projector vs. plasma

Can you get a 92" plasma :D

Budget PJ (i.e AE-100) = £1220, + home made screen £30.

Cheapest plasma =£2300, only 42".

So for bang for buck a PJ can't be beaten. Once you've got used to a 7" screen, anything less doesn't cut it!
 
So now we know.... Kramer thinks that size matters !;) ~(pulling your leg, F. )

Keyser,

It really depends on what you want, doesn't it ? Plasmas have a definite "cool" factor about them, and have relative convenience compared to projectors. However having seen a number of pjs, (ae100, Philips Monroe, Sony HS1 as well as 5 or 6 business projectors) I think a pj gives better picture quality to the plasma screens I've seen. I'm sure that I've seen poorly set up pjs, as well as plasmas which have been fed poor quality signal, so the real answer is to get out there and make your own judgement. If you want a big screen flat tv then a plasma may be the thing for you - but if you want a big screen for movies - Kramer is right - once you've got a 7 - 8' screen in your own house with decent image quality from a projector, you'll never look back !


Sean G.
 
Plasma screens have a very poor pixel fill ratio, worse than an LCD projector.

If you stand close to a plasma screen you will easily spot the grid structure around the pixels. Start walking backwards to find the point where the grid structure disappears. You'll find that its something like 2.5 to 3 times the screen width. With a decent LCD (worst case projector type) its around 1.5 times screen width.

If you wanted to acheive a large apparent screen size by sitting up close to a plasma it's not going to work.

If you want to view in normal lighting conditions, plasma wins.

Allan
 
I recently watched Toy Story 2 on a Plazma and was very impressed but when I watched Gladiator I was disapointed.

With TS the colours wrer vibrant and the imaging accross the screen focused but with Gladiator it was fuzzy.

The plazma was a Pioneer, not sure which model but as it was in a hifi store (Superfi) I would assume it would be a recent model.
 
As far as TVs go Plasma is the BEST, but as far as Theatre goes, well you can't use a TV ;)

I have had 2 friends come over who were going to buy Plasmas, because of the picture quality. They came to check out my AE100 in conjuction with a Q50 PS DVD player in action. Both now have an AE100 as opposed to Plasma.

As far as picture quality goes, you can truely get Awesome results, even with a humble projector like AE100.

Good Luck.

Movie time now for me :D

Regards
Amelia
 
Can someone give me a 101 on projectors, as I know absolutely nothing about them?

1. whats the difference between lcd, dlp and crt?, what are the pros and cons of each?

2. What are some of the recommended projectors out there and how much do they cost?

3. Can I put a projector on the floor or ceiling (which both would create an angle in relation to the wall) and how far must it be away from the wall(I dont know what you call the thing that the image is projected on)?

4. Are there any cons on projectors... fan noise, convergence problems, short life span, focus?

5. Do they have all the connects that I need, rf(for tv), components(that take progressive), SDI, scart ??

6. Do they have inbuilt scalers/deinterlacers or is an outboard one best?

7. What signals can they take, SDI, pal/ntsc progressive, HD?

8. What resolutions do they project?

9. How do I go about watching tv.. do I use the crappy vcr tuner(that doesn´t have teletext)?

10. Something about ratios(which I hardly understand).. 4:3, letterboxed, anamorphic?

11. Am I forgetting anything? :)
 
Plasma screens have one advantage - they can be used in day light conditions

But I think that plasma screens are designer items - like cars they impress people even when they are not operating. You can show it off to guests.

Projectors on the other hand are discreet items which you conceal when not being used. It has a less show off quality - but it you are serious about home cinema the projector is the one to get!

The new range of projectors will blow away a plasma screen in size. contrast, convieniance etc for a far cheaper price
 
"The new range of projectors will blow away a plasma screen in size. contrast, convieniance etc for a far cheaper price"

Can you name a few models that beat plasmas in that way. And how bad do projectors get with a little light in the room?
Why do you say they beat plasmas in convieniance... can you adjust the picture for every input on a projector like on a plasma?, and do they have all the inputs, scart, component, SDI etc.?, and how is the lifetime of a projector?
 
If you want to buy a projector then a good site with latest reviews is www.projectorcentral.com. It is an independant site.

Certain projectors that come to mind are the new Sanyo PLZ1, Sony HS10 etc. Check out the web site for figures. Go for DLP ones unless they are very good resolution and a contrast of at least 600:1. Budget should start at about £1800 but you should include a progressive scan device at another £700

There is no limit to the life of projectors but most lamps burn out after 1500 and replacements cost US$500. But each projector has an indicated lamp life.

All projectors have inputs for video and S-video but more recent ones have componant. A few projectors have RGB input for SCART but you will still need an adapter because the input is also used for computer monitors

Actually I think that the plasma can be better then the cheaper projector (esp the more expensive ones) but the much large screen size of a projectors and its lower price makes a far better deal.
 

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