Front projection or rear projection?

Bergie:


Gotta tell us lots more! Do you have ambient light control? How important is, say 100" diagonal vs. 60"?


Budget is too low IMO for a quality FPTV setup. Figure $9 grand including screen and video processor. I spent $5500 for Boxlight 38T, $1700 for Stewart Grayhawk, $1100 for Quadscan Elite, for example. That doesn't count the $12K I spent on the sound system. These are expensive toys but relative to just 2 years ago, half the cost for a seriously quality setup.


The bigger the picture, the bigger the price. If you're happy with 53", RPTV is the way to go.


Dan

I do have (or will have) complete control of ambient light, my only hurdle being a skylight, but I know there are shades that I can install to control that too.


If I were to go FPTV, I would keep my current Panasonic 27" TV for TV viewing and for the kids to watch their movies on.


I have a mostly dedicated room for theater (I say mostly because it doubles as a laundry room and sometimes play room). The play room portion is what makes me leary about putting a RPTV in the room, as I have alreay seen what yogurt does to a tube TV and don't want to see what it does to a RPTV. With a FPTV, I can use a retractable screen.


The room is 12' x 17', narrowing to 10' x 17', so the biggest screen I would probably go with is about 85" - 95". If I go with a RPTV, the depth of the set and the way the room is setup limits me to a viewing distance of about 9', which is why I was going to go with a 53" - 55" TV.


Is 85" - 95" getting to the size range where I need to spend big bucks to get a good picture? I was hoping to get something like the Sony VPL-CX1.


I am completely happy with my sound system, so no upgrades needed there.


I have no plans of getting HDTV or DSS. That said, would SVGA be sufficient for progressive DVD or would XGA be that much better?

Don't let these rich videophiles scare you off Bergie. You CAN have FPTV under 3K. Look at all the happy LT150 owners here and abroad. LT150 is an XGA DLP with 800 lumens, 800:1 contrast can STILL be had brand new for $2200-$2300 (same price for a good non-HD RPTV 60" or budget 40-50" HD RPTV). Screen can be had for $350 for 96"X96" Dalite Model B (manual pull down) Hipower from AVS (ask for Jason Turk). Prog. scan DVD player like RP56 is $200-$250. This brings grand total to just under 3K.


You don't need light cannons like the Boxlight 38T (XGA LCD, 2500 lumens) or high-end PJ's like DILA or Sharp Z9000. Of course we ALL would like to have these PJ but if you a) can't afford it or b) have different priorities (like kids education, vacations, wife, etc.). There is NOTHING wrong with starting with a budget HT system. Sure you can spend lots for HT but if you don't want to or can't, then start with low-end. Sure the images will be better on the more expensive PJ's, but I can tell you from experience (I have LT150) that even a budget FPTV will BLOW away a good RPTV due to sheer size of image, portability, cool factor, high wife approval (small size of digital PJ), and resolution.


Another option is CRT FPTV which has its advantages and disadvantages. Check the CRT forums for more details. I chose digital PJ for ease of operation, portability, and razor sharp and bright images.


Once you have FPTV you can upgrade later with more expensive stuff like Home Theater PC, external scaler/deinterlacer (for VHS, NTSC sources), HDTV satellite box, better screen (Grayhawk is best but EXPENSIVE), HT furniture, etc.


Don't let the cost scare you. You won't regret getting into FPTV. It will cost similar to a nice 60" diagonal RPTV and you can get 120" diagonal, beautiful image with FPTV IF you can control light.

I'm in the same boat trying to decide between FP and RP. Seems like BIG pluses BIG minuses for both which has been driving me crazy for about a year now!!


Don't forget that LT150 will only last you 1000 hours if the blub doesn't blow even sooner (which seems to happen a bit more than "rarely").


A new bulb'll be about $400. Now some people might be able to help you find bulbs for cheaper, but I also worry about a few years from now when you'd need a new bulb and you can't find them for sale anywhere.


Anybody have a comment about that concern?


I watch tv more than DVDs though I consider DVDs of far more importance, so I'd like a FP, but don't want to count out 40 cents an hour to watch disposable sit-coms on it, yet I want a one 'monitor' solution.


I was looking to split the diff. by getting a new ~50" RP based on DLP or LCoS (claimed 10K hour blubs), but the DLPs are 10k+, and the LCoS aren't even out yet AND are expected to run at about 5-6K!? so that'd be the worst of both worlds!


Don't want a CRT RP that'll be HUGE, and also have burn in issues with 4:3 content.


Don't want a 'great deal' digital projector that you can't stand to look at unless it's in a pitch black room, AND ends up costing a fortune on bulbs.


I guess I'm not helping you in any way in making a choice (sorry), but I thought I'd bring up some of the issues others haven't mentioned. (mainly the bulb life/cost of a dig. FP)

Another thing to consider is resale. This is why I am leaning towards front projection.


You can probably sell your front projector tomorrow for the same price you buy it today. Much easier to ship a 5lb box compared to a 300lb box


I figure I'll try out FP projector, and if I don't like it. Ebay it and buy the Toshiba 65x81.


Just some more FYI


ScAndal