I'm looking to find out exactly , or roughly, what kind of picture these projections give off. Are they closer to a RPTV than a LCD?

They throw a BIG, beautiful image. I don't know what you mean by your second question.

I'm looking to find out exactly , or roughly, what kind of picture these projections give off. Are they closer to a RPTV than a LCD?

With a good projector, good source material, and serious ambient light control, the answer is STUNNING.

That said, you need to find a good place to see one. That generally excludes any store selling them or any bar using one. Find someone who has one in their home and be prepared to be blown away (assuming said home has a well set-up system).

Today even an average 720p projector is going to look amazing with HD source material in a room that has decent ambient light control. You have not ever wanting to watch TV on a small (meaning under 100") screen ever again to look forward to. :)

When I think of a RPTV I think of the big box first and then a nice picture that is somewhat dependent on sitting at the correct angle to the screen. when I think of LCD I’m assuming flat panel not unlike plasma with that super sharp bright eye popping image.

Projection from the front is totally different than ether of these. The best comparison I can make is go to a high end movie theater, not the dollar special, and picture a similar image at home only at least 50% better. That’s what’s obtainable if you follow all the rules setting up your room. Don’t expect FP to be like TV where you turn it on and off and leave it on for background noise.

It’s next to impossible to compare any of the different device images as they each have their own good and bad points. I will say FP produces a lot of bang for your buck. Below are a few pictures of what my bottom level $650 projector on a homemade screen is giving me. And it’s also nearly imposable to capture in a photo what you really see.

http://inlinethumb10.webshots.com/5129/2285760230068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2285760230068493142rKWaCw)

http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/5805/2003226340068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2003226340068493142LIMjgZ)

http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/791/2866161880068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2866161880068493142jYaTif)

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

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/1711/2929955880068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2929955880068493142OcupoM)

http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/4735/2437973500068493142S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2437973500068493142gXcoFk)
:D

It looks better than this picture can portray:

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q139/johnsbin/HD70/NFLHD-EF06-Ambient.jpg

This is 45" high and 80" wide. Tape a rectangle that big on your wall and imagine...

There are two issues with projection that you don't have with other TVs,

Projector Location (especially for projectors w/o lens shift) and ambient light.

If you can control lighting, and get the projector mounted in a proper location, nothing can touch the wow factor.

I'm looking to find out exactly , or roughly, what kind of picture these projections give off. Are they closer to a RPTV than a LCD?

When you take the plunge into FP, realize that it requires (obviously) a lot more work to set up than any RP setup. You have to take into consideration ambient light, screen size/material/gain/type, projector mounting, lens shift/zoom, and focusing. It can sound intimidating, but it's really not that hard, and if you're on this site you probably enjoy setup and tweaking anyway. And once you have a FP setup appropriately, the picture can be downright jaw-dropping.

I have a Panasonic ae1000u with a 106" Da-Lite Deluxe Model B manual screen in my last "temporary" room before I finish the basement. While both the projector and my 52" 720p DLP in the family room are ISF-calibrated, everything looks so much better on the FP setup just due to the size.

Once you do a FP setup right, it's very hard to go back to a "small" screen like my 52" for anything but regular TV.

Lots of good info so far.I would add that your FP should not be your primary TV.I only use my HT room for movies and Big sports events like NFL indy500 some of the big Nascar races ect.I use a 55in Hdtv for normal tv watching.A basement is a big plus for a fp.They can be made dark very quickly and cheaply.Just some thoughts

Depends on what you will be viewing. Movies or HDTV, very stunning. Games will not look as good as a 50" plasma because of the blown up texture and jaggies, but way more immersive.

I'm looking to find out exactly , or roughly, what kind of picture these projections give off. Are they closer to a RPTV than a LCD?

They throw a BIG, beautiful image.

once u get a projector/screen/audio system up and running:

u'll wonder how u ever lived without a pj;
when u go to bed, u'll not wanna wait for tomorrow to get here,
a pj setup will put a lot more LIFE into your life!
and the THRILL will last for a long time! years!

Here is my best attempt at an example of what the image quality looks like on a decent front projector.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1392/irbt2gz2.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=irbt2gz2.jpg)

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/2139/ialbd0ln3.th.jpg (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ialbd0ln3.jpg)

I took those with my DSLR and they are as close as I can get to capturing the true image quality.

The pseudo-3D effect of HD front projection continues to impress me and my guests. I just cannot duplicate that effect with an LCD or rear projetion TV.
I use a rear projection HDTV big screen for daytime and incidental viewing...for movies, sports and XBOX 360 is almost exclusively the projector.