I have been researching plasmas for a couple of months now looking at a 58" 1080P but never thought to compare pj's. I have no idea the equipment needed to use on of these. I am looking to use it for HD and SD tv through cox, CPU, and possibly gaming. Can I do all of these with a pj and what equipment would I need. I would only be able to fit about an 80" screen, so how would the picture compare to plasma?

All the things you address can be done on a PJ. You will need a video switch or receiver to handle the multiple sources and a sound system separate from the PJ as well. PJs give a larger experience and can have very good image quality, BUT:

It all depends on light control. Unlike a plasma, ambient light is the enemy of Front Projection. You will ned to be able to control ambeint light and keep as much light off of the screen as possible for the best results.

It is possible to save money while enjoying a larger screen, especially if you are considering a 65" plasma.

Front Projection is more about the overall experience than just tv watching. Many people have a more affordable panel for tv and daytime or regular viewing and then go to the PJ for movies and anytime they want that cinema feel to their viewing.

It really depends on what experience you are looking for and how much light you can control.

i am bumping this thread because I am interested in exactly the same thing:
I am in the market for a medium to large display and would like to know what are the pro and cons of PJ compared to plasma.
I have searched the forum but could not find anything. Maybe someone can link me to some thread or website explain all the basics of Plasma v. PJs

The Plasma direct view display has so little to do with FP, there just aren't many usefull comparisons to be drawn imho.

Projectors aren't really made to watch TV on.

If you do try FP in your living room, I'll be curious as to what you think of it. I did it for a couple of years and tired of it.

I disagree. Many people including myself watch TV for several hours every day on their projector. As long as you can cut out ambient light with curtains or shades, you can do anything on a projector that you can do on a plasma...only much bigger:)

i am bumping this thread because I am interested in exactly the same thing:
I am in the market for a medium to large display and would like to know what are the pro and cons of PJ compared to plasma.
I have searched the forum but could not find anything. Maybe someone can link me to some thread or website explain all the basics of Plasma v. PJs

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Select-a-Video-Display-for-Your-Home-Theater&id=47741

Come on back with your follow-up questions.

I disagree. Many people including myself watch TV for several hours every day on their projector. As long as you can cut out ambient light with curtains or shades, you can do anything on a projector that you can do on a plasma...only much bigger:)

What I really meant with the statement, that lamp life is short, and watching TV often involves turning it on and off a lot more than what the typical Theater Projector would ever see. Just really not what home theater projectors were deigned for is all.

I tired of the regular filter cleanings, I tired of lamp pruchases, I tired of having a projector hanging from the cieling in my living room. I tired of the pull down screen.... ect..ect..ect...

I am not really sayng not to do it, but these are things about FP in your living toom you really need to think about.

^

and this is exactly why i went for an lcd tv for most of my regular tv viewing. i will get a pj in the near future, i just have to find out a solution for having both set up. i can't wait to jump into the pj world myself.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Select-a-Video-Display-for-Your-Home-Theater&id=47741

Come on back with your follow-up questions.
Many thanks for the link: very interesting and a good starting point for a totally newby like me (although the article seems a bit dated).
Of course I still have a zillion of questions.
Apparently FP seem to have a much better picture quality than Plasma and LCDs screens. OTOH recently pirces of PJ have gone down so much that they are very competitive, even cheaper than corresponding plasma/LCD. So why are plasma/LCD so much more popular?
I suppose there must be some issues in practical use, but in my case the only real problem is the need for darkness in the room.
I am not bothered at all by having a PJ in the middle of the room, as my seating coach is at about 10' from the screen and I am planning to have an equipment rack behind the couch, so I suppose the PJ could go on top of the rack at about 4' above the ground (mid way between floor and ceiling). Is that reasonable? BTW my room is about 19'x14'x8'.
Noise from the PJ would be an issue, but I suppose that up to date models are quite silent.
I would be very happy about having a removable screen (maybe electric) instead of a big fixed plasma panel. Actually one of my primary reason for going PJ is to improve the sound in stereo reproduction, as the TV sitting in the middle of the speakers destroys sound quality.
Regarding screen size, considering my viewing distance of 10-11' I was thinking about 75" diagonal to be the correct one, but apparently here everyone laugh at anything less than 100":o.
I will be using HD DVD, a bit of hi-def TV in 720 and 1060 (not much here in the UK:mad:) and a lot of SD TV (460). Would SD TV look a bit better than on plasma?
Many thanks for any input

when i just wanna watch tv, i watch my cheapo 19" flat panel hdtv in kitchen (actually, i usually watch more sd (mash, news, etc) than hd on it). if i wanna watch a movie or concert, i go fire up the pj, amps and upscaler and watch on 108" screen. (soon to add hdm player(s)). having the tv set for casual viewing reduces a lot of time on expensive lamp and wear and tear on pj itself.
for many peeps, i think the idea of a f pj is still a bit exotic.

