Cheap projectors - are these any good? or are they a false economy?

I'm hoping to buy my first projector for home use (computer games & dvds) and have seen these entry level projectors retailing at about £500. I wouldn't like to spend too much more than this. From my very limited knowledge of projectors it seems like they could do a decent job, but would it be worth spending that bit more?

Also - the cheapest players all seem to be LCD; would a DLP be more suitable/better?

Can anyone recommend any of these?

Sharp XG-NV4SE £449
Polysilicon TFT LCD, 700 ANSI Lumen, SVGA (800x600), 310 mm, 4.5 kg, 40 dB, manual lens focus, manual lens zoom

InFocus C40 New! £492
TFT LCD, 1000 ANSI Lumen, SVGA (800x600), 4:3, 16:9, 304 mm, 2.6 kg, 35 dB, manual lens zoom

ASK C40 £516
Polysilicon TFT LCD, 1000 ANSI Lumen, SVGA (800x600), 4:3, 305 mm, 2.6 kg, 35 dB, manual lens focus, manual lens zoom

InFocus X1 £589
DLP, 1100 ANSI Lumen, SVGA (800x600), 4:3, 16:9, 318 mm, 3.1 kg, manual lens focus, manual lens zoom

InFocus X2 £598
DLP, 1500 ANSI Lumen, SVGA (800x600), 4:3, 16:9, 32 mm, 3.1 kg, 39 dB, manual lens focus, manual lens zoom

Replies would be much appreciated!!!

i got all these prices on pricerunner by the way - in case anyone was interested.

[Comer]

4:3 aspect ratio is not ideal for DVDs. Some also seem very bright for home cinema (poor contrast) and lasty they are very loud at 35 to 40db

Do a search for the Sanyo Z2. IIRC about £800 at the moment. Widescreen, good contrast and twenty something db fan. See here

[Oakleyspatz]

At the lower end of the market like the ones you are looking at, you can still find some real gems. They do tend to be all 4:3 and maybe not the quietest of projectors, but the LCD models offer excellent resolution for the price and the DLPs offer excellent contrast. The downsides are obviously lack of true blacks on the LCD ones and pixelation/rainbow effects on the DLPs. For the money, I'd pick an LCD and use it only in the dark, and I mean PITCH BLACK ( good film !!), with a screen if possible and reduce the brightness to increase the blacks. If the resolution is high( over 800x600), then 4:3 isn't a problem with widescreen images, yes you lose some resolution, but being natively higher negates the loss.
But do buy one, once you've got it, you'll be hooked and you'll be looking to upgrade in no time !

Have fun!

[krusty]

i got the vplw400 for 350.00 a old projector...........but a bargain none the less

[zombie_donkey]

Hi - I looked at the Infocus X2 before I got my Optoma projector - It has a 16x9 mode but the HDTV resolution of the more expensive Optoma sold me.

Somepeople have said that the X2 is simply the business version of the Screenplay 4805 (may be total twaddle)

[starfire]

Hi,

I bought an X1 and apart from a current small issue am very pleased , especially at the price you quote

Go over to www.avsforum.com and you will find many happy users of this machine. It truly produces a great looking picture to me.

The X2 is inferior to the X1 in terms of home theater use, its more of a business oriented projector. The X2 is missing a very good deinterlacer chip but if you are just feeding it progressive images then that doesn't make so much of a difference.

Read the reviews at www.projectorcentral.com to give you an idea what the projectors can do for you.

[drbob]

Originally Posted by zombie_donkey

Somepeople have said that the X2 is simply the business version of the Screenplay 4805 (may be total twaddle)

This is the case with the X1/Screenplay 4800 (the only difference is that the 4800 was factory calibrated for home cinema, internally they are identical)

The X2 is significantly different from the 4805 and whilst I'm sure it will give a reasonable home cinema image the 4805 will beat it. If you're prepared to import from europe or buy from ebay you can get the 4805 for £800 - £1000.

Originally Posted by starfire

Read the reviews at www.projectorcentral.com to give you an idea what the projectors can do for you.

