Projector , Screen and stuff - Suggestions please !

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sanro

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Hello there ,

I will be travelling to US next month and planning to buy projector from there .

Here's my requirment and questions

Bigger and better picture:
First of all , I live in a rented apartment which has 20x15 living room area.
I am planning to buy a budget ( 800-1K USD) projector which can give me descent images on a manual pull down 100 or 106" screen . I am also planning to place that projector on a coffee table as I would be using it mostly in weekends and only for movies and therefore dont want to keep it connected all the time via cables on floor or wall etc..( strict orders from better half ) . This will also help in moving stuff easily to another apartment of mine ( touchwood ) or rented .


After spending too much time on our own forums and on other websites I think Optoma's HD20 would suit me ( ?) . I dont want to go for Epson's 8350as it appears its not consistent with the product quality although it is better than HD20 in terms of felxibility and specs.

About screen :

What I know is that I want manuall pull down and not the best and expensive ones but descent and affordable ( budget upto 1kUSD for both projector and screen ) . What I dont know is this ;

1) which brand and type ?
2) what size ?
3) whither to source it from US or Buy here

I believe , I can manage to place ( on coffee table ) projector at 10-12 Feet from the screen and 14 to 16 feet viewing distance ( + - 2' on both front )

I also dream about best HT setup with best sound and video , but I understand that it may not be possible due to the fact that I will be relying on simple curtains , sony's 5.1 home theater ( without HD audio ) and a blu ray player ..and I am happy with it .


Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Thanks!
 
While bringing the screen is easy, the projector , when packed, or otherwise, is too big to bring from there, even in checked in baggage. I picked up an Optoma HD 20 last month, when I went to the US these are available through the Projector Central site that gives you all kinds of info. I bought a Dalite manual pull down screen, it came in a container, I think it is 108 inches diagonal( dont remember the exact size), cost about $330-350. I think the screen can be sourced here.
 
Please keep in mind, separate enclosed rooms are ideal for Projectors/screens video system. To watch a movie in a Living room, You need to have thick curtains otherwise you can only watch in the nights.

Any amount of ambient light will spoil the picture. Also Keeping the projector on the Coffee table is kind of a hassle here too. An idea here, think about getting adjusted with the LCD until you get into a Separate HT setup.

Thanks
Pandu
 
sanro said:
Hello there ,

I will be travelling to US next month and planning to buy projector from there .

Here's my requirment and questions

Bigger and better picture:
First of all , I live in a rented apartment which has 20x15 living room area.
I am planning to buy a budget ( 800-1K USD) projector which can give me descent images on a manual pull down 100 or 106" screen . I am also planning to place that projector on a coffee table as I would be using it mostly in weekends and only for movies and therefore dont want to keep it connected all the time via cables on floor or wall etc..( strict orders from better half ) . This will also help in moving stuff easily to another apartment of mine ( touchwood ) or rented .


After spending too much time on our own forums and on other websites I think Optoma's HD20 would suit me ( ?) . I dont want to go for Epson's 8350as it appears its not consistent with the product quality although it is better than HD20 in terms of felxibility and specs.

About screen :

What I know is that I want manuall pull down and not the best and expensive ones but descent and affordable ( budget upto 1kUSD for both projector and screen ) . What I dont know is this ;

1) which brand and type ?
2) what size ?
3) whither to source it from US or Buy here

I believe , I can manage to place ( on coffee table ) projector at 10-12 Feet from the screen and 14 to 16 feet viewing distance ( + - 2' on both front )

I also dream about best HT setup with best sound and video , but I understand that it may not be possible due to the fact that I will be relying on simple curtains , sony's 5.1 home theater ( without HD audio ) and a blu ray player ..and I am happy with it .


Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Having had a projector for over 5 years now, let me pen down some of own thoughts.

The projector will in all likelyhood, be a one time purchase. So do not take half measures. Optoma HD-20 is a very nice projector and a good choice. But I am not sure where you got the notion that Epson 8350 has quality issues. Buy Optoma if you find that it is best for you and not because it is the second best due to hearsay comments about the top ranked projector.

I will not recommend keeping the projector on a coffee table. Even if you live in a rented place, you can always fix a shelf high on the wall meant for the PJ. You do not have to ceiling mount it.

Buy a screen which is at least 8' wide to get the desired image size (100"+ diagonal). If you are going to use the PJ in living room where you cannot get rid of ambient light, choose a matte gray screen. But such screens are not easy to find, especially in India.
 
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Today's projectors are very bright. That is very good, but more brightness means the black levels are elevated. Blacks don't appear as black but greyish. This is more exaggerated when used with smaller screens. In India, the rooms are smaller, so most of the screens are small and have lots of light output, sacrificing the black levels. If that's the case, then you may notice that picture does not have much contrast.

