances I'll have with a big television and that is probably a better scenario for my broken brain then constantly refining a projector space.

Basically, the one redeeming feature of the dingy cave I lived in until very recently was that it was absolutely perfect for a projector. I have mates with mega OLED TVs and it's just not the same - you can never get a picture that big or with that real cinema vibe. As I've finally moved on from said cave in the last week I'm now reassessing my options. For reference, that is a 32 inch telly behind the Amiga on the pic I posted. That's how huge the screen was... It will be missed (and will be for sale soon as new gaff is thankfully not a Fritzl-esque prison)

[Mr_Simnock]

I think your in a minority mate there, I would hate to view such a big image all the time like that projection on a wall for anything outside of a very limited number of films. I think with projectors you either go all in and do it properly, top projector and screen with a very good sound system etc (costing about £10,000 for the lot minimum) or just get a big TV.

[TheGingerAlien]

You'd be surprised how quickly you can become accustomed to it.

Happy to accept I'm part of a minority - but speaking from personal experience of both low and high end equipment - if you have the right space for a projector, you can get something that transcends the 'big telly' experience. You absolutely do not need to spend ten grand.

[Ferris]

Yeah the systems I'm reviewing seem to be closer to a thousand notes all in. As someone who has adapted to a 4 screen monitor setup while working, I can absolutely see a single giant screen being an easy adaptation.

I'm looking at a decent 5.1 surround setup and all, gonna be mega.

[Ferris]

My wife (my wife) only got on board because of the ability to move it about. Our back yard isn't massive, but it's nicely set up for warm summer night popcorn flicks, or out at the lake streaming baseball as the sun sets.

Marvellous. More massive screens, I say!

[TheGingerAlien]

My wife (my wife) only got on board because of the ability to move it about. Our back yard isn't massive, but it's nicely set up for warm summer night popcorn flicks, or out at the lake streaming baseball as the sun sets.

Marvellous. More massive screens, I say!

Sounds awesome Ferris! Let us know how you get on.