[rmbean]

I am in the process of moving house and my new place has no room for my 59" rear projection TV. I think it is time for me to move to a front projection unit.


The viewing distance will be approx 16'.


Since this is more of a living room rather than a dedicated HT room, there are several windows around. I could/would definitely close drapes/blinds, but there is likely to still be a large amount of ambient light (maybe even some direct light). This is likely to be my biggest problem.


The video source will be a mix of DSS (not HDTV yet) and DVDs (not progressive scan yet).


I am willing to accept a picture in the league of a good rear projection TV, but if the picture is completely washed out, that would be bad. If there are ways of getting a much superior picture (line doublers, etc.) without spending another $10k, I'd be consider that as well.


Will I be able to get an acceptable picture from a $5000 projector or am I dreaming? What would be some recommended makes/models?


Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[3.1415926 pi]

rmbean, welcome to the forum. For $5000 you could get a damn good FP!!

I have the LT 150 projector, Crystalimage deinterlacer, Da-lite Model B high power screen, and an inexpensive interlaced (480i) RCA DVD player. All this for less than $5000. If you used an HTPC, your cost would be even less. The Crystalimage costs twice what a HTPC costs.

The ambient light could be a problem. The picture on most projectors would tend to look washed out if there's too much ambient light, unless your projector had 1200-1500 lumens.

The source material you mentioned you'd be watching would need an HTPC, or a good deinterlacer in order to get a picture to match your RPTV.

You'd probably then be spending all of the $5000, unless you could find a good deal on a used pj in the classifieds at the bottom of the forum page.

You should also check out the Video processor forum, and the HTPC forum, to glean more info on these pieces of electronics.

After reading and posting some questions there, you should be able to make more informed choices about which components to buy.

The people here are a wealth of information, and I'm sure they'll be happy to assist you in your quest for the HT that's right for you.

Cheers, VB

 

[Daniel Hutnicki]

on the issue of light though, depending on the windows in your room, you probably wont be able to watch anything during the day. Even with my vertical blinds completely shut, their was too much light. The remedy might be to install black out curtains that whould block out all of the light coming in. Never tried it, they have professional electric models that cost alot of money, but I am sure there are cheaper manual, mini blind, type of curtains. I am thinking about doing it. I had the Dwin DLP for 3 weeks and now have the JVC Dila, but for those 3 weeks when I had the Dwin working, it was impossible to watch anything until after it was completely dark outside. Now, my den has windows all along one wall, so alot of light and heat comes in. I live in LA, and that meant that it could only be displayed after 8:30 at night. Should get better during the winters months.


That is my only regret about gettting a FP, its not that great during the day. The guys here who have a room exclusively for HT or use their basements have it made.


That also makes professional or personal installation a *****. Its got to be dark outside before you can really do anything. In my case, the installer did in the day, where he couldnt see anything. He wasnt going to come after 9pm