[kenstr]

When I was looking at FP vs RPTV one of the things that almost scared me away from fp was daytime viewing. Everyone kept saying that you need total light control or it is almost unwatchable. People would say the image is washed out and looks terrible with even one light on in a room.


I wished people would have put a pic in to show how it looked.


Well for anyone doing research here is a picture (a bad quality one from my cell phone) that I think shows that you can have quite a bit of light and still have a decent image. It's some golf show that was on DiscoveryHD.


Details: X1(not really a light cannon), Da-Lite "C" HCMW (el-cheapo screen), 2 - 40watt lamps on in the corners and a 3x40watt ceiling fan light on. Screen is covering a large window that has a mini-blind on it (and the sun is hitting that window)


Not really any direct light hitting the screen but the room it plenty bright for the kids to play and the image is (IMHO) pretty watchable.

 

[Rick Guynn]

I found that it really depends on what you are watching. If the show has a relatively high picture level (mostly sports and some TV shows), then you can actually have quite a bit of light and have it be watchable. Films, on the other hand, tend to have a lower picture level and do get washed out pretty easily.


RG

 

[Ericbres]

Looks like that is the kids room ...

I bet they are happy as pie with Nemo and Monsters,Inc on that setup in daytime as well.

 

[majozx3]

It also depends on whether you like to get "lost" in what you are watching. If the dog is chasing your cat in the living room while you are trying to watching a movie, most probably total immersion is not possible.

Or, wife doing dishes in the attached kitchen while Underworld is showing, I bet you won't see half the movie.

Being in the dark is great help.

 

[kenstr]

Yep, Kids room in the day - Parents room at night.


I do agree with RG - source does matter. Movies like Underworld need the ceiling fan light turned off or a lot of detail is lost. (but it is still watchable)

 

[mike241]

Here is a pic of my Dell 2200MP with windows open during afternoon. It is playing Gone In 60 Seconds DVD using Component Cables at 480P. Looks quite good in picture, but compared to how it looks at night its not that good lol. Simply Front Projectors aren't really designed for use in a place with tooo much light. Some are, but can be expensive. For example if your goal is to use a projector with the sunlight hiting the screen, I think your out of luck. But I am a newbie, so peoplemight be able to prove me wrong.

 

[mike241]

Now here is a pic of the projector at night, noticable difference.

 

[Kabillyhop]

We just moved to a new house and consequently the basement theater was dropped from the top of the projects queue to somewhere near the bottom - things like bathroom renovations and new flooring are now ahead of it. But I'm still itching to go ahead and put a projector in the family room in the interim. Family room has way too many windows, some of which are not rectangular and some are 15 feet above the floor, but I'm thinking it might be possible to control light with shades. These pictures are encouraging. Reflections on our RPTV are probably worse than the somewhat washed out projector images.

 

[leadfoot]

My Z2 which is on order will be installed in a living room with no fewer than 5 sources of ambient sunlight (2 windows, a glass door, main entry door windows, and an entry into dining area) and 4 lighting fixtures. So far, I've installed cell shades on the windows and wood blinds on the door. I plan on a curtain between the dining and living room if needed and I chose a High Power screen to give me some oomph during daytime viewing.


I'll report my findings with pictures when I have it all set up.

 

[HorrorScope]

Leadfoot I have just about everything you have in terms of letting light in. I was pleasantly pleased with what I could get from the projector with ample loads of ambient light. Go into thinking the worst and you'll get the best results that way.


We really get our moneys worth having a projector in the main living area, comparing myself to another friend having a HT room.

 

[kenstr]

I took 4 pics and put them into 1 to show the difference the source material makes.

SSX3 on Xbox with the lights on and off (very bright game) difference is not that much

Underworld DVD with lights on and off (very dark movie) big difference.


Xbox pics are untouched but the Underworld pics have gamma bumped up 1 notch as my camera had a very hard time taking a decent pic.


Again: X1,HCMW screen, 2x40w lamps and 3x40w ceiling light

 

[bholio]

The problem with daytime viewing is that 'black' is going to be the color of your screen when the projector is off. Nothing is going to be darker. So, with a white screen, your blacks are already starting off light grey at best. Check out kenstr's pictures (nice room btw), and look at the screen outside of the image. That's black.


Maybe if you start with a dark screen, it would help. My X1 is watchable during the day. That is, you can see the image and what is happeneing. Good enough for the kids to watch, especially in presentation mode. But its way better at night.

 

[markam]

hey kenstr, I see you went with the toddler motif for your theater. Looks just like mine.

 

[kenstr]

Yep - all the pink plastic toys really cut down the reflected light


Turning the bonus room / play room into a cheapo HT turned out to be great. We use it a ton - 550 hrs on the PJ in 3 months. Best 2k I ever spent.