digital projectors

Milan · 26 October 2005, 09:14

Hi everyone thinking of buying a digital projector for the home anyone of the experts out there know anything about them ie. which is best value for money etc. thanks in advance

Tim M · 26 October 2005, 10:04

I would love to get one but the cost is preventing me; not just the cost of the projector but the replacement bulbs which seem to be about £300 each!

I've seen these £220 ones on ebay which are purly for video (no VGA input). Don't know how bright or clear they are but might be a good "budget" solution.

Bern Hanreck · 26 October 2005, 10:25

speak to Mervyn ( if he's still there ) at

http://www.projectors.co.uk/

very helpful & knowledgable

Jimbo · 26 October 2005, 10:51

My webdesign company has just bought a Benq projector.

As Tim says the bulbs are hideously expensive - so one of our deciding factors was bulb life. Also check resolution, brightness, and the size of the projector.

Ours was about £700 from www.ebuyer.co.uk, and it all seems to work nicely, and it's small and sexy to boot. It has inputs for just about everything under the sun, and is fast enough to handle video too.

codprawn · 26 October 2005, 11:32

I have to be honest - are these REALLY a step forward???

I know a few people with them - mate of mine demonstrated his - had to unroll the screen because the wall was dirty - then had to close the curtains - image was ok ish - kept going out of focus as the heat levels changed - he said he wished it had autofocus.

I then thought - hang on - my £120 35mm projector gives better results than this and it DOES have autofocus!!!

Basically all that was missing was the clack of the slide mechanism - is that REALLY progress????

DJL · 26 October 2005, 12:15

I personally don't think projectors really cut it for television use - which is what I assume you would be using it for. The main disadvantage being that unless the room is really dark you don’t get proper blacks and thus poor contrast.

I've assisted in the purchase of about 100 projectors over the last few years for several colleges. After trialling many makes/models, I don’t think even the newest all singing all dancing projectors produce a particularly good picture under normal conditions. Then after you factor in the price of bulbs I think they become very unattractive.

If you want a big TV I’d go for plasma.

codprawn · 26 October 2005, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJL

I personally don't think projectors really cut it for television use - which is what I assume you would be using it for. The main disadvantage being that unless the room is really dark you don’t get proper blacks and thus poor contrast.

I've assisted in the purchase of about 100 projectors over the last few years for several colleges. After trialling many makes/models, I don’t think even the newest all singing all dancing projectors produce a particularly good picture under normal conditions. Then after you factor in the price of bulbs I think they become very unattractive.

If you want a big TV I’d go for plasma.

I wouldn't go for Plasma - they are on their way out already!!!

I would wait for the new carbon nanotube screens or SED tvs which will be out as early as next year!!!

Basically they work in a similar way to the conventional TV but instead of having just 3 electron guns they have a cabon nanotube gun for every pixel - basically you get CRT performance from a thin screen!!!

Toshiba have a 50" due out soon!!!

And I remember when I first joined Ribnet some posters mocking me for saying Plasmas would be short lived!!!

Alan · 26 October 2005, 13:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

And I remember when I first joined Ribnet some posters mocking me for saying Plasmas would be short lived!!!

Be fair, many people mock you for many more things than that!

codprawn · 26 October 2005, 13:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

Be fair, many people mock you for many more things than that!

And are just as misguided.......

Wouldn't be including yourself in that by any chance???

Alan · 26 October 2005, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

And are just as misguided.......

Wouldn't be including yourself in that by any chance???

If you are saying (and one can never be sure with the word of Cod) that anyone who mocks, disagree's or generally wonders just how you can talk with utter authority on such a wide range of subjects, is misguided, then yes I am afraid I am misguided.

But anyway since you are such an expert on TV's can you give me the word of Cod on this. I wanna buy a big screen TV (42"+) but dont want to spend huge dosh because technology is driving prices down. I've looked at low end plasma, LCD projection and DLP and am coming to the conclusion that the best option is actually a CRT projection TV for around C$1200 (GBP 600) cos its a reasonable picture and in 3-5 yrs time the super duper technologies will be much cheaper.

Talk to me oh fishy one.

codprawn · 26 October 2005, 14:00

You are right in not wanting to spend too much!!! Personally I still say that the best quality you can get is a conventional CRT from Sony - say 32" or 36" widescreen. Prices have come down a hell of a lot - 100hz are best!!!

If you must have something bigger without spending too much then yes go for a crt projector tv for now - better than many of the others out there.

Make sure you get good demos of all you are interested in and view them from different angles etc.

I have quite a bit of practice in this because I have helped my mate choose the sound/vision stuff for the luxury homes he builds - they have all the mod cons and sell for £750,000 each - but I HATE new houses - for the same money I would rather an old place with character and room for my RIB!!!

Good luck with your choice!!!

Squirrel · 26 October 2005, 14:07

I use an Epson EMP, bought from http://www.purplecat.co.uk/ a couple of years ago. You wouldn;t have one as the main TV in your living room, but specifically for home cinema and gaming its great. Feels really special turning the lights down and watching a movie.

It works fine in anything but bright sunshine, generally dimmed lighting is best to get sharp resolution. No problems with it going out of focus and its still on the same bulb after very frequent use (must be over 2,000 hours by now).