Two ways of taking care of it - get a projector with known good blacks. There are three projector technologies. Their order of black levels starting from best-good-ok is LCOS/SXRD - DLP - LCD. All have pluses and minuses. A DLP offers the punchy colors, good pop and good blacks. But entry level DLP's do not have any lens shifts, so placement flexibilities are not there. This is not a huge problem with rooms with high ceiling though. As for me, I prefer the DLP. I have seen an LCD projector in action but was not very impressed with it.
JVC LCOS projectors are in their own leage as far as blackness and contrast is concerned but they are $2500+.

I also recommend doing the ceiling mount. That way, its out of the way, is always connected and none trips over the cables and what not. If you move the projector when its running or hot, it can explode the lamp. Projectors run hot and are very noisy. Thats one more reason to have it mounted, away from you. Again, its a preference but having it mounted on ceiling or shelf mounted just gives that peace of mind of pulling it out.

Another way is to get a matt grey screen recommended above. It tames down some brightness and then improves contrast too. So, go for the projector screen combo with that in mind. Once you are in US, get a long HDMI cable too.
 
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Optoma HD20 is undoubtedly the best in that price range. I have it at home and last year I imported an Onkyo HTS 6300 (HTIB) and it complements the projector amazingly well. Like the others, I too think setting it up in the living room might be slightly challenging. And worst yet, with the coffee table mounting, you can run into a lot of wires on the ground because, if the home theater/ player is in the front then, you will have to run an HDMI cable/ component cable (15ft/ 5m) to the projector from the player. If the player is alongside the projector, then you will have speaker wire running all over the place, assuming you don't have a separate amplifier.

All sorts of screens are available in Hyderabad. Bringing the screen from the US can be a big deal too as they have several baggage restrictions, not just the weight but the dimensions as well. If nothing, just transporting it to and fro the airports itself is a big headache. Just call JustDial or look online for projector dealers and most of them will have good screens.
 
manoj.p said:
There are three projector technologies. Their order of black levels starting from best-good-ok is LCOS/SXRD - DLP - LCD. All have pluses and minuses. A DLP offers the punchy colors, good pop and good blacks. But entry level DLP's do not have any lens shifts, so placement flexibilities are not there. This is not a huge problem with rooms with high ceiling though. As for me, I prefer the DLP. I have seen an LCD projector in action but was not very impressed with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for good info! Few questions for you to help me make my own decision-
1) Have you or any of your companions ever observed "rainbows" while watching DLP?
2) While watching 3LCD PJ picture, did it feel "less tiring" for eyes?
3) Do you think 3LCD PJ paired with matt-grey screen can compensate for its inherent low black levels?
 
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rshri said:
Thanks for good info! Few questions for you to help me make my own decision-
1) Have you or any of your companions ever observed "rainbows" while watching DLP?
2) While watching 3LCD PJ picture, did it feel "less tiring" for eyes?
3) Do you think 3LCD PJ paired with matt-grey screen can compensate for its inherent low black levels?
Click to expand...

I know the question is towards someone else, but If I may answer with my experiences....

1) With the HD20, never at all! I've read about the rainbow effects but I guess its a perfectionist thing. I've used my projector extensively, never came to see of it.
2) I know of a friend who has Panasonic AE4000 which is an LCD projector and he recently just bought an Acer 3D ready 720p projector(DLP) for 3D. Surprisingly, he is extremely happy with the latter with respect to its brightness and the overall image. In terms of the specs, the Acer is no comparison to the AE4000 but he thinks, both serve their purpose. To answer your question, he never said that the Acer is more tiring or the other one less. Personally, I just can't imagine, how watching a projector can be tiring ;) , unless you are not watching it from an appropriate distance.
3) Don't have a clue!
 
rshri said:
Thanks for good info! Few questions for you to help me make my own decision-
1) Have you or any of your companions ever observed "rainbows" while watching DLP?
Click to expand...

The rainbows is a person to person issue. Some people see it, some don't. The color wheels are faster now, but those who notice it are still affected by it. I owned 3 different single chip dlp projectors. Nobody saw rainbows including my friends. I now have a 3 chip DLP, so don't have the rainbow issue. One of my friend whom I met after buying 3 chip DLP is very susceptible to rainbows. But I don't have a way to check if he can see the rainbows in my setup.
2) While watching 3LCD PJ picture, did it feel "less tiring" for eyes?
Click to expand...
The 3LCD I watched was with Acoustic transparent, microperf screen and that screen was terrible. I watched it for about 15 mins max, beyond that I could not stand the picture quality. It could be an example of a bad setup, but thats about it. So, can't really tell if it was less tiring to eyes.
As for the "tiring" for eyes - if the picture is too much bright/more lumens, it can feel more tiring to eyes. The effect is multiplied to those who are affected by the rainbows on DLP.
3) Do you think 3LCD PJ paired with matt-grey screen can compensate for its inherent low black levels?
Click to expand...
Yes,absolutely. A grey screen by nature tames down the brightness and lowers the black levels. It cannot make any DLP like JVC, because you have to consider the black level of any projector to begin with. But a Grey screen can lower it by certain amount. Also, 3LCD projectors have irises too (that's why they get those high contrast ratios on spec) so it can help playing with those too.

