entry level projector setup?

Hi folks,

I'm moving to a new house and in one of the rooms i'm hoping to have a home cinema set up. I currently have a phillips 28" flat screen 50 hz tv, a sony ns900 dvd player and a sony htk475 sound system. The dvd player is grand and i'm reasonably happy with the sound system but what i'd really like to do is to have a projector and screen in the new house and get a much bigger picture. 28" is just a tad small Of course with the new house purchase budget is going to be quite limited so i'd like any advice on what sort of projector and screen options i should be looking at and what price i might be looking at. I'd love to come in somewhere around 1000 euro if i could roughly 600GBP. That will probably severly limit my options. Is second hand kit worth looking at and does anyone know of a good source for it?


The room is roughly about 12tf by 9 ft rectangular shape with a window at one end

Any advice would be well appreciated


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I'd go for a Panasonic PT-AE100, and a DIY screen (blackout cloth or painted MDF or painted panel on the wall)

Projector will cost you £1200 though, but thats the cheapest new option I know of. Second hand probably won't be much cheaper, as the source projectors will have been much more expensive.

 

THanks for the reply - anyone know of a good place to price/purchase the panasonic in Ireland?

p.s.
how does the picture comapre to a tv? apart from the obvious size

 

Just a tips, do a search on panasonic pt ae100 here and you will find all you need to know, and moore.
I have the Panny myself and for the price there is nothing better.
Compared to a TV the picture lacks the black level of a TV. But if you can afford a DVD player with progressive scan or a Iscan pro, you'll get a better picture.
Good luck.

 

thanks,

how much does an iscan pro cost roughly? will it fit in between my ns900 and projector to give me progressive scan pictures?

 

An Iscan pro will set you back around £700 UK, I'd settle for a less expensive device, maybe an active RGB/VGA lead, or something like that if you're on a budjet. If money is not quite such an object, get a better PJ, and add an Iscan as you can afford it. The Iscan just does the job that the PJ does for itself otherwise, ie deinterlacing and progressive conversion, as all pj pictures are essentially like that. A better PJ will have better internal circuits to do this. Of course, as you may have observed, whether the picture from a PTAE + iscan can be equalled or bettered at the same cost is very debatable, just be aware it's budget kit, built down to the price that can be afforded, complete with compromises. That's life though, and VFM wise, it's a bargain, or so I gather.

 

Or if you've got a suitable PC run it off that, I found the best results with teh AE100 was with HCPC, if you don't know what a HCPC is check out the forum

HEADRAT

 

ok folks - so do you think its feasble for me to be even looking at setting up a projector? whats the least amount of money i can hope to spend on just a projector and screen?

 

see, now you're wanting more quality for more money

You are on a tight budget, so forget the iScan, they cost loads.

Next step after a projector would be a deinterlacer/scaler, like the ProV (do a search on here). They cost around £125 with the powerbuy on this forum, and it converts your S-Video to RGB for improved picture quality. It'll do it for your normal TV too.

Step after that is a progressive scan DVD player, but maybe wait until PAL ones are more readily available.



Of course, when you first buy the projector you'll love it just because you get big pictures, so you can ignore the ProV for a while. Then when you get itchy, take a step up.
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theres always a step up..

 

Hi micks_address.

Where are you located?

I'm in Limerick. If your near I can give you an insight into the AE-100 driven by a HTPC.

Drop me a line.

 

I love my Panny - its me best ever buy its fantastic. Only directed onto my wall! but the picture is just amazing - to me its perfect.

This is my old thread by the way about what i used for my bargain home cinema. Oh and my freind came to se eit - he sat in shock when he saw it i mean shock form hwo good it was of course.

http://www.avforums.com/frame.html?...&threadid=42654&highlight=bargain+home+cinema

By the way, In one of my rooms i have about a 11 foot gap between wall and projector and I get a nice 8 foot width screen

Oh and a painted wall for me still looks fantastic IMHO - i was very shocked about how good a picture coudl actually be on merely a painted wall.

Good luck!