[Aron]

I'm totally new to projectors. Would any experts please advise me as whats the best bang for the buck projector on the market now and the screen to go with it for a 13x15 room? Are the Sharp 9000 easy to setup and suitable for beginners? How does the picture quality of a DLP projector compare to my Panasonic 34 widescreen HDTV for watching mostly DVDs? Do I need to hire any experts to calibrate or install all the hardware?


Thanks in advance.

 

[AnthonyP]

Aron, I don't think anyone can say what is the best bang for the buck, for the simple reason that we all bought different projectors because what was important for us (Bang) was different. The best advice that can be given is to go and look at the image coming from the projector and looking if it has the features you need.

 

[filmnut]

Best bang for the buck in what price range?

 

[Robert Holloway]

Aron - hope this is udeful - I'm no expert :


Each of your quastions has good coverage on this forum.


Would any experts please advise me as whats the best bang for the buck projector on the market now and the screen to go with it for a 13x15 room?

An impossible question as there are those who will tell you that an $12k PJ like the Marantz S2 is better bang for the buck than the $5k Infocus 5700. You have to see them. As for screen size, that's a whoe different subject. There are several recent threads with 4:3 and 16;9 advocates both making good points.


Are the Sharp 9000 easy to setup and suitable for beginners?

generally, modern digital PJs are easy to get to 90% performance within a few minutes. Extracting that next bit is more challenging and may involve help from this forum or external help.


How does the picture quality of a DLP projector compare to my Panasonic 34 widescreen HDTV for watching mostly DVDs?

Only you can answer this because I don't know your TV and how you see it. The image will be bigger!


Do I need to hire any experts to calibrate or install all the hardware?

Again, this depends on what you are trying to do and your ability. KraikK for example ahs done the most amazing self built theater on his own. It's better than many pro efforts.


Rob

 

[Jason Turk]

I agree that is a tough question to straight out answer. The fact is that every projector has pros and cons, so a lot depends on what is important to you. For example, all the HD1/HD2 chip projectors look very good. Some look better to certain people over the others. The Sharp is an excellent unit. If you can find a good deal on one, it is an excellent projector, especially for someone just starting out. How does it compare to a Panasonic directview? Well, for a given size, it will be better. In other words, if you put the Sharp image that small, it would likely be a better image. However, when you blow an image up to, say, 8' wide, there are inherently more issues that arise....many of which can be contributed to the source. Auditioning units (at least a few) will give you a general idea what you like. Then from there you can figure out what features and whatnot are important to you.


Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[noah katz]

Reigning DLP bang for the buck kings I'm familiar with seem to be the SVGA Infocus X1, XGA NEC HT1000, WXGA Benq 8700, Infocus 7200.

 

[ckolchak]

asking someone who has never owned a projector "what features are important to him" seems a little presumptuous to me.


.

 

[Axel]

Aaron;


I would suggest you demo a few PJs (potentially even the same models @ different stores, since some do a better job in setting a PJ up than others..) to get an idea what is out there. Do also some reading here. Once you have narrowed it down, a good tip is also to do some research on pricing. Definitely check with our hosts, as they usually have very competitive pricing (and great service).


Noah already indicated there are several PJs out there that offer the best bang as the price range for PJ is very wide: somewhere between 1k to 25k (and even more). Some might have a different view on which PJ mdoel belong in those "best bang" categories.


Good luck with your hunt...


______

Axel