Should I get a TV or a projector?

Goldy

That pretty much says it all, what do you think, TV or projector? The TV might be a couple hundred bucks less (42inch 1080 ~800) but then there is sales tax and the fact that its only 42 inches... The projector on the other hand is a full 1,000 bucks BUT it can be as big as 300 inches and is also 1080 (plus no sales tax). The projector is also more mobile and could be used in the garage for watching life sized baseball games while smoking gars with friends. Or playing Call of Duty with 8ft soldiers...

What would you guys do?

phobicsquirrel

Be sure to have the projector shown to you and used for both native 480i picture and 108i/p. Be sure that the projector gives you the images you are happy with. A 1000 dollar projector is mighty cheap for 1080p. Also check out what dvd's look like in 480p with a normal dvd player. stores love showing people stuff on a HD feed or blu ray player then when they get home are like WTF! Also with a projector you'll need less light, most cases a complete dark room with minimal light. The TV is a bit more user friendly for everyday purposes.

rdnstn

The squirrel said most of it. I just wanted to reinforce that for a decent pic with the projector, it will need to be completely dark. Even blinds over the window don't really cut it during the day unless they block out the light completely. Also think about upkeep. Projectors will need bulbs replaced periodically and a lot of them cost 3 figures.

Hays

Both of these fellows have made excellent points about projector setups. There is a store in my city that sells home theater packages (like, dedicated-room home theaters), and I've done a lot of shopping there and elsewhere putting together equipment I would like. I was looking at $1500 for a good(not great) quality 720p projector, and $1000 for a base-level retractable 96" screen. Then you have to add audio to that... For what it sounds like you're looking for, I'd go for the TV bro. Projectors aren't quite as portable as you might be thinking - they're not just plug-and-play. Any time you move it dramatically it'll require new setup for distance, zoom, angle, light conditions, etc...

bforrester

the ideal tv viewing distance is a 1:3 ratio (so says they, who they are i do not know) i.e. 42" is ideally viewed from 10 1/2 feet. The whole 1080 thing is not that big of a deal at that size either in my opinion, maybe if you sit two feet away you will notice the pixels on a 720. Watch the amount of inputs on those tvs on sale too, I have seen good deals and then find out that there are not enough inputs for all my video feeds.

stephen_hannibal

Some good stuff here.
Let me chime in projectors image brightness are measured in Lumen. So the higher the lumens the brighter the picture.
I wouldn't go with anything under 2k Lumens because of the high probability of image wash out. (those are a lot more than a grand.)
Another thing to consider is contrast ratio... unfortunately there is no set standard for this one. And a lot of manufactures make up their own terms like "hyper contrast" or "game mode." The point is to set it so you can differentiate between the black of say someones hair or clothing and the black of the back ground.
And finally the lamps for projectors aren't cheap. Sometimes $200-$300 dollars. And a ton of things depend on life span. Things like temperature, both in the room and of the projector, power source, if it isn't consistent could kill it, and proper warm up and shut down.
Also if you don't have the proper throw distance for the lens of the projector you could end up with and image smaller than a television.

The long and short of it is you should get a TV either LCD or LED.

Goldy

Good points so far. We first got a projector when the bosses boss threw the projector in the trash cause it kept shutting down and I offered to "recycle it". All it needed was more air flow so a cookie cooling tray fixed the problem. So then the wife and I got used to watching on the big 88 inch screen but it recently broke and since it was many years old we decided to not repair it and just buy a new one. That one was a Proxima x350 something something.

Now we are looking at an optoma HD20 which has native 1080 and should last us for atleast 5 years. We don't actually have TV so all we would be using it for would be games and netflix. I have really enjoyed the portability of the old projector so I would assume this new one will be similar in portability.

I guess the real question I should be asking is whether or not I should get a projector that shows native 1080 or one that can upconvert to 1080. Would I be able to tell a difference? We are leaning projector just because it is SOOO much fun to play games on.

zoom6zoom

As a projector owner, I can tell you that it is definitely more of an investment than a television. You're not going to be moving it from place to place; once you've got it set up and dialed in properly you won't want to mess with it. A projector is almost a lifestyle choice.

In addition to your projector, you will want a decent screen. I made due with a white painted wall for a while but it just wasn't that satisfactory. Not terribly expensive to build your own if you can live with a fixed screen, a decent powered screen will start at $500 and go up from there. (Mine is 120" electric).

Light control in the room is very important, which means upgrading your drapes and shades. Ancillary equipment like a battery backup unit to keep the projector from shutting off without a cool down period if the power suddenly dies on you.

phobicsquirrel

zoom6zoom:

As a projector owner, I can tell you that it is definitely more of an investment than a television. You're not going to be moving it from place to place; once you've got it set up and dialed in properly you won't want to mess with it. A projector is almost a lifestyle choice.

In addition to your projector, you will want a decent screen. I made due with a white painted wall for a while but it just wasn't that satisfactory. Not terribly expensive to build your own if you can live with a fixed screen, a decent powered screen will start at $500 and go up from there. (Mine is 120" electric).

