Projector TV's

[Garrett]

I'm in the market for a new TV & a projector has been suggested, I'd never considered one but the more I think about it the more it appeals to me.. price would be the main concern £1000-1200 would be the max for me (but as cheap as possible preferably) I know nothing at all about projectors so would would appreciate any feedback from those that do, I'll be looking to use a PS4, WiiU, Nvidia Shield TV & various older consoles.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice/recommendations.

 

[Klumpen]

Are you talking about beamers or is there yet another new kind of screens out there?
My beamer is quite good and only did cost about 470€ when I got it 5 years ago (only 720p but brighter than most, doesn't have to be used in total darkness even in eco-mode), it's no replacement for a normal screen though. Both have ups and downs but if you're not inviting people to watch movies in the evening together regularly, the downsides (heating up the room with a 400W lamp, noise, daylight problems) aren't always worth the huge image size.
It's way easier to move to a new apartment with it though.

 

[TrashyMG]

My 7 year old 720p Optoma finally became a bit unreliable so I decided to upgrade to this and I'm fairly happy with the quality. It's 1080p native, so it's not one of the super expensive 4K ones. This one is fairly affordable, Your price point is pretty much how much I spent on my old projector and was surprised I got this one which has better image quality for a lot less.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MK39P92/

The only issue is that it's HDMI only, so I have this Component to HDMI converter I'm pretty pleased with.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NGIX98S/

 

[Garrett]

Are you talking about beamers or is there yet another new kind of screens out there?
My beamer is quite good and only did cost about 470€ when I got it 5 years ago (only 720p but brighter than most, doesn't have to be used in total darkness even in eco-mode), it's no replacement for a normal screen though. Both have ups and downs but if you're not inviting people to watch movies in the evening together regularly, the downsides (heating up the room with a 400W lamp, noise, daylight problems) aren't always worth the huge image size.
It's way easier to move to a new apartment with it though.

I haven't a clue what beamer means, but I'm guessing I ain't going to be too keen as I'm big on image quality.. daylight (sunlight?) probably isn't going to be an issue for me, resolution would be a thing though.. I game on console a lot & I'd notice if anything didn't look as good as it could on whatever display I was playing.

 

[Askarus]

A projector is always noisy.
Would a downside for me.
You can get a 50 inch TV for about 500€.
I have a pretty good one and am happy with it.

 

[TrashyMG]

A projector is always noisy.

In my case it's no more noisy than my 2 desktop computers running near my setup.

Also just to add, I use this 4x2 HDMI switch so I can switch or mirror my HDMI input to my PC Monitor or my Projector.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008F29MZ4/

 

[Citizen_Lurker]

I would love to get some advice too. Especially whether I need to bother with 4k or not...

 

[edlee]

You could buy a Sony MP-CL1 or PicoPro laser projector for around $400 and use it with an $80 tablet computer and a USB HDTV tuner, similar to the setup in this video:

 

[comradekingu]

You cant get back-projection tvs for the same reasons people are selling cheap projectors now. Get one of those. Preferably a "broken" one.

 

[benoitb]

Benq and Optoma make good 1080p DLP projectors in the 500-800€ price range.

I own an Optoma 131 Xe and am really happy with it. The Benq 1070 is also highly praised for the price.
Only downside of these are the "rainbow effect" (google it) and limited zoom range. Picture sharpness, input lag are excellent. I love gaming on my projector.
[doublepost=1469829780,1469829604][/doublepost]

I would love to get some advice too. Especially whether I need to bother with 4k or not...

4K is still really expensive. Both for the projector and the equipment required to game in 4K.
That said, I think a projector is actually one type of device where it does make sense to keep increasing the resolution as the screen is so big. If you are rich I would recommend it.

I went from 480p to 1080p and that is a night and day difference. When looking at still picture from my camera I can still spot the pixels at 1080p.

 

[Wally]

With a projector you also need to consider a sound system as they often do not have speakers like TVs do.

 

[Grench]

With a projector you also need to consider a sound system as they often do not have speakers like TVs do.

TVs don't have speakers so much as noise output ports. IMHO 1000+W combined over 6+ channels of quality speakers + sub makes up for a mediocre or even crappy TV/display.

