Hi, I'm trying to decide on an entry level 1080P projector vs say.. 73 inch Mitsubishi DLP TV. My budget is less than $3K. Projector obviously has size advantage but I'm wondering I'll be suffering on picture quality. I have a Blu ray but 90% of my movie watching is still DVD and I recently went to a local store and watched the Lord of the rings DVD from a Marantz projector (don't know the model number) on a 90 inch screen and I was not too impressed with picture quality. So I'm curious as to whether it is generally agreed that front projector has picture quality inferiority to other alternatives like a 73 inch DLP but you just accepted it to get a bigger picture. Please tell me you're happy with picture quality because I really want to get a 100 inch screen but not at the steep cost of picture quality. Thanks.

man..that marantz SHOULD have looked amazing regardless of the model..however there are a lot of factors that might have made it not so. i am on my 3rd dlp projector, and i would NEVER buy another tv other than maybe for the bedroom. i went from a 480p, to 720p, now to 1080p and i have never looked back. and EVERYONE who comes to my house says "OMFG why would anyone ever buy a tv again???" so yes, i am very happy with the picture quality, and i would compare a dlp projector to almost any plasma etc ...the only upside to a traditional tv is watching it in bright light. there are some trade offs like positioning and room light etc but in my opinion these are nothing to get a 100" plus tv

a quick shot of my screen upconverting a 480p to 1080p movie
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i95/jinxfrt/DSC00228.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i95/jinxfrt/DSC00235.jpg

Stores almost always mess up projector displays. What you'll actually end up with is much, much better.


Having said that, standard definition material doesn't always look very good when blown up to a huge size. Some projectors handle standard def stuff better than others, but still, the bigger the picture gets, the worse standard def often looks.


Below are 2 screenshots from the "screenshot war" thread. Like in-store displays, screenshots often fall far short of the quality we actually see on our own screens, in person. These shots are probably closer to what you'll see w/ a decent projector than what you saw in a store. (A common reaction I get from friends, for example, in addition to awe at how big the picture is, is disbelief in how good it looks, as good as their tiny HD sets. Often they've seen projectors in sports bars or at stores and had no idea how nice an image properly set up projectors can actually throw.)

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/7022/bond4ayh8.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/620/imgp2421wc2.jpg

yup..i totally agree with that information..you MUST have a tripod to have taken such clear pictures. i just can't seem to hold the camera steady enough to get a shot that good...but i was hoping he'd get the idea at least. LOL

I run a 110" diag screen right now and I couldnt be happier with the quality I am getting. Of course depending on sitting distance, if I lower the size the image looks sharper but thats just common sense. Still, at my current 1.5 times width viewing distance I get awesome IQ and very immersive experience....no tv can give you that but just to clarify I do have a DLP projector not LCD.
Regards

PS Check the screenshots thread for some of my pics as well...last page. Actually I see jclampit posted a couple of my pics...cool!

You will find very few here that wont tell you FP is the way to go. But it really depends so much on your room and ambient light level. think of it as sitting inside your RP TV and viewing the image from inside. In there would be the perfect world a black box with no lights. FP will tolerate some problems and still give a very good PQ but it has its limits.

To give you an idea below is a screen shot from my setup. The projector I’m using is a cheep business projector XGA about 650 buck range, the screen is homemade painted canvas 120” about 100 bucks and my labor. Room is a basement light controlled and some darkening of the walls and ceiling just above the screen.

The biggest difference is the viewing experience and its something that’s hard to explain but the term used is “film like” watching a lower brightness image in a low light setting is the absolute best IMHO. And then if you have enough lumens to bridge the gap into some mild task lighting in the seating end of the room, you can still maintain good PQ for brighter subject matter like sports with the guys, where you wouldn’t want to be in a real dark room. That’s the best of both worlds.

Here is movie like:

http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/20/2021147720068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2021147720068493142OBVzGy)

Here is sports with enough light to read by over the seating:

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/21/2069270820068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2069270820068493142jYgaSo)
Same image lights out:
http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/243/2078424330068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2078424330068493142QqYZrY)

1.5 years ago I was in the same situation and I chose a JVC HD-ILA 61" TV. Big mistake. While I liked the picture and can watch it with lights on (which we never do anyway), I was longing for a bigger screen and I sold the JVC recently and bought a projector. Huge difference. We are in a movie theater now!!!

I wish I had made this decision 1.5 years ago since I lost about $650 selling the TV.

