Best DLP or LCD Project 1K +- for affordable HT

Bemopti123 · « **on:** 19 May 2005, 03:22 am »

Looking for input to check out the best performing project either DLP or LCD + or - 1K. Optoma, Benq, Panasonic, Sony models come to mind. Any favorites?

fabaudio · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 May 2005, 02:22 pm »

Bemopti123

www.projectorcentral.com

bubba966 · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 May 2005, 03:28 pm »

Costco's recently had a great deal on an InFocus 4805 w/screen for $1K. Not sure if they still do, but I bet that'd be hard to beat for a grand.

Kevin P · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 May 2005, 03:48 pm »

Optoma H31 with 100" screen.

www.visualapex.com

fabaudio · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 May 2005, 04:12 pm »

Quote from: Kevin P

Optoma H31 with 100" screen.

www.visualapex.com/

I second the motion.

Ears · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Jun 2005, 11:52 pm »

For 1k....the Infocus 4805 is unbeatable.....bar none.

999.00 is the new list price of this pj which was a bargain last year at 1500.00

jonwb · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 01:18 am »

While I agree that the 4805 is a great deal at $1k, you might also want to consider the Sanyo PLV-Z2. Its a (relatively) higher resolution, LCD projector. They are available through a dealer on videogon for $1,200 shipped and on EBay for $1095 (Buy-it-Now) new w/ free shipping.

Beezer · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 06:42 pm »

Just bought an Infocus 4805 with 100" screen for $965 shipped from Projection Wholesale, Inc. Nice folks, shipped on time via 3 day Fedex.

Beez

JoshK · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 07:49 pm »

I am thinking about getting proj sometime in the relatively near future and retiring my 42" plasma to my bedroom. I know zilch about proj. Are these proj good for daily TV watching purposes too? How about the fan noise?

I cannot use a 100" screen, just wont' fit where it needs to go. I have a fireplace mantle where any screen will have to be and it is about 70" wide. You can downscale such projs right? Should provide a nice image when not push to its max right?

LadyDog · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Jun 2005, 07:59 pm »

Josh,
Check out avsforum.com. A wealth of information on projectors. As always a lot depends on your budget, but yes you will be able to find a projector that meets your criterias.

As the others have mentioned, the two best +/- $1k projectors right now are the Infocus 4805 and Optoma H31. Though neither one will probably meet your needs for day light viewing as they are more for a "controlled" lighting room.

I'm no expert but do have some knowledge so please let me know if you have any further questions. Regards, Jeff

OBF · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 12:25 am »

Josh,

I have an Infocus projector but rarely use it for daily tv, except football and basketball games, because of light issues, but also because of the high cost of replacing the light bulbs. That said, they can't be beat for movie watching and sports in HD. Football games broadcast in widescreen HD on a 90" screen is pretty amazing. And my projector is only 480p, not true HD. Another thing to consider is regular cable tv generally looks like crap once you blow it up to a huge size. Once the whole system is convereted to HD I'll probably use it way more often for regular tv.

They can be noisy, but it's never really bothered me. The screen size is a function of the zoom, distance to the screen, and the optics of the model. Different projectors have different throw distances so you'd just need to find one that matched your criteria. Definitely not a reason to get one or not get one.

If you ever decide to get one I can get some Infocus models for very cheap, like <50% of retail.

zybar · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 01:06 am »

Quote from: JoshK

I am thinking about getting proj sometime in the relatively near future and retiring my 42" plasma to my bedroom. I know zilch about proj. Are these proj good for daily TV watching purposes too? How about the fan noise?

I cannot use a 100" screen, just wont' fit where it needs to go. I have a fireplace mantle where any screen will have to be and it is about 70" wide. You can downscale such projs right? Should provide a nice image when not push to its max right?

Josh,

When you are ready I can help you in this area.

Projecting such a small image can be a big benefit and make the pj more useable with ambient light in the room.

George

Beezer · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 02:03 pm »

Regular cable resolution, lamp life and ambient light are definitely the main issues with regualr TV viewing. The lamps usually run in the $300-400 range and last around 2000-3000 hours.

As for the smaller screens, they usually translate to better picture quality, especially for closer viewing.

OBF, I wish I had known your Infocus connection a couple weeks ago!

Beez

JoshK · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 02:15 pm »

Thanks guys. This is probably 6-9mos out at this point. But I am starting to think about it some. My budget (self-made, self-restricted) is probably ~$2K and these look nice, but again I know zilch.

I don't want to hijack this thread but my 42" plasma is starting to seem small. 61" plasma would probaby be perfect for my needs but is super spendy and beyond what I care to spend on a TV. Rear projection is out because it has to mount to wall, so front proj seems like that way to go, but I am concern with daily & TV watching. I don't even subscribe to cable or satellite, I get all my channels OTA, which is the beauty of where I live. My wife and I also watch a lot of movies so big screen would be cool. Maybe a combo solution of an LCD TV + Front proj would be best.

LadyDog · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 03:12 pm »

Josh,
As previously mentioned, you should be fine within your budget. Though as the others have mentioned, with replacement bulbs in the neighborhood of $300+/- it can get a bit expensive to use as an everyday tv. Expect 2000-4000 hours bulb life.

With the lcd/dlp technology advancing in a pretty rapid mode, in 9 months the true hd projectors may be in your price range. Then again, in 9 months the 50+" plasmas may be just above the $2k price range.

Regards,
Jeff

OBF · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 03:24 pm »

Quote from: JoshK

don't even subscribe to cable or satellite, I get all my channels OTA, which is the beauty of where I live.

In many regards that's good because you probably have a bunch of stations broadcasting in 480p digital in your area that you could pick up OTA with an OTA receiver. This would do away with the "crappy cable" complaint.

Another way to look at it is if you save enough money buying a FP over the cost of a huge plasma or other flat screen you can pay for an awful lot of bulbs.

Levi · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 07:00 pm »

I am new to this. Does anyone know what rainbow effect is?

OBF · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 07:33 pm »

Quote from: Levi

I am new to this. Does anyone know what rainbow effect is?

Basically, it's because a DLP projector uses a "color wheel" with the primary colors as segments of the wheel and as the wheel spins through the light stream the chip flashes the light on and off for the individual pixels to blend the colors into one picture. Does that make any sense? It happens so fast the picture looks solid and most people have no problems, but some people can "see" rainbows becuase basically the colors are being projected at slightly different times. I've had a DLP for 3 years and have never had any rainbow issues.

The most high end DPLs use 3 seperate DMD chips and no wheel to project all three colors at the same time. I believe they use one light bulb and divide the light into 3 seperate streams. If you've got $10k or more to spend that's the way to go.

bubba966 · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 Jun 2005, 09:26 pm »

The rainbow effect was a much bigger problem on early DLP's. They only had 3 or 4 segment color wheels that were spinning at slower speeds. Current DLP's have more segments to the color wheel, and spin at faster rates to lessen or virtually eliminate the rainbow effect.

The problem was also not detectable by most people in the early days of DLP. And it's even less detectable now than it was then. I've not heard any complaints about current DLP's, but I'm sure that there's someone out there that can detect the rainbow effect with the current gen DLP's.

The best thing to do is to go check one out for yourself. I suppose if you have problems with lower refresh rates (say 60hz or so) on monitors then you might have a problem with rainbow smearing. But still, it's better just to go check one out, especially one that you might potentially be considering.