Be a little bit wary of projector central. It is run by a company which sells projectors, I felt their recent Z3 review was particularly suspect (claimed excellent on board deinterlacing, which I though was in fact quite bad when I viewed the unit).

[explicitlyrics]

If you look at the X1 then make sure you dont get the X1A - this is a low budget version of the X1 with a rubbish deinterlacer and quite a few other useful functions scrapped. Buyer Beware!

[jamesvtidohc]

not being bad or anything, but what you should really do is understand the specs of a projector first, do a search about what the specs mean, what kind of specs would be needed for the environment your in, for example the throw distance, lightess of your room, price and length of replacement bulbs. once you have done your research, including the differences between the lcd and dlp projectors and what they have to offer at the price they are being sold as, then ask for recommendations. this is what i did at first and im happy i had done a bit of reading, now i understand what would kind of projector specs would be suitable for the environment im in.

sorry, but i just hate when people come on here, say im buying my first projector and i dont know anything about them, please help me, then expect people to tell them everything about projectors and what would be good for them. its okay if you had done your reading, suggested to people what would be the best choice out of what you though would be good for you and ask for any other recommendations.

hmmmmmm oh well, in the end this will be ignored, but just had to get it off my chest, anyway, good luck with the projector choice!

[theritz]

jamesvtidohc,

but i just hate when people come on here, say im buying my first projector and i dont know anything about them, please help me, then expect people to tell them everything about projectors and what would be good for them. its okay if you had done your reading, suggested to people what would be the best choice out of what you though would be good for you and ask for any other recommendations.

The point you make might be valid if you had a history of advising people on this forum.................. it might be understandable if you got tired of offering similar advice to newcomers on an ongoing basis. As it is, I don't think you're in such a position.

My experience is that threads here break down into three broad categories - advice to newbies, advice/discussion/tweaking etc. with regulars, and lastly nonsense. My policy is to deal with the first by way of paying dues for advice and help I've received, enjoy the second as the main worth of the forum to me, and ignore the third.

The OP has a budget and a list of projectors on which he/she is seeking advice. Giving to a newcomer isn't exactly welcoming, and I think there are more subtle ways of pointing someone in the direction of more research.




Scottishdude,

Hi and welcome to the forums.......

You've indicated a budget of £500 - you should be able to pick up an X1 at or very near this price... as has already been pointed out, it has a loyal following over on avsforum, and has a sound reliability record. It would help if you could see one in action first to make sure that you're not bothered by "rainbows" - flashes of colour on the screen that some people see from time to time on certain DLP projectors. This is not an issue for a lot of people, and you wouldn't be the first person to buy a projector without seeing it in action first, but it's a standard recommendation to first-timers to try to see what you're buying in action first.

If you wanted you could keep an eye on the "Hardware for sale" forum here - secondhand projectors within your price range come up reasonably regularly, but you'd need to take into account the advantage of a full warranty with a new projector against whatever warranty was remaining on a secondhand one - it may not be an issue, just something to factor into your thinking.

Sean G.

[ajwoodhouse]

for what it's worth I bought a Sanyo PLCSW30 LCD projector for £330.

Spec is:

Resolution SVGA
Weight 2.1 kg
Brightness 1250 lumens
Display Type LCD
Keystone Correction Yes
Lamp Life (Typical) Up to 2000 hours
Contrast Ratio 350 :1
Fan Noise 37 db
Warranty 3 years return to base

It is quite noisy and is only 800x600 but with my Denon 2200 using progscan and component it's very good - at least to my eyes! Much better and cheaper than a conventional screen (CRT plasma or LCD) IMHO

[KraGorn]

I think noise is one of the big problems with those LCDs the original poster listed, 35db+ is indeed getting pretty loud and 40db has to be a complete no-no for home use I'd say.

[krusty]

i dont and didnt have any knowledge of projectors, what i did know was the projector i got, for the price, give me what i wanted..a big image, which was a lot cheaper than a projection telly bought new.