Projector

cormie

Hey folks,
Looking for any recommendations for a home projector for occasional movie watching.

I got this in the Amazon warehouse deals: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01GL4UKTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And feature wise it seems to have a lot, but the focus seems defective, that one side of the picture was in focus and the other out of focus.

Also, I've used projectors before where you can place the projector a certain distance from the wall and enlarge or shrink the picture, and THEN focus. However the projector linked to above, it seems the focus is determined by the size, so the picture can only be one size while in focus based on distance from the wall.

Does anyone know what this feature is called as it's pretty important or else the projector is going to have to be mounted in the middle of the ceiling as it's projecting onto a small section of wall.

I thought I was getting a great deal as it was £56 from the warehouse deal, but it seems the quality just isn't great. Would be willing to spend a little more for better focus, being able to resize and then focus and a bit brighter too, hopefully with as many features like wifi etc too.

Any suggestions very welcome

TerrorFirmer

All of those cheap Chinese projectors in the €70-150 range are good value for what you pay, but realistically, at the end of the day you can't expect perfection from a sub €150 new projector. Most of these models, from the low resolution ones to decent resolution ones, tend to have varying degrees of uneven focus no matter what distance you are from the surface, and often the image isn't 100% even either, will tilt one side, etc.

They're good for what you pay but really for a reliable, decent home cinema experience you'd want to be looking at €300-400. Often it's not the image quality with these projectors, it's the build quality.

cormie

Thanks a lot for the reply. I could maybe put up with the bad focus for this price range, if I could adjust it to resize and then refocus, rather than resize/refocus on the same dial.

Would you have any idea what I should be looking for as a feature that will ensure I can do this?

Any recommendations on cheap projectors? I'm guessing this one is far worse than the one I've linked to already: https://www.groupon.ie/deals/led-projector-4?p=10&nlp=&CID=IE&tx=0&utm_source=channel_goods&utm_medium=email&sid=a6c7a00e-e8f8-48a9-a226-fb1af8d260d0_0_20161230&division=dublin&eh=676db06cdc697ceb9c9fc2f686e02bc8fda53161b8816048f0697a73ef3c4051&date=20163012&sender=rm&s=body&c=image&d=deal-page&utm_campaign=led-projector-4

Patrick Coke

cormie wrote: »

Hey folks,
Looking for any recommendations for a home projector for occasional movie watching.

I got this in the Amazon warehouse deals: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01GL4UKTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And feature wise it seems to have a lot, but the focus seems defective, that one side of the picture was in focus and the other out of focus.

Also, I've used projectors before where you can place the projector a certain distance from the wall and enlarge or shrink the picture, and THEN focus. However the projector linked to above, it seems the focus is determined by the size, so the picture can only be one size while in focus based on distance from the wall.

Does anyone know what this feature is called as it's pretty important or else the projector is going to have to be mounted in the middle of the ceiling as it's projecting onto a small section of wall.

I thought I was getting a great deal as it was £56 from the warehouse deal, but it seems the quality just isn't great. Would be willing to spend a little more for better focus, being able to resize and then focus and a bit brighter too, hopefully with as many features like wifi etc too.

Any suggestions very welcome

Maybe have a look at the lg minbeam i think its called, seems very high quality but youd be looking at 600-800 quid

mordeith

cormie wrote: »

Any recommendations on cheap projectors? I'm guessing this one is far worse than the one I've linked to already: https://www.groupon.ie/deals/led-projector-4?p=10&nlp=&CID=IE&tx=0&utm_source=channel_goods&utm_medium=email&sid=a6c7a00e-e8f8-48a9-a226-fb1af8d260d0_0_20161230&division=dublin&eh=676db06cdc697ceb9c9fc2f686e02bc8fda53161b8816048f0697a73ef3c4051&date=20163012&sender=rm&s=body&c=image&d=deal-page&utm_campaign=led-projector-4

The resolution on that is terrible. And I reckon the brightness would be awful as well. You would definitely need to be spending closer to €300 for anything decent.

ED E

Pico (what you're talking about) are junk tbh. A decent "real" projector will work in a dim room, a Pico you'll need a pitch black room and itll still look terrible.

I can buy a smartphone for €20, but its not worth €5. Same goes for projectors, the ones worth buying start at about €350 with Hitachis cheapest model.

NB: I've been playing 360 on a projector since about 2007 and movies on one since about 2004.

cormie

Thanks a lot for the replies again.

I know the projector I got from Amazon may be classed as a mini one, but I don't care if the projector is mini or regular size at all. It's for home projection mainly, portability would be nice, but most of its use will be within the same 4 walls.

So would much rather a good picture (doesn't even need to be HD) and good brightness (just as long as you can see with a few dim lights on) and adjustable distance and focus instead of portability.

cormie

Hey folks, just coming back to this to see if anyone has any idea what the feature that allows you to resize image and THEN focus is called so for example, if the projector needs to sit on a shelf and because the shelf is a little far back the image ends up being way too big and being projected way outside the desired screen area. So you'd then be able to resize the image and THEN focus once you have the size set.

Any help appreciated, the amazon one I bought in the OP only had the one dial which would change the size only slightly in line with the focus.

Ghost Train

cormie wrote: »

Hey folks, just coming back to this to see if anyone has any idea what the feature that allows you to resize image and THEN focus is called so for example, if the projector needs to sit on a shelf and because the shelf is a little far back the image ends up being way too big and being projected way outside the desired screen area. So you'd then be able to resize the image and THEN focus once you have the size set.

Any help appreciated, the amazon one I bought in the OP only had the one dial which would change the size only slightly in line with the focus.

Would usually just be called zoom and focus. I suppose zoom is usually covered under throw distance, and you get online calculators, so you can calculate what screen size you can get for projector distance from screen. With no zoom you would be stuck move the projector to adjust the size
screen size calculator
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator.cfm

cormie

Cool thanks a lot, just had a quick google about throw distance and looks like I'm looking for a long throw projector so but I'll check one of them calculators before buying anything too