Home Theater Projector
- Thread starter PoohBEAR
- Start date
I use an infocus x1 and its wonderful ,my screen is 6' by5' tall and 14' away from the projector. I use the logitech speaker system for home computers , its cheap and sounds great in the basement. I highly recommend buying an infocus the lamp life is long in case you watch a lot of movies.
I have had a HT for over 20 years. I've had tube type, DLP, and LCD projectors. Let me offer my own opinion.
1. Decide what you want and how much room you have. To get the "theatre" experience you need a big screen. A front projector is the only way to go in my opinion. A screen of 130" will give you a completely different experience than that of a 60" television.
A 130 inch screen isn't going to fit into a 12' x 12" room either. You need a little viewing distance.
2. Decide on whether you can have controlled lighting (dark room), or whether you want to watch it in daylight or with strong room lights on. That will determine how bright your projector must be. 400-800 lumens are fine for controlled lighting. Over 2000 is necessary for acceptable viewing in bright ambient light.
Plasma, LCD direct view, most rear projection TV's also do a good job in bright light.
If you decide on a large screen and a projector I would recommend the Sanyo PLV-70 as the best performance value right now. It's bright at 2,200 lumens, does true HDTV, has native 16 x 9 panels, has motorized focus/zoom/les shift and keystone correction (important if your ceiling mounting the projector) and its whisper quiet. It also uses a UHP lamp which does not dim over its 2000 hour lifetime. A metal halide lamp, or the other hand, loses half its brightness by the first quarter of its life. If you can spend $4500, nothing can touch this Sanyo for twice the cost. It redefines the capabilities of LCD technology.
DLP projectors do have better black levels, but ones under $15,000 have lower resolution and use a single DLP panel behind a spinning color wheel. For some people, the "color wheel" projectors cause a rainbow affect when objects on the screen move and can cause headaches. A high quality 3 panel DLP 16x9 projector is in the $20,000 range, and i've seen them at trade shows, and the PLV-70 comes damn close.
3. Aspect ratio and office projectors: For a modern HT, only 16 x 9 will do for HDTV and anemographic DVD's (look on your DVD for "enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions" in the feature list. What this means is that the panels that product the image are shaped like the longer wider screen of HDTV. Most older projectors and office projectors use 4 x 3 panels. To view wide aspect moves or HDTV, you must mask out (not use) the top and bottom of the panels, which cuts down on light output and resolution. Most inexpensive office projectors are bright and do text and course graphics fine but do video poorly with bad flesh tones and a grainy screen door effect.
4. Sound. To get into the movie you need lots o' watts. Don't scrimp on the sound system, but you don't have to spend a bundle either. A nice Dolby 5.1 and DTS receiver with at least 100 watts/channel will do. 600 watts of 15" subwoofer does magic. You don't need to buy audiophile speakers for the surrounds unless your listening to serious music, then get more expensive speakers for the front left and right. The center and rear surrounds should be good, but not great speakers. Usually only voice and sound effects come out of them.
I put my HT together on a shoestring and am very satisfied with it. The room size is 25' x 40' My equipment list is:
Sanyo PLV-70 projector: $5100
Sony STR DA50ES receiver 650
JVC CD player, progressive scan 180
Radio Shack Realistic Mach 2 speakers Front L+R 560
Radio Shack L +R+center surrounds 3 speakers 360
Klipsch 15" subwoofer 300W x 2 600
Stuart screen 133" 16 x 9 material only 500
Total investment is around 7950.
I got everything except the speakers online.
I know people who have $40,000 professional HT's installed who have less of a quality experience. You don't have to spend allot of money if you are a careful shopper and can do some light installation yourself.
btw. I also had the Sony 400Q projector. It was the first to come on the market using 16 x 9 panels. At the time I thought it was great... they have come a long way since then!
Check out this web site for great information about HT. It has helped me in my buying choices and offers good support. It is the "NSX Prime" of HT.
http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/
1. Decide what you want and how much room you have. To get the "theatre" experience you need a big screen. A front projector is the only way to go in my opinion. A screen of 130" will give you a completely different experience than that of a 60" television.
A 130 inch screen isn't going to fit into a 12' x 12" room either. You need a little viewing distance.
2. Decide on whether you can have controlled lighting (dark room), or whether you want to watch it in daylight or with strong room lights on. That will determine how bright your projector must be. 400-800 lumens are fine for controlled lighting. Over 2000 is necessary for acceptable viewing in bright ambient light.
Plasma, LCD direct view, most rear projection TV's also do a good job in bright light.
If you decide on a large screen and a projector I would recommend the Sanyo PLV-70 as the best performance value right now. It's bright at 2,200 lumens, does true HDTV, has native 16 x 9 panels, has motorized focus/zoom/les shift and keystone correction (important if your ceiling mounting the projector) and its whisper quiet. It also uses a UHP lamp which does not dim over its 2000 hour lifetime. A metal halide lamp, or the other hand, loses half its brightness by the first quarter of its life. If you can spend $4500, nothing can touch this Sanyo for twice the cost. It redefines the capabilities of LCD technology.
DLP projectors do have better black levels, but ones under $15,000 have lower resolution and use a single DLP panel behind a spinning color wheel. For some people, the "color wheel" projectors cause a rainbow affect when objects on the screen move and can cause headaches. A high quality 3 panel DLP 16x9 projector is in the $20,000 range, and i've seen them at trade shows, and the PLV-70 comes damn close.
