[deanmm]

ANY ADVICE WELCOME!

I'm sure this has come up a lot before, but I'm considering a 1080P projector. Any recommendations?

I currently have an hitachi PJTX200 and have been really pleased with it. Will I notice the difference with 1080P.

I'm leaning towards the infocus in80, but it isn't on their web site any more. Has the X10 replaced it?

Finally, do I need to get a screen? Will it really make a difference? At the moment I use the projector on a wall painted in matt white. It looks fine to me!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Forgot to mention. My budget is about £1500

[pure_geordie]

Looking at a DLP instead of sticking with LCD. Any reason for this?
What about rainbows. If you have been used to and using LCD why the shift.

I used to have the PJTX200 and stuck with LCD because of the rainbows which I find more noticeable especially on lower priced DLP's.

The move from the TX200 to the HC5500 for me was a good one. especially the way it handles and upscales SD DVD & (PlayTV on PS3). Blacks are good to. However it has limited placement and no horizontal shift. Vertical shift is minimal too.

My Room size is 16ft by 8ft and 8ft high.
I have an 89" image 10.9ft away from screen. I had to move my projector about 2 ft closer to the screen to get the same size image, and align perpindicular and centre to the screen and even had to tilt slightly down as well.

Hope that helps.
Thanks.

[deanmm]

Thanks for the help.

At the moment I project onto a painted wall. Any suggestions? Will I really notice a difference?

[Matt TRD]

I'm starting to look into buying my first projector and would also be interested in hearing whether a screen is essential.

I'm considering the Panasonic PT-AE3000.

[pure_geordie]

Read this: Projection screens vs. a plain white wall

I cannot use a wall as I have to have a screen (electric) that comes down in front of a window. Personally I would use a screen if you can afford one.

Ta.

[qwert-e]

I currently use a matt white wall and previously used a cheap (£100 or so) roll up screen. I couldn't tell any difference in image quality.

I much prefer using a wall, although a decent screen probably would have a better image quality there's a few advantages of using a wall in a living room setup:

- you're free to use the zoom lens to get the image size you want. I watch normal TV with the screen at 80", and HD at 120", (or 150" if i'm showing off ) A 150" screen is not something i want in my living room

- you're free to use lens shift to move the image about. I have the image quite low when i'm watching TV / Film but much higher when playing wii standing up so my shadow doesn't fall on the screen. Its also easier to move the image about when rearranging the living room without having to unscrew and refit a screen.

- when the projector's turned off you just have a plain white wall, no permanantly screwed on screen fittings to look at. Its very cool to just press a button and have a large image suddenly appear on a wall

[DannyBoy1]

I had the pjtx200 and upgraded to the Sony hw10 in the summer it's 1080p and is Dila which doesn't have the rainbow effect associated with dlp but has similar black levels it's the in vogue pj to go for in your
Price range. I have to say watching blue rays the picture quality is better and overall black levels are better. However I watch a lot of tv and downloads and not that many Bly rays and I have it set up in a living room that has poor light control so most of the time I don't notice much improvement. If you watch a lot of blu rays and or have good light control upgrade. If not consider spending money on other areas I had to get a 1080p because I just wanted to have the most up to date gizmo and wouldn't be happy settling for less even though a lot of the time I can't tell the difference!