Should I get a TV or a projector?
Goldy
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 1,636
That pretty much says it all, what do you think, TV or projector? The TV might be a couple hundred bucks less (42inch 1080 ~800) but then there is sales tax and the fact that its only 42 inches... The projector on the other hand is a full 1,000 bucks BUT it can be as big as 300 inches and is also 1080 (plus no sales tax). The projector is also more mobile and could be used in the garage for watching life sized baseball games while smoking gars with friends. Or playing Call of Duty with 8ft soldiers...
What would you guys do?
What would you guys do?
Comments
Let me chime in projectors image brightness are measured in Lumen. So the higher the lumens the brighter the picture.
I wouldn't go with anything under 2k Lumens because of the high probability of image wash out. (those are a lot more than a grand.)
Another thing to consider is contrast ratio... unfortunately there is no set standard for this one. And a lot of manufactures make up their own terms like "hyper contrast" or "game mode." The point is to set it so you can differentiate between the black of say someones hair or clothing and the black of the back ground.
And finally the lamps for projectors aren't cheap. Sometimes $200-$300 dollars. And a ton of things depend on life span. Things like temperature, both in the room and of the projector, power source, if it isn't consistent could kill it, and proper warm up and shut down.
Also if you don't have the proper throw distance for the lens of the projector you could end up with and image smaller than a television.
The long and short of it is you should get a TV either LCD or LED.
Now we are looking at an optoma HD20 which has native 1080 and should last us for atleast 5 years. We don't actually have TV so all we would be using it for would be games and netflix. I have really enjoyed the portability of the old projector so I would assume this new one will be similar in portability.
I guess the real question I should be asking is whether or not I should get a projector that shows native 1080 or one that can upconvert to 1080. Would I be able to tell a difference? We are leaning projector just because it is SOOO much fun to play games on.
In addition to your projector, you will want a decent screen. I made due with a white painted wall for a while but it just wasn't that satisfactory. Not terribly expensive to build your own if you can live with a fixed screen, a decent powered screen will start at $500 and go up from there. (Mine is 120" electric).
Light control in the room is very important, which means upgrading your drapes and shades. Ancillary equipment like a battery backup unit to keep the projector from shutting off without a cool down period if the power suddenly dies on you.
A TV just makes it simple, somewhat portable and you can get the high end stuff (i.e. 1080p etc.) for cheaper than a projector. Also, maintenance is less for no bulbs.
If you have the time and a room go projector, if you have a normal room or want all of your home theater stuff all in one area then go TV route.
And as far as the distance thing goes, with the better quality of 1080p you can sit as close as you want.. In fact the THX website says that 1080p looses it's effectiveness after about 8ft. with a 50" ...
This is the tip of the iceberg with HT stuff... if you wanna get Uber Geeky involved then tool around www.avsforum.com... those guys are NERDS!!!
Hey lassy, only one more day and you'll probably be able to find parking and have room to walk around your work. Though I remember when I worked for BB between now and the day after superbowl was busy, though a lot of people tried to return their HD tvs...
I don't have special blinds or anything so if I try to watch in the middle of the day the image is a little washed out, but still viewable. Nearly all of my tv/movie/game time is at night though, so it doesn't matter.
My bulb actually burned out last week, so I'm using my old SVGA multimedia projector right now. Even it looks pretty decent still. It's annoying that it's not widescreen, so I have light being projected above and below the screen, but it works until I decide if I want to spend $250 on a bulb, or just wait until I can afford a 1080 projector.
We went with the HD20 because I doubt light will be a problem since we live in MN where it is totally dark by 4:30 and we get off work around 5. My wife got pretty excited about the projector and has undertaken making curtians and a projector screen so that should keep her busy.