Have I misunderstood the quality of projectors compared to televisions

[jcshutts]

I went to the Bristol AV show, firstly expecting to see a hoard of projectors and screens on show, whereas I counted the number of PJ set ups to around four in total! I was impressed with the budget Optoma on show at £799 but could see that the blacks and richness of picture weren't quite there. The Epson on show didn't impress me at all and the JVC, whilst clearly the better of the projectors there, actually didn't blow me away for the £5k premium it costs.

Have I misunderstood the potential and quality of a projector when compared to a television. I honestly thought I would see the same level of high definition only on a larger scale. Am I missing something?

The 5.1 set ups didn't entirely impress either I have to say - atleast the ones I saw/heard. For me the most impressive speaker I found was the LS50 Kef bookshelves.

I will say, I didn't expereince the many many high end two channel speakers on display as I wasn't in the market for a pair, so please excuse me if I missed some wonderful sounding high end floorstanding speakers.

 

[The_Lhc]

I went to the Bristol AV show, firstly expecting to see a hoard of projectors and screens on show, whereas I counted the number of PJ set ups to around four in total! I was impressed with the budget Optoma on show at £799 but could see that the blacks and richness of picture weren't quite there.

I think that would have been due to the fairly high light levels in the room, I was more concerned with the motion judder I saw on panning shots with that projector but for less than 800 quid I guess you can't have too much. I didn't seen the JVC.

I saw a projector demo in the Paradigm room a year or so back that was awesome and the previous WHF projectors demos have been very impressive.

 

[jcshutts]

I saw a projector demo in the Paradigm room a year or so back that was awesome and the previous WHF projectors demos have been very impressive.

the queues were too big for me for WHF demo !

 

[The_Lhc]

I saw a projector demo in the Paradigm room a year or so back that was awesome and the previous WHF projectors demos have been very impressive.

the queues were too big for me for WHF demo !

Well they didn't have any projectors this year, it was Sony's 84" 4k TV, it was alright but the 4K material was the usual static images rubbish, didn't learn much, tried the Sony room three times trying to see some 4k material, first two times was just blu-ray and I couldn't hang around, third time they actually had a cloth over the screen whilst the rep ate his sandwich! Unbelievable...

 

[jcshutts]

other than the rep eating his sandwhich, I do find the whole role out of technology frustratingly slow!

 

[Frank Harvey]

There did seem to be a bit of a lack of PJ's this year.

I didn't go into the JVC room, but I know from previous years that they legally have to have a light box above the exit for fire eagerly purposes, and they're not allowed to cover it over, even for a quick demo! This I found annoying, as when you have a darkened room like that, any light source affects contrast heavily. I think if they could turn that light box off, their demos would look much better.

The Optoma and Epson room were affected by light coming in from the corridor (the worst possible angle - pretty much in front of the screen), so weren't representative of how they can actually look.

I've seen PJ's at shows that we have had at work, and they never seem to look as good at a show. On top of that, I've seen PJ's at work that I have had at home, and again, they look much cleaner and sharper at home. There are many things that will/can affect this, but I think a lot might be to do with mains supply - mine runs off a UPS. Even though a PJ will look better at home, do try and get a demo of one in store, as I'm sure you'll be more impressed than those at any show.

A TV has the ability to look better than a projector because it is much smaller, but the TV can't match the cinematic look that a PJ can provide. 4K will be the big thing - the exact resolution that many films are now being shot in, and also the same resolution that many cinemas are showing - here, a 4K home system will have the edge as you're producing a much smaller screen size than a cinema. Basically, if you look at a good 1080 PJ projecting onto a 5ft screen, 4K will be able to produce that same quality on a much larger screen. I feel current 1080 PJ's start to look too soft once you approach 10ft, so up to 8 or 9ft is ideal. You can quite easily produce a stunning looking 4K image at 15ft wide, for example.

 

[ellisdj]

Did you go into the Paradigm soundbar and 5.1 speaker demo zone - where the Anthem AV kit was on show

Not sure what projector they had on in there but it was bloody impressive to the point it has made me seriously consider getting one over a bigger tv.

Would like to know what Projector that was and how much - really deep lucious picture with stunning motion and realism - it was playing Batman DK Rises the scene at the stock market. It has made me recalibrate my screen as mine looked washed compared to it - (running slightly too high contrast I was and the set wasnt properly calibrated as I didnt have the tools I do know)

 

[BenLaw]

Presumably a sim2 projector.

 

[jcshutts]

Did you go into the Paradigm soundbar and 5.1 speaker demo zone - where the Anthem AV kit was on show

Not sure what projector they had on in there but it was bloody impressive to the point it has made me seriously consider getting one over a bigger tv.

Would like to know what Projector that was and how much - really deep lucious picture with stunning motion and realism - it was playing Batman DK Rises the scene at the stock market. It has made me recalibrate my screen as mine looked washed compared to it - (running slightly too high contrast I was and the set wasnt properly calibrated as I didnt have the tools I do know)

typically I didn't find this set up!

 

[The_Lhc]

Did you go into the Paradigm soundbar and 5.1 speaker demo zone - where the Anthem AV kit was on show

Not sure what projector they had on in there but it was bloody impressive to the point it has made me seriously consider getting one over a bigger tv.

Would like to know what Projector that was and how much - really deep lucious picture with stunning motion and realism - it was playing Batman DK Rises the scene at the stock market. It has made me recalibrate my screen as mine looked washed compared to it - (running slightly too high contrast I was and the set wasnt properly calibrated as I didnt have the tools I do know)

typically I didn't find this set up!

Paradigm are located near the bar (stand facing the bar and look over your left shoulder they're through the doors in that corner, to the left of the hotdogs).

I found it, they were doing a long 2-channel demo (Peachtree were part of the same room) with some dull music that I can't remember and I couldn't be bothered to hang around long enough to wait for the projector demo. Shame, in previous years it's been one of the best typically.

 

[ellisdj]

It was stunning, I would really like to know what model and how much it was and how other projectors compare to it