Need help with PJ

[fernalfers]

I have a LED 56 inch Samsung TV right now but want to dive into the Projector scene. This is pretty new to me and want your guidance.

Now first off i see a lot of people not using screens and just using there walls and the PQ is amazing. If this is true i'd rather spend more on the Projector and just use the wall. My wall is painted a light beige.

I want to project a 100inch picture and i will be sitting 12.5 feet from the picture. My back wall is 14ft from the picture. I need a projector that can be mounted behind me on the wall. Ceiling mount might not work for me. A shelf of some sort behind me would be ideal at picture height.

1080P vs. 720p I guess i don't have a preference just want a good PJ all around.

Can anyone give me any suggestions with the info i have given. It would be greatly appreciated.

[Keith from Canada]

fernalfers wrote:

I have a LED 56 inch Samsung TV right now but want to dive into the Projector scene. This is pretty new to me and want your guidance.

Now first off i see a lot of people not using screens and just using there walls and the PQ is amazing. If this is true i'd rather spend more on the Projector and just use the wall. My wall is painted a light beige.

I want to project a 100inch picture and i will be sitting 12.5 feet from the picture. My back wall is 14ft from the picture. I need a projector that can be mounted behind me on the wall. Ceiling mount might not work for me. A shelf of some sort behind me would be ideal at picture height.

1080P vs. 720p I guess i don't have a preference just want a good PJ all around.

Can anyone give me any suggestions with the info i have given. It would be greatly appreciated.

How much do you want to spend?

As for paint, you can go as lo-tech to as high-tech as you want. I'd start with a flat mat white wall and see what you think (you'll be happy for a while). After that, there is no end to the color combinations that you could try. AVS forums has a section on DIY screens that most new owners get completely lost in. These guys have been mixing all sorts of stuff together for years in an attempt to attain the best picture possible. You could literally spend a month researching the possibilities.

I personally went with a material called "blackout cloth". It gives me a 1.0 gain screen and has no issues with any colors in the color spectrum. It's only limitation is slightly worse contrast than a store-bought Carada, Da-Lite or Stewart screen. It cost me $19 + $15 in lumber to put up a 96".

The other route you could go with a screen is to build your own frame and purchase just the screen material. I've priced out a 100" Da-Lite Cinema Vision 1.3 gain doing it this way and could easily build it for under $300 and have a 2" velvet border. This same screen would retail for over $1K and the frame would not be as nice as what I could make in my basement.

[fernalfers]

I want to spend no more then $2000.00 on a Projector. And less then $500.00 on my screen options whether it be my wall painted or a bought screen or a DIY screen.

Personally for screen i want to go the easiest route. Whichever is easier to put up but without degrading PQ.

so $2500.00 all together but want to get the best PJ for my money. And if i do paint the wall, what do you do just paint the area for the size your screen will be or do you paint the entire wall the screen will be?

[Keith from Canada]

fernalfers wrote:

I want to spend no more then $2000.00 on a Projector. And less then $500.00 on my screen options whether it be my wall painted or a bought screen or a DIY screen.

Personally for screen i want to go the easiest route. Whichever is easier to put up but without degrading PQ.

so $2500.00 all together but want to get the best PJ for my money. And if i do paint the wall, what do you do just paint the area for the size your screen will be or do you paint the entire wall the screen will be?

How much you paint is up to you. I'd recommend painting the largest image you can and then scaling it back until you get the ideal size for your seating distance/room design. Besides, it's just paint!

The next question is whether or not you have a preference between LCD or DLP. If you go the DLP route, you won't have offset to work with which means less placement flexibility. Do a little research on the pros and cons of each and determine if DLP is something you would like. I for one always recommend DLP when the person I'm discussing projectors with is what I consider a 'videophile' (the guy who nitpiks the image constantly). I happen to be one of those guys who gets his projector professionally calibrated and I, along with the majority of calibrators, do prefer the image thrown by DLP. That being said, if you've never gotten a set calibrated and never tweaked your existing display, you likely wouldn't have any problem with the current LCD crop of projectors. The differences are subtle, but they are there.

At $2,500, you should be looking at a 1080p projector. There are several good LCD's at that pricepoint but it sounds like the Epson 1080UB is getting the bulk of the buzz right now. Art at Projectorreviews.com (a very good source of unbiased information and reviews) raved about it. I would also look at reviews of the Optoma HD80 (DLP) and keep your eye out for some of the new BenQ DLP models (e.g. BenQ W5000) that are about to be launched. The standard fallback is the Mits HC4900 (LCD) which can be had for very low prices. I've heard mixed reviews about it and I don't think that it compares well to the Epson.