Projector recommendations? (home cinema n00b)

Deoir

After having a movie night last weekend I now must get a projector.

We have a 10 foot wide, 12.5 feet high wall (currently painted cream which I'm seriously thinking repainting white or getting a good quality cinema fabric screen) and our living/dining/kitchen space is fairly long too, main viewing is 5-9 feet away.

We had the (borrowed ) projector set up in a way that it took up the entire wall - thinking about it that was probably too big, and also borrowed speakers and subwoofer set that were the business.

So the first piece of kit that I want to get is a projector.

I'd like to future proof it as much as possible, I know that there's new things coming out every millisecond but if I'm spending ~€600-€800 on something I want it to last.

So my question is... should I go for something which is described as 1080p but costs a bomb or will I really not notice the difference between that and something that's 720p?

What screen size should I be aiming for and what sort of impact should that have on the 1080p vs 720p argument?

Will I get something decent for €600 and does anyone have any recommendations?
(can get something in a us store shipped to a relative there if that'll be cheaper)

Thanks.

Vic Vinegar

I just ordered a BenQ W600 (720p) £499 (free delivery) it's new to the market and is supposedly really good.

Mini review here:

Also a popular choice would be the HD700x from Optoma (can be got for around €600 ish)

HD700

I found Avitav to be a ggod site for price, based in the UK, as well as Projector Point, which is the site in the links above.

I ordered a 92inch screen with mine from Beamax, throw distance is 11ft for screen that size, not too bad.

Deoir

Thanks for that.

I'm learning a lot - like I need to measure up the room before I know what will suit best.

Let me know how that BenQ works out.

eddiem74

I have a Panasonic AX200, my first ever PJ, and love it. 1080P projectors are still quite expensive and outside your budget I would think.

As you look at projectors you need to consider if you want to go DLP or LCD. Some people suffer from whats known as the 'rainbow effect' with DLP.

Projector Central has a good screen size calculator which lets you select different models and see what size you can get from them.

Depending on where you can locate the projector in the room, you may want to look for features such as zoom, and lens shift to help compensate for difficult positioning.

Best of luck !!

John mac

hope you have a blu ray player if you are going for 1080p pj.

I would get the sound system first (but thats me)

Ghost Train

Have a 720p infocus in76, has been very good. There are some affordable 1080p projectors out there now, so its more of an option than it was two or three years ago, but if your budget is <800, 720p is probably your only option. I like the look of dlp, colourwheels have got faster and the rainbow effect is less visible than it used to be, lcd projectors seemed to have improved too. The model you borrowed might have given you a good indication of whatever type it was. Just make sure you don't get something thats less than hdready

BigAl81

Hey, in the exact same position myself,

Torn between going 720p with extra features, or more basic 1080p model. Would prefer LCD to avoid possible rainbow effect, tho I believe the new models don't suffer so much.

Panasonic AX200
720P with lotso features (2x zoom, game mode, 3LCD)
http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projdtls.asp?itemid=23153&itmname=Panasonic+PT-AX200U

Vivitek H1080FD
1080P DPL, worse zoom, possible rainbow effect
http://www.projectorpeople.com/projectors/projspec.asp?itemid=24764&itmname=Vivitek%20H1080FD

The Panasonic has 2x zoom which would be great in a smaller room. That and no rainbow + a 'game' mode is making me think of going for it!

Anyone any ideas on these, especially getting a 720p over a 1080p for more standard features. (would mostly be watching sports and movies).

Go Team

spongerobinson

@ Bombleswizzum

where'd you get the W600 with free delivery? I've looked on projectorpoint, but they charge £22 for delivery.

Also, whats the quality like...not a whole lot of reviews on the net for it yet!

Vic Vinegar

spongerobinson wrote: »

@ Bombleswizzum

where'd you get the W600 with free delivery? I've looked on projectorpoint, but they charge £22 for delivery.

Also, whats the quality like...not a whole lot of reviews on the net for it yet!

I got it from Avitav.co.uk. Projector Point took 8 days to respond to an email request so i didn't bother with them.

The W600 is very good so far, very nice image quality.

Here's a few samples of mine (pretty crappy camera though, bear in mind) on a 92 inch Beamax R Series screen

Man Utd Vs Spurs



Planet Earth



Assassin's Creed 2 (xbox 360)



Assassin's Creed 2 zoomed in

antonio0001

Did you experience any rainbow effect with benq w600?

Thanks

Abelloid

Deoir wrote: »

After having a movie night last weekend I now must get a projector.

We have a 10 foot wide, 12.5 feet high wall (currently painted cream which I'm seriously thinking repainting white or getting a good quality cinema fabric screen) and our living/dining/kitchen space is fairly long too, main viewing is 5-9 feet away.

We had the (borrowed ) projector set up in a way that it took up the entire wall - thinking about it that was probably too big, and also borrowed speakers and subwoofer set that were the business.

So the first piece of kit that I want to get is a projector.

I'd like to future proof it as much as possible, I know that there's new things coming out every millisecond but if I'm spending ~€600-€800 on something I want it to last.

So my question is... should I go for something which is described as 1080p but costs a bomb or will I really not notice the difference between that and something that's 720p?

What screen size should I be aiming for and what sort of impact should that have on the 1080p vs 720p argument?

Will I get something decent for €600 and does anyone have any recommendations?
(can get something in a us store shipped to a relative there if that'll be cheaper)

Thanks.

You know you can move the projector closer to the screen/wall to decrease the image size? :pac: