[mikeltee]


Sorry to stink up the forum with this thread. I am sure it will be buried soon enough. I am about to close on a new house with a big basement. My media space with the current configuration is 15x14. I want to spend 5k for screen + projector. Here are my needs:

 

15' Throw

lots of space for a screen and want at least 110"

Kids that play Xbox and PS4

Blurays including 3D

Would love to future proof it with 4k but its not necessary (I am over upgrading vhs->dvd->bluray->4k bluray)

 

[coderguy]

You cannot get TRUE and NATIVE 4k projectors anywhere near this price yet, but the newer JVC's do support e-shift which sort of tries to emulate 4k (well it actually does take 4k signals)...


Personally, if I had 5k, I would buy a JVC RS-49, and then use the other $1 - $1.5k left over to get a cheap projector for the kids to play with that has low gaming lag. If you are thinking, but isn't doing 2 projectors difficult to setup, well not really, depends. You can get something for like $600 or less for the kids. It's not even worth putting all the extra hours on a $4000+ projector, you definitely want them to have their own IMO.

 

[zombie10k]

don't scare off a new setup...

Sony HW50/55 makes sense here imo. Low lag time for the gamers and very good overall 2D / 3D PQ. The lamps are reasonably priced and reports of decent length of use.

 

[coderguy]

Two projectors are better, kids that are serious gamers will want less than 20ms lag.

 

[mikeltee]

So the Epson 6030 won't cut it for gaming? It seems to be a rather popular PJ for the price. 90% of the media room use will be gaming and the kids NEVER turn the tv off. There is 2 outlets in the ceiling. I take it that both projectors not being exactly center is fine?


I like the 2 PJ setup idea. So which ones to get?


Is there any screen that can take a ball of two ie kid proof or should I get one that rolls down?

 

[coderguy]

How much light will be in the room when they are playing their games?


I would say either the Viewsonic pjd7820hd or the Acer p1500 (the VS costs $670 on Amazon, the Acer is on sale at Newegg for $599).


I am not sure the lag time of these two, you'd need to double check.


Edited:


I believe the Acer has a longer throw and would be more compatible with your room. You can place the JVC-off center to the left or right a little, but I would not place it too far off. The Acer or other cheap projectors do not really have much lens shift, so you would need to mount this one at a specific location.

 

[mikeltee]

There is an egress window in there but it will be blacked out for movies. The kids playing games will have external lights on so it's going to need to be bright.

 

[mikeltee]


Is the only reason to go with the JVC is the 4k compatible? I am now thinking that 4k isn't a priority right now. If the JVC flat out performs better than the Sony or Epson, then I will consider it. $1500 is quite a difference so its going to need to blow them out of the water.

 

[coderguy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeltee  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487495


There is an egress window in there but it will be blacked out for movies. The kids playing games will have external lights on so it's going to need to be bright.

You need to setup the lights properly so they are not pointing at the screen. Take a look at the Viewsonic pjd7820hd for the brightest unit, though the Acer p1500 should be very bright as well.


The pjd7820hd is the brightest Sub-$1k cross-over home theater projector I know of.

It puts out around 3500 lumens in a real-world mode, pretty crazy. If it will fit in your room, might work. You could install it in a coffee table and floor mount it. One neat trick is to keep the alternate projector (such as the VS) in a drawer of a cofee table (drawer facing screen), and you slide the drawer out a little so the PJ sits there when they are using it. Then slide it back in when done. That way no need to really mount two projectors.


The Viewsonic is a semi-short throw projector, it can do a 110" screen between 10 feet 4 inches back and 12 feet back. You might also look at a true short throw projector, like the Benq w1080st, but that one will not be nearly as bright as the Viewsonic and it costs quite a bit more. There is also the Optoma hd131xe and this one would work by ceiling mounting it in front of the JVC (110" from 12 feet to 14 feet 4 inches back). Basically, you would just mount the JVC at a lower position underneath it and farther back.

 

[mikeltee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by coderguy  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487692



You need to setup the lights properly so they are not pointing at the screen. Take a look at the Viewsonic pjd7820hd for the brightest unit, though the Acer p1500 should be very bright as well.


The pjd7820hd is the brightest Sub-$1k cross-over home theater projector I know of.

It puts out around 3500 lumens in a real-world mode, pretty crazy.

 

I was thinking Optoma 25-LV for the low lag and brightness, but it appears that it needs to be setup in the center of the screen.I can't find any good reviews of the pjd7820hd. Yes its bright and has good lamp life, but if the picture sucks than its pretty much worthless. Thanks for the recommendation though.

 

 If I go with another PJ for TV and Movies, will the lens shift work well enough if it had to be located beside a central located Optoma 25/LV?

 

[mark haflich]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeltee  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487365


Is there any screen that can take a ball of two ie kid proof or should I get one that rolls down?

Either a roll down or a painted on the wall one.

A tab tensioned electric roll would be preferable but not on your budget.


Mounting two projectors and running an HDNI and switching sources between the two projectors will run your costs up.


I think you will regret going the two projector route.

 

[coderguy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeltee  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487580


Is the only reason to go with the JVC is the 4k compatible? I am now thinking that 4k isn't a priority right now. If the JVC flat out performs better than the Sony or Epson, then I will consider it. $1500 is quite a difference so its going to need to blow them out of the water.

The Sony is about the same price as the JVC or more, unless you get a B-stock unit, or unless the price severely dropped for the hw55es?


The JVC does blow the Epson out of the water IMO, but not the Sony. You could do what Zombie originally recommended and just go with the Sony, but then if you have lights on while they are gaming, it won't be nearly bright enough.

You could look at a JVC RS-46 as well for the movie side of it, these can be purchased around $2500 new or so, maybe less as a B-stock. The big advantage of the RS-49 to the RS-46 is that the RS-49 has the dynamic IRIS (JVC calls it an intelligent aperture), so this means the blacks are better on the JVC RS-49 over the other two (Better than the RS-46 or the Sonys).


if you do not care about black levels all that much, then the JVC is not going to be a big improvement over the Sony.

 

[mikeltee]


Arg this is getting confusing. I am glad I don't have to buy it tomorrow! 

 

[coderguy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeltee  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487718


I was thinking Optoma 25-LV for the low lag and brightness, but it appears that it needs to be setup in the center of the screen.I can't find any good reviews of the pjd7820hd. Yes its bright and has good lamp life, but if the picture sucks than its pretty much worthless. Thanks for the recommendation though.


 If I go with another PJ for TV and Movies, will the lens shift work well enough if it had to be located beside a central located Optoma 25/LV?

I never heard anyone say the pjd7820hd sux, both Projector Central and Projector Reviews gave it good marks for such a bright projector. Keep in mind that in bright scenes, there will not be much difference between any of these projectors other than slight color variances, that is until you get to the JVC RS-49 and use all its enhancements. For gaming though, the Viewsonic pjd7820 should be about as good as any of them except in dark scenes. You aren't really going to find a projector that is that great at dark scenes and that has enough lens shift for under $2500.


You could look at a Panny ar100-u LCD projector for a secondary brighter gaming projector, as that has enough lens shift to put it just about anywhere, but I would rate the PQ at the bottom of all the ones mentioned (DLP has smoother pixels for gaming). That said, I think you don't understand that in projectors for bright scenes, there isn't that much difference anymore between a $600 projector and a $2500 one, there is some but not all that much. The difference with projector PQ is just in image enhancements, how well it does 3D, and how good it does dark scenes, and the color accuracy. Stuff that doesn't really matter that much for gaming.


Sure it'd be nice to game on a projector that does great dark scenes, if you want to go that route, then just get the Sony by itself and use that only and don't get a 2nd projector then, but you'll need to setup some VERY LOW LEVEL lighting for the kids to play games, they will need to be ALMOST in the dark (but not completely).

 

[coderguy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mark haflich  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487722


Either a roll down or a painted on the wall one.

A tab tensioned electric roll would be preferable but not on your budget.


Mounting two projectors and running an HDNI and switching sources between the two projectors will run your costs up.


I think you will regret going the two projector route.

His kids won't be playing in the dark (they need light), and he said 90% of the use is for the kids gaming. So I would definitely recommend a VERY bright projector for this application, the Sony or JVC will not cut it unless he changes his ideas of how much light should be in the room while they are gaming.


I don't think he would switch between two sources, he would just keep the gaming machines hooked only to the Viewsonic, that would be my recommendation to keep it simple.


Though I do know of an HDMI matrix switch that works prety good for only $80 and supports 4x2, though it isn't perfect and does need to be reset on a rare occassion.

 

[mikeltee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by coderguy  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487749



I never heard anyone say the pjd7820hd sux, both Projector Central and Projector Reviews gave it good marks for such a bright projector. Keep in mind that in bright scenes, there will not be much difference between any of these projectors other than slight color variances, that is until you get to the JVC RS-49 and use all its enhancements. For gaming though, the Viewsonic pjd7820 should be about as good as any of them except in dark scenes. You aren't really going to find a projector that is that great at dark scenes and that has enough lens shift for under $2500.


You could look at a Panny ar100-u LCD projector for a secondary brighter gaming projector, as that has enough lens shift to put it just about anywhere, but I would rate the PQ at the bottom of all the ones mentioned (DLP has smoother pixels for gaming). That said, I think you don't understand that in projectors for bright scenes, there isn't that much difference anymore between a $600 projector and a $2500 one, there is some but not all that much. The difference with projector PQ is just in image enhancements, how well it does 3D, and how good it does dark scenes, and the color accuracy. Stuff that doesn't really matter that much for gaming.


Sure it'd be nice to game on a projector that does great dark scenes, if you want to go that route, then just get the Sony by itself and use that only and don't get a 2nd projector then, but you'll need to setup some VERY LOW LEVEL lighting for the kids to play games, they will need to be ALMOST in the dark (but not completely).

Excellent info. Thanks so much. So if I was to go with the pjd7820hd and the JVC RS-49 and had it properly calibrated, I would be set right? Is the JVC good with fast action and sports? I would be able to mount these on the ceiling side by side correct?

 

[coderguy]

You know 60" TV's are pretty cheap now, you should consider a combination TV + projector setup if you think the kids want to play in a LOT of light. The TV will be much brighter and they can still play on the projector if they want to play in the dark.


Projectors are complicated to setup when you start adding ambient light into the room, the light needs to be pointing in a specific direction away from the screen generally towards the back wall, and the back wall needs to be treated with black velvet or similar as to not let the light bounce back towards the screen. Plus even then it won't be perfect, the screen should generally be retro-reflective or some type of anti-reflective surface (hence Da-Lite High Power, Black Diamond, Elite Gray, etc...).

 

[mikeltee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by coderguy  /t/1522706/what-would-you-do-with-5k#post_24487762



His kids won't be playing in the dark (they need light), and he said 90% of the use is for the kids gaming. So I would definitely recommend a VERY bright projector for this application, the Sony or JVC will not cut it unless he changes his ideas of how much light should be in the room while they are gaming.


I don't think he would switch between two sources, he would just keep the gaming machines hooked only to the Viewsonic, that would be my recommendation to keep it simple.


Though I do know of an HDMI matrix switch that works prety good for only $80 and supports 4x2, though it isn't perfect and does need to be reset on a rare occassion.

You are correct. The Xbox and PS4 will be on one PJ and Directv and a Bluray player on another.