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Home Theater Projector

PoohBEAR

PoohBEAR

Legendary Member
Joined
6 September 2002
Messages
4,239
Location
Northern VA
Any input on a quality tv projector for home theater........on a budget? :D I am going to give myself a month to research this area....getting seats, sourround sound and blah blah blah.

what is good and what is not so good?
 
Calvin,

Tan and I are into this hobby. I don't know what he'll recommend but I think we can both agree on getting a DLP over LCD projectors. Picture quality is just plain better.

Anyway, for a budget projector, look into the Infocus X1. I've seen it in action and it's good for the price. $999 at Best Buy or cheaper in the internet.

Go to www.avsforum.com to look around for the latest and greatest. Talk with owners too.
Go to www.projectorcentral.com to look at specs on a particular pj.
 
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hECK....I wanna join in this hobby..I have a spare room that I will convert to a home theater. :D researching time.......

Joel said:
Calvin,

Tan and I are into this hobby. I don't know what he'll recommend but I think we can both agree on getting a DLP over LCD projectors. Picture quality is just plain better.

Anyway, for a budget projector, look into the Infocus X1. I've seen it in action and it's good for the price. $999 at Best Buy or cheaper in the internet.

Go to www.avsforum.com to look around for the latest and greatest. Talk with owners too.
Go to www.projectorpeople.com to look at specs on a particular pj.
Click to expand...
 
$1000 is not going to get you a very good HD DLP projector. If you want to do it right, you are looking at 8-10K on the projector.

Your other option would be to get a 70" LCD TV. Sony makes one that is really nice. Of course, it it not cheap either.
 
NetViper said:
$1000 is not going to get you a very good HD DLP projector.
Click to expand...

A lot of X1 owners will beg to differ on that.


If you want to do it right, you are looking at 8-10K on the projector.
Click to expand...

$500-$3000 = decent pj
$3000-$7500 = good pj
$8000-$10,000 = very good pj
$10,000++ = best of the best

The good thing is the prices are going down and the pj's nowadays are equipped with HD2 chips for better contrast ratio. If you really want to do it right, a boxy projection TV has no business inside a dedicated Home Theater room. Those things belong in the living room.
 
dlp

Pooh Bear-
PM me with your budget if you don't mind and I'll make some suggestions. There are some very good projectors out right now that are somewhat easy on the wallet. Being a film editor, I'm dealing with this everyday.Put your $$$ in the screen-makes all of the difference in the world.
Stewart Firehawk Deluxe Screen material is the way to go. also a quality AV/receiver can make a huge difference. Some of the guys at the SoCal x-mas party can tell you about what I had going on in my setup.
Are you coming to the Santa Monica meeting tonight?
Good Luck -
Mark Stepp
 
Joel said:
A lot of X1 owners will beg to differ on that.
Click to expand...

I know nothing about the X1. I can tell you that the difference between my $2500 projector at work and a $8000 sharp unit is HUGE. If you are going for an amazing home theater experience, I don't think $1000 unit will cut it. I guess it depends on what you want and your budget.

NSX-Ster is right about the screens too. And they are not cheap. A good motorized screen will run $2000 and up.
 
For what it is worth I purchased the Studio Experiance 2HD (rebranded Sanyo PLV-Z2) LCD projector. I had a Sony VPL-W400Q prior to the 2HD. I am very happy with the purchase. You can get the PLV-Z2 for around $1900. It is true 16:9 with 720 horizontal lines for HDTV.

I would have bought the BenQ PE8700 DLP but it is over $5k. IMO it is the only DLP worth purchasing at this time for home theater. There are some other ones coming out soon that are promising though.

Check out www.projectorcentral.com and www.avsforum.com for more information on all projectors.

John
 
Wow. That looks sweet. LCD projectors do not do blacks very well and require a darker room. That is why I would go DLP.

The new Sony LCD TV's are a lot better than the old LCD Tv's. Much better black. Are the newer LCD projectors also producing better blacks?
 
Both DLP and LCD requires lighting control for the best picture during daytime viewing. This is related to the brightness of the projector not really the technology, DLP or LCD. My old 400Q had a max of 400 Lumens. The PLV-Z2 has 800 Lumens. Most DLPs are a little higher, but not by much. If lighting is an issue I think the PLV-70 with 2200 Lumens is the best value at ~$4k.

