I’ve been doing a lot of research and have come down to either the Sony HW45ES or Epson 3100. I think 4K is more than I need at this point but am interested in a quality projector with good contrast and brightness.
It’s going in a basement with great light control. Mostly for movies at night with little to no ambient light. Kids may use it some during the day while in the basement playing but likely won’t mind a slightly washed out image. I’ve gotten tentative approval to paint the walls dark gray to minimize reflection etc.
Initially I wanted to do a 120” painted screen at roughly 12 feet away but am considering moving up to a 150” AT screen. I have installed in wall surround and am using an older Sony AVR for 5.1 surround.
The Sony seems to be $1800 while the Epson is discounted to $700. I realize the Sony is “nicer” but is it $1100 nicer? Would I be better off with the Epson and spending $600 on a dedicated screen. I realize the ultimate is probably the Sony with a screen but I don’t want to spend money if I’m really not going to see a huge difference. Am I at the point of diminishing returns?
I realize it is likely just a matter of preference. I may decide that I want to upgrade to 4K sooner than I had planned so keeping cost down is a plus, but on the other hand I’m happy to spend a little more to get a quality projector that will look nice enough I don’t feel the need to upgrade. Any thoughts are appreciated.
It’s going in a basement with great light control. Mostly for movies at night with little to no ambient light. Kids may use it some during the day while in the basement playing but likely won’t mind a slightly washed out image. I’ve gotten tentative approval to paint the walls dark gray to minimize reflection etc.
Initially I wanted to do a 120” painted screen at roughly 12 feet away but am considering moving up to a 150” AT screen. I have installed in wall surround and am using an older Sony AVR for 5.1 surround.
The Sony seems to be $1800 while the Epson is discounted to $700. I realize the Sony is “nicer” but is it $1100 nicer? Would I be better off with the Epson and spending $600 on a dedicated screen. I realize the ultimate is probably the Sony with a screen but I don’t want to spend money if I’m really not going to see a huge difference. Am I at the point of diminishing returns?
I realize it is likely just a matter of preference. I may decide that I want to upgrade to 4K sooner than I had planned so keeping cost down is a plus, but on the other hand I’m happy to spend a little more to get a quality projector that will look nice enough I don’t feel the need to upgrade. Any thoughts are appreciated.