I set ours up in the kid's playroom. It has the advantage that everything is attached to the ceiling so its out of harm's way and quite inobtrusive.
Did the whole setup, projector, cables, screen (free with projector), DVD home cinema system and Xbox for £1,500. Try and get a 60" screen in any other format for that price!

If I did it again I'd spend more on cabling as a 10m scart cable noticeably loses quality compared to a 1m.

Purple cat were very helpful over the phone sorted out delivery and supplied a replacement screen after the first was damaged in transit with no arguments.

Cookee · 26 October 2005, 14:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJL

I personally don't think projectors really cut it for television use - which is what I assume you would be using it for. The main disadvantage being that unless the room is really dark you don’t get proper blacks and thus poor contrast.

I've assisted in the purchase of about 100 projectors over the last few years for several colleges. After trialling many makes/models, I don’t think even the newest all singing all dancing projectors produce a particularly good picture under normal conditions. Then after you factor in the price of bulbs I think they become very unattractive.

If you want a big TV I’d go for plasma.

Defonitely not an expert on this at all, but I know what I like and I've just got a 40" Samsung LED monitor (no tuner), and the picture is fantastic, especially when plugged into my new media PC and I put on a slide show of hi res photos - can't wait for HDTV - it will make TV much better to watch!

Rogue Wave · 27 October 2005, 00:59

Sanyo and Epson are the two projector I reckon in Projectors but I'd have to ask you what you actually wanted one for before rekomending a brand. depending on the use you may be well served going toward a flat screen

Sanyo's are very reliable and compete very favourable at the leading edge of the teknowlodgy.

If John Fuller offers an opinion listen to him cos he is very clever

and does AV for a living. I am not so clever and used to do it for a living

Milan · 27 October 2005, 09:06

Many thanks for all the information folks I must say I have found your comments very very helpfull I intended to use the projector for viewing dvds xbox for the kids and pc but after reading the information on this subject I will need todo my research very much more carefully might even bin it and go for the big screen tv option wants again many thanks for taking the time to post your comments

Mark Halliday · 27 October 2005, 11:23

Just had this e-mailed to me.

It may be of interest if you are quick.
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...&pid=2&tid=456

Milan · 27 October 2005, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

Just had this e-mailed to me.

It may be of interest if you are quick.
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...&pid=2&tid=456

Cheers Mark

Alex Brown · 27 October 2005, 17:36

We have Sanyo, Infocus, and Epson projectors at work.... the Infocus projectors keep breaking, one has been back a few times cos it keeps splitting the screen in two for no apparent reason, and the other is about to go back after not picking any signal up whatsoever. The Epson is ok, but everything's manual on the front (it is 4 years old tho). However, we have Sanyo's, some of which are over 5 years old and still going strong.... there are two new ones with 5000 ansi lumens which are expensive, but excellent image quality for both pc and video stuff.

Every so often I bring a projector home to test - we don't use a proper screen, just a semi-ironed white bedsheet which does the job just fine at night time, but shows a few creases during the day

I still like my panny 32" widescreen crt - not 100Hz technology, the picture is very crisp and I reckon better than LCD and plasma.

-Alex

roycruse · 27 October 2005, 18:42

Heres my 2 cents worth on the subject.

Do not buy a projector if you are wanting a replacement for the TV.

Lets face it most stuff on the TV is crap anyway so why waste your money on a BIG telly to watch it.

However for watching Films and / or playing PlayStation games a projector is a superb way of putting a serious amount of square meterage of viewing area into your living room in an economical way - and having that cinema feel without leaving your own home.

Here's my top tips.

1. Buy black out blinds for all your windows - you will need total darkness when watching movies (just like the cinema) a projector can only add light to a surface so any ambient light will wash out your dark colours and blacks.

2. Buy a DLP projector - they have far better contrast ratios than equivalent priced LCD projectors. But make sure you get a double rate DLP chip (all modern ones will be double rate) otherwise you will see rainbow effects round the white parts of images whenever you move your head or blink.

3. Don't get anything more powerful than 1000 or 1100 lumens anything else will be too bright when using in a pitch dark room - the more powerful ones are intended for daylight presentations - and while you can get away with washed out colours in a presentation you wont want to watch a film in anything other than darkness.

4. don't scrimp by not buying a screen - you can get a nice ceiling mounted pull down screen for less than £200 - it wont ruin your living room whilst its rolled up and can be pulled down in 2 seconds when you need it. The quality obtained with a screen will far out way the price.

5. Buy a projector that is HDTV ready so you wont have to upgrade it any time soon.

6. Make sure that every thing is connected to your projector by RGB scart or Component Video as this will keep the quality high.

I have an Optoma EP725 and in my opinion Optoma make the best projectors you can get - and there customer service is superb.

Below are some pictures of my setup.

If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them.

Alan · 27 October 2005, 19:48

Roy,

Would 800 Ansi lumens type stuff be adequate brightness wise for a basement set up in your opinoon? Basement does have small windows but is not very light compared with main floor room. (Most houses in Canada have basements. Just the job for your home theatre set up).

My local Costco is doing a deal with an Optoma H31 projector and 92" screen for C$1400 odd. Which looks attractive for watching DVD's on which is my main use for it.

Cheers,
Alan

PS. Nice artex!