Should i go LCD or projector

Fallschirmjager

sparky,

i have a sony projector and here is the facts

bought it 2002 (i think) and i still have not replaced my bulb! and before you ask i am a movie nut!!!

here is what i know.

decide your budget -- after all that is what is going to make your mind up for you!

the projector is great. anyone who tells you otherwise does not own one! i am waiting for the 'is black ona projector, black brigade!' but i digress.

i ran sky thru my projector for a while but i stopped. i have a 90 inch screen and wht you find is that the quality of a tv signal spread over that area starts to look very grainy. yes you can limit the size of the image to inrease the qualitty but be aware looking a grainy image all night is hard on your eyes. certainly thats what i found anyways. i have not tried it recently so maybe the signal is better now

movies on a projector are the only way to go!!!

you will need the room dark and the way you save your bulb is to reduce thepower or brightness to it (its a setting on your projector) i have mine at 70% and it is still going strong. also buy your erplacement bulbs in the US..they are dollar for sterling matched (a complete ripoff in europe TBH)

here is what i would do. get a projector for your movies and good tv. wire both of them up (so you can watch either on a tv or projector-- allowing you to watch the big tv events, football etc on the projector) and as for wiring...jesus i dont honestly know why people make such a big deal of this. get all your gear at one end and your screen with your projector at the other (dont forget a good screen will save your bulb life as well -- and for jaysus sake get it the US, i got mine shipped for 30 dollars!!!) the one in the sony shops here was 300 notes -- i got it for 100!!!

i personally think plasma is excellent but it is still too expensive and also remember it doesnt last forever either. i would never ever watch a movie on a tv or plasma (perhaps 60 inch if you want to remortgage your hosue and sell your kids) anymore and neither would my better half.

also dont buy the official projecotr mounts-- i got mine off a canadian company for 90 canadian dollars!!! whereas in irelandthe sony one was 300 euro!!!

a bit of planning, you save yerself a packet...

so the summary : get a good ordinary tv (until plasma comes down again) and a good projecotor...once you watch a big screen movei (star wars, gladiator etc) you will never look back.

if you need any help -- pm me dude...

Maxwell

Completely agree with Fallschirmjager

I actually now have a 42" plasma and a projector and in my opinion there is only 1 winner in the watching TV stakes - the Projector is a dream!! If you are into movies and do your homework on purchasing them on the web (prices in Ireland are crazy) - you will not be disappointed.

I mainly use my plasma for TV and the projector for movies - the best of both worlds in my opinion.

irish_stu

what model of projector do ya have Fallschirmjager,any info on what largest size screen you can get,at moment i have one wall painted in a matt off-white colour,with image projected onto it.looking for suggestions how to conserve bulb life time,have mine running on eco mode since i painted the wall,experimented a bit with different types and colours of paint,cos i didnt want to run bulb at maximum all time,due to heat and noise of fan,so any suggestions greatly taken on board.

Fallschirmjager

irish_stu wrote:

what model of projector do ya have Fallschirmjager,any info on what largest size screen you can get,at moment i have one wall painted in a matt off-white colour,with image projected onto it.looking for suggestions how to conserve bulb life time,have mine running on eco mode since i painted the wall,experimented a bit with different types and colours of paint,cos i didnt want to run bulb at maximum all time,due to heat and noise of fan,so any suggestions greatly taken on board.

Irish_stu,
dude its a sony vpl-something-11ht -- its is 1000 ansi lumens so its not too bright by modern standards and ehre is what i did..

i bought in that shop beside the hapenny bridge (a curtains,clothes,fabric place-you can see if from the hapenns bridge) and i bought black out curtains. this is a kinda plastic,cloth based material. the slight mistake i made was i added that to my curtains (well my better half did because otherwise it would have been hand done with 10,000 hotel room sewing kits). the reason this is a mistake (IMHO) is that the curtains are 5 or 10cm from the window and let some light in (sorry childish i know but its just one of those things that really bugs me!). so i supose if iwas doing it again i would get a nice way of attaching it to the window,. For Sparks here i think Velux do a line in those curtains, otherwise you can always use VELCRO (designed by men for men!)

the projector screen i bought was from Da-Lite and i got it on ebay. i checked, the guy that i bought mine from is no longer selling them now. but there appears to be quite a few german companies selling them for 100 or so euros, which doesnt strike me as bad value. the shops here were just ridiculous pricing...

as for the screen info when i checked it out here is what i found. i did find this site and it seems to be a good review

http://www.projectorcentral.com/screen_reviews_summary.htm

basically the way i remember it is -- if your screen can reflect more light-- you need less bulb power (so you will read about some materials using a microscopic glass beads blah blah blah)-- but like all things it gets a bit wanky at the top.

i know one mate of mine swears that walls are just as good...the issue for me is i hang mine from the cieling and cant leave it down all the time..due to terrible access kitchen design!!!!

as for the largest screen size -- i have it working on the full 90 inches of pure heaven...that was the largest i could find at the time -- but i dont think it could go much bigger

one other thing i did find is that cheap cables (DESPITE WHAT THE CABLE NAZIS say here!!) do make a difference...again you dont need to go mad -- but 90 dollars or so for a 14 foot cable and yer laughing...

