Newbie £300ish budget - Acer K11 micro projector?

[Shakka1]

Hi everyone. I'm wanting to enter in to the PJ world. I have moved into a new home and currently have a Panasonic 46" Plasma / Sky HD / PS3 / Wii in my livingroom. I would like to have a bigger screen.

I don't have any speakers / surround sound / av receivers etc at the moment and know little about them.

I wasn't wanting to spend too much money I am just looking at getting an entry level projector that I can get out the cupboard, setup on a tripod / table and watch a big screen movie in the living room and also move it about the house so I can watch movies / freeview from from my laptop (HDMI out) in my bedroom. Kids may want to play the Wii/PS3 on it from time to time.

It will mainly be used in the dark.

I was considering an Acer K11 as it has HDMI in and built in speakers and it's LED therefore economical. Its better lumens than the Pico's as it's 200 lumens (I appreciate this is a lot less than dedicated home cinema projectors at 1500+) It also about £300 which is a good price for me as I only wanted to spend about £300 - £350. I beleive I'll get a 70 inch diagonal picture too.

Can someone please tell me the best (cheapest way) to get sound out my PS3 if I plug it in to the projector via HDMI without having to use the PJ built in speakers? Can I put any type of speakers directly in to the PS3 or do I need a AMP and speakers? If so what is the ideal setup for a limited budget.

I have tried to do research before posting. Thanks folks.

 

[Chox1988]

I would avoid those micro projectors unless its absolutely essential to get one that is that small, they just aren't as good as is claimed, they will be dark and the picture will not be great.

On that budget (I did the same thing a few years ago in the same scenario and couldn't be happier) I would either save up another 50 to 100 and go for a new optoma hd66 or hd600 (the 66 has the added advantage of being 3d), or I would go for a used/refurb optoma hd65, you might be able to find one new it's just gonna take some looking around. The classifieds on here are great or alternatively try richer sounds or roy jowett.

Goes without saying but try and get one with some sort of warranty left and a lot of bulb life remaining if you go second hand.

As for sound I would immediately go for the classifieds on here, go for a second hand stereo amp and some older bookshelf speakers, the ps3 plugs straight into the back of the amp. Don't get turned off by the fact its old or second hand, a decent set will do a much better job than a pc 2.1 which is your only real alternative, I'd look at creative, jbl or logitech model dependant on budget if you don't want to go down the amp route. But as I said I would just go for amp and speakers. With a big screen you want big sound.

If you're playing alone you could always get a set of decent headphones on a budget.

Have you thought about the room its all going in and what the projector is going to be sat or mounted on, or what its going to be projecting onto, or the distance between the projector and screen- this will affect screen size. These are all things you need to think about in advance

 

[sobi123]

I would definately agree with Abu, go with HD65. I bought mine 5 months ago for 130 quid + 100 for a new bulb from a well known auction site + it came with a 84" screen free. On the classfields I got Mission 702 bookshelf speakers for 25 + 10 postage, and a yamaha V590 stereo amp for 40.

I have big sound, WoW picture, and for the money, I wouldn't think that level of quality is possible

My source is a PC with modded X-fi soundcard btw.

Don't fear second hand, but caveat emptor

 

[Shakka1]

Thanks for the advice. I will have a look on the well known auction sites and classifieds for prices. I'm not going to permanently mount the pj I'm going to store it away and get it out when I want to use it - it'll be used between the livingroom and bedroom.

If I had went for the Acer K11 I would have used a tripod probably for portability. Can I sit an HD65 type on a coffee type table or is that too low (or even a tripod with flat top?)

The distance the pj will be away from the wall is 3.3m in bedroom and 3.9m in the livingroom.

I think I'll go and get a dlp demo to make sure I don't have this rainbow effect I've read about on the forum.

Is the hd65 / hd600x / hd66 good at no hi def material?

Thanks again. I'm keen but just want to get the right projector for my needs before I spend the money.

 

[SteveCritten]

Just my opinion but 50% of the "cinema" experience of having a PJ is the surround sound and unless you sort that as well I wouldn't bother.... But that is just me, to be honest TV speakers are a waste of time and I do not know why they bother putting them on all models as a reasonable percentage of people will have either an all in one or seperates sound anyway?

They should make more 'Panels' with HDMI connections that have no speakers or freeview/freesat/tuner as a lot of people also have either Sky or seperate PVR freesat/freeview? surely this could bring the price of models down for the AV enthusiast?

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

Steve and Abu are right, there is no point having a big screen if you have small sound or vice versa. You're trying to recreate the cinema experience. As an Optoma HD65 owner I can tell you that it's one of the best pj's out there in terms of bang for your buck and I get a 100 inch 16:9 image from about 16ish feet away from the screen from a coffee table. You simply can't go wrong with this projector.
In terms of audio, I've seen PS3 owners talk about the amp+speakers package the 'Philips HTR5224/12' a lot because it accepts HD audio from your PS3 and outputs it up to 7.1. I own it myself, I just haven't taken it out of the box yet to set up as I'm in a smallish room right now and use a soundbar.

