How did you all become such avid fans of Front Projection TV? I am just now looking into them, but I'm curious how people first discovered this type of TV, and why you went down this path!

Quick responses work, long responses welcome :cool:

I finally made the jump because there is finally an all HD source possibility. PS3, XBOX 360, and HD Satellite. When you feed an hd source to an hd projector, it looks amazing. I've been interested in projectors for the past 10 years, but never thought the resolution of "upscaled" dvd, regular tv viewing, etc. looked good.

Then, on this forum, I started looking at screen shots of HD-DVD. Projector specs have improved dramatically. Costs have come down (720p for $1500 three years ago, which is when I bought my first proj). I jumped in head first, got a 106" screen, connected it, and was blown away. I've been hooked ever since.

Now I have an epson 6500ub, and upgraded my screen to a Carada BW (still 106"). It's just awesome. Once you see it in person (and play Call of Duty 4 on 106", you'll never go back. I promise.) And if there is something that is holding you back from keeping the setup, you'll find a way to make it work (because it's THAT much fun) !!!!!!

I saw them set up in stores like Tweeter, etc but when I looked at the price tags (of course, I'm talking 10+ years ago).... :eek: Not to mention the environment wasn't that great so the picture didn't look as good as the other smaller displays they sold.

Then when researching TVs, I came across this very forum, started reading a little more about them. Found someone doing a "shootout/demo" not far from me and saw in person what I could get for a lot less $$ than I had thought. At that point, there was no other option, I was going to get a projector. As a matter of fact, I bought one from the guy hosting the shootout as he was upgrading. :D

How did you all become such avid fans of Front Projection TV? I am just now looking into them, but I'm curious how people first discovered this type of TV, and why you went down this path!

Quick responses work, long responses welcome :cool:

It's really simple. I always wanted something bigger than you could get with a "TV". Eventually my rising budget and (drastically) falling projector prices met, and the rest is, as they say, history.

We have a SONY VPL-VW60 along with a 100" STEWART Firehawk SST electriscreen. The advantage of this set up over a TV is it takes up no space and provides for great room flexibility. When not in use we retract the screen and the room is free to be used for what ever. On top of this, as has been mentioned, HDTV (when the source material is good) is outstanding on this set up. Sports, TV series like LOST, etc look fantastic and have much greater impact than a 58" screen.

When my Sony 41" RPTV died December 2004 I wanted to get a larger RPTV. Then I found the AVS forum... :) As I began to acquire more information about projectors I began to change my mind about getting a RPTV. Why, I asked myself, should I spend $2000 for a 60" RPTV when I can spend the same amount for a projector system with a 92" screen? So that's what I did. Thanks to Jason, of AVS, he recommended the Mitsubishi HC3000U and a 92" screen and I've never looked back! :)

A couple of years ago a friend invited a few of us over to see the Superbowl in his theater. Had an LCD system with a painted wall, trim around the screen

The picture was hazy and kind of hurt my eyes, but I liked the concept and the bigness of it. I waited until there was more HD content out there, better upscalers and better projectors.

I'm one of those guys that has a big dish on my roof where I search for feeds and other free stuff.

I've had a Sony vw60 for about a year and a half. It's mounted in the garage behind me and when the ellectric screen is up, it is back to being the same room as always. Most of the feeds I get are sports feeds where they are beaming the signal down to their affiliates. Sometimes there are no commercials (just blackk) Sometimes there are no announcers or commercials.

Always the picture (usually 720p or 1080i) is outstanding . Works for me. Right now, along with the multitude of standard def stations I get, there are about a dozen hidef stations. It's cool. 100% legal. No bills. great picture. My movie library is for those times when I get the movie itch.

When my Sony 41" RPTV died December 2004 I wanted to get a larger RPTV. Then I found the AVS forum... :) As I began to acquire more information about projectors I began to change my mind about getting a RPTV. Why, I asked myself, should I spend $2000 for a 60" RPTV when I can spend the same amount for a projector system with a 92" screen? So that's what I did. Thanks to Jason, of AVS, he recommended the Mitsubishi HC3000U and a 92" screen and I've never looked back! http://www.entertainment-place.info/smile/img/2659/*************************

92'! That sounds awesome, I'm really thinking about making the switch.