..i have my projecotr and dvd and amp at one end and the screen obviously at the other...and since it hanging from the cieling there is no setup again and again...once you focus and align...you just leave it alone...it also keeps your projector away from dust..so i only change my dust filter once per year

hope that helps.

Fallschirmjager

Maxwell wrote:

Completely agree with Fallschirmjager

I actually now have a 42" plasma and a projector and in my opinion there is only 1 winner in the watching TV stakes - the Projector is a dream!! If you are into movies and do your homework on purchasing them on the web (prices in Ireland are crazy) - you will not be disappointed.

I mainly use my plasma for TV and the projector for movies - the best of both worlds in my opinion.

MAXWELL...you luck git...

ALL HAIL MAXWELL...

ZENER

i ran sky thru my projector for a while but i stopped. i have a 90 inch screen and wht you find is that the quality of a tv signal spread over that area starts to look very grainy. yes you can limit the size of the image to inrease the qualitty but be aware looking a grainy image all night is hard on your eyes. certainly thats what i found anyways. i have not tried it recently so maybe the signal is better now

Agree 100%, Watching Sky <anything> on a large screen is painful - especially football. They use way too little banwidth for it to work. DVD's are a different story altogether - unless you buy the pirate ones - a sight to behold !

I bought the Panasonic PAE500 from Komplett and am delighted with it. I strongly suggest you don't plumb for the cheapest screen, you will be dissappointed. Obviously to go with this you need some decent sound or the whole thing is spoiled.

My situation is different in that I have a better half and a couple of quarters so I don't have a dedicated room only the sitting room which has the Corry/Emmerdale/Eastenders display unit in the corner. But we make an occasion out of watching DVD's a couple of times a week on the 80" screen.

ZEN

Fallschirmjager

ZENER wrote:

Agree 100%, Watching Sky <anything> on a large screen is painful - especially football. They use way too little banwidth for it to work. DVD's are a different story altogether - unless you buy the pirate ones - a sight to behold !

I bought the Panasonic PAE500 from Komplett and am delighted with it. I strongly suggest you don't plumb for the cheapest screen, you will be dissappointed. Obviously to go with this you need some decent sound or the whole thing is spoiled.

My situation is different in that I have a better half and a couple of quarters so I don't have a dedicated room only the sitting room which has the Corry/Emmerdale/Eastenders display unit in the corner. But we make an occasion out of watching DVD's a couple of times a week on the 80" screen.

ZEN

panasonic....niiiicccceeeeeee

PWEI

I've been looking for a projector now for over a month and can't make up my mind what to buy.I was advised to buy a DLP Projector instead of an LCD projector.But I was chatting to a chap in Peats and he said that LCD was much better.I'm after something that has a high contrast ratio and Lumen Output over 1000.Does anybody know anything about DELL projectors? They're selling one at the moment,a DELL 1100MP Micro Portable Projector that has 1400 Lumens and 2100 contrast ratio?.

Maxwell

I have heard many opinions more in favour of DLP over LCD - by a mile.

I would advise you visit www.avforums.com and go into the projector section - loads of advice there from experienced people!

ZENER

Technology wise DLP is better than LCD - higher contrast, brightness etc but sample before you buy.

DLPs designed for PC Powerpoint presentations and data display may not be suitable for fast moving images. Robbie who used to post here warned about them.

When you're looking at the picture you may notice rainbow effects as your eyes dart over the image, I noticed it on the units in the view room at Harvey Normans - it gets annoying after a a very short while. DLP projectors designed for movies are a little different so view before you buy.

ZEN

blorg

PWEI wrote:

I've been looking for a projector now for over a month and can't make up my mind what to buy.I was advised to buy a DLP Projector instead of an LCD projector.But I was chatting to a chap in Peats and he said that LCD was much better.I'm after something that has a high contrast ratio and Lumen Output over 1000.Does anybody know anything about DELL projectors? They're selling one at the moment,a DELL 1100MP Micro Portable Projector that has 1400 Lumens and 2100 contrast ratio?.

LCD has got very good now, I wouldn't by any means discount it. I have a Panasonic PTAE500 myself and am very happy with it, absolutely no screendoor/chickenwire effect at all like my previous LCD projectors. That Dell sounds like a data projector and would likely be unsuited for movies.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/ is a very good site for reviews, comparisons, etc., and includes an article explaining the differences between LCD and DLP.

Edit: You can't just say 'DLP is better' as there are (obviously) individual LCD projectors that are better than individual DLP projectors. Rather, you should be comparing projectors at around the same price point and asking 'is _this_ LCD projector costing €1,500 better than _this_ DLP projector costing €1,500.'