Many thanks for the link: very interesting and a good starting point for a totally newby like me (although the article seems a bit dated).
Of course I still have a zillion of questions.
Apparently FP seem to have a much better picture quality than Plasma and LCDs screens. OTOH recently pirces of PJ have gone down so much that they are very competitive, even cheaper than corresponding plasma/LCD. So why are plasma/LCD so much more popular?
I suppose there must be some issues in practical use, but in my case the only real problem is the need for darkness in the room.
I am not bothered at all by having a PJ in the middle of the room, as my seating coach is at about 10' from the screen and I am planning to have an equipment rack behind the couch, so I suppose the PJ could go on top of the rack at about 4' above the ground (mid way between floor and ceiling). Is that reasonable? BTW my room is about 19'x14'x8'.
Noise from the PJ would be an issue, but I suppose that up to date models are quite silent.
I would be very happy about having a removable screen (maybe electric) instead of a big fixed plasma panel. Actually one of my primary reason for going PJ is to improve the sound in stereo reproduction, as the TV sitting in the middle of the speakers destroys sound quality.
Regarding screen size, considering my viewing distance of 10-11' I was thinking about 75" diagonal to be the correct one, but apparently here everyone laugh at anything less than 100":o.
I will be using HD DVD, a bit of hi-def TV in 720 and 1060 (not much here in the UK:mad:) and a lot of SD TV (460). Would SD TV look a bit better than on plasma?
Many thanks for any input

From a standpoint of pure PQ, its hard to beat a 1080p plasma but front projection provides a much larger image to give that cinema immersion feeling. Because the image is so much larger, low quality signals like SD tv can look worse on a PJ than on a flat panel.

Your screen size is your preference. The reason you get questions about why so small is that if all you are trying to do is create a plasma screen for less money, you might be disappointed. But, if you want a cinema feel to your viewing, front projection is the way to do that.

...recently prices of PJ have gone down so much that they are very competitive, even cheaper than corresponding plasma/LCD. So why are plasma/LCD so much more popular?...

Flat panels are viewed as simple, one piece hang on a wall and turn on devices. Actually there is much more to a successful panel deployment but that's the customer's problem after the sale.

Flat panels are easy to display for that impulse buy and are easier to show and sell.

Flat panels can operate successfully in a wider range of settings.

PJs are portrayed as very expensive, difficult to setup, and only for special rooms. They are hard for a store to setup correctly and make the quick sell.

PJs are more limited in where they will give the best performance.

From a standpoint of pure PQ, its hard to beat a 1080p plasma but front projection provides a much larger image to give that cinema immersion feeling. Because the image is so much larger, low quality signals like SD tv can look worse on a PJ than on a flat panel.

Your screen size is your preference. The reason you get questions about why so small is that if all you are trying to do is create a plasma screen for less money, you might be disappointed. But, if you want a cinema feel to your viewing, front projection is the way to do that.

Very useful answer, many thanks.
I am quite sure I will go for a Projector, possibly the new Panny 2000 with a screen somewhere around 80—90" diagonal with a 11—12' throw.
Another very stupid question: the only thing that worries me is the quality of SD TV, even though there should be more and more HD broadcast here in the UK in the coming years. AFAIU most PJ have a zoom, so the size of the image projected on the screen can be scaled down; what about scaling down the image when watching SD TV to something like 50-60" in order to reduce loss of quality? Is that feasible or total non sense?

Very useful answer, many thanks.
I am quite sure I will go for a Projector, possibly the new Panny 2000 with a screen somewhere around 80—90" diagonal with a 11—12' throw.
Another very stupid question: the only thing that worries me is the quality of SD TV, even though there should be more and more HD broadcast here in the UK in the coming years. AFAIU most PJ have a zoom, so the size of the image projected on the screen can be scaled down; what about scaling down the image when watching SD TV to something like 50-60" in order to reduce loss of quality? Is that feasible or total non sense?


The quality of SD tv varies from very good to why bother. If you are receiving your SD channels in digital format, you may have a good chance of watching very good results, but it really depends on the bandwidth dedicated to the broadcast. I would say that most SD is watchable, it's just that I would rather see the HD version!

Unless you buy a PJ with remote zoom capability, you are not going to want to manually change the zoom back and forth everyday. You can, but it is a hassle most of us would rather not fool with.

