Budget projector for gaming and v. occasional video. Small dark room

bryanchicken

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Hi,
sorry if this is the wrong forum for a projector that i'll mostly be using for gaming. Mods feel free to move if it is.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a cheap (ideally under £200 but could stretch to £250) projector that i can use for gaming. Occassionally i'll use it for SD freeview and films when i'm banished from the front room.

It will be mostly used in the evenings in a small room (throw distance would be 2m max). The room has blackout blinds already fitted which can be drawn during the day.
It will need to have a HDMI connection.

I'd be projecting the image onto a skimmed, white wall.

I've never owned a projector before so i'm not looking for the latest and greatest (especially with the budget!).

I've been considering these LED ones as i like the long lamp life, low power consumption and size (the room is a box room).

Or do you think i'd be better off getting a tv? I like the idea of the projector and there is a very convenient place for mounting it under a high cupboard and with easy hiding of cables.
TV would have to be wall mounted on a stud wall if i went down that route, probably with visible trunking for the cables which i'm not too keen on.

Open to all suggestions!

Thanks.
 
Have you looked at the Optoma Pico projectors? Suitable for that viewing distance, viewing SD material or games, long life bulb and in your price range.
 
yeah, i'd looked at a few picos. I'm wasn't convinced by the 10-20 lumens even in a dark room.
I think the isival mp720b1 or aaxa m2 look more suited (bit bigger, bit brighter) but availability over here is an issue. Plus, they have better resolutions. The m2 is 1024x768 and the isival is 1280x768.

I fear something similar over here would probably cost the same in pounds as it does in dollars :thumbsdow
 
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i wouldnt get a pico, i would get a second hand hd65 from the classifieds on here, might be able to have one at that price
 
I have a HD65, in a room that size your projector could double as a radiator for this time of year ;)
 
thanks for the review link, i'd not seen that one before.

The image of the 301 projecting in broad daylight is encouraging. I was expecting something at 50lumens to be basically invisible during daylight.
I think of the 3 the 301 looks best suited for what i want. Its just annoying that america seemingly have better and cheaper models.
Maybe i should just be patient and wait?
 
Check out the prices of the 301 before you decide. Personally I'd put in an ad in the classifieds section saying youre looking for a projector, preferably 720p to future proof yourself, for around £250. Let them come to you........
 
I've heard bad things about the noise of full-sized projectors. I should've mentioned in my initial post that it would be mounted on the underside of a high cupboard that would be directly above the seating area.
Would the noise be distracting? At a guess my head would be about a metre away from the thing.
The location is another reason why i was thinking pico/micro and LED (rightly or wrongly i'm assuming LED = less power = less cooling = less noise. Please correct me if that is wrong).
And i'm less likely to break it by banging my big noggin on it :-D
 
Well if noise is a problem then yes, it will be a factor for you in that size viewing room, Even a low decibel one. The mini projectors do come with a small speaker too for sound which is something else you need to think of when buying a projector. I say go with either go with Abu's idea of checking the classifieds for a good short throw 720p projector to future proof yourself, and accepting all the drawbacks you are worrying about in terms of space and noise. Or Get a mini projector and accept its pros and cons based on what you've seen.
 
Ok, nice one.

Thanks guys.
 
For your budget a decent new projector will be hard to find.

The ACER X110 DLP Projector is ok but its still 4:3. The quality should be alot better than the pico projector's though.

I've just got the Acer C20 (just released so not much info on the web) and its a OK projector if you have a dark room and i think you will prob get around a 40" screen at 2 metres.

The colours are a bit bland but it has a mini hdmi input which is what made me buy it. The pico projectors are almost silent, i cannot hear the C20 at all.

Im going to try the C20 at work on saturday which is the only reason why i brought it for (easy to transport) and if it cant provide a decent size screen in the lighting conidition im going to try and get a refund and will try for a second hand optoma hd600 or hd65/66. (if anyone is selling one ;))

Update: Just thought, with the pico projectors the projector has to be placed in the centre of the wall you are viewing the image on. The do not have the ability to make the image square if the image is higher/lower. (keystone correction)


Also if you need a cheap projector screen, white blackout roller blinds are brill and only cost around £15.
 
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thanks fredted. That keystone thing (a phrase i'd heard/read but never looked into) is important. I wouldn't be able to place it dead centre, so i guess i need one that has that.

It does appear that the LED projectors aren't quite up to it at the moment, at least in this country anyway!
 
thanks fredted. That keystone thing (a phrase i'd heard/read but never looked into) is important. I wouldn't be able to place it dead centre, so i guess i need one that has that.

It does appear that the LED projectors aren't quite up to it at the moment, at least in this country anyway!

Adapt is going to release the first pico projector with keystone correction but at 8 lumens i would avoid like the plague. It will cost under £100 though from what i've read which is impressive. Looks like a year or two and pico projectors should start getting some good specs.

I havnt had a normal sized projector so cant comment on the noise but these would be better for your situation if they arnt too distracting. The other option is to get a proper projector and then save up for a mahosive home cinema system that will drown out any sound :D.
 
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The other option is to get a proper projector and then save up for a mahosive home cinema system that will drown out any sound :D.

Nice idea. However with the amount of work that needs to be done to the house i'm lucky "the boss" has allowed me to even contemplate this plan tbh :D
 
She'll change her mind when she sees it and you put on a nice romantic film to watch :) Worked for me :) But I just read the reviews about the Acer Pico C20 and it sounds like it could be the thing for you.
 
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