 

[SteveCritten]

The only problem normally with all in one systems is you are limited to what inputs you have, I notice that philips system has 2xHDMI inputs which would take the Sky and PS3. But at £200 I would still go for seperate amp and and speakers for that price purely for the upgradability(is that a word?) at a later stage. I got some Jamo 102 speakers on the classifieds on here for £80 and you should be able to get a HDMI amp for £120.

 

[Shakka1]

I've taken your advice and ditched the idea of the micro pj and I'm going to try for a hd65 or hd66, I see they fetch a good second hand price! Is there a way I can check if I suffer formed the rainbow effect easily?

I've also been researching on amps and speakers. I'm going up go Glasgow next week so will go into Richer Sounds. Once I understand a bit more I'll make a more educated purchase! Thanks folks for the advice.

 

[Shakka1]

Sorry to drag this out. I see the Optoma HD600X is for sale for about £400 from a lot of retailers. It is also on play.com with a free 84 inch screen but it doesn't say what type of screen (does anybody know?).

The HD600X looks more appealing than a second hand HD65 as it's a newer model, has warranty, it's 3D compatible with the 3DXL device and I wouldn't need to buy second hand.

What is better to buy a HD65 2nd hand or a new HD600x. HD65s still fetch a premium on the auction site £350 ish with lowish hours.

If you recommend the HD600X would you guys buy it for £400 without the screeen from Amazon or £450 with the 84" Screen from Play. (I don't know how much the screen is worth)

Once again your help is appreciated

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

They're virtually identical. Its going to cost you £450 to buy a secondhand HD65+screen anyway. I say go for it. And at least you get a warrenty. The screen would be regular matt white, ideal for joe averages viewing but not specific for the videophile.



I just checked out the offer on Play. You're saving £350 off the RRP of a new item. Frankly, I'm surprised you're even debating it

 

[Shakka1]

HeavenlyWarrior you are right. My mind is made up and I'm ordering the HD600X with the free screen from Play first thing in the morning! No more debating! Cheers

 

[fredted40x]

HeavenlyWarrior you are right. My mind is made up and I'm ordering the HD600X with the free screen from Play first thing in the morning! No more debating! Cheers

Hope you enjoy your new projector!

Would you mind posting a quick update review when you get it?
The 600x is becoming more and more appealing due its price.

Can i ask a quick question to anyone out there that knows the answer . As you mentioned the 3d-xl il post it here as you may be interested as well.(hope you dont mind)

If the screen that comes from play.com offer is matt white will this be ok for 3d or would a slighly more expensive shiny one be better?

Thanks

 

[Shakka1]

No problem I'll certainly post a review. I'm keen to learn about the 3D scenario myself too! I was reading the other 3D thread before but I find it a bit confusing.

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

If you want to view 3D you need a 3D ready projector, a blu ray player that supports 3D and 3D content to watch.

Read this about the screens:

Before You Buy A Video Projection Screen - What You Need To Know About Video Projection Screens - Home Theater Projection Screen Basics

And maybe this will be helpful too:

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/Projector-screen.html

But all you really need to know is that the screen you are getting with the projector is going to do you just fine..........

 

[Shakka1]

Order placed earlier today. Hopefully will be despatched within 3 - 4 days! Need to save some extra money now for better sound and a 3D-XL when they go sale in January!

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

You're going to love every moment of it

 

[marky2222]

@Shakka1

Just out of interest, I ordered the same projector from play.com with the free screen, but to my surprise the projector came, but didn't recieve the screen, did you get yours in the same delivery or seperately?
Sorry for necroing an old thread. I'm just worried I won't get the screen in time for Christmas.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Shakka1]

Unfortunately I had a terrible time with play.com. They strung me along and I received nothing. I ended up canceling my order and reordering with amazon for £390 - it arrived within two days. I'm so chuffed with the HD600X - I'm going to try and write a review on it to let some of the interested parties know how I got on but I'll get afew blu rays more under my belt first!

Hope it arrives for Christmas.

 

[Chox1988]

@Shakka1

Just out of interest, I ordered the same projector from play.com with the free screen, but to my surprise the projector came, but didn't recieve the screen, did you get yours in the same delivery or seperately?
Sorry for necroing an old thread. I'm just worried I won't get the screen in time for Christmas.

Thanks for your time.

I didnt go for that but many people did when i ordered my hd65, i think they give you a code in your package and you ring up a number to have it delivered with that code or something like that, could be wrong but i think that was it.

 

[marky2222]

I didnt go for that but many people did when i ordered my hd65, i think they give you a code in your package and you ring up a number to have it delivered with that code or something like that, could be wrong but i think that was it.

Thanks for both of your replies, I'll check my box and if I can't find anything I'll buy one off of Amazon.

Thanks for your help.

 

[shandypants5]

I had problems with Play.com too.
They strung me along for nearly 3 weeks and then delivered the screen but no projector!!!

When I rang them they said that they should have been shipped together and they would send me a projector out but couldnt guarantee it would arive in time for Xmas.

I cancelled my order and ordered from Ebuyer.

Ordered at 7pm on friday, projector arrived at 10 am on Saturday.

WELL DONE E,BUYER !