I have finally decided to take the plunge and buy this unit from pc world for £1299.99 <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

But first a couple of questions:

<ul type="square">[*]How long does the bulb last, and how much will it cost to replace?[*]Where can i purchase these bulbs from?[*]Whats the difference between a projector bulb and a normal bulb?<br />[/list]
Cheers <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

For your first projector I think the Sony is a great introduction to home cinema. I would ask for it to be demoed or at least be switched on so you can hear how audible it is though 36db i think which is one of the quietest projectors.

My room is quite large 30feet by 12 feet so I dont notice it at all when the films playing and even when the sound goes quiet in parts of a film it kind of adds to the cinema experience imho <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> . However some people might find it annoying but my mates and I dont.

Also blacks are a problem with LCD technology and I dont see how better a picture could get judging by what Ive seen so far from this cheap sony projector, the only way to get more blacks is to purchase CRT (big / second hand and sometimes more expensive and usually ceiling mounted (many people dont want something in their living rooms on the ceiling!)).

If you do buy it then you can get the usual greyhawk screens (grey makes LCD have better blacks). However I and others have bought Ice Storm 5 paint from B&Q and painted MDF (though currently mine is an old whiteboard I had) and the results are amazing. Watching films like Aliens etc and other space films with blacks are still very watchable.

Anyway enough of my rambling!, on to your questions....

1) 2000 hours, however this doesnt mean that after 2000 hours you _have_ to go out and buy a new bulb, it just means that the picture might get dimmer over that period of time or patchy output from the projector.

2) Its the business side <a href="http://www.pcwbd.co.uk" target="_blank">www.pcwbd.co.uk</a> in PCworld stores which carry a massive list of computer hardware/devices (ask for their 900 page catalogue!) which sell the projectors in the stores. The guy I spoke to said he could get me any projector and source it for me, however the price of the little sony was a lot cheaper than the others considering it is XGA which makes a huge difference to me (http://www.vnunet.com/Products/Hardware/1125437 also nice review about a popular SVGA projector and why XGA rules!) (I use HTPC to output dvd/tv/etc). No doubt they can source the lamps so ask when you buy the projector from them. I believe its about $255 in the USA so expect it to be at least £199

3) PCW Business direct (Ill have a look in their massive catalogue the guy in PCWorld gave me later on today and see if they are listed in there. I believe the difference between a normal bulb and projector bulb is the light output, projectors need very powerful and expensive bulbs!.

<br />p.s <a href="http://www.vnunet.com/Products/Hardware/1119391" target="_blank">http://www.vnunet.com/Products/Hardware/1119391</a> is a nice review <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> and that was when it was 3x the price not so long ago!. Even dabs.com sell it for £1500+!

I had a look in the PCW-BDirect catalogue and couldnt find any mention of bulbs so probably worth while asking when you go into PCworld about the bulbs and their RRP prices though no doubt in two years they might be cheaper <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> .

Well I`m going for a 88" by 48" screen MDF painted with IceStorm 5 only because its the ideal width for downstairs as a screen. I believe the largest MDF you can buy from B&Q is 8 foot by 4 foot (96" by 48") but they can cut it to any size in the warehouse B&Qs (not the superstores..).

My dimensions arent really calculated for a 16:9 screen as whatever overhang there is will be covered in black felt around the frame anyway to give it a more polished look and I will also be having velco around the two sides so I can have felt/velvet strips to cut out the overspill of the 4:3 projector when watching 16:9 etc modes <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> . Some people use magnets to adjust their masking but I think velcro is just as good.

If you plan to output from your wintv card then checkout <a href="http://www.dscaler.org" target="_blank">http://www.dscaler.org</a> I think its an amazing piece of free software. I havent learnt all the features as its quite confusing the amount of options but the other day I tried the noise filter and OMG the RF signal from my cable television (YES RF!) looked miles better than VHS and just as good on the large screen as my Sony TV set due to this noise filter !. I cant wait to get a more powerful HTPC, as dscaler is one heck of a program. Then I need to find out how to get the SCART connection from the Pace STB to say svideo in on the wintv card as RF isnt the best signal from a digital cable TV setup.

[Timh]

At <a href="http://www.sonypresentation.com" target="_blank">www.sonypresentation.com</a> a replacement lamp for the cx1 is £262.50 (Exc. VAT)<br />go to the site and search for vpl-cx1 it then gives you a list of products for this projector.<br />You may get it cheaper from an internet dealer.

My Brother got a cx1 today from pcworld, so far very pleased, even though its only projecting 42" across.<br />Another mdf diy install I think.

[ 23-09-2001: Message edited by: Timh ]</p>

Thanks for the replies, i wasnt planning on using my computer for tv, i was going to use sky digital for that, how much better is the output if i was to use my computer? as using it would force me to listen to huge amounts of fan noise from my processor and also i have yet to find a tv card that will work over 160fsb reliably so i would have to build another pc for HT ude which would cost even more money <img src="frown.gif" border="0"> The pc element would be for gaming divx movie watching thru the projector

Will look into buying it next weekend as my tv is about to give up and i cant stand how purple the screen has gone!

[ 23-09-2001: Message edited by: Simon55 ]</p>

Thankyou very much for your detailed and informative reply <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

We use these units at my college all the time and i dont find the noise a problem at all, especially in my room this wont be a problem as my ears dont notice fan noise after installing these twin delta screamers on the cpu of my computer!

The bulb doesnt sounfd too much of a problem, and £199 wont break the bank if its only going to be after 2000 hours or more of use.

Thanks again, i think screen wise as the cost of the projector will clean me out i will go the MDF route as described elsewhere on the forum with the Dulux paint <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

o, one last thing, what would the best format of the screen be, i was thinking 4:3 as my computer and quite a bit of TV/all my videos nearly output at that, but tyhen i remembered sky digital and dvd's that are 16:9 and 2.35:1, which would presumably look a mess with lgiht spilling out above and below trhe image on a 4:3 screen?

Cheers

The problem with TV is that its very low resolution and when you blow things up in size then you notice all the flaws in the picture, just get up close to your TV and you will see let alone an 8 foot picture. A scaler will scale the picture up to the projector format (1024x768) and has features like removing noise etc which helps make the transition of a bad source into a very decent picture at 8 feet wide.

Without a scaler the picture is'nt that bad but imho I was amazed at this noise filter and the amount it cleaned up an old TV picture, because lets face it in the UK we wont be getting HDTV signals coming from Sky/NTL/Telewest.

DScaler is free so you can just download it and try it out with your current PC to see the difference and then you can make a decision whether to build a small quiet PC for a HTPC. If you look at the other forums there are plenty of other people doing it and also over at <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/ubbcgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Home+Theater+ Computers&number=12&DaysPrune=2&LastLogin=" target="_blank">http://www.avsforum.com/ubbcgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Home+Theater+ Computers&number=12&DaysPrune=2&LastLogin=</a> .

Computer prices are coming down a lot <a href="http://www.eclipse-computers.com" target="_blank">http://www.eclipse-computers.com</a> just shows how cheap components are these days. You could easily build a decent movie/HTPC machine for DVD etc playback with a P3-600 (60 quid probably second hand?) a motherboard 70 quid and 256mb ram for say 35 quid, so its worth looking into it.

Again its down to preference, its best to ask in the HTPC forums about your requirements and what is the best way to go forward.

HTH<br />James

Thinking about it i do have an old P2 400 and 440BX mobo lying around along with some old dimms so i could make a silent pc out of that! i never use the dvd drive in this pc as it is so i can rip that out of here and whack it in there <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

i will try that route if you think it makes a noticable difference as i cant stand these deltas thru a whole film!