mattkhan
Distinguished Member
Hi
I have started researching projectors with a view to buying my 1st one in the next month or two (it seems CEDIA is coming up hence new model announcements and therefore possible bargains for the bargain hunter) and am considering a budget of ~£700 for the projector alone. This is somewhat flexible though I'd be only too happy to spend less.
I feel I'm starting to get a handle on what the issues are but thought a post with a summarisation of those issues might be useful to flush out anything I'm missing so here goes. Any and all comments welcome as this really is an early pass at understanding what I should be doing.
DLP vs LCD (and placement)
both have their (vociferous) proponents but in my price range it seems to boil down to whether the rainbow effect is a problem or not and placement. On the former I have no idea but will be demoing some models soon to find out.
Screen Choice
This is pretty much enforced, I have to go mobile/portable (nuvu type screen or tripod?). My room is approx 14' * 12' * 10' and there are two light fittings down the centre of the length of the room. One right above the current LCD (hence where the screen would go) and one right above the seating position. This negates any attempt at a fixed screen which is not a bad thing given that this place is rented (though is unfurnished so I can do what I want if I make it good when I leave).
Screen Size
given the budget we're talking 720p and so it seems viewing distance should be at least 1.5 times the screen size. In my room viewing distance will be about 9' so I make that a screen size of ~72", it doesn't sound especially massive but may well look it and it seems I can't realistically go larger without starting to see (or have increased incidence of) artifacts.
Projector Placement
Taking the projector first & taking into account room size & light fitting & seating position it seems that mounting the projector on a shelf on the rear wall is the only realistic choice. If I consider this house only then I think this takes any lens shift & keystoning out of the equation as placement will be perpendicular to the screen and firing directly at the centre of the screen? Such a placement perhaps facilitates easier access to existing power sockets but presumably exacerbates PJ noise issues hence I should tend towards a quieter model (given its likely proximity to the viewers) all other things being equal.
Screen Placement
Assuming we're talking 72" diagonal then for a 16:9 screen that means a screen measuring 63" * 35". I'm not sure how high off the ground the bottom of the screen should be but my current LCD starts at ~ 30" and that is comfortable. On that basis such a screen would extend to ~65" off the ground which is about 4.5' from the ceiling, a good foot or so beneath the light fixtures meaning they don't come into play when projecting from the back wall. It also means the shelf would have to be placed about ~4' off the ground to be aiming at the centre of the screen. This should be fine as the rear sofa is placed about a foot from the rear wall so no chance of bumping heads & high enough to eliminate any potential for shadows from people sitting down.
Sources
the two main sources at the moment will be a Denon DVD-2900 (i.e. SD) connected via component and an HTPC (i.e. HD) connected via DVI (or HDMI). At present the DVD is connected to the LCD via an AV receiver while the PC is connected directly to the LCD via DVI-HDMI lead. I don't think this has any impact on the projector choice except that I'll need 2 seperate cable runs which will probably go taped to the floor under a rug along with the surround speaker cables. I don't imagine I'll use the PJ for actual PC use though it would be nice to have (a 768 line output). I may buy a PS3 or other HD player down the line but would think that is at the very least a year or so away hence not directly relevent to a projector decision now.
2nd hand or new
I typically go with 2nd hand kit as it gives more bang for buck however I have a vague (and not well researched feeling) that a 2nd hand projector may be a riskier buy and one where warranty is particularly important. I'm particularly unsure which way to go here.
Cheers
Matt
I have started researching projectors with a view to buying my 1st one in the next month or two (it seems CEDIA is coming up hence new model announcements and therefore possible bargains for the bargain hunter) and am considering a budget of ~£700 for the projector alone. This is somewhat flexible though I'd be only too happy to spend less.
I feel I'm starting to get a handle on what the issues are but thought a post with a summarisation of those issues might be useful to flush out anything I'm missing so here goes. Any and all comments welcome as this really is an early pass at understanding what I should be doing.
DLP vs LCD (and placement)
both have their (vociferous) proponents but in my price range it seems to boil down to whether the rainbow effect is a problem or not and placement. On the former I have no idea but will be demoing some models soon to find out.
Screen Choice
This is pretty much enforced, I have to go mobile/portable (nuvu type screen or tripod?). My room is approx 14' * 12' * 10' and there are two light fittings down the centre of the length of the room. One right above the current LCD (hence where the screen would go) and one right above the seating position. This negates any attempt at a fixed screen which is not a bad thing given that this place is rented (though is unfurnished so I can do what I want if I make it good when I leave).
Screen Size
given the budget we're talking 720p and so it seems viewing distance should be at least 1.5 times the screen size. In my room viewing distance will be about 9' so I make that a screen size of ~72", it doesn't sound especially massive but may well look it and it seems I can't realistically go larger without starting to see (or have increased incidence of) artifacts.
Projector Placement
Taking the projector first & taking into account room size & light fitting & seating position it seems that mounting the projector on a shelf on the rear wall is the only realistic choice. If I consider this house only then I think this takes any lens shift & keystoning out of the equation as placement will be perpendicular to the screen and firing directly at the centre of the screen? Such a placement perhaps facilitates easier access to existing power sockets but presumably exacerbates PJ noise issues hence I should tend towards a quieter model (given its likely proximity to the viewers) all other things being equal.
Screen Placement
Assuming we're talking 72" diagonal then for a 16:9 screen that means a screen measuring 63" * 35". I'm not sure how high off the ground the bottom of the screen should be but my current LCD starts at ~ 30" and that is comfortable. On that basis such a screen would extend to ~65" off the ground which is about 4.5' from the ceiling, a good foot or so beneath the light fixtures meaning they don't come into play when projecting from the back wall. It also means the shelf would have to be placed about ~4' off the ground to be aiming at the centre of the screen. This should be fine as the rear sofa is placed about a foot from the rear wall so no chance of bumping heads & high enough to eliminate any potential for shadows from people sitting down.
Sources
the two main sources at the moment will be a Denon DVD-2900 (i.e. SD) connected via component and an HTPC (i.e. HD) connected via DVI (or HDMI). At present the DVD is connected to the LCD via an AV receiver while the PC is connected directly to the LCD via DVI-HDMI lead. I don't think this has any impact on the projector choice except that I'll need 2 seperate cable runs which will probably go taped to the floor under a rug along with the surround speaker cables. I don't imagine I'll use the PJ for actual PC use though it would be nice to have (a 768 line output). I may buy a PS3 or other HD player down the line but would think that is at the very least a year or so away hence not directly relevent to a projector decision now.
2nd hand or new
I typically go with 2nd hand kit as it gives more bang for buck however I have a vague (and not well researched feeling) that a 2nd hand projector may be a riskier buy and one where warranty is particularly important. I'm particularly unsure which way to go here.
Cheers
Matt