Hi there
Ill cut to the chase Im obsessed with getting a projector!! There are reasons why sensibly I should hold off for a few years, however, I may have found a solution and was wondering what you guys thought:
What I want is a dedicated cinema room of appropriate size. Very dark walls. Situated where I could play the volume as loud as I desire. Room would contain a Hi-Def disc player (HD-DVD or Blu Ray - whichever format emerges victorious from the format war). New amp and speakers capable of decoding and getting the best from the new HD / lossless sound formats that these discs carry. It would also be able to introduce a sound delay to correct lip synch problems, which my current all in one surround system is unable to do. The centerpiece of this set up would be a 1080p projector (LCD or DLP).
The above is not possible because:
I am anywhere from 3 months to 3 years from getting a new place where I could have a cinema room. I presently have a room with surround sound installed, but the shape of the room means that I sit a maximum of 120 inches from where a projection screen would have to be situated.
It could be that long before there is a clear choice as to which HD disc format to choose.
It could be a while before appropriate amplifiers become available.
Whilst 720p projectors are affordable at present and are by all accounts excellent, 1080p should arrive in the near future and be affordable within a couple of years. Due to the rate of improvement its hard to see whether to go the LCD or DLP route. Will C2 fine on LCD projectors make them the best choice etc etc
So obviously, I should wait 2-3 years to get a projector?
No!!!!! Because I weant a big picture now!!! Whilst doing my research Ive come across a potential solution:
The Optoma DV10 Movietime. 480p projector with built in DVD player. This has the following advantages for me:
Has a very short throw I reckon that working on sitting 2x the width of the screen away (Ive seen this recommended for a 480p projector), I would be looking at projecting a 68 inch diagonal image. Due to the extreme short throw on this machine Id simply be able to stick it on the floor or on a low stool in front of me and get the appropriate screen size. A 60-70" image would be plenty given the distance I would be from the screen.
The definition should be adequate given that I will have no HD source for 2-3 years, and it has an optical out to feed the surround signal to an external amplifier. My existing all in one surround system has an optical input and so I should be able to play back the sound through my existing surround set up. Plus, if there are lip synch errors as I imagine there will be, I can fit a Felston 540 audio delay box between the Optoma and the amp to correct this.
I need to make sure I'm not susceptible to the Rainbow Effect and that my home cinema system (JVC THA-75R) would handle the sound it has Dolby Digital and DTS decoders but this is normally used with the internal DVD player Im guessing if I connected the Optoma to it through the optical in (usually used to connect PVR to utilize Dolby Pro Logic 2 decoding for freeview) then it will still recognize and decode these signals.
I reckon this would be a great stop gap solution until the whole HD thing settles down and I have a better place for a permanent install should cost no more than £800 with a quality(?) home made screen and a Felston box. Have a few questions though:
Ill only be playing back DVDs and occasionally freeview will the resolution be adequate? At 480p it is less than DVD although it will be progressive whereas my 36 CRT is interlaced?
Is sitting twice the screen width away enough to combat screendoor with a 480p projector? Is there anybody with this model that can comment on how susceptible it is to screendoor?
Does my idea for piping the sound to my current all in one system seem like a great or terrible plan? The optical in is labelled as STB-in Im just guessing that the DTS and Dolby decoders can be accesed from there also any thoughts?
Finally, has there been any news on the grapevine about a replacement for this model Id be gutted if a month after I bought it there was a 720p replacement for no extra cost!!!
Sorry for the long thread all thoughts are much appreciated.
Thanks
Ill cut to the chase Im obsessed with getting a projector!! There are reasons why sensibly I should hold off for a few years, however, I may have found a solution and was wondering what you guys thought:
What I want is a dedicated cinema room of appropriate size. Very dark walls. Situated where I could play the volume as loud as I desire. Room would contain a Hi-Def disc player (HD-DVD or Blu Ray - whichever format emerges victorious from the format war). New amp and speakers capable of decoding and getting the best from the new HD / lossless sound formats that these discs carry. It would also be able to introduce a sound delay to correct lip synch problems, which my current all in one surround system is unable to do. The centerpiece of this set up would be a 1080p projector (LCD or DLP).
The above is not possible because:
I am anywhere from 3 months to 3 years from getting a new place where I could have a cinema room. I presently have a room with surround sound installed, but the shape of the room means that I sit a maximum of 120 inches from where a projection screen would have to be situated.
It could be that long before there is a clear choice as to which HD disc format to choose.
It could be a while before appropriate amplifiers become available.
Whilst 720p projectors are affordable at present and are by all accounts excellent, 1080p should arrive in the near future and be affordable within a couple of years. Due to the rate of improvement its hard to see whether to go the LCD or DLP route. Will C2 fine on LCD projectors make them the best choice etc etc
So obviously, I should wait 2-3 years to get a projector?
No!!!!! Because I weant a big picture now!!! Whilst doing my research Ive come across a potential solution:
The Optoma DV10 Movietime. 480p projector with built in DVD player. This has the following advantages for me:
Has a very short throw I reckon that working on sitting 2x the width of the screen away (Ive seen this recommended for a 480p projector), I would be looking at projecting a 68 inch diagonal image. Due to the extreme short throw on this machine Id simply be able to stick it on the floor or on a low stool in front of me and get the appropriate screen size. A 60-70" image would be plenty given the distance I would be from the screen.
The definition should be adequate given that I will have no HD source for 2-3 years, and it has an optical out to feed the surround signal to an external amplifier. My existing all in one surround system has an optical input and so I should be able to play back the sound through my existing surround set up. Plus, if there are lip synch errors as I imagine there will be, I can fit a Felston 540 audio delay box between the Optoma and the amp to correct this.
I need to make sure I'm not susceptible to the Rainbow Effect and that my home cinema system (JVC THA-75R) would handle the sound it has Dolby Digital and DTS decoders but this is normally used with the internal DVD player Im guessing if I connected the Optoma to it through the optical in (usually used to connect PVR to utilize Dolby Pro Logic 2 decoding for freeview) then it will still recognize and decode these signals.
I reckon this would be a great stop gap solution until the whole HD thing settles down and I have a better place for a permanent install should cost no more than £800 with a quality(?) home made screen and a Felston box. Have a few questions though:
Ill only be playing back DVDs and occasionally freeview will the resolution be adequate? At 480p it is less than DVD although it will be progressive whereas my 36 CRT is interlaced?
Is sitting twice the screen width away enough to combat screendoor with a 480p projector? Is there anybody with this model that can comment on how susceptible it is to screendoor?
Does my idea for piping the sound to my current all in one system seem like a great or terrible plan? The optical in is labelled as STB-in Im just guessing that the DTS and Dolby decoders can be accesed from there also any thoughts?
Finally, has there been any news on the grapevine about a replacement for this model Id be gutted if a month after I bought it there was a 720p replacement for no extra cost!!!
Sorry for the long thread all thoughts are much appreciated.
Thanks