Home Projectors

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straightlinespeed

straightlinespeed

Sometimes I pretend to be normal
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Who on the site has a home projector for there entertainment system/TV?

We are finishing our basement and it has a huge wall that would be perfect for a screen and projector. Going into Best Buy, they of course told us we need a $7k projector and a $3k screen. Well that is not happening!! I dont need any top of the line stuff. When I asked about lower price projectors he didnt even want to explain them to me or tell me what a good starter projector would be. I see a them range anywhere from $300 to above what I mentioned up top. So Im here to learn about them and hoping a few of you may know a thing or two about them.

Please provide any info you can about what I should be looking for, what to avoid, and so on. I do have a surround sound, game system, cameras, computers that I occassionally hook into my regular TV. I want to make sure those work with it as well. We are also getting rid of Direct TV and just going with Netflix and probably Sling TV. Although Im pretty sure that doesnt make any difference. Heck even a brand and model would be helpful.
 
Get as much resolution and as many Lumens as you can afford. Also, check the lens' throw to make sure it's appropriate for your room (my boss made us get a mondo projector for the training room at work - the lens really wants to be 40' back - the cabling didn't lend itself to that, so we really can't zoom it as large as the screen from as close to the screen as the projector ended up mounted).

If your wall is pretty flat and smooth, I think you can by some paint that is meant for projecting on...but a real screen with stretchers to keep it tight will make it better.

With big flatscreen LEDs getting so affordable, are you sure you don't just want to get a big ol' flatscreen?

Remember, if your projector bulb burns out (usually rated for about 500 hours), the replacement bulbs run close to what a new projector costs (about $500, last I checked on one).

I've had pretty good luck with Optoma projectors for work (for doing presentations, etc.)

If you do it, go for a ceiling mount so it's up and out of the way! Also, I think HDMI cables can run longer than VGA, etc. without some sort of signal booster/amplifier.
 
64DartGTinAZ said:
Get as much resolution and as many Lumens as you can afford. Also, check the lens' throw to make sure it's appropriate for your room (my boss made us get a mondo projector for the training room at work - the lens really wants to be 40' back - the cabling didn't lend itself to that, so we really can't zoom it as large as the screen from as close to the screen as the projector ended up mounted).

If your wall is pretty flat and smooth, I think you can by some paint that is meant for projecting on...but a real screen with stretchers to keep it tight will make it better.

With big flatscreen LEDs getting so affordable, are you sure you don't just want to get a big ol' flatscreen?

Remember, if your projector bulb burns out (usually rated for about 500 hours), the replacement bulbs run close to what a new projector costs (about $500, last I checked on one).

I've had pretty good luck with Optoma projectors for work (for doing presentations, etc.)

If you do it, go for a ceiling mount so it's up and out of the way! Also, I think HDMI cables can run longer than VGA, etc. without some sort of signal booster/amplifier.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that info! We were looking at ceiling mount projectors, but had no idea if we could even do the set up on it. We thought we might have to pay someone to come aim it and set it up properly. So not sure if that is true or not. I have heard that about the bulbs, although I didnt realize it was only about 500 hour life span. That could be very costly!

Although you are right, the cost of flat screens are coming down and they are making them bigger. Originally we were thinking of a 65 inch, but now I see there are 70, 75 and even 80 inch out there. Which yes is probably cheaper than the projector and screen, even with the mount. The wall its going on is 12' wide and 9' tall. We are going to do shelving around the screen or TV for the audio equipment, cd's, movies, etc... So its not going to be the entire wall, but we do have room to play.
 
I agree about getting an LED tv. They have awesome pictures for reasonable prices.

However, I went with a $350 Optoma projector, and I get nothing but compliments about it. It projects nearly a 100 inches, measured diagonally, on a homemade screen that cost about $25 to make.

I have a lot of outside light that kills the quality, but nighttime viewing is great.

The 50 foot HDMI cord was an unexpected expense. I had a 40 foot cord that was about 6 inches short. That sucked.

I found the projector on Amazon by looking for projectors for under $500. I picked the one with the best reviews. It scored better than the other ten that cost almost $500. If you are willing to spend more, I know there are better projectors than mine.

Hope this helped???
 
Thank you Back in Time and 67dart.

Well, I think Im better off with the Flat Screen LED TV! I was kind of leaning that route, but just wanted to hear more opinions. Not to mention I think just before the Super Bowl is when they have some great sales on TV's.
 
I can remember when "home projector" meant.........

8f749bb304521e9d46acb6c30e8267f4.jpg


Well maybe not QUITE that bad, LMAO, although the first one we had was

il_570xN.378841602_4hxb.jpg
 
I went with an Optima 131xe (1080P and 3D ready) and a retractable 125" screen. Totaled around $1,000 with a 1,000 amp Sony surround system. The room doesn't need to be pitch black, but the darker the better. If you get the silver screen instead of white, you'll be able to see more blacks without dimming the room as much as for white screens.

If you go this way, definitely use their online calculator to check the throw distance of the projector for the screen size that it will be capable of filling. I had just over 14 feet from the screen to the lense front, so 125” was the maximum I could get. Plus, 125” is huge!

Also, the bulb life is a minimum of 2,000 hours and prices have dropped.

LED TVs are great, but how much will it cost you to get up to 125”???

Most of my visitors say "why would you ever want to leave this room with such a great system!"

67Dart273 - you so funny!
 

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Here's a photo with the lights on. The wall that the screen is on is 12 feet wide.
 

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67Dart273 said:
I can remember when "home projector" meant.........

8f749bb304521e9d46acb6c30e8267f4.jpg


Well maybe not QUITE that bad, LMAO, although the first one we had was

il_570xN.378841602_4hxb.jpg
Click to expand...


LOL Dell! Good one! Im only 40, but I even remember one of my aunts having a projector like that.

68gtxman said:
I went with an Optima 131xe (1080P and 3D ready) and a retractable 125" screen. Totaled around $1,000 with a 1,000 amp Sony surround system. The room doesn't need to be pitch black, but the darker the better. If you get the silver screen instead of white, you'll be able to see more blacks without dimming the room as much as for white screens.

If you go this way, definitely use their online calculator to check the throw distance of the projector for the screen size that it will be capable of filling. I had just over 14 feet from the screen to the lense front, so 125” was the maximum I could get. Plus, 125” is huge!

Also, the bulb life is a minimum of 2,000 hours and prices have dropped.

LED TVs are great, but how much will it cost you to get up to 125”???

Most of my visitors say "why would you ever want to leave this room with such a great system!"

67Dart273 - you so funny!
Click to expand...

Great info! The beauty of my basement, no windows! So I dont have to fight with natural light filling the area and the lights by the screen would be on there own switch. Your pic of the screen with the lights on was not that bad.

Oh and LOL, I dont think I want a 125" LED TV. Let alone find one and pay for it.
 
Oh, and make sure that you get a screen that is a 16x9 ratio. They make other ratios, but this is the most versatile.
 
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