And if there is something that is holding you back from keeping the setup, you'll find a way to make it work (because it's THAT much fun) !!!!!!
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That's true. I needed to come up with a different setup when I moved. In my previous apartment I was able to drill holes in the wall to install my electric rollup screen but not my new place so I devised a pedestal to hang my screen.

Nothing says Home Theater like a FPJ. :D

My TV rooms kept getting bigger and bigger. Add in buying a house with a finished basement and a PJ was the way to go. Without this forum I would still be watching my 50" TV. Went to a few local stores and it was clear that you/I needed 10K for a PJ system...just for screen and PJ. Thank god for avsforum!

--JK

I always wanted to go big...I never dived in until I took a look at 720P projectors a few years ago. I was surprised at the pricing. I ended up buying a Panasonic AE700U. I always thought it would be a lot higher but I was dead wrong. I haven't looked back since.

I got an invitation from a local HT store named Century Stereo back in 1997. They were doing a demo of one of the first Sharp LCD projectors designed for Home Theater. I don't remember the resolution but I think it was less than 480 horizonal lines. It had significant screen door and cost around $3000, a lot at that time. I never bought one but I got turned on to the idea of front projection and the realization that I could actually have a home theater with a really big screen. At the time I had a 25" TV and I think the biggest TV was a 36" CRT. I ended up buying a used Dwin CRT projector about a year later and started my FP adventure.

I'd always liked plasma and front projection. But I'd planned on buying a Panasonic 65" plasma. Which I felt would be quite a cinematic upgrade from my 42" plasma.

In order to see how big the image would be in my room, and to think about the seating arrangement, I borrowed a friend's cheap projector in order to project a 65" diagonal image on my wall, mimicking the size of the plasma image. I did that for a little while but it seemed I had to move my seating pretty close to get that "big image" vibe I was going for.

Then I thought "what the heck" and I zoomed the image out, making it much bigger on my wall - over 100" diagonal. I remember I was watching Jurassic Park and had a "whoa" moment. It was just so much more engrossing and cinematic and powerful at the larger size. Then it hit me..."I could actually have an image like this in my home!"

The projector bug bit me hard and there was no turning back.

Simply knowing projection is a possibility is one thing, seeing it in stores or even at a friend's house can be another, but once you experience it in your own home for the first time then the real power of the experience sinks in. There's something about the context of seeing a massive image in your own home, when you are used to seeing much smaller images there, that really makes the message of front projection sink in.

Now my room reno is being done to incorporate an image over 10 feet wide. A vastly more immersive image than the 57" wide image I would have had with the big plasma.

Nothing says Home Theater like a FPJ. :D

+1

With BIG screen.

Seriously;
Once I decided to make a dedicated Home Theatre room, I did not have any other choice but a FPJ/Big screen.

Watched them for 3-4 years via attending CES/reading, then when the Sony VW60 came out @ my price point bought it.

How did you all become such avid fans of Front Projection TV? I am just now looking into them, but I'm curious how people first discovered this type of TV, and why you went down this path!

Quick responses work, long responses welcome :cool:
As Joe Kane aptly says, "It's all about the art." I don't watch much "TV." It's always been cinema that makes all the time, effort and expense devoted to home entertainment gear worthwhile for me. Large format, front projection, in a dark environment, with a good surround sound system, simply comes closest to delivering the intended impact of a motion picture.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

For me it was when my uncle built his home theater with a 100 inch screen. That was about 5 years ago and I remember just being amazed. I never seen a home theater in person at that time. I had only seen them on tv in celebrities homes. So for the past 5 years I been always thinking of doing a HT but didn't think it was a possibility because of money and room space. Last summer I bought a 42 inch plasma and a couple months ago I was thinking of upgrading to a 60 inch Pioneer plasma. I thought the 60 inch would give me a more cinematic experience and especially with a pioneer plasma. Back in february I was at a service center for my reciever and we were testing out the pioneers plasmas with the panasonics and I had mentioned I was in the market for a 60 inch plasma and the guy said why spend $6k on a plasma go with a PJ for cheaper and get a bigger image. So I thought about it and then went shopping around for PJ's and saw they were in my budget. But the a Home Theater store killed my dream and told me it wasn't possible for me to have a HT in a 11x14 foot room and the biggest screen I could go with would be 65-80 inches at the most. They said anything bigger would look like crap. Thank god I discovered AVS Forums because once I researched on the forums and talked to several different people and they told me its possible to go up to 126 inches in my room and still have a great picture. Well thank god I didnt listen to that home theater store otherwise I would of just got a bigger plasma but now I got a Pioneer FPJ1 and a 110 inch screen on the way. Its amazing!