We decided to go for the best of both worlds in our family room: a 37" flat panel display for casual TV watching, and a 100" screen and PJ for watching movies and concerts. While most folk probably would use a motorized or pull-down screen in this situation, we chose a fixed-frame screen for technical reasons. (When not in use, we don't think it looks any worse than a 100" plasma would look.)

When the room is in the "conversational" mode, a cozy chair sits in front of the screen, drawing attention away from it. For movies and concerts the chair is pulled aside. The PJ sits atop a 36" pedestal located unobtrusively at the rear of the room. This makes it easy to adjust the manual zoom and focus of the PJ. It also places the PJ at eye level to maximize the gain of our High Power screen. This arrangement works well for us. YMMV.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd2/FLBoyPhotos/NewHT.jpg

We decided to go for the best of both worlds in our family room: a 37" flat panel display for casual TV watching, and a 100" screen and PJ for watching movies and concerts. While most folk probably would use a motorized or pull-down screen in this situation, we chose a fixed-frame screen for technical reasons. (When not in use, we don't think it looks any worse than a 100" plasma would look.)

When the room is in the "conversational" mode, a cozy chair sits in front of the screen, drawing attention away from it. For movies and concerts the chair is pulled aside. The PJ sits atop a 36" pedestal located unobtrusively at the rear of the room. This makes it easy to adjust the manual zoom and focus of the PJ. It also places the PJ at eye level to maximize the gain of our High Power screen. This arrangement works well for us. YMMV.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd2/FLBoyPhotos/NewHT.jpg
looks very comfortable. my setup is quite similar, a little more rustic, but works well and like yours looks, also comfortable. alas, no camera for pics yet. for some odd reason, i have no desire for dedicated 'theater' room. too 'isolated' maybe?

... i have no desire for dedicated 'theater' room. too 'isolated' maybe?

Exactly!! We were having one of those "What would we do if we won the lottery?" discussions recently LOL. We would build a larger family room (with a larger screen) and a much larger kitchen, but not a separate theater room. Perhaps we would want one if we had a large family or were very social, but it's usually just the two of us watching, and often just me.

I have been researching plasmas for a couple of months now looking at a 58" 1080P but never thought to compare pj's. I have no idea the equipment needed to use on of these. I am looking to use it for HD and SD tv through cox, CPU, and possibly gaming. Can I do all of these with a pj and what equipment would I need. I would only be able to fit about an 80" screen, so how would the picture compare to plasma?

Your 80" restriction makes it hard to fully endorse a PJ. Assuming you can afford one or the other, in your case, the BIG plasma makes the most sense.
FLBoy's approach offers the most appeal for me.

Is the cost of lamps a big issue?
For a PJ like the new Panny 2000 what would roughly be a yearly running costs budget?
Still following with my stupid questions, what would be roughly the minimu m screen size in order to make a PJ worthwhile, maybe 85-90" diagonal?
Finally (I promise I'll stop for a while;)) when you refer to screen size is it diagonal or wide?

My set-up is sort of like FLBOY's (VERY nice) except my screen rolls down in front of my reg TV. To me its the best of both worlds, nothing beats a movie on a 92" screen.
To Viclondon - I also use my PJ to game on, and sometimes I want a smaller pic, so I just zoom in to get a smaller image, say 70", to me its not such a hassel. My PJ is shelf mounted so I just stand up and turn the dial.

Screen size here in US is measured diagonally, I have a 92" screen so I would think a 85- 90" is fine. Lamps usually last about 2000 hours so depending on how much you use it - I have my Sanyo Z5 for about 9 months and got about 800 hrs on lamp. BTW lamp prices are about $250. to $350. average.

What am I missing guys? I have a small house and have been living alone since my wife passed away a couple of years ago and my daughter moved out a few months ago. I've been considering converting my detached garage (21'x21') into a home theater with a PJ and large screen. I know absolutely nothing about front projection and I'm apprehensive because I have never seen a front projection display with PQ that even approaches my Panasonic plasma. What's wrong with my eyes? I hear people raving about the stunning images on their FP systems but everyone I've seen looks very mediocre to me. I've seen friend's setups and setups at CE boutique stores but I haven't seen any picture I like as much as my plasma. Do you just need to buy a 20k Runco to get a decent picture?

There are some preferences involved here. You can't realy even make a comparison here as the two systems are so different. If you really prefer plasma so much, you should stick with it. I can only imagine if you crank the projector down to that small of a screen, it would have to be very close.

What am I missing guys? I have a small house and have been living alone since my wife passed away a couple of years ago and my daughter moved out a few months ago. I've been considering converting my detached garage (21'x21') into a home theater with a PJ and large screen. I know absolutely nothing about front projection and I'm apprehensive because I have never seen a front projection display with PQ that even approaches my Panasonic plasma. What's wrong with my eyes? I hear people raving about the stunning images on their FP systems but everyone I've seen looks very mediocre to me. I've seen friend's setups and setups at CE boutique stores but I haven't seen any picture I like as much as my plasma. Do you just need to buy a 20k Runco to get a decent picture?


