Compression?

[pvt.petey]

Hi guys this is my first post on these forums as im a bit in the dark about all this projector stuff.

Im really looking for a projector for my pc to be run often that allows me to play games, surf the internet, watch tv and everything all from my pc (with possible xbox 360 use in future xD). This would be basically a replacement of my current 17" monitor.

My budget could probably streatch upto 1k. But Ive seen on the forums that bulb prices are pretty rediculous so I guess ill have to look into this . (Is their any cheap way of getting a hold of bulbs?).

Im really looking for a projector to display 1280 * 1040 resolution as thats my preffered reseloution. But heres the snag. Most projectors as I understand it are svga (800*600) or xga (1080 * 768) Ive seen compression options availible (uxga) on the net to gain upto 1600*whatever and I was considering getting an xga projector but I guess my main question is is the compression really worth it?. Is the only real solution to get a projector that displays in my desired resolution?.

Ive seen a projector going cheap here for instance

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=54098

Would this be the kind of thing im after?.

Not sure you'd want to use a pj instead of a monitor, not unless you live in the dark.

As for resolution there are quite a few hi-def pj's around. Your comment about the bulbs suggest that the Sanyo Z3 would be a good match for you. It's hi-def (128x720) and comes with a voucher for a replacement bulb.

It's unlikely to cope with ambient light all that well though.

Personally I'd only be interested in using a projector at its native resolution from a PC. Have you tried using LCD monitors at a non-natice resolution? Text becomes blurry, although pictures, movies and games generally don't look too bad.

That pj you mentioned quotes a max resolution of 1024x768, and a contrast ration of 350:1, neither of which are particularly good.

I've just bought a BenQ 7700, which has a resolution of 1280x720, and when I output from the PC at that resolution the quality is excellent. But, as I say, the quality suffers a great deal if there's much ambient light.

[pvt.petey]

Arent their higher lumen versions of the sanyo z3 or benq model you specified?

Also isnt that more of a video projector the z3? . Im looking for something that displays both sharp text and games/dvd's.

Nope, there aren't higher-lumen versions.

A 'video' projector can still display text and games very well, my PC display looks great on my pj.

You basically have a choice between a 'presentation' projector and a 'home cinema' projector.

The former is designed for lit rooms and concentrates on brightness rather than quality or contrast, and they tend to be pretty noisy too.

The latter is designed for movies/TV but is intended for a pretty dark room.

Having said that my BenQ 7700 has profiles designed specifically for viewing when there's a degree of ambient light. It also has a profile specifically for computer games. The profiles are just a bunch of settings that you could set manually of course. Even so you get a much better experience in the dark, although it's still watchable with some ambient light (maybe a lamp, but not the main light).

[pvt.petey]

what about the 10 bit colour I noticed. Is this noticeable compared to normal 32 bit source from my pc?..

10 bit means 1024 colours. 32 bit means 16.7 million (it's really 24 bit afaik). Yep, I think there'd be a pretty major difference there, with 1024 you'd see some very nasty banding and dithering on movies.

I haven't seen pjs with 10 bit colour but I guess they'd really only be of much use for presentations.

[pvt.petey]

doesnt the z3 have a 10 bit thinggy though?.

On a side not I found this http://www.projectorcentral.com/Yamaha-LPX-500.htm

Seems pretty good in theory.

[DEANO-B]

I use my PJ as my PC monitor, and it looks great at its native res of 1280x720. PJ use is fine with the room lights on but natural sunlight kills the PQ. I also use my PJ for games on the PC & XBox and can highly recommend big screen gaming. The Z3 comes with a free lamp voucher and is a bargain, otherwise expect to pay around £235 for a new lamp (although I just picked up a new lamp for my Panny 700 for £92 of Ebay). A lamp on the Panny lasts around 5000 hours in low mode.