Projector advice wanted!

[Audioholic]

Hi all

There seem to be a whole load of projector options right now.

I'm considering making the move to the big screen in my lounge to get a cinema experience. I'm not in a rush to buy anything so just wanted to find out some more information coming as a complete newbie to the area of projection!

I expect it depends to some extent on exact room conditions, and maybe 'throw distances' etc, but I just wondered how much it is generally advised is split between spending on a projector screen and the projector itself? Also if I took the time to read online would it be possible to set up a projector myself or is it definitely recommended to get a dealer or other professional to install?

One other important issue is does the fact that the lounge has cream walls and wooden floor, which I suppose would potentially be reflective, negate the point of buying a more expensive projector over say a sub £1000-1100 bracket model, or with the right screen would there still be significant advantages stretching to a projector with a higher contrast, such as an end of line jvc hd 350. I'm thinking of about an 90 inch screen. I suppose a home demo of a projector with a dealer would solve some of these questions, but I'm interested to know your thoughts guys first!

If it's considered that a lot of advantages of a projector like the JVC hd350 or even an epson tw5500 would be wasted if not used with a screen that costs a lot of money, then I'd try to get a better balanced combination! If a screen to do these level of projectors sufficient justice to make it worthwhile over cheaper projectors won't cost more than £500 say though, I'd contemplate looking at them - I picked out those 2 models because there seem to be big reductions off their original RRP on both!

Thanks

 

[Cookie Monster]

Hi, I am a PJ owner and highly recommend.

I use a fairly cheap 77"Euroscreen because the dimensions of the ceiling mounted unit are slimmer than others and more discrete.

Beamax screens come highly recommended by many and are around the ??200 + mark. I had an Optoma Panoview screen before and that was decent too. Most important i feel is the 'Gain', i purchased a grey screen originally for a 2000 lumens PJ and even then the whites and colours completely washed out. I also have a white room and use a gain of 1.0. Meaning the brightness recieved is the brightness reflected. I found that if you get the angle correct then this should limit reflection. Personally i don't really notice any.

Main thing i feel worth mentioning is motion control. Its a large image and you will see things you wouldn't generally see including any glitches in motion. However i believe the JVC is great with motion (wish i could get one) and using a player with good motion helps no end. I swapped an old Panny BD player for a Sony S370 and the improved motion and DVD scaling has improved things 10 fold.

Good Luck

Cookie Monster

 

[kinda]

Hello,

Havng had an Epson TW3500 for just over a year now, in a room with wooden floors and Roman white walls I'd say don't worry about the decor.

Also I use a cheaper Optoma Panoview 1.0 gain screen and it's good. 2m wide at 3m and don't see any material grain and the picture is great. I've been able to use in the daylight also with different settings when it's admittedly not as good as in the dark but fine for especiialy GP or football. I wouldn't necessarily stick it on for a film session in the day time, especially anything with dark scenes.

I think the main benefit of more expensive screens is things like tab tensioning and automation, though you can get different gains, acoustic transparency, and deeper colours to make blacksa better, (but then may not be so good in daylight). I'd start with a cheaper screen and see how you go. The Panoview's been and still is fine, but is starting to curl slightly at the edges.

It's perfectly possible to set it up yourself. Screen mounting was easy if you've ever put a shelf up or anything. Make sure you position thre PJ taking into account throw ratio to the screen, mount it, (can be off centre by a reasonable amount - check the lens shift limits), do whatever you need to with the wires, use the lens shift controls to centre the picutre and you're away barring getting the settings how you like them. It's harder without lens shift, but the PJs you're looking at will have it.

Interesting that motion was mentioned, and it's a wierd one. Motion issues occur at the cinema also, if you look for it, but generally you don't notice. Judder on pans and things if the panning has been done wrong. With amuch bigger picture than normal in the home and as you're looking how good the new picture is you'll probably notice it, I know I did and thought I'd made an error not getting motion processing on the PJ, but It's totally not an issue now. Worse on some films than others but I'd say it occurs less than once per film on average. Not sure how good motion processing addresses this or if it makes then pciture worse in other ways, but for me it's not an issue.

If you can get the TW5500 ata good price, (which has some motion processing I believe), I don't think you'd be disappointed, though the JVC is also rated. Go for it - I haven't looked back.