It depends. If you're planning on only this item for all tv watching in a room with ambient light, I say go with the TV. If this is only for movies at night, or in a light-controlled room, I say projector.

I've got a 51" set with 5.1 surround in my family room, and wouldn't want a projector in that room. I've got a 10' wide AT 'scope screen with 7.2 surround in my media room, and wouldn't want a tv in that room.

Thanks for the replies. Your words are encouraging and the attached pictures look fantastic although some of them seem to be blu ray disc not standard DVD. This TV/Projector will be in the basement so light control won't be an issue and it will be 80% movie/20% TV. I was more concerned about picture quality since 480P blowing up on 100 inch screen probably looks worse than on 73 inch screen. I do want the wow factor so if the PQ difference is nominal I definetely want a front projector and perhaps a 1080P projector if it gives me noticeably sharper image than 720P. Any recommendations? thanks.

Honestly if you are only planning to do DVDs and no HD movies a good 480p like the Infocus IN72 might be a better choice as they are more forgiving with poor sources...when you run a DVD at a BIG size with a sharp 720p or 1080p projector they are going expose the lack of details DVDs have.
Thats just my opinion of course....

Thanks for the replies. Your words are encouraging and the attached pictures look fantastic although some of them seem to be blu ray disc not standard DVD. This TV/Projector will be in the basement so light control won't be an issue and it will be 80% movie/20% TV. I was more concerned about picture quality since 480P blowing up on 100 inch screen probably looks worse than on 73 inch screen. I do want the wow factor so if the PQ difference is nominal I definetely want a front projector and perhaps a 1080P projector if it gives me noticeably sharper image than 720P. Any recommendations? thanks.

Of course the 480p image will look better at 73" than it does with a projector at 100" +. That is not a fair comparison. You can always reduce the size of the projected image and then you will find that it can pretty well match the image of the 73" DLP, but you can by choice make it larger and that is some thing the 73" RPTV can't do.

With a light controlled room, I think projector is the only way to go. Heck for the cost of the 73" TV you can buy one projector and have enough left over to buy your next projector when you need a new one.

Thanks for the replies. Your words are encouraging and the attached pictures look fantastic although some of them seem to be blu ray disc not standard DVD. This TV/Projector will be in the basement so light control won't be an issue and it will be 80% movie/20% TV. I was more concerned about picture quality since 480P blowing up on 100 inch screen probably looks worse than on 73 inch screen. I do want the wow factor so if the PQ difference is nominal I definetely want a front projector and perhaps a 1080P projector if it gives me noticeably sharper image than 720P. Any recommendations? thanks.

The screen shots I posted above, the first one from the movie The Hulk was regular old DVD. The second two of basketball were SD TV coming over a cable box.

The resolution of my projector is 1024x768 or XGA so when viewing 16:9 material I’m using a resolution of 1024x576. (The hulk photo) That’s half way between 480 and 720 is all.

The channel the basketball was on was digital. Below is what analog SD TV coming thru the cable box looks like. This is an example though of what I would consider a good strong signal. There are several stations (local) that I wont watch on the projector because they are so bad, and they look bad on my 40” Sony 1080p LCDTV also.

I don’t have any HD DVD yet but do have HD cable now (a few channels) as amazing as this will sound HD looks better to me at a resolution of 1024x576 projected to a 110” screen viewing from a distance of 11’ in a light controlled room. Than viewing the exact same source on the 40” 1080p Sony Bravia from a distance of 6’ in a lightly lit room. And don’t get me wrong the PQ on the Sony is breathtaking, but there is this quality to a well setup projection system viewed under proper lighting that makes you feel like you are right there.

I have never taken any screen shots of a garbage picture that big but if I get a chance I will. I know the trepidation of venturing into projection for the first time and then going to some big box store and seeing a washed out poorly setup projector playing next to a plasma and thinking these guys at AVS must all be smoking something. The other big problem is I could have went to 20 friends houses and seen beautiful large flat panel displays, but I knew no one with a projector and amazingly after having this for 2 years I only know 2 people who have ventured into projection.

Really the big question isn’t PQ its about the room and ambient lighting first, and then viewing habits. Projectors IMO need a backup display. They are not designed to be turned on and off like a TV. I look at mine as the special treat viewing and if I want to watch the news or check the weather it’s the 40” or in the media room I have a 20” CRT for that and setting up the DVR etc.

That don’t mean you cant enjoy the special treat 4 or 6 hours every night if you want.:D

SD TV screen shot:

http://inlinethumb37.webshots.com/868/2174742960068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2174742960068493142xHgSYv)