Plasma or projector?

Hi, I am new to the forum and I would like to make myself a nice home theater set up. The question is: plasma or projector?
Budget: Under $5000
If I got a plasma it would have to be 58 to 60 inches.
I would like to have a very clear, bright picture even when there is some light in the room, can I get that with a projector?

What are your thoughts? Any specific models?
Thanks

[lcaillo]

You need light control to use a projector effectively. If you cannot control the light virtually completely, get the PDP. The real question is, what do you mean by "some light?"

lcaillo wrote:

You need light control to use a projector effectively. If you cannot control the light virtually completely, get the PDP. The real question is, what do you mean by "some light?"

Just maybe a lamp or something so it is not totally dark. I would not mind having no lights for movies, but I might have a light on when playing video games.(I forgot to mention that in the first post sorry)

Thanks for the quick reply

[lcaillo]

If you are willing to design very controlled lighting, you could easily use a projector. I would budget for quality lighting that you can control and for painting the room in dark, neutral colors, particularly the ceiling and the end with the projector. Even if it meant getting a less expensive projector. Do your self a favor and also budget a calibration by a professional. I would take something like a Mits 4900 with proper room design and calibrated over units several times the price in rooms with the wrong lighting and paint, uncalibrated. No contest.

lcaillo wrote:

If you are willing to design very controlled lighting, you could easily use a projector. I would budget for quality lighting that you can control and for painting the room in dark, neutral colors, particularly the ceiling and the end with the projector. Even if it meant getting a less expensive projector. Do your self a favor and also budget a calibration by a professional. I would take something like a Mits 4900 with proper room design and calibrated over units several times the price in rooms with the wrong lighting and paint, uncalibrated. No contest.

Alrighty, thank you. That sounds good to me

[jerome]

I would also recommend that you go for a projector if you have a room large enough to use it.

As Leonard correctly pointed out, light control is very important when using a screen with low gain. And this is also valid for plasma TVs.

Otherwise, you could take a look at screens with high gain, like the one XScreen manufactures (www.xscreen.com). I have no idea of how much they costs (probably nor cheap)but you will get a top-of-the-line picture, even with day light in your room...

[Mike P.]

Xscreen is expensive. A 80 inch screen is $2000 and a 100 inch screen is $2800.

[lcaillo]

High gain screens are always going to have hot spots. Stick with lower gain in general, or pay the $$ for more projector.

Mike P. wrote:

Xscreen is expensive. A 80 inch screen is $2000 and a 100 inch screen is $2800.

Wow, I didn't even realize screens cost that much, I guess I won't be getting a high gain

Thanks for the info!

[jerome]

Xscreen screens, like most high gain screens, are specials: you can actually use them without much light control in your room. Not so many people buy them, I think that's why they are so expensive.

Low gain (<1.2) screens are much cheaper. Many good brands and models to choose from. If you're going for a projector solution then I recommend that you buy a very good screen (white or light gray, according to your room, projector and preferences).
But these low-gain screens are probably 3 or 4 times cheaper than the high-gain ones.

[superchad]

I dont have much extra money to blow on HT and not sure I would if I had more but I bought a budget screen that looks fine to me and was under $200 for manual pulldown 16X9.
I am sure folks will argue with me and thats fine but I spent my entire career in the printing industry in both press and as Graphic artist and feel I have a pretty critical eye and am quite sure I see things most dont just due to profession and experience, I also have a 34' Sony Wega XBR Glass Tube HD TV that probably has one of if not the best picture money can buy in any form of HD yet I fail to see many extreme short comings in projector and screen quality with both a budget Panasonic PT AX100U Projector and Dalite 90in screen. What I am suggesting is you buy a budget Projector and screen and adjust in time if you feel the need and spend the rest of the saved money on either upgrades in your room accoustics or equipment or on the far more important things in life. Here comes the critics...

[tonyvdb]

Plg6067 wrote:

Wow, I didn't even realize screens cost that much, I guess I won't be getting a high gain

There are also many paint on screen options that are very effective and far less expensive. This also gives you the flexibility of making it any size you want.

[jerome]

superchad wrote:

I dont have much extra money to blow on HT and not sure I would if I had more but I bought a budget screen that looks fine to me and was under $200 for manual pulldown 16X9.
I am sure folks will argue with me and thats fine but I spent my entire career in the printing industry in both press and as Graphic artist and feel I have a pretty critical eye and am quite sure I see things most dont just due to profession and experience, I also have a 34' Sony Wega XBR Glass Tube HD TV that probably has one of if not the best picture money can buy in any form of HD yet I fail to see many extreme short comings in projector and screen quality with both a budget Panasonic PT AX100U Projector and Dalite 90in screen. What I am suggesting is you buy a budget Projector and screen and adjust in time if you feel the need and spend the rest of the saved money on either upgrades in your room acoustics or equipment or on the far more important things in life. Here comes the critics...

