Projectors and Projector Screens

[admin_exported]

Hi all, 

Been tinkering with the idea of a projector for a little while now and went to the show today and saw the infocus and epson models in the demo rooms.

Must say the show was brilliant and my girlfriend even found a few ideas for what she'd like to get which is always good. 

This has made my mind up that I'd like a projector to use when watching films and perhaps for the occassional high profile footie match with friends etc.

From the reviews on here and the viewing at the show i like the Infocus In80 although i'm curious as to whether this is/has been discontinued as it does not feature on the Infocus website.

Alternatively i've seen the reviews of the panasonic pt-ae2000 although not actually seen this in action, (with this being replaced by the Pt-ae3000 i assume some bargains could be possible here).

From the show today i could not see any rainbow effect on the Infocus In80 therefore i'd assume this will not be an issue.

Given the size of my room i'd imagine i could get a decent size image and therefore the debate is whether the LCD or DLP projector would be best.

When looking at screens what is best to look for, could anyone suggest a good manufacturer?

I'd say my budget is between £1.5-2k on the projector, screen and cables.  With the room size i think i could get between 70-92 inch screen size. 

I play to eventually get an av reciever to run anything, although i like the onkyo 606 but this would mean swapping a HDMI output cable over each time i want to run the projector instead of my tv.  Not much of a pain if the cable is run and just have to swap it in on the receiver i'd image.

Any help or comments would be must appreciated!

Cheers

Tipper 

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

At your budget I would strongly consider the VPL-HW10 from Sony. It comes with a free bluray player or bulb at the moment. An HDMI splitter would solve your probelms with a cable if you dont wish to opt for an amp with two HDMI outputs.

The Infocus is still current, the PTEA2000 is a good buy if you can still find one , it is on a par with the Sony. The 3000 is superb but will tip you over your budget.

 

[Anonymous]

On your screen, there are a number of issues to consider.

Environment: can you control the ambient light? If yes, you could consider a white screen, if not, then you should look at a grey screen which will perform better in these conditions.

Projector partnering: The partnering of screen and projector is important. You should look to match the output of the projector with the gain of the screen to get the level of light output from the size of screen you will have in your environment. There are some decent calculators out on the web that will help you do this. Generally, you're looking for around 16-22 Foot lumens.

Screen structure: There are two basic types of screen, fixed and motorised. The first stays on the wall, the second can be stowed away.

Masking and native ratio: You can chose the native ratio of your screen to suit the type of material you're going to watch (usually 1.78:1 or 2.35:1) If you want to change this for the material you're watching, you'll need to mask the image to maintain a good perceived contrast ratio. Masking systems do increase the cost.

Gain: Ideally you'd have a situation where you could use a unity gain fabric. This is where the gain is 1.0. However this is not always possible. If you need to have a fabric with increased gain, be aware that as increases, the directivity of the light output also increases. This means that the off-axis performance diminishes. The importance of this comes into play if you have either many people watching or cannot sit directly in front of the screen for any reason.

There are a lot of variables here, but it's actually quite simple when you start to sit down and work through them, deciding where you can make your compromises.

There are a few brands out there who all make decent products. It'll depend mostly on your budget and what type of screen you need.
hth
Gary

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for the help guys!

I wasn't aware of the Sony projector but from what i can find on the internet it appears to be a very good projector for the price and the promotion runs to the end of the year.

Do you know where i could get a Demo of this in Reading? ÿI assume first place to try is The Sony Centre.

The comments on the screens is very useful and will bare this in mind once i've purchased the projector.

Tipperÿ

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

Here is a list of the official UK stockists:

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/howtobuy/AccessDealerLocator.action?site=biz_en_GB&sectiontype=How+To+Buy&categoryGenericName=FPJHomeCinema