Projector advice

[Garrett]

A friend visited with his projector today & I'm now looking to buy one to replace my living room TV.. gaming,emulation & movies all looked great even though the one he brought was getting on for a year old & not full HD.

I'd appreciate the advice/recommendations of folks here.. apparently a short throw projector is better, he also recommended LED & I'd like to connect A TV box, a few consoles & PC.

 

[levi]

Yes, incandescent bulbs hung on a bit longer in projectors than they did in my house lights, but the change has come now to projectors, and bulb projectors are now pretty much a false saving, as they may be cheaper new, but replacing that bulb will be costly, and LED output is pretty good these days.


Short throw is more expensive than long throw cos you need better optics to cast the image the same width over a shorter distance. Whether you need a short throw projector is mainly down to your setup though, if you've got a room long enough, you could afford to buy a cheaper long throw projector.


You'll probably need to factor in an HDMI switch or something in too, as the projector may not have too many digital inputs for all those devices. It's worth checking whether it takes VGA, HDMI, DVI or something else too.


I don't know the state of the art when it comes to projectors these days really, so I'll be watching this thread to see what's out there, but I'd assume the above advice still holds true.

 

[Wally]

I have an Epson EB-S6 and EB-W02 at my parents house for outdoor movie sessions. The EB-W02 has been in use for more than 2 years for movie sessions and takes HDMI, VGA and Composite.

The picture looks great and all too, there's sure to be another version out now I wouldn't spend more than US$1500 on a projector given tech is changing, getting cheaper all the time. I think if the lamp goes then that's the reason to sell on eBay and get another projector. I would highly recommend you avoid the cheap projectors from China and the broken ones on eBay.

As much as I like and recommend projectors they do come with a few things that may have you reconsider.

1) You will need to have a wall spare with enough throw space. No furniture there UNLESS you have some room underneath. The reflection will annoy you. Buy a screen or paint the wall with projector paint. It is also suggested that you mount the projector on the ceiling for better viewing experience.

2) Projectors throw a lot of heat and can be expensive to run. More than a space heater would, definitely handy in winter

3) You will need to invest in amplifiers and speakers to get the sound quality as projectors have very poor speakers (Why they have speakers is beyond me).

4) The last thing. When a globe is due to be replaced please don't continue using the projector! I've heard that they go BOOM like a shotgun and shatter glass everywhere if you overuse the globe and could start a fire. I've never experienced this but I think it's something to keep in mind.

Happy projecting!

 

[TrashyMG]

4) The last thing. When a globe is due to be replaced please don't continue using the projector! I've heard that they go BOOM like a shotgun and shatter glass everywhere if you overuse the globe and could start a fire. I've never experienced this but I think it's something to keep in mind.

Well I've used my 720p Optima DLP projector for 2 years after the projector claimed the bulb needed replacement. I finally replaced it because the light finally became noticeable dimmer. I picked up a replacement bulb for $200 USD from the manufacturer. I got ~4.5 years off a single bulb. 


I honestly don't think a halogen bulb would explode unless it was poorly cooled or there was contamination on the bulb.

 

[DaMummy]

i have a ViewSonic Pro8200 projector with a Pioneer VSX-521-K receiver where 3 consoles connected, with room for few more, and I'd rate my projector at about the best purchase i've ever made as something that isnt a necessity. Projector is hanging from a wall, and consoles and receiver on a wall shelf i put up behind it. Wall bracket and shot HDMI cables and any adapters needed are all bought from monoprice, though i dont know if they ship to the UK. The projector is about 13feet away from the wall it projects to, and i get about a 125inch screen to play my games, watch movies, watch tv, or anything else i want to fap to. Since its for my personal pleasure only, I dont use any speakers which many might question, instead i have a pair of Sennheiser HD598s connected to the receiver, and am very happy with the set up. A Wally said though, dont depend on speaked in a projector, youd be better off finding a cheaper one that doesnt have speakers, so dont look at those specs at all, and if youre going to get a receiver, dont worry about the amount of connections the projector has as well.....do get a receiver btw.

 

[levi]

2) Projectors throw a lot of heat and can be expensive to run. More than a space heater would, definitely handy in winter


4) The last thing. When a globe is due to be replaced please don't continue using the projector! I've heard that they go BOOM like a shotgun and shatter glass everywhere if you overuse the globe and could start a fire. I've never experienced this but I think it's something to keep in mind.

Those sound like good reasons for an LED lit projector. While high power LEDs can get quite hot, it's nothing compared to a halogen bulb I'd have thought.