VERY VERY noob questions, plz help me get into projectors!

[Blinky7]

To make a long story short I am a total noob about projectors and I need some help to see if buying a projector is a viable solution for me.
I am a real fan of BIG, I just can't get enough size....and when searching for a new TV to watch movies, xbox and stuff this has led me to take a look at projectors for their very good size/price ratio.

My problem is, my room is kind of small. It is about 2.5x2 meters. So The max distance I would be projecting from is about 2.4 meters. I read the recent tom's hardware round up and I noticed every projector has minimum and maximum throwing distances. for example the Hitachi one, had 96-158" throwing distance to project a 76" picture. Does the throwing distance within those 96-158" effect the quality in any way? Or is it just a customization of the Lens? Can I break these rules and project more than 76" in 96" throwing distance which is the minimum? and if so would there be any consequences to the image?

Should I search for a projector with low minimum distance, and are there any?

1 more question, about the lamp life. Most manufacturers say 3k hours, does this mean that the average lamp will burn in about 3k hours or that after 3k hours you will start having greatly reduced light? about how much do replacement lamps cost?

Thanks a lot in advance, I will be bugging you more after I understand more

[smashed]

To cut a long story short, you can only throw an image within the range that is set for that PJ from that distance. Some PJ's have shorter throws than others for the same image size.
Lamp life is expectancy before it blows I believe. Though some blow way before the estimate, and some may last longer.
Replacement bulbs vary, but are generally at least £120, and many are nearer £250.
Most people only use PJ's to supplement the TV, (for games, dvds etc)

[lar77]

take a look at the panasonic lcd home cinema projectors (PT AE series). Great PQ and big images in short throw distances.

[Blinky7]

I checked the panasonic website. Unfortunately both models (AE700, AE900) were way of my league. I am looking for a budget PJ around 1000-1500 euros at most. And I don't have any problem sacrifising some PQ and black level....I just want it to be 1280x720 and other than that, the best quality I can get for my money.

I also tried to use the distance calculator on the panasonic site but I couldn't understand how it worked....

Any other suggestions for more affordable PJs with low minimum distance?

[PJTX100]

My Hitachi PJTX100 throws an 83" pic from 8ft. You can pick one up in the UK for £799.

[Blinky7]

I have checked the TX100 in the past and it looks great for the price! I can get it for 1050 euros which is very satistying. If it can throw that size in the distance you say then it's perfect!
Any site where I can check more spesific throw distances and screen sizes? Also, any idea how much replacement lamps for this PJ cost?

As far as I now there is also a TX200 and the new Hitachi Ultravision HDP J52. Any idea on how much those cost and if they are much better than the TX100?

[Miniholic]

You can check the throw distance against screen sizes here.

[PBN]

Have you looked at the Sharp XV Z201. This is available at nexnix for about £670 - look on Pixmania and it is twice that price. I have just bought the Z-200 and I understand the Z201 is identical except that it has a short throw lens so presumably would be ideal for your room. And as you will see in other threads, it is an absolute steal at this price, if there are any left.

[Blinky7]

I was able to locate a sharp XV Z201E , but it uses a 1024x576 panel so I think I'll pass. I want somehting 1280x720 for 1:1 720p.

Currently there are 2 models that have cought my eye. These are the :
Hitachi PG-TX100 and the Sanyo PLV-Z3.

From a comparison I read, the Sanyo is considered a little better, but the Hitachi has a higher zoom rate (1.6 vs 1.4) so it can give a bigger picture on my limited space. The Sanyo also has HDMI but the Hitachi has DVI with HDCP which as far as I know is the same thing if you buy a convertor...

Good thing is I can buy both of these locally and at great prices!! 1050 for the Hitachi and 1100 for the Sanyo.

I would appreciate any comments on both of these and which one you would prefer.

One more thing, that has to do with the positioning of the projector. Obviously poritioning straight in the middle of the screen is the normal thing. But is it true that I can position the PJ to a side of the room and make it project with an angle? If that's doable, does it have any consequences on quality? With my limited space I would have to get a ceiling mount to position it top of my bed for max viewing distance if I were to project in a straight line. But that will be messy and costy too....if I can avoid it with minimum consequences to quality it would be great...

Hi Blinky,

I'm pretty new to projectors too, but after some good advice here went for a Hitachi PJTX200. Lovely picture quality, good throw from 9ft and a great PJ, from what we've experienced. I'd agree with PJTX100, who helped me decide, incidentally - thanks pjtx100, that for your budget the tx100 would be a good buy.

Frank

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Blinky7

But is it true that I can position the PJ to a side of the room and make it project with an angle?

You can offset the PJTX100 up to 25% of the screen width but it's best to locate all PJs as central as possible.

Z3 is a good machine too - and a better warranty usually. Looks a bit of a brick compared to the TX though.

[Blinky7]

I am set on those 2.....probably the Hitachi for the better zoom that fits my small room nicely.
Last thing that bugs me is the screen door effect. I will be watching a 100" screen from a 2.8m distance....will I be seeing the pixels? Can I do anything about this? I have heard you can play a bit with the focus and solve this by losing a bit of quality but its worth it if pixel stucture is bugging you a lot....is that so?

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Blinky7

I am set on those 2.....probably the Hitachi for the better zoom that fits my small room nicely.
Last thing that bugs me is the screen door effect. I will be watching a 100" screen from a 2.8m distance....will I be seeing the pixels? Can I do anything about this? I have heard you can play a bit with the focus and solve this by losing a bit of quality but its worth it if pixel stucture is bugging you a lot....is that so?

If you can see SDE it would be best to reduce the size of the pic rather than defocus. You could probably get away with sitting 1.5x the screen width away with the TX100 but I wouldn't advise sitting any closer. The TX200 you could get away with a little closer.

[Miniholic]

You may be better off with a smaller screen, I know it's always tempting to get the biggest you can, but this doesn't always mean better. I sit a similar distance from a 2m wide screen, and find its big enough for me. The larger you go (or closer you sit) the more chance you have of seeing screendoor, and at the size you are suggesting I think this could be an issue. As PJTX100 says, it is advisable to keep to at least 1.5 screen widths from the screen.

I'd much rather sacrifice screen size in order to get a decent picture quality, and it would be a shame to buy a decent PJ and have to use it out of focus to be watchable.

[Blinky7]

I did some more accurate measuring of my room. It appears that the distance between the 2 walls is 3.3m. So, since the Projector is about 30cm , the throwing distance will be 3m (what a convenient number :/). I also checked what the max screen size could be based on the size of the wall. The max possible diagonal is 2.5 meters, which results to about 99 inches.
My head will be at the back of the wall so I am assuming my distance from the screen will be about the same as the projectors throwing distance....so 3m.
with a 2.5m diagonal you say i need 1.5xThat to avoid SDE, so 3.75m....obviously not possible. For the 3m of distance I have available, taking into account the 1.5x screen size, I need a 2m diagonal, which is 79 inches.

So, I guess 80 inches is big enough, should I stick with that? Is there some projector with similar price that could help me go to 100 inches without seeing SDE from 3m distance?