Panasonic PTAE700, Sony VPL-HS50 or Themescene

Hi all

This is my first post so please be gentle with me !!!

Could I ask some advice on what HC system would best suit my needs.


I want a big picture and have decided that LCD TVs + Plasmas probably aren't quite right for me (motion blur + screen burn in respectively).

Projectors seem to be the answer (big screen 50 to 70 inches sounds very appealing, and certainly would give me way bigger screens than I could afford in both LCD and Plasma panels)


I think I can probably scrape together about £2k in total for my home cinema system. I was thinking somewhere in the region of £1500 for the projector, and £300 for the surround sound.

I was also thinking of painting my screen on the wall using some special paint (anybody know where you can get paint that would make a good screen ?)

I've read on this forum that some people use blackout screen material so I could use that.

If neither of these two screen options are any good I guess I could plump for a proper screen (not one thats too expensive though)


I would prefer the projector to be compatible with future hi def sky broadcasts (High Def dvi connection I think) but its not essential

The projector will be placed on a wall (which means I can have it at any height) so I don't think lens shift issues will be a problem


I would however like to use the projector to play PS2 / xbox / PC games as well as watching sky+ (mostly watching football, sky 1 and movie channels). Very little (if any) time will be spent watching dvds on it.

Are there any issues / problems with using these different sources ?

How noisy / quiet are they, whats the best way to reduce their noise ?

Will the screen size I require be different when using the above sources


I was thinking that the Panasonic PTAE700 or the Sony VPL-HS50 might be good for me (I've also heard good things about Themescene projectors on this forum)


Do any of these models sound like they would be good ? Are there better projectors in my price range ?


Basically I am looking for a projector that will give me good pictures and most importantly big pictures (50inches or bigger) and allow me to watch sky+ and play PC games and console games on it.


Any advice/comments on any of the above (and anything I've missed) would be most appreciated


Cheers

mazzy

 

all the projectors mentioned all have there good and weak points. you may want to include the hitachi and sanyo LCD's in there as well. the first big bit of advice is if you can go demo as many as possible! #2 read up on faults/advantages of each technology LCD,DLP etc see if your affected by it. i see your wanting pc gaming well whats the spec of your pc, maybe that could be used as the dvd player as arguably this will give, with the right tweaking the best picture possible out of dvd. as for noise its tollerence levels of certain people. some people arnt bothered by it some people are. i sit directly under my projector and dont hear it at all, as its being drownd out but 5.1 channels of audio its late and im not thinking totally straight so will come back tomorrow if i can think of anything else to mention

 

I'm sure you'll find that whatever the PJ you choose you'll feel it's money very well spent.

PJ's seem to start from about about £400 now (Toshiba TLP-ET1) and seem to rise price-wise via the likes of the TW10H, TX100, 4805, AE700, Z3, and the HS50 so you'll have plenty to choose from.

The HS50 looks to be an excellent machine, or should be once the new units with revised firmware hit the shops. Once you've forked out for leads, screen (perhaps DIY screen?) etc you would have much change left for the sound. You could spend a bit less and beef up the sound?

The TX100 seems to be priced more keenly than the Z3 or the AE700 and they are all roughly on a par PQ wise. You are likely to get some level of vertical banding with these machines, usually it's so slight as to not be an issue.

You won't go wrong with the 4805, good value but it is lower res and there may be a chance of rainbows, being a DLP machine - usual advice is to audition but PJ's aren't on every hight street.

Sounds wise there was a Yamaha amp/speakers package I saw recently which looked very reasonable, included an active sub.

To be honest your biggest challenge will probably be connectivity - I only use DVD (and video) and keep it simple by plugging straight into the back of the PJ - you'll probably need some sort of switching arrangement. Others will I'm sure be able to advise...PJ

 

Thanks for your help, ill have a look round and see if anywhere close can demo them for me.

How much benefit will getting a proper screen give me over a home made one thats made out of blackout material ? Is the proper one worth the extra expense ?

 

Try the DIY screen first if you can, if you are happy with it then great. I did, and don't plan to change it...PJ

 

did you use black out screen material ?

 

No. Many do though, with some success. Main thing to note - make the wooden frame strong otherwise the stretched material can warp it.

I went for painted MDF - 6mm sheets available 8ft by 4ft - painted matt white with matt black border - does the job really well, and it's flat!

...PJ

 

May I make a suggestion here

People say make a wooden frame, then make it strong so it does not flex.
Have seen some people say as they did not make it strong enough they found when pulling the cloth tight it made the frame bow in, in the middle.

So, how about do what i did?

Get 4 much smaller strips of wood and simply screw them to the wall in a large rectangle. Don't need many screws, there's very little weight.

Then you can staple your blackout material to that. Hey, the wall is flat and it's not going to bow is it

Just an idea.

 

where did you get your blackout material from

 

Try Dunelm - http://www.dunelm-mill.com.

You can buy it off the roll to suit your size requirements.


Glenn

 

There are plenty of good projectors at £1500 (Panasonic AE700) or for £300 more go for the Sony HS50

But you MUST by a HDMI DVD player to truly get fantastic pictures. Go for the Samsung HD935 or HD945! They are barely over £100 but the picture quality will BLOW AWAY the best componant/scart offerings.


You can only get HDMI players on internet or specialist hi-fi shops. Do not settle for anything less!

 

The TX100 is £1K and has DVI-D input, the Sammy HD745 has DVI-D output... the 745 is barely over £100, last I looked the 945 was 50 or 60 quid more expensive?

..PJ

 

Depends on how old the house is!

But yes this sounds a good plan.

My comment about flatness mainly referred to pull-down screens, I've seen so many with ripples in them - but perhaps the ones I've seen have been roughly treated and I realise for many people a pull down screen is the only practical proposition...PJ

 

where would you recommend to get the pj, surround sound and dvd player from ?

a little list of some good etailers would be well appreciated

Cheers

maz

 

If you look at the top of the page, click 'Forum Information', and then 'Current Advertisers', there are a huge number of etailers and retailers to keep you busy

 

cheers UrbanT

 

Connectivity shouldn't be a problem either. Get an amp with video switching, if the PJ has a DVI-D input and component in then you could run the DVD player into the DVI and amp into component. Everything other than the dvd player then gets routed through the amp.

 

Im a little unsure as to what am amp is (amplifier ?? makes things louder ??)what benefit does an amp give apart from increasing the connectivity ?

 

Yep, the amplifier takes an input signal and then processes it to drive speakers. This is the primary function of any amp / surround system, any option for video switching and other bits is purely secondary The amp could be the the surround sound that you mentioned in your original post.

Reason for mentioning connectivity is most plasmas/lcds/tvs have a number of inputs that can process audio and vision. Projectors tend to have fewer inputs and no speakers so unless you fancy swapping cables over when you change source you will need some way to switch video sources. Most amps have the option for video selection, not sure about the all in one systems though.

Probably best to look through some of the reviews at the top of the forum to get a feel for the capabilities and limitations of a PJ, then look through the various threads regarding qulaity etc from a user perspective.

JP