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$1000 Budget Projector

802 views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  dreamer 
#1 ·
I have an upstairs living room I'm planning to install a projector in. Walls are 9' tall, and projection is going to be ~ 17'.
I was thinking of going with a 120-140" screen and just started looking and am looking for suggestions.
$1000 budget for the projector and another $200-300 for a screen.
Room walls/ceiling are tan and can't be repainted at this time (rental).
Most viewing would likely be movies/tv at night time, but would like flexibility to watch during the day. Room has light from stairwell and bordering bedrooms as well as two windows (with blinds).

Possible considering an Epson 3500 and Silver Ticket fixed frame screen (gray?)... but am really just starting my research and would love the help of the forum and any recommendations.

At some point in time, this would likely get moved into a dedicated "media room".
 
#2 ·
I don't really get into throw distances etc since there are plenty of calculators out there to help you with that. The brightness results tend to be unreliable the rest is pretty solid. Just make sure you understand the placement restrictions. Most projectors in this price range don't offer a lot of lens shift.

A gray Silver Ticket sounds like a good idea with your budget. If you move to a dedicated and treated space you could always purchase new screen material from them and use the existing frame.

This should help narrow down your choices a bit... Eight months old but still useful:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/home-theater-projectors-under-$1000.htm
 
#3 ·
If you can get an Epson 3000/3500 for less than a thousand that would be a great choice as you get both vertical and horiontal lens shift and a very bright projector that could compete with ambient light without being too bright to watch at night. It also fits your throw distance.


In the sub $1k market you are limited to DLP and Epson's 3LCD tech. 3LCD has a very good reputation for producing a bright, uniform picture with excellent color saturation and color brightness that can stand up to a room with ambient light. In this price class, however, DLP will offer better black level and contrast in a dark room as well as an edge in image sharpness and motion handling. Your throw distance pretty much eliminates the fan favorite in this price class: the BenQ 2050/3050. The BenQs have an excellent reputation for color accuracy and overall picture quality but they have a shorter throw to fit into smaller spaces (which is perfect for me as I can squeeze a 100" into less than 9 feet) and they also lack horizontal lens shift.


The Epson 3000/3500 produce a fine picture but they seem to have a bit of a gap in their range. The 3000/3500 produce a picture all but identical to the lower end 2040 but with more bells and whistles and placement flexibility. The next step in the range is the 5030 which has a noticeably better picture and superior contrast and black levels but cost over 2 grand. I'd like to see Espon sell something in the 1-1.5k range that would better compete with the BenQs in terms of picture quality.
 
#5 ·
17 is a long throw, but the room I'm putting it in as of now has a ceiling fan in the middle of it. Ideally in some point it'll be in a media room but not in this house. I have a good deal on a Sony VPL-40ES that I'm considering as well. A bit more than my ideal $1k but within reason.
At 16'6" feet throw on it though, I'm down in the 16-17ish fL light levels. Only slightly better with the 3500 though.

At what light level will it look acceptable with light from closed blinds and light entering the room from the living room below thru the staircase? I don't nec. need it to look perfect during the day, but I'd like it to be view able. I'd say most viewing would be from 13' away in the dark and with lamps on side tables on. Is that too much light even for 16fL?
 
#6 · (Edited)
I bought a 5020UB refurb for $1000 a couple months ago. It's what I'd buy today too. Periodically goes back into stock. (I've seen them come back into stock twice since then.) Basically you have to go to the epson webpage and check every single day, but no guarantee when/if they get more but they have multiple times in the past...

edit:corrected 5040UB -> 5020UB typo.
 
#7 ·
You might want to add the Optoma HD37 to you list. It usually doesn't make the hot list for a variety of reasons, but it does have good color out of the box and a nice throw range. I bought mine a few months ago and have been very pleased. You should have some coin left of to get a decent screen. I'm at 106" from a ~13' throw. Granted I have not seen the BenQ for comparison.
Matt
 
#10 ·
JustAnEE,

So how does your setup look during the day when you get light thru the blinds? That's my biggest question is at what fL value is viewing acceptable with some moderate amount of light. (Not blinds open shining directly on screen)

What about the VPL-HW40ES? I can get one for ~ 1200.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Looks fine. I usually change the color mode from THX to Natural or Living Room if there's more lighting. The colors are still good in those modes and the brightness boost gives some flexibility. Main loss is just some black levels, image is plenty bright. I can have the kitchen lights on too (6 daylight LED can lights) and the breakfast room (its one open room, kitchen->breakfast room-> living room). I do have no lights that have a direct path to the screen.

See photos with all the CAN lights on,2PM sunlight, breakfast room light on.

edit:for some reason when I fixed the links in this post, the updates showed but only while I am logged in. Separate browser showed pre-edit... Weirdest thing I've seen. So, I made a new post in the thread
 
#14 ·
Sorry, I had fixed the links the other day through editing the post. And the edit was still loading always in my PC but only when I was logged in. Here they are again:





I also had a cable technician need to come out again last saturday. Similar to when I got it installed last year, the cable tech thought I had a huge flat panel LCD TV until I repeatedly explained it was a projector and still didn't get it until I motioned towards the projector.... Kind of funny.
 
#15 ·
I concur that an Epson 5020/30 or Sony 40ESrefurb are all great projectors and you will be thrilled.


Pick the most screen size you can afford. My personal vote is for a grey screen. Not because it helps the blacks alone but it helps a bad room quite a bit. In my room I had the most luck with picture gains when I spent money on controlling the light.


What is your sitting distance from the screen? You stated 17' throw distance but never your viewing distance unless I missed it.


I can state in my old room I had a 120" screen with a 14' throw and 14' viewing distance. It was pretty sweet and I have an Epson 8350. I project on a light grey painted wall. This wall was just that color coincidentally not planned originally for a projector. But we loved the picture on the wall so we left it.


But seeing my friends 132" screen from an Epson 3010 with the projector mounted as close as possible it is even better.


In a non perfect room/room used for everything including entertaining friends. I personally choose a brighter projector.
 
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