HD Projector.

[dill89]

Okay here's the deal.

I have a 37" Hannspree 1080i HDTV. It was awesome in my bedroom as its like 2m x 3m big. the only thing is i moved all of my stuff down to one of the living rooms, so i can finally bring friends round or have company or whatever.
the only thing bothering me now is that the tv looks tiny on the wall in here.
That's why I was thinking HD projector... what an awesome idea for the likes of Blu-Rays and XBox.

The screen size I can get up to is 114" which works out at around 4.3ft tall and 8.25ft wide... kinda large.

The only thing is, do I buy a 720p projector for around £400-£500, or a 1080p projector for £770-£1000.

I have been looking at the Optoma HD200X which is £770 off play.com and you get a free 84" electric screen with it, but i'm wondering is it really so much better than 720p to justify spending up to £300 more...

I am also looking at getting acoustically transparent fabric, can get some big enough and delivered for around £90, just need to build my own frame... I want that just purely so i can have my centre speaker mounted in the correct place, like in the cinemas etc...

Anyways I was just wondering what your thoughts are on this, and if anyone knows of a decent enough HD projector for under £1000 that would be better than the Optoma?

Cheers

[gettin2dizzy]

I got an Optoma HD65 and I'm very pleased with it. Have a real think about placement though, as some won't have a vertical & horizontal keystone adjustment, some need to go on the ceiling, some on the floor... etc. You don't want to find the only place the projector works from is right behind your head :rolleyes:

At >100" screen size and 720p I can't see the pixels from the sofa, so I'd save your money for something else.

[dill89]

cheers for your idea there!!

was just wondering if you know which would be better...

there's 3 720p that i'm looking at, all Optoma:
DW318 720p and 3D ready, 2500 lumens and 2500:1 contrast, £400
HD600x 720p and 3D ready, 1600 lumens and 3000:1 contrast, £500... apparently the HD600x is the home cinema version of the DW318 which is more a business unit...
and HD65 720p 1600 lumens and 4000:1 contrast, £560...

I was just wondering as the hd65 and hd600x have higher contrasts, but less lumens, so was just wondering if its more important for higher lumens (brightness) or higher contrast

[Bluepete]

Higher contrast will give you a better range of brightness on the screen, I mean, brighter whites and blacker blacks. The Lumens is the outright power of the lamp. If you want to watch in a bright environment, high lumens is good. If you can darken the room, it's not so important. That's why the business models have high lumens for bright meeting rooms.

I'd go for contrast. The HD 65 is on my wish list. On the AVForum, there's an entire thread dedicated to it and it's one of the best out there for the price.

As for screens, it has to be FLAT or else you'll get odd swells and image probelms. I have a Beamax (http://www.beamax.com/A-velvet) fixed frame screen, it's very good if you can have a permanent setup. Otherwise, a ceiling mounted roll would be good.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk24/conker51/DSC_0013-2.jpg

Pete ;)

[warrenhewitt10]

personally id buy the dw318 :) mine cost me £110 less than the hd65 so im not complaining

[dill89]

waow Bluepete, a Beamax screen the size that I would need would be £790... haha.

how big is yours and where did you get it?

cheers

EDIT: what about this for a screen: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230406210805

im thinking not the best option, as i presume it will let quite a bit of light through, giving a washed look to the picture, so would like to stick a piece of dark fabric behind it, are you able to get black acoustically transparent fabric?