Thanks to everyone on the forums who have helped me out!

But the a Home Theater store killed my dream and told me it wasn't possible for me to have a HT in a 11x14 foot room and the biggest screen I good go with would be 65-80 inches at the most. They said anything bigger would look like crap.
My HT is a spare bedroom which is only 10x10 feet. The layout of our living room with a fireplace and lots of glass made it impractical for FP so I did the best I could with the room I had available. I started with a 72" wide screen in 1998 and it looked pretty good with SD DVD and Laserdisk. Now I have a 92" wide acoustically transparent screen with in wall speakers behind it and it looks great in HD. It only seats 4 but most of the time it is just me and my wife so it's fine.

Well front pj allows for immersion in whatever you are watching. If you can easily develop cinema level sound and cinema picture why go to the cinema? A few years ago 60" plasma was 10k. Now for 10 k you can have 120" image. Its a no brainer

Started around 1994 with surround sound via VHS tape (later laser disc) on a 33 inch Sony TV. My wife was skeptical, but Jurrasic Park made a believer out of her, and she asked if we could step it up a notch for our family room / game room (sound was great, video, of course, not so much). Started reading home theater magazines, chose a Sony lcd projector and an electric drop screen, did the install, and loved it, particularly with the advent of DVD.

When we relocated in 1999, stepped up to a JVC D-ila (thanks to this forum) and now have the RS-1, 8 foot wide screen, in a dedictaedd theater room. Can't imagine not having a front projection setup.

Marcel J. Dumeny

I always thought that my brothers 62 inch rear projection TV was so huge almost theater like thats 10 years ago... and when I met my soon to be wife her dad had a finished basement with then high end Projector like Vidikron... I became an instant fan of watching my shows,games and movies on huge screen on your own house at your own time and at your own buck... Then came along woot with $700 HD70 projector which was top 10 in 2007 for a 720P projector. Since then I have added anamorphic lens, moved to JVC - RS10 a couple of DIY screens now a 2.35:1 120 Inch screen, theater seating, high quality amps for my speakers and a high end AVR soon going to be replaced with a dedicated AV Processor... so in a line 10 years ago 60 inch was state of the art and now nothing is big enough if your projector can throw it out and you can stick it to the wall I am all up for it.. :-)

I first got into HT after a family friend had her TV setup so that the sound came through her 'Hifi' speakers. It probably wasn't a very good setup compared to what I have now, but it sounded 100 times better than the mono TV I had at the time and it got me started. I picked up a Prologic amp with surround speakers and a Nicam video recorder to give me a stereo source to feed into the PL amp. I started reading magazines about the subject and found this website and another based in the UK. I upgraded the TV I had at the time and a constant cycle continued including an early DVD player (when many friends and family didn't really know what a DVD player was :eek:). I had a reasonable sound set up with a 32" TV, but I wanted more. :D

When we moved into our current house 8 years ago, I could see that the main living room was an ideal shape for a good 7.1 layout and eventually a PJ and screen. I got so busy doing the DIY in other rooms that it was only about 2 1/2 years ago that I finally got a PJ (AE1000), so I skipped the first 'widescreen' PJs and 720p ones having been reading so much on here about 'what is just around the corner'. :D I've since upgraded three times through a succession of AE1000,2000 & 3000 PJs and now settled (I hope ;)) on my HD350. I've got a separate three channel power amp for the front three, a Lumagen video processor, an equaliser for my sub and a large UK built subwoofer that performs well above it's price, so my system has really progressed, mostly due to reading up on the web.

I find that these days I rarely watch BluRays or DVDs on my TV, only TV broadcast films. I like the 'special' feeling of watch films on my 2.35:1 screen so I don't use the PJ everyday or watch 'ordinary' TV on it apart from when it's warming up before I put the film on.

I'm very glad that I found out about projectors, though I'd be a lot richer if I hadn't. :D