Projector advice

bennyx_o

A friend of mine is looking at buying a projector for his new appartment, just looking for a bit of advice. Things he´s mentioned are:
around €600-800
Room it´ll be in has one glass wall, but he said he´s trying to sort out curtains for it
Theres a cutout for a screen in the ceiling, need to get the measurements, but he´s also looking for a motorized screen.


Any suggestions? I know SFA about projectors

Owenw

Have a good long look at AVForums.
AVSForums is also good (US site).

He will need to consider room size which has a bearting on throw distance and therefore biggest screen size he can use.
The bigger the screen the dimmer the image becomes.

He will also have to consider total light control to get the most dynamic image possible.

Finally a suitable screen (size and gain, white or grey) for the PJ and environment hes using it in.

eddiem74

I have a Panasonic AX200, its my first ever projector, a couple of years old now, but find it great. You can find an old review here, and there is also calculator to help you out with image size/distance from screen, etc.

They sometimes pop-up on Adverts.ie or are running just under €900 from Komplett.ie. I am sure you might find slightly cheaper online elsewhere.

The Optoma HD65 was also a popular (& slightly cheaper) model, although I think has been replaced with a new version now. Note this is a DLP projector, whereas as the Panasonic is an LCD - google is your friend to understand difference between DLP/LCD and the possible 'rainbow affect' with DLP.

branners69

What does your mate plan on using the projector for? Sky HD, films, or gaming?
What sort of throw distance does he have?

As suggested above avforums is an execellent site for user reviews and opinions. You can also get magazine reviews here and here.

I bought a Sanyo Z2000 and 100" screen from here. I bought all my hdmi cables from here, including a couple of 13m cables!

If he plans on a motorised screen I think he will need a 12v connector on the projector.

bennyx_o

Cheers for all the pointers. He's waiting to put a deposit down on the appartment and I havn't seen it so not too sure on the throw distance or how big a screen the ceiling can accomidate. All I know is the guy who owns it is leaving all the cabling in place for the projector and surround sound.

Primary use of it will be watching DVDs, think he wants to hook a Wii up to it, but I'm not sure if that's possible?

branners69

bennyx_o wrote: »

Primary use of it will be watching DVDs, think he wants to hook a Wii up to it, but I'm not sure if that's possible?

I currently have a PS3, laptop, Xbox 360, Wii, Hd Media Player, and a Foxsat HDR sat receiver hooked up to mine!!

I have never looked at dvds on mine but to get the full benefit he would want to go the HD route ie HD media player or Blu Ray player so he can play mkv files or blu rays! I would reckon normal dvds might struggle on such a large screen!

Calibos

I have a mothballed 80x45in(92in Diagonal) 16:9 screen and a Panasonic Ae900 720p projector. House moves and renovations mean its nearly 2 years since I've been able to use it. Dvd's looked fabulous regardless, it was just that HD looked more fabulous and more like looking out a window.

When renovations are completed and we have our dedicated Home-Cinema room I'll be fitting a 120in+ Diagonal 2.35:1 ratio screen. Its when you are talking about zooming up a 2.35:1 ratio movie to that size that one needs a 1080p projector and HD source material (ie. Bluray's over Dvd's) At that size DVD doesn't quite cut the mustard anymore. That said, I did set up the AE900 prjecting on a blank wall with the screen wall dimensions and shape marked on the wall so I could see how big of a 2.35:1 screen I could fit in the future Cinema room. I was playing Starwars Revenge of the Sith DVD with the 2.35:1 image area zoomed up as large as I could accomodate on the future screen wall. The dimensions of the movie image on the wall was 110in x 47in. Remember, this was a DVD via a 720p PJ. Even at that size I couldn't see the individual pixels and felt I could almost get away with dvd blown up that big. But at least I know now that I will definately be blown away by the clarity of 1080p Bluray via a 1080P projector on a screen that size when Dvd looked pretty damn good at that size too.

However, for an apartment sized screen where one is probably talking about a max screen size of a 16:9 80x45in, well then DVD looks perfectly fine.

On a sidenote, we'll be moving back in in May but I'll be holding off on the new PJ purchase till xmas. I want to wait till Panasonic announce their new models in October. I was going to get this years Ae4000 straight away until I realised that 3D was coming to the consumer realm a lot quicker than I thought it would and with Panasonic being a major promoter of consumer 3D I have a feeling their AE5000 in October will be 3D capable.