 

[DaMummy]

I use a Viewsonic pro8200. It's great and has enough of inputs on it, but I would recommend also getting a receiver for it. It can get pretty walk in a room that's on the 2nd floor, and it does get noisy as most projectors. FWIW, I use open back headphones with it, and I have no issue with the noise. It's nearing 5 years of age now, and I use it quite often. Lamp still hasn't exploded, but I'm always on EcoMode. I wouldn't recommend a projector if you watch TV, it's more suited for if you watch shows/movies/play games on it.

 

[Klumpen]

I haven't a clue what beamer means, but I'm guessing I ain't going to be too keen as I'm big on image quality.. daylight (sunlight?) probably isn't going to be an issue for me, resolution would be a thing though.. I game on console a lot & I'd notice if anything didn't look as good as it could on whatever display I was playing.

"Beamer" seems to be a German (although English...) term for projector then, just like "Handy" for "mobile/cell phone".

Image quality on my eMachines v700 (company is bought by Acer by now) is great and 1080p wasn't a thing yet when I bought it.
After a few years I had some dead pixels but since the important part had 5 years of warranty, the repair was free.
If you consider buying one, look at the Lumen it can produce, the more the better, that was one of the most important points for me.
It's also capable of 3D but my BluRay-Player is not.

Having a proper sound system is a must, I got a Teufel system (not a very good one though), bought a big roll of thick copper cable and positionen four speakers in the upper room corners and the mittle one exactly on the middle of the silver screen, adjusted them to point to the sofa and adjusted loudness of the individual speakers by ear for the right balance. It's a bit of work but worth it.

Optoma and BenQ still seem to be good solutions and I'd probably go with a bright one of those in 1080p today.

 

[Neelix]

"Beamer" seems to be a German (although English...) term for projector then, just like "Handy" for "mobile/cell phone".

That sounds about right. It was something of a surprise for me when I first encountered the term here on these boards though, 'round these parts a "beamer" is a BMW.

-Neelix

 

[Askarus]

Depends on the projection size and distance you're looking at it.

Consider one if those big TVs as well I'd say.

 

[ElPoco]

Projectors are great for movie/video game nights, but might be a bit inconvenient for casual TV watching (since you'll need to block sunlight). It's not ideal either if you are used to keeping the TV on all the time, since you don't want to have your lamp on for too long and it will add some background noise.

But if you have a room that allows it, projectors are great for movies and video games. When playing split-screen multiplayer at my brother's place, we each have our own average TV-sized screen.

 

[Fzero]

I too have been looking into this the past week!

I need to move flat again, and going to get a new screen... and thinking that I'd quite like a projector this time rather than a telly.

I did simple google search for something like 'best projectors for gaming', and most were hyping the BenQ and the Optoma GT1080.
I then watched a fair few YT demos and reviews of these.

So far, I am leaning towards the Optoma GT1080.

It only has HDMI connectivity, but I too will be using my Nvidia Shield TV, Xbone, gaming PC ... and I guess perhaps some retro consoles via some adapters/

The main points leading me to this model;

-Very short throw, it can produce 100" display at only 1m away from the wall. It's probably one of the best for using in a smaller room, which will likely be me.
-Decent display, even with slight ambient light. Obviously the darker the room the better, but I think this looks ok in a room with a lamp on, from what I see on YT demo vid.
-Has a 'Gaming Mode', which apparently makes a great difference when playing games through it, improving f̶r̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶t̶e response time.
-For the performance, it's priced pretty well.

I suspect that I wouldn't watch too much telly on it, though perhaps a little, connecting the Tivo box to it for that.
Mainly, will be gaming or watching films via the Shield.

The short throw is most likely going to be the driver for my choice - Be interested in anyone has any other suggestions on recommended projectors too, particularly for gaming with




edit: corrected some mis info about the Gaming Mode, mentioning frame-rate rather than response-time

 

[Klumpen]

The main points leading me to this model;

-Very short throw, it can produce 100" display at only 1m away from the wall. It's probably one of the best for using in a smaller room, which will likely be me.

This was important for me too since I only got 3m from wall to wall. Using those I get a picture of over 92'' which is the size of my silver screen.

 

[benoitb]

-Has a 'Gaming Mode', which apparently makes a great difference when playing games through it, improving frame rate.

Whut ? How is the projector improving the frame rate ?

On Optoma's page it says the mode makes sure you get the best response time. I can attest on an earlier model it is already excellent I can play rythm games with no lag.