Projector or TV?

Khannie

Soooo....I'm giving up the ghost on my current panasonic AE700. It's basically banjaxed. I'm shelling out for holidays, so budget is limited to a max of 600 euro. The lower the better.

For that, I've seen:

Optoma Projector - 720p, cheap (500 euro ish)

37" Hannspree LCD - 720p, crappy contrast ratio, cheap (500 euro ish)

37" Polaroid LCD - Good contrast ratio, 1080p!!! 600 euro.

TBH, I'm wide open here so if anyone has any suggestions, please fire away. All comments welcome. I'm not sure whether to get a replacement projector now, or just put up with the smaller screen for a while, but then buy a projector later (maybe when the full HD ones come down in price a bit further).

edit: Can someone tell me: What happens to the picture if I feed 720p in to a 1080p native LCD? Does it scale like crap?

The Ritz

Khannie,

What banjaxed the AE700 ? If you're used to the big screen the Optoma would be a good budget choice. I can't advise a lot about the two LCD screens you mention, although I've seen the Hanspree in a mates house, very impressive image. Really it's a matter of choosing whether you want to continue with the big screen...............

Feeding 720p to a native 1080 screen is down to the scaling in the screen - I'd expect it to be ok, 1080 screens i've seen seem to have more issues with scaling up SD material - it's a bit of a jump from 576 line to 1080, especially at larger screen sizes, particularly when the image quality of regular tv images isn't always the best to begin with.


Ritz.

Khannie

Thanks for the reply. I'll reply more in the morning but....

The Ritz wrote: »

What banjaxed the AE700 ?

I'm not really sure tbh. I'll post a pic of how it looks though.

Soundman

If you could afford to go to €640 I would recommend the Optoma HD65. I got mine off eBay from a seller called Why.Buy.New. Including shipping it comes to €638. Better quality than the one you mentioned in your OP.

SPECS

eBay

Khannie

Nice one. Cheers. That looks pretty sweet.

Soundman

It is. My sitting room is about 21ft in depth and I am getting a screen size of about 96" I believe which isn't too bad. Quality is great from an upscaling DVD player and from VGA out on my laptop. No complaints.

Smoggy

An interesting post - as I have the same dilema - at the monent i'm leaning towards the optoma.

jmal

Projector all the way!!

I have a HD65 and a PS3 projected on to a 92" Diag screen.

No LCD or plasma can match the experience of watching movies in HD with a good quality projector on the big screen IMO...

branners69

I am also pondering picking up an Optoma HD65! I have heard some people have suffered with dizziness watching DLP projectors, anyone experience this?

Also with the HD65 is it noisey? The specs say its audible noise is 29db which is higher than the recommended 25db.

One thing which concerns me is where I would locate the projector in the room. Do you guys have them on the ceiling or on a table in the middle of the floor??

jmal

Hey Banners,

I think the "dizziness" you are speaking about is the rainbow effect usually associated with DLP projectors. I have seen many projectors in my time and the rainbow effect is not as much a problem with modern projectors, especially good home theatre PJ's. This is usually more noticable when watching black and white scenes in a film (e.g first scene in Casino Royale).
With the HD65 i still havn't noticed this at all. I've had alot of mates over to watch my pj and none have complained about this either? The rainbow effect tends to effect some people more that others.

This HD65 is a little noiser that other HT projector I've seen, but concidering its a 1600 lumen projector in a tiny casing, it should be louder. When watching movies I nearly never notice it, only in the odd quite seen but not enough to bother anyone. Eco mode drops the sound levels down a notch with the loss of a few lumens.

As to my setup, I place if on the coffee table in my sitting room, and would be shot if I ceiling mounted it. Take it out whenever I want to use it. Have a 3m HDMI & Power cable to run out to the projector in the middle of the room from my PS3. Works great. Set up in 2 mins. My screen is mounted over the doulbe doors between my sitting room and dining room.

HTH,

JJ

kaisersose77

yep go for the hd65, i dont bother watching anything HD on my lcd since i got my hd65. Got a 92" screen aswell, which atm I have over the fireplace and have the projecor on diy shelf on the opposite wall. Dont notice the noise at all really as I'd have my speakers up lound enough.

Smoggy

I went for the HD65 in the end. Great reviews and great price.

branners69

jmal wrote: »

I think the "dizziness" you are speaking about is the rainbow effect usually associated with DLP projectors. I have seen many projectors in my time and the rainbow effect is not as much a problem with modern projectors, especially good home theatre PJ's.

Hey jmal,

thanks for the reply! I had read about the rainbow effect on avforums and was concerned at the number of people who seemed to be effected by it!

I dont know whether to just get the Benq W500 or Panasonic AX200 or Sanyo Z5 which are a bit more expensive but I wont have to worry about losing my popcorn watching a film or the room starting to spin!!!

@ Smoggy- can I ask you where you got your HD65?

Cheers,

Branners

Smoggy

The projector is from http://www.marshallward.co.uk/ and comes with a 86" screen and was sub £450 with a discount code. BUT I think they only deliver to the UK, which isnt an issue to me as my parents live over in the UK and will be coming over in the next few weeks.

jmal

Hey Banners,

I think you might be over emphasising the rainbow effect in DLP projectors. What normally happens is when you are watching a scene (usually black & white) you see a blu of colour. I have had 30-40 people over to watch the HD65 and no one has ever noticed this effect. This is usually address by increasing the colour wheel speed. I think the HD65 is 4x. High end DLP projectors can be up to 7x which is designed to completely elliminate this issue. But saying that some people do suffer alot from the rainbow effect.

As this is one of the cheapest entry level home theatre projectors there is going to be some down sides...Noise levels, colour wheel etc. Best bet would be to go and see a HD65 in operation. I see PC World have HD65's setup (very badly) showing some computer games or simulator. Get them to stick a movie on it.

If your not willing to take the chance then LCD is your alternative. Remember LCD projectors can suffer from the screen door effect.

In comparison the the HD65 the AX200 nearly double the price. The W500 and Z5 are more affordable, but unlike the HD65 & AX200 these PJ's need near darkness for the best viewing experience as they only output 1100 lumens. I know the w500 has HQV which improved the appearance of SD content on the projector.

HTH

Smoggy

HD65 is 1600 lumens ?

Edit : I should read posts before posting myself - you said UNLIKE ....

Khannie

More or less decided on the projector. The HD65 looks good.

branners69 wrote: »

Do you guys have them on the ceiling or on a table in the middle of the floor??

I have my panny ceiling mounted with a universal mount I got off ebay. No going back. It's hooked up to a HTPC which I stuck upstairs in the bedroom and drilled a hole down for the cables.

We project onto a white blackout blind which was free (came with the house ). Wouldn't be bothered shelling out for an actual projector screen given the quality I get off the blind.

branners69

jmal wrote: »

In comparison the the HD65 the AX200 nearly double the price. The W500 and Z5 are more affordable, but unlike the HD65 & AX200 these PJ's need near darkness for the best viewing experience as they only output 1100 lumens. I know the w500 has HQV which improved the appearance of SD content on the projector.

Hey jmal,

many thanks for the heads up!! This projector lark is a minefield!!!

cheers,

Branners

Soundman

So, Khannie, what did you go for in the end?