[tentaguasu]

I'm pretty new to home theater and I'm planning on building a dedicated home theater room.


I need to do it "on the cheap" and I'm tentatively planning on purchasing one of the 720p projectors at roughly th $750 price point.


What I'm unclear about is exactly what I'm losing as compared to a $5000 projector.


Everyone seems to rave about some of the sub $1000 projectors.


In a completely dark room, is the difference immediately and shockingly noticeable between the cheap and expensive models, or is it more nice, but subtle differences?


That's sort of a vague question I guess, but I'm just curious about how satisfied I'm likely to be - I'd hate to spend $750 and go, "that's so-so."


Thoughts?

 

[TrickMcKaha]

Projectors that are considered "so-so" now would have been great five years ago. If you spend your $750 carefully enough, you can get a 720p projector that thrills you with a big and vibrant picture. If you did a side by side comparison to a $2500 projector you would immediately see the difference, but watching just the cheaper one on a daily basis most anyone could stay happy about 2-3 years. Then, step up when the bulb goes.

As always, just a little bit more money could get you a little bit more projector. I do recommend you look into the $1000 street price range if at all possible.

 

[Brown Radagast]

Resolution and dark levels.


Consensus seems to be if you sit 10'+, the rez won't be as noticeable.


Dark levels can be aided by a nice gray screen.

 

[K-Spaz]

Another thing the higher priced models might do is aid in setup. For instance, I have an Infocus X10 that's very competively priced right now, image quality is awesome, etc. However, this is not a real friendly pj when setup day comes. Some Pjs have lenses that allow you to pretty much put them anywhere convienient, mine does not. Pretty much, if my projector goes here, the image goes there. End of discussion. However, If setting up the mount and adjusting the room saves me $1K or so, hey, that's fine with me.


I was sort of in fear of the same thing when I got mine, but it wasn't a well founded fear. I also was worried about screen size and that was another thing that once I see it, doesn't bother me one bit. I could go up 3 or down 2 feet diagonally without really caring much about the size. I just love the image.


Your dark room will really help that lower end pj, even if you can find one with a lesser image quality.

 

[rlhjr34]

You may not have to give up resolution either. I just found a 1080p DLP for $1250 on Videogon this week. It is the BenQ W10000. Granted it is a discontinued model but this one even had a new bulb in it and had been calibrated previously. If you hunt around there may be similar options available like this one in 1080p.


I do like the Infocus models but as a previous poster mentioned they have almost zero placement flexibility for setting them up. My BenQ doesn't have the widest placement flexibility either. However, it does at least have some vertical offset ability. I'd be willing to bet some Used W5000 or W10000 models would get you near the $1000 mark and allow you to not have to give up any resolution.

 

[gwlaw99]

I think as a someone new to projectors and home theater, I would save your money and buy an inexpensive model. You will still be be wow'd by the huge picture. I suggest spending either $750-$1000 for a 720p model or $1250 for the 1080p Infocus X10. You won't see a huge jump in performance until you spend $2500 on a 1080p Epdon 6500UB. Make sure the projector will fit your room before you buy especially if it is DLP as most do not have lens shift for moving the image around or a big zoom. Spend the bulk of your money on things you won't replace for 15 years like speakers.

 

[tentaguasu]

Thanks everyone, that was extremely helpful.


It reaffirms what I originally thought - in a fully dark room, sitting a good 12' back, and for my first home theater, I'm likley to be pretty thrilled with a $750-$1000 projector, provided I don't look at a $5000 model

So the grey screen think intrigues me - I know that most people go with white or grey. The reasoning behind grey is to increase black levels? Doesn't that cut both ways (reducing the whites as well)?


Anyway, thanks again.

 

[imjay]

We weren't sure about the value of a "theater" sized visual experience so we bought a CostCo return 720p Panasonic PJ over two years ago for $600 and it is still giving us the WOW we hoped for. Nothing wrong with looking for an inexpensive but capable entry PJ to trial the experience.


We vote for the gray screen. Our first screen was a white one and it reflected way too much light back into our viewing area - IMO - and we are a LOT happier with our Da-lite gray screen - all of this is very subjective and opinion driven - all opinions are as good as other opinions - main thing is get a projector and a Theater sized screen and then sit back and enjoy the WOW!!!


EDITED to add that 12 feet between eyeballs to screen is about the shortest distance that works - another advantage of gray screen is it makes the "black bars" everyone talks about when your 16:9 PJ attempts to scale the much wider aspect ratio of most movies almost invisible. We really like our gray screen.

 

[danieloneil01]

Whatever you do make sure you get a bulb replacement plan or find one with lower priced bulbs. The main reason why I went with the HD70..

 

[MTyson]

720p DLPs that cost $3,500-$4000 just 2-3 years ago can now be had for $500-800 if you look hard enough. They are amazing quality for the price.

 

[K-Spaz]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tentaguasu /forum/post/16843658


So the grey screen think intrigues me - I know that most people go with white or grey. The reasoning behind grey is to increase black levels? Doesn't that cut both ways (reducing the whites as well)?

Sorta yes and no. While I'm also very new to all this, that may be a good thing on some questions cause I have my own pre-purchase thoughts still fresh in my mind.


While yes, the darker screen will help blacks considerably, and will also reduce the whites, it really doesn't work the way you might think. Projecting on an all black surface will still give you whites, just not as white as the white on a white surface. I guess now that I think about it, the entire spectrum is always on the screen, but, how far it's shifted from white to black is governed by the screen color. Remember that the light that hits your eyes is what's reflected from the screen. Since that screen is all one color, all you really see is the changes in what's being projected at it, not the screen color per-se. Where screen color comes in (becomes visible) is when stray light hits it. THEN you see the screen. If you don't have that then you won't see the screen except for the light from your own screen, bouncing off the walls and back on to the screen.


I've now had three different screen colors on mine on two different materials. I could have lived with any of the screen colors I've had. In the interest of learning before I spent a fortune, I chose to mess around with DIY screens and paint a few times. I probably buy a commercial screen before winter just cause that's the next step for me. By no means would I say it's a necessity.


When my screen was white and I had a slight bit of ambient light, it was easily washed out. After dark tho, that screen looked great. For my room and viewing situation, the light gray worked out better for all circumstances. You just need to figure out what you like best and run with it.