I have to agree and disagree with you
I agree that many budget equipment is very good and more than good enough for most of us. But sometimes, it's worth it to pay $100 more to get something better. I believe that it's the case for screens. I don't regret that I paid a bit more to get a good fixed screen. Painting is probably the cheapest option but I didn't dare trying it, probably too scared to do it wrong

I'm still saying that a projector+screen(painted or not) is the best solution. It's easier/cheaper to upgrade and will give a bigger picture for the same price. Also, a good budget HD-ready projector or a very good second hand (BenQ 8720 for instance) will do fine for a while. Not everybody needs a full-HD projector to get a very good HD picture IMO.

That's my critics

[superchad]

jerome wrote:

I have to agree and disagree with you
I agree that many budget equipment is very good and more than good enough for most of us. But sometimes, it's worth it to pay $100 more to get something better. I believe that it's the case for screens. I don't regret that I paid a bit more to get a good fixed screen. Painting is probably the cheapest option but I didn't dare trying it, probably too scared to do it wrong

I'm still saying that a projector+screen(painted or not) is the best solution. It's easier/cheaper to upgrade and will give a bigger picture for the same price. Also, a good budget HD-ready projector or a very good second hand (BenQ 8720 for instance) will do fine for a while. Not everybody needs a full-HD projector to get a very good HD picture IMO.

That's my critics

Jerome I whole heartedly agree but you are talking about an extra hundred bucks or so vs $2000 which is a figure OP quoted if I remember correctly. I knew atleast one person and probably more would disagree with me and was mearling showing off my Phsycic ability

[jerome]

superchad wrote:

Jerome I whole heartedly agree but you are talking about an extra hundred bucks or so vs $2000 which is a figure OP quoted if I remember correctly. I knew at least one person and probably more would disagree with me and was mearling showing off my Phsycic ability

I thought at first that $5000 was the budget for the video part. I thought that with that kind of cash, someone could afford a very good high-gain screen as well as a very good projector.

I finally understood yesterday that it was for the whole AV room ....

[Blaser]

Hi all,

Generally we want to watch movies as intended by film makers so we need the most accurate presentation from the projector. This will be called the "best mode", which is generally way dimmer than the brightness capability of the projector as colors have to be calibrated and generally tamed, filters have to be applied in the machine and it lowers brightness by up to 75% ....

That doesn't leave so much light output left to "fight" any "interaction" from the room which could be reflections from the walls/ceiling that are not neutral paint/color, thus creating color shift and/or reducing the intra-image CR represented in a "washed-out" picture.
As long as room will be completely light controlled for movies that won't be a problem.

From the other hand, watching sports or playing games are of different nature than watching movies as no one watches sports for the quality of the picture but rather to enjoy the show. I don't mean a bad picture will be OK either, but what I mean is no one will care if blacks are a bit washed out or colors are not very accurate during a football match. Therefore, much brighter modes may be used and that will tolerate some ambient light depending on the projector itself.

I happen to watch a football match with my room lights fully on in the brightest mode of my projector without it looking unnatural or lacking details (that mode is unwatchable in a completely dark room by the way).

Regarding screens, higher gain screens if properly designed will not have hot spotting. I am using a Carada BW 1.4 gain screen and brightness is uniform and costs one third of the mentioned screen in some post above. Some people use even higher gain screens like the Da lite High Power and do not complain about hot spotting....
Also high gain does not necessarily mean much more expensive (this is nonesense), different brands are what make a screen cheaper or more expensive.
I would like to point out that high gain screens will be very easily affected by reflected light from the room... while low gain gray screens for ex. are better with some ambient light, but they are dimmer and that is the price to pay.

If $200 is the screen budget, I immediately recommend DIY. Mech and Bill are very helpful and they will gladly support.

Concerning 1 Mp or 2 Mp projector, that really depends on the viewing angle (viewing distance/screen width). Projector Contrast ratio is way more important than resolution, unless one begins to notice screen door effects.

For economical reasons only, I would use a 720p projector as long as screen door is not noticeable from watching distance, and I would switch to 1080p once it become noticeable.

I would just give a hint about what I would do if I had a $5000:

- Invest the biggest part on the projector (do not forget cables)
- Invest the remaining on a screen
- Paint my room (least part)

You could do well with a 3 or 4 K$ projector, 700 or 800 $ fixed frame screen....

Pls let us know your room dimensions, screen size, watching distance and I am sure you'll find assistance.

Thanks!

[Blaser]

jerome wrote:

Low gain (<1.2) screens are much cheaper.
But these low-gain screens are probably 3 or 4 times cheaper than the high-gain ones.

Where did you get such information from???? Why would they be that much more expensive?? It is the material of the screen that relates to its cost not its gain.

[jerome]

Screens like the Planar Xscreen (and similar brands) are more expensive than traditional screens because of their technology I guess.

I researched a bit on these before buying my screen and found that high-quality high-gain screens were (still are?) more expensive. For instance, take a look at these: Link1 and Link2.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Start to feel that I have missed something here

[Blaser]

Hello,

I checked the links... TAW XtreamScreen is expensive as it is made of special material which is said to be children proof It has a gain of 6.0, but I doubt that is the reason why it is expensive as well as I doubt such a screen could be used in a dedicated HT at all unless you will be wearing very dark sunglasses.

What indicates it is the material of the screen that makes for the higher price is when there is an increase in size, price rises strongly...