Buying a projector

ardinn

Going to get myself a projector in the next few days. Not sure what I need though.
I will be buying from china so no brand suggestions, just specs.
The room it will be going in is very long, and the projector will need to be about 30 feet from the screen/wall.
What sort of lumen - focus / display settings should I be looking at - Not up on this stuff at all so anything you need to know please ask.

All advice appreciated

The Ritz

Hi,

A little more information might enable someone to help you.

What's your budget for the projector ?

What are you going to connect to it ?

What are you using the projector for - home cinema, business presentations, something else ?

Why is buying a non brand specific projector from China such an important factor given that you say yourself that you're not familiar with projectors specs etc ?

What size screen do you intend to use ? Why does the projector need to be 30ft from the screen ? On this issue it's only fair to say that you'd need a fairly specialised projector equippped with a very long throw lens to achieve a "normal" screen size from 30ft away.

What is your priority here, are you interested in picture quality, do you just want a big image, is the room going to have light control (i.e. No ambient lighting) or is it like a living room ?

More information and a little more explanation of what you're trying to achieve is needed here.

Ritz.

ardinn

Up to €400

What are you going to connect to it ?

TV - gaming

What are you using the projector for - home cinema, business presentations, something else ?

As above

Why is buying a non brand specific projector from China such an important factor given that you say yourself that you're not familiar with projectors specs etc ?

I have found electronics cheaper and of mostly superior quality from some of the sites I use - Not a deal breaker - I was just saying this as I didnt want people recommending brands an d models as it wouldnt mean a whole lot

What size screen do you intend to use ? Why does the projector need to be 30ft from the screen ? On this issue it's only fair to say that you'd need a fairly specialised projector equippped with a very long throw lens to achieve a "normal" screen size from 30ft away.

Wall - because the cieling is 18ft high and I dont want exposed cables as there is no crawl space above - Wall is big so I presume "normal" size screen is not needed - better uality image would be.

What is your priority here, are you interested in picture quality, do you just want a big image, is the room going to have light control (i.e. No ambient lighting) or is it like a living room ?

Room can be blacked out

Thanks Ritz

The Ritz

I don't think it's possible to get a projector in the budget you have in mind which would operate with any useful image quality from a 30ft throw distance. Thinking about it, that budget would be very limiting in the home cinema projector market. You might consider seeing if you can get a long throw projector designed for the office market, it would be a challenge in your budget, and would have the down side of poorer image quality.

If image quality is any concern, its also unlikely that an un-branded projector from any source, Chinese or otherwise, would out-perform a known brand of projector designed for home use, this is because the research and investment by the companies who specialise in these projectors is in the firmware that underpins the image quality, as well as the optical elements of the projector. In any case, I'm not aware of any that would perform well in the circumstances you describe.

For the sake of any further research you might do, most home cinema projectors usually have a short throw, i.e. They generate a big image when placed comparatively near the screen. There is usually a minimum and maximum throw distance, outside of these parameters you won't get the projector to focus. This is why a 30ft throw distance would require a specialised lens, and would involve spending thousands, not hundreds.

Ritz.