2m wide screen from a throw distance on 4.95m????

churchwa · 09-12-2008, 6:54 PM

Is this possible without an additional lens? Most of the lenses seem to double the cost of the projectors. Mitsubishi charge nearly £1,000 for theirs.

I have found the Optima EP1080 which can do 2.1m from that distance but I would rather LCD not DLP.

It is for a meeting room so it needs to be able to run computer resolutions as well as watch sky hd.

Any help would be much appreciated

Big_Si_Owen · 09-12-2008, 6:56 PM

This gadget should help you out...

Find Projectors at Projector Central

CinemaChap · 09-12-2008, 7:09 PM

the x9 should do this

£500

Ivojo · 09-12-2008, 7:38 PM

What's your budget? There are a few widescreen (for Sky HD) LCD projectors that will do this with their standard lenses but they are not cheap. Bear in mind that if you need to do presentations in a meeting room with ambient light then you'll need a projector that is brighter than most home cinema units.

CinemaChap · 09-12-2008, 7:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivojo

What's your budget? There are a few widescreen (for Sky HD) LCD projectors that will do this with their standard lenses but they are not cheap. Bear in mind that if you need to do presentations in a meeting room with ambient light then you'll need a projector that is brighter than most home cinema units.

that'll be the x9

churchwa · 09-12-2008, 8:08 PM

I think up to £2k is my budget. I know about the brightness issue, hence looking at the EP1080 with 3600 lumins. We will also have blackout curtains anyway, but it would be nice to be able to use it with them open.

Ivojo · 09-12-2008, 8:27 PM

The X9 is a nice projector for the money but has a couple of disadvantages (other than being DLP, which churchwa wants to avoid). Compared to most business projectors it's not that bright and it has the "wrong" aspect ratio for computers. Most laptops and computer monitors are 16:10 aspect ratio, not 16:9 which is why many of the new widescreen business projectors have odd resolutions like 1280*800, which matches most 13-15" laptop monitors and screens. Even with the "1080p" monitors tend to be 1920*1200 rather than 1920*1080. If you have a budget of £2000 then your options are a bit limited.

The Panasonic PT-FW300EA or PT-FW300NTEA might be worth a look.

churchwa · 09-12-2008, 8:49 PM

Hi Ivojo, thanks for the help.

Both those Panasonics are 4:3 native which is not ideal for what I am looking for. (Strangely they are not even listed on Panasonics website either)

I really would like a 16:9 or 16:10 native.

Ivojo · 09-12-2008, 9:04 PM

I can see the cause of confusion. The "FW" machines are the 16:10 ratio, the "F" are 4:3. The two projectors I mentioned are quite new on the market so should appear on Panasonics sight in the not too distant future. In the meantime you can download the brochure for either from our web site.

churchwa · 09-12-2008, 9:19 PM

I'm a chump, blame it on the fact I have one eye on the football tonight.

On face value the Panasonic does not seem to have a better spec than the EP1080 (other than the LCD aspect).

I think I will have to demo both of these unit and then make a choice.

I will keep you in mind when buying it. Thanks for all your help.

Ivojo · 09-12-2008, 9:41 PM

I'd pretty much agree. The Optoma is making many projectors look a bit over-priced. The only thing I could put against it (so long as you don't mind DLP) is a slightly limited lens implementation. The Panasonics have an enormous zoom ratio and lens shift both ways but - unless you need these features - they do appear a bit pen heavy against the Optoma.