Originally posted by Julia
jrwood,
Thanks for your information about the new projectors. I wish I had a dedicated room for Home Cinema, but for now it will be the livingroom.
I'm very interested to know which projector from you choice (philips garbo/sony hs2/hs10/panasonic ae200/ae300/sanyo plv-z1) you'd think it's the best choice? Which do you think will offer the best picture?
Thanks for your postings and please let me know of any other ideas.
Julia
Im personally looking at the Sony VPL-HS10, although I suspect it will be just out of your price range. Out of the other projectors listed I would personally look at the Panasonic AE300 and the Sanyo PLV-Z1 which should come in at a good price point in the UK.
www.pricejapan.com will give you an idea of the price differences between these new projectors, although in the UK some manufacturers are guilty of having variable prices. The main reason why I would look at the AE300/Z1 & HS10 is because they have a higher resolution/pixel density to create the projected image. Every projector has its pro's/con's but at the end of the day its what
you see with your own eyes which should make the final choice.
Some things to bear in mind when buying a projector are
1) Distance from where you plan to have your projector (table top mounted or ceiling mounted?) to the screen. Every projector has a different throw ratio, some projectors can project a 7 foot picture from a very short distance, while others may need 13 feet.
www.projectorcentral.com has an online calculator for the various projector models, although as new projectors are announced the manufacturers specifically state the throw distance dimensions.
2) The type of screen you want in the living room, I think most people have a 7 foot wide screen (about 114" diagonal), some people prefer fixed screens, others prefer manual screens while others go for motorised screens for ease of use. Some prefer DIY screens, if you do a search on the forum for
blind or
mdf you will find people discussing their home made screens. If my radiator in the living room was in a different position I would have the end wall painted with Dulux Icestorm 6 matt paint and use that as my screen.
3) How do you plan to drive the projector?, some people prefer the ease of use of a consumer progressive scan dvd player while others prefer the myriad of tweaks a HTPC/HCPC (home theatre/cinema pc) can offer. A HTPC is just a standard PC with a DVD-ROM player but its usually made virtually silent (thanks to places like
www.quietpc.com), usually controlled by infrared for ease of use, and can be used in conjunction with a PC capture card and a free program like
www.dscaler.org to give very good picture quality from standard television broadcasts. A HTPC isnt for everyone and many prefer the ease of use of a decent progressive scan dvd player. The important thing to know is that some projectors have very good built-in scalers and others do not. The Sony VPL-HS10 for example is built for HTPC and its basically a stripped down Sony 11HT at half the price without the decent internal scaler. The Toshiba MT7 for example is quite well known for having good inputs comp/svideo but it isnt HTPC friendly.
4) When you go to view the projectors take along a range of DVD's. Its a good idea to take along films which have scenes which some projectors have difficulty handling. If you do a search I think someone else mentioned some good DVD's to test out an LCD projector. Im sure someone like Chris Frost/Gordon/Roland would be able to point out the best scenes to test an LCD projector with!. LCD technology isnt perfect, the main things to bear in mind when purchasing/choosing a projector are...
Screen Door: I prefer calling it the chicken wire effect!, because it looks like you are looking through some chicken wire. If you walk about 4 feet up to a projector screen you will see the individual pixels that make up the projected image. In theory the more pixels (resolution) which make up the projected image you will notice less screendoor. The general concensus on WVGA projectors (848x480 resolution) is to defocus the lens on the projector by a small amount, this usually reduces screendoor to an acceptable level for most people (about 9 feet from the screen). Another idea which reduces screendoor is to use a very light grey screen (which is one of the reasons why Dulux IceStorm 6 matt paint is so popular). On a WXGA projector screendoor can sometimes be seen from 7 feet although some people dont see it within 4 feet. Its the same with RPTV I believe, if you get really close to a RPTV set you will see the gaps. The AE300/Z1/HS10 should have pretty minimal screendoor hopefully. Its a good idea to work out your seating distance from the screen, so you can take screendoor into consideration, although some people are less susceptible to it than others. Im not sure what projector shops are near you, but some loan out the projector for the weekend so that you decide if its the model you want.
Noise: A few years ago most projectors were quite noisy, around 34db-36db. I would personally aim for 28db-30db, most new home cinema projectors fit into this category today. Usually Home Cinema projectors have a 'cinema' mode where the lamp decreases in brightness in order for the projector to remain fairly noiseless. In this mode you usually increase the life of the bulb by 50%-100%.
Bulb life: Most projectors have a bulb life of 2000 hours, although recently 4000 to 6000 hours in 'cinema mode' are becoming quite common. The new Philips and Panasonics have a very long bulb life (4000-6000 hours in cinema mode). At first you think that 2000 hours isnt much, in fact 4000 or 6000 hours doesnt seem like much, but if you work it out 2000 hours or more does last you a long time!. You could watch your projector for just under 3 hours each day, every day for 2 years and only clock up just over 2000 hours. Bulbs vary in price from about £190 to £350 depending on projector model/make.
Lumens: The higher the lumen, the brighter the projected image will be. However this is very subjective, as I have noticed that quite a few manufacturers tend to exaggerate their lumen ratings. I would personally go for a projector in the 700-1000 lumen rating. Recently Sanyo have brought out the PLV-70 which is probably the first projector where you could reasonably watch a movie in the daytime, I think it produces 2100 lumens, no doubt its probably quite noisy and the bulb replacement cost is going to be high.
Dead Pixels: Some people are lucky in that they suffer no dead pixels, but its inevitable that some will. Its a good idea to make sure wherever you buy your projector from is that they state their dead pixel policy. I think most manufacturers selling home cinema projectors tolerate a few dead pixels in the corner of the projected image, but if the dead pixels are in the centre of the screen then usually the unit will be repaired under warranty. A dead pixel is quite self explanatory, although its not just a case of tiny spec on the screen from not being displayed because a projector is made up of a RED, GREEN, and BLUE LCD panel. If you suffer a dead BLUE pixel in the centre of the screen then obviously when the projector displays a white image then that particular spot (pixel) would be yellow. From your viewing distance you probably wouldnt notice one dead pixel, unless your vision is 20/20
The new projectors should be released shortly. No doubt the forums will be filled with people reviewing their new/loaned projectors and giving the low down on whats good and whats bad about them. Once you have an idea of what you want, get a demo of the projector (preferably in your own home) and see if its right for you. I was looking at RPTV's a few years ago and to be honest LCD projection is far superior for watching your DVD's and those special TV shows that have to be seen at 7 foot wide!. If someone came to me and offered me either a 50" Plasma or a 32" TV and up to £2000 for a projector I would choose the latter any day of the week, let alone a RPTV!.
/James