Light control in the room is very important, which means upgrading your drapes and shades. Ancillary equipment like a battery backup unit to keep the projector from shutting off without a cool down period if the power suddenly dies on you.

very good points. I will go with a projector one day that's for sure. Though i wouldn't want one for everyday things.

phobicsquirrel

Goldy:

Good points so far. We first got a projector when the bosses boss threw the projector in the trash cause it kept shutting down and I offered to "recycle it". All it needed was more air flow so a cookie cooling tray fixed the problem. So then the wife and I got used to watching on the big 88 inch screen but it recently broke and since it was many years old we decided to not repair it and just buy a new one. That one was a Proxima x350 something something.

Now we are looking at an optoma HD20 which has native 1080 and should last us for atleast 5 years. We don't actually have TV so all we would be using it for would be games and netflix. I have really enjoyed the portability of the old projector so I would assume this new one will be similar in portability.

I guess the real question I should be asking is whether or not I should get a projector that shows native 1080 or one that can upconvert to 1080. Would I be able to tell a difference? We are leaning projector just because it is SOOO much fun to play games on.

optoma's are good actually. I haven't heard anything bad about them at any rate. It's really personal choice at this point. Like I said before, you're going to have to see for yourself. Showrooms are unfortunately not the best place to make a decision but they help. Problem is, it's hard to find a good place. I have not stores in my area actually that would cater to what I would want to buy something like this.

Theedge

I purchased several a while back and just went with what looked best to my eye. What I ended up being drawn to was the Sony LCD's - just the 720 seemed fine to me. I made the mistake of hanging a 42" inch one on the bedroom wall.....I now go to bed at 7.

bforrester

Sweet.......wall screen paint, now thats what I would do if I were to get a projector. http://www.goosystems.com/ Gotta love the name too.

Lasabar

If you have the room for it a projector is a good investment, but it is that, an investment. If you don't spring for an RF remote to control all your stuff in the back of the room, then you spring for LOOONG HDMI cables which cost about the same. You do have to buy bulbs and you NEED a High gain screen (or paint) to get it to really pop in a room that is not pitch black. You also want it to be slightly gray to even out the colors (I do believe it's for the bulbs give off a yellowish hue instead of a pure white. You can get a much larger screen with a projector.

A TV just makes it simple, somewhat portable and you can get the high end stuff (i.e. 1080p etc.) for cheaper than a projector. Also, maintenance is less for no bulbs.

If you have the time and a room go projector, if you have a normal room or want all of your home theater stuff all in one area then go TV route.

And as far as the distance thing goes, with the better quality of 1080p you can sit as close as you want.. In fact the THX website says that 1080p looses it's effectiveness after about 8ft. with a 50" ...

This is the tip of the iceberg with HT stuff... if you wanna get Uber Geeky involved then tool around www.avsforum.com... those guys are NERDS!!!

phobicsquirrel

Lasabar:

If you have the room for it a projector is a good investment, but it is that, an investment. If you don't spring for an RF remote to control all your stuff in the back of the room, then you spring for LOOONG HDMI cables which cost about the same. You do have to buy bulbs and you NEED a High gain screen (or paint) to get it to really pop in a room that is not pitch black. You also want it to be slightly gray to even out the colors (I do believe it's for the bulbs give off a yellowish hue instead of a pure white. You can get a much larger screen with a projector.

A TV just makes it simple, somewhat portable and you can get the high end stuff (i.e. 1080p etc.) for cheaper than a projector. Also, maintenance is less for no bulbs.

If you have the time and a room go projector, if you have a normal room or want all of your home theater stuff all in one area then go TV route.

And as far as the distance thing goes, with the better quality of 1080p you can sit as close as you want.. In fact the THX website says that 1080p looses it's effectiveness after about 8ft. with a 50" ...

This is the tip of the iceberg with HT stuff... if you wanna get Uber Geeky involved then tool around www.avsforum.com... those guys are NERDS!!!

lol, hey I'm proud of being a nerd!!! hehe, though I have to say that though I won't dispute THX, but depending on the TV, you could have 4000p, and still have a Sh8tty picture. I know without a doubt that on the series 8 samsung led tv, that statement is very true (meaning what lassy said THX said..). Though I still say that a 10-15 foot distance is best for 50-60 inches... just my opinion though it's voiced by a lot of people.
Hey lassy, only one more day and you'll probably be able to find parking and have room to walk around your work. Though I remember when I worked for BB between now and the day after superbowl was busy, though a lot of people tried to return their HD tvs...

Scrambler

I've had a 720p projector for a couple years. I love it. It's seems the most cost effective way to get 80"+.

I don't have special blinds or anything so if I try to watch in the middle of the day the image is a little washed out, but still viewable. Nearly all of my tv/movie/game time is at night though, so it doesn't matter.

My bulb actually burned out last week, so I'm using my old SVGA multimedia projector right now. Even it looks pretty decent still. It's annoying that it's not widescreen, so I have light being projected above and below the screen, but it works until I decide if I want to spend $250 on a bulb, or just wait until I can afford a 1080 projector.

Goldy

Scrambler, you have horrible timing. I would have tried to buy your downed projector off you but I decided to buy a Optoma HD20 one day before you posted.


We went with the HD20 because I doubt light will be a problem since we live in MN where it is totally dark by 4:30 and we get off work around 5. My wife got pretty excited about the projector and has undertaken making curtians and a projector screen so that should keep her busy.