I am happy with the black level on mine, it is much better than the 400Q. Is it as good as DLP? I don't think so, but it is getting close. I have also heard that DLPs give some people headaches and there is color problem refered to as "rainbows". I have never seen the "rainbows" first hand.

If I had the extra money I would have bought a WXGA DLP, but for now I can spend $2k and get nice LCD and look at DLPs a couple years from now when the prices start droping. Also, both technologies will just get better and better. I still can't believe more people do not go the front projection route. I think a lot of people have the missunderstanding that it is to expensive or that they are a pain to setup.
 
I have a 27" Sony I MIGHT be willing to part with if the offer is right. It's only 15 years old and YES I will include the clicker.:D
 
NetViper said:
LCD projectors do not do blacks very well and require a darker room.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the "other" things that plague LCD projectors such as screendoor effect, dust blobs and dead pixels.

Sure, DLP's have their quirks too. The one thing--and only ONE--that comes to mind is the rainbow effect. Even then, not many people are sensitive to them. It depends on the quality of the color wheel. Mine has RGBRGB spinning at 4x the rate of earlier model DLPs = no rainbows.
 
Doesn't DLP have dead pixels too?

Screen door sucks, but a good screen helps.

I am getting a 60" Sony LCD TV shorltly. I will give everyone my review in 3 weeks.
 
NetViper said:
Doesn't DLP have dead pixels too?

Screen door sucks, but a good screen helps.

I am getting a 60" Sony LCD TV shorltly. I will give everyone my review in 3 weeks.
Click to expand...
Yes-The DLP can have "dead" pixels from a poorly made or nicked mirror.
 
The screen door effect is becoming a very weak argument against LCDs. The high resolution of the current projectors make it impossible to see screen door from normal vewing distance. My setup for example has a pixel size 5/64", .082" exactly. If you can see that from 14 feet away than you are using binoculars.

Dust blobs can occur in both DLP and LCD. It can be easily cleaned during normal filter cleaning.

Manufacturing has greatly reduced the dead pixels on LCDs. Both of mine have had zero dead pixels. Again, they are so small that one or two would never be noticed from normal viewing distance. Also, DLP is made up of tiny mirrors so those can get stuck and create a stuck pixel affect. I would also bet that if you got both a new LCD and DLP without bad pixels you would more likely have the problem with DLP over time since the DLP is a mechanical operation rather the electrical.

To be fair one of the problems with LCDs that is not found in DLP is what is known as vertical banding. It seems like the panels made by Epson, I believe, have had more of an issue than the Sony panels. I have not noticed this affect on either of mine.

It all comes down to what you are willing to live with and what is important to you. Just like why we have NSXs rather than Corvettes.

Here is a link to a very informative article about LCD vs DLP.

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

John
 
NSX-Ster said:
Put your $$$ in the screen-makes all of the difference in the world.
Click to expand...

I've heard that a certain type of gray screen material is the best thing for these projectors instead of the typical white. Do you know the details on this, or is it even correct?

Thanks
 
I use a flat white screen with a gain of 1.0. If you use a slightly gray screen with a gain of say .8 than the blacks look better with a LCD, but the vibrance of the colors goes down. A higher gain screen will make the blacks more gray but the picture becomes brighter, good for non light controlled rooms. I also get the feeling that people that have had issues with vertical banding have been using high gain screens which make it stand out more.

John
 
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Let me know if I can help recommend or inform on anything. I work for Sharp Electronics and sell the home entertainment products to retail organizations. The two current single chip DLP models are.

XVZ12000 5500:1 contrast
Xvz10000 - 2500:1 contrast

Both models, like the brands discussed here are worth a look at in person. That is one piece of advice I would give is don't dive too hard into the land of specs or you will go insane. Go out for a drive, and look at some setups. I can recommend some places if you would like.

we also have new DLP models hitting this month -coming in lower price points.
www.sharpusa.com

When I put my theater in last year I waited till my wife left town. Luckily she was happy upon her return.

John
Sharp Electronics Regional Manager
 
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