You don't need to spend $20K to get excellent results from a front projector system. Depending upon whether you want to go 1080 or 720, your expenditure can be any where from $5k to $10k. Peruse this forum to educate yourself so you can make an intelligent choice to fit your budget.

As a starter, if you aren't prone to seeing rainbows, the Mitsubishi HC3000 is and excellent choice and it can be had for less than $1500. Others will offer different projectors for you to choose. A screen will cost around $700 to $1250, depending upon whether you want a fixed screen or an electric rollup type. If you don't have a sound system that could cost another $2k. But I can almost guarantee you that a well calibrated front projector matched with a large screen (100") and the proper control of ambient lighting will knock your socks off.

What am I missing guys? I have a small house and have been living alone since my wife passed away a couple of years ago and my daughter moved out a few months ago. I've been considering converting my detached garage (21'x21') into a home theater with a PJ and large screen. I know absolutely nothing about front projection and I'm apprehensive because I have never seen a front projection display with PQ that even approaches my Panasonic plasma. What's wrong with my eyes? I hear people raving about the stunning images on their FP systems but everyone I've seen looks very mediocre to me. I've seen friend's setups and setups at CE boutique stores but I haven't seen any picture I like as much as my plasma. Do you just need to buy a 20k Runco to get a decent picture?

What PJs have you seen?

What am I missing guys? I have a small house and have been living alone since my wife passed away a couple of years ago and my daughter moved out a few months ago. I've been considering converting my detached garage (21'x21') into a home theater with a PJ and large screen. I know absolutely nothing about front projection and I'm apprehensive because I have never seen a front projection display with PQ that even approaches my Panasonic plasma. What's wrong with my eyes? I hear people raving about the stunning images on their FP systems but everyone I've seen looks very mediocre to me. I've seen friend's setups and setups at CE boutique stores but I haven't seen any picture I like as much as my plasma. Do you just need to buy a 20k Runco to get a decent picture?

Have a look through here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=900831) and then have a look through the section of the forum where folks describe their home theatre construction projects (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=19) and you will see a lot of ideas that can fit what you are thinking about doing. It is possible, but not without some homework first!

Good Luck! Keep us up-to-date on what you decide!

You don't need to spend $20K to get excellent results from a front projector system. Depending upon whether you want to go 1080 or 720, your expenditure can be any where from $5k to $10k. Peruse this forum to educate yourself so you can make an intelligent choice to fit your budget.

As a starter, if you aren't prone to seeing rainbows, the Mitsubishi HC3000 is and excellent choice and it can be had for less than $1500. Others will offer different projectors for you to choose. A screen will cost around $700 to $1250, depending upon whether you want a fixed screen or an electric rollup type. If you don't have a sound system that could cost another $2k. But I can almost guarantee you that a well calibrated front projector matched with a large screen (100") and the proper control of ambient lighting will knock your socks off.
MY HT build up is in progress. So far I have spent about $1700 between the screen, the PJ and accessories. Sound is being handled by an old sony mini component. But the experience of sitting 12ft away from a 106 screen is on a different level, out of this world fantastic!!!. Plus people can be in the kitchen, breakfast nook or family room and enjoy a game or movie just fine. It's sweet!!

Franke

Thanks for the responses and especially for the links reconlabtech. There really are some stunning screen shots on that thread, my faith is restored. Now I know that great PQ is possible. Now that I know there are great systems out there it's time to do some serious research and planning. If I decide to do this project I will probably be doing most of the work myself so it will take some time. I don't have unlimited funds, just a cop's wages, and I don't want to take on a lot of debt so it will be mostly "pay as you go." I may jerk a few thousand from savings to get a decent start and work from there. Thanks for all the advice, now I have to think of what I'm going to do with all the crap in my garage since it won't fit in the shed.:)

Thanks for the responses and especially for the links reconlabtech. There really are some stunning screen shots on that thread, my faith is restored. Now I know that great PQ is possible. Now that I know there are great systems out there it's time to do some serious research and planning. If I decide to do this project I will probably be doing most of the work myself so it will take some time. I don't have unlimited funds, just a cop's wages, and I don't want to take on a lot of debt so it will be mostly "pay as you go." I may jerk a few thousand from savings to get a decent start and work from there. Thanks for all the advice, now I have to think of what I'm going to do with all the crap in my garage since it won't fit in the shed.:)


Hold a garage sale! Your crap may be some one's treasure! :D