Also, before replacing the screen, first thing to do is calibrate the brightness, contrast and sharpness levels. Also make sure that projector is running at Video levels (16-235) and not PC levels (0-255) for videos. Running the videos with PC levels increases the black floor a lot. Just make sure these settings are not the reason for not so good black levels.
 
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GeorgeO said:
While bringing the screen is easy, the projector , when packed, or otherwise, is too big to bring from there, even in checked in baggage. I picked up an Optoma HD 20 last month, when I went to the US these are available through the Projector Central site that gives you all kinds of info. I bought a Dalite manual pull down screen, it came in a container, I think it is 108 inches diagonal( dont remember the exact size), cost about $330-350. I think the screen can be sourced here.
Click to expand...

Hi George ,

Thanks much for the information. Could you please tell me how much you paid as duty at the airport ? I wanted to know how they calculate i.e. on total value or post expeted value 25k.

also , whats the model of dalite screen ?
 
just4kix said:
Having had a projector for over 5 years now, let me pen down some of own thoughts.

The projector will in all likelyhood, be a one time purchase. So do not take half measures. Optoma HD-20 is a very nice projector and a good choice. But I am not sure where you got the notion that Epson 8350 has quality issues. Buy Optoma if you find that it is best for you and not because it is the second best due to hearsay comments about the top ranked projector.

I will not recommend keeping the projector on a coffee table. Even if you live in a rented place, you can always fix a shelf high on the wall meant for the PJ. You do not have to ceiling mount it.

Buy a screen which is at least 8' wide to get the desired image size (100"+ diagonal). If you are going to use the PJ in living room where you cannot get rid of ambient light, choose a matte gray screen. But such screens are not easy to find, especially in India.
Click to expand...

Hi there ,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and valuable information.

Honestly , when I checked professional reviews about 8350 on last Saturday since then I was saying that I am going to get 8350 because it is not better than the competition ( spec wise ) but it also has that flexibility I was looking so that it can placed on the table etc. But then I checked actual user reviews and I thought lots of people were complaining about issues like bulb , manufacturing issues etc. I dint want to go through that hassle especially after spending that much of money only to realize after month or so that its not working ..

I dont know much about projectors so I am not brand concious. I can spend 100$ more if I am going to get quality in return.

HD20 appears small and lightweight so I though it would easy to move and place it on the table.

I I will look into the possibility of shelf placement.
 
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sanro said:
Hi there ,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and valuable information.

Honestly , when I checked professional reviews about 8350 on last Saturday since then I was saying that I am going to get 8350 because it is not better than the competition ( spec wise ) but it also has that flexibility I was looking so that it can placed on the table etc. But then I checked actual user reviews and I thought lots of people were complaining about issues like bulb , manufacturing issues etc. I dint want to go through that hassle especially after spending that much of money only to realize after month or so that its not working ..

I dont know much about projectors so I am not brand concious. I can spend 100$ more if I am going to get quality in return.

HD20 appears small and lightweight so I though it would easy to move and place it on the table.

I I will look into the possibility of shelf placement.
Click to expand...
Thanks. As I said, HD-20 is quite good too, in fact, excellent.
 
Sanro

I put it. packed in the bubble wrap that it came in new, in a backpack that I had bought for this purpose, carried it in my hand. When the checked in baggage came, one had a cross mark in chalk( when they pass it through the conveyor system XRay and it shows something that they can figure out easily), I went straight to the red channel and said I would open and show them what was in it. They asked me to tell them what was in it-not to open it-I said some extra booze and some speaker drivers. They just waved me through.

It helped that my wife and I were travelling together from NY, and we carried only one checked in bag each-not the mountains of baggage that many people coming from the US bring-I've brought mountains of bags in the past when they allowed 70 lbs X 2 bags!
 
avsforum has suggestions for DIY screens. One set of them is about painting the off shelf screens with the right color/paint. There are recommendations for gray paint. I am trying one of the simpler ones. The initial (and casual) viewing shows better black. I have not had a chance to check the contrast and brightness. I need to do one more coat of painting before I can test the final results.
You can buy a cheap screen and paint over it. Search for Beginer's Delight thread in avsforum: Screen: DYI forum. Of the paint brands mentioned, you can buy Dulux and Sherwin Williams in India.
 
raj said:
avsforum has suggestions for DIY screens. One set of them is about painting the off shelf screens with the right color/paint. There are recommendations for gray paint. I am trying one of the simpler ones. The initial (and casual) viewing shows better black. I have not had a chance to check the contrast and brightness. I need to do one more coat of painting before I can test the final results.
You can buy a cheap screen and paint over it. Search for Beginer's Delight thread in avsforum: Screen: DYI forum. Of the paint brands mentioned, you can buy Dulux and Sherwin Williams in India.
Click to expand...
Painting over screens :) What will people think of next? ;)
On a serious note, I guess this is something which could be tried only on fixed frame screen? Wouldn't paint peel off from pull-down type screens?
 
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