3. Aspect ratio and office projectors: For a modern HT, only 16 x 9 will do for HDTV and anemographic DVD's (look on your DVD for "enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions" in the feature list. What this means is that the panels that product the image are shaped like the longer wider screen of HDTV. Most older projectors and office projectors use 4 x 3 panels. To view wide aspect moves or HDTV, you must mask out (not use) the top and bottom of the panels, which cuts down on light output and resolution. Most inexpensive office projectors are bright and do text and course graphics fine but do video poorly with bad flesh tones and a grainy screen door effect.
4. Sound. To get into the movie you need lots o' watts. Don't scrimp on the sound system, but you don't have to spend a bundle either. A nice Dolby 5.1 and DTS receiver with at least 100 watts/channel will do. 600 watts of 15" subwoofer does magic. You don't need to buy audiophile speakers for the surrounds unless your listening to serious music, then get more expensive speakers for the front left and right. The center and rear surrounds should be good, but not great speakers. Usually only voice and sound effects come out of them.
I put my HT together on a shoestring and am very satisfied with it. The room size is 25' x 40' My equipment list is:
Sanyo PLV-70 projector: $5100
Sony STR DA50ES receiver 650
JVC CD player, progressive scan 180
Radio Shack Realistic Mach 2 speakers Front L+R 560
Radio Shack L +R+center surrounds 3 speakers 360
Klipsch 15" subwoofer 300W x 2 600
Stuart screen 133" 16 x 9 material only 500
Total investment is around 7950.
I got everything except the speakers online.
I know people who have $40,000 professional HT's installed who have less of a quality experience. You don't have to spend allot of money if you are a careful shopper and can do some light installation yourself.
btw. I also had the Sony 400Q projector. It was the first to come on the market using 16 x 9 panels. At the time I thought it was great... they have come a long way since then!
Check out this web site for great information about HT. It has helped me in my buying choices and offers good support. It is the "NSX Prime" of HT.
http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/
I have the Panasonic PTL 300U. It has quarter HD and therefore scales HD almost perfect. It has 800:1 contrast. I have it on a Da-Lite 110" 16x9 cinema screen. You can get the projector for about $1500 new and the screen was also $1500 with the pro trim. I am really happy with my projector.
Rob
Rob
I have a frien who is using this one with good results....good price too.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=660134&sku=B145-7094 P
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=660134&sku=B145-7094 P
Awhile back I bought the Marantz VP-12S1 and am extremely pleased with it. However, I paid ~$3.4k (original list > $12k) because I waited until the VP-12S2 had been released and bought a factory refurb through Ubid. I watched quite a few go by but stuck to my limit and eventually landed one before they ran out. Check out the reviews on these projectors. They are native 16:9 WXGA (1280 x 720) so HDTV can pass straight through unmolested. Mine has a still respectable 1200:1 contrast and the new version has double that. They also use the Faroudja chip, which is more common now but is still excellent. But as I said, for the price I think the 12S1 was a steal. There are still refurbs available on the web but people are asking $4k+. I think they’re the guys I was bidding against. Anyway, have a look at these if you get the chance. And if you find yourself moving up closer to $6k, look very hard at a refurbished 12S2 at ~$6200.
BTW, I rationalized the refurb choice by hoping that they get more careful attention than the others. Mine was indistinguishable from new and had zero problem pixels.
BTW, I rationalized the refurb choice by hoping that they get more careful attention than the others. Mine was indistinguishable from new and had zero problem pixels.
chumch said:
That one looks very interesting. It might be worth looking for some reviews.
Has anyone tried the Plus line? I looked at the early Piano and was unimpressed, but they have probably gotten better. At the budget end they might be worth a look.
http://www.plushometheater.com/
As smart as the people on here are, it pales to what you can find on Avsforums. Do a little research there and you'll find everything you need to know.
Cheap projectors such as the Infocus X1 are pretty damn good. If you want to spend a little more, the Sharp Z2 is excellent but it may not be worth roughly double the price to you. You also don't have to buy a $1000 screen, you can find out how to DIY on Avsforums.
Cheap projectors such as the Infocus X1 are pretty damn good. If you want to spend a little more, the Sharp Z2 is excellent but it may not be worth roughly double the price to you. You also don't have to buy a $1000 screen, you can find out how to DIY on Avsforums.
The X1 is a very fine unit, definitely the best price/result. BUT test it on yourself and your family, maybe you are very sensitive to teh rainbow effect.
If you are you should go on some more sofisticated DLP with faster spinning color wheel. Anyway remain on DLP, LCD are sooo bad.
If you are you should go on some more sofisticated DLP with faster spinning color wheel. Anyway remain on DLP, LCD are sooo bad.
i FOUND THE SAME bENq PROJECTOR FOR LESS:
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_SKU_Y_PB8220
I think this is actually where my friend bought it.
Good luck,
Matt
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_SKU_Y_PB8220
I think this is actually where my friend bought it.
Good luck,
Matt
NetViper said:
Few and far in between. They're not as prevalent as the LCD's.
dnicho05 said:
Douglas,
No, I have the Studio Experience 12SF. Also re-badged as the Infocus LS110 and the Toshiba MT5.
I've had it for over 2 years now and pleased with it. I send it back to the manufacturer ever so often for a firmware upgrade.
Obviously, it's obsolete now compared to what the new pj's have (let's face it, consumer electronics have a shelf life of 6 months, if that), but I'm still satisfied with it. It was listed for $5k back then.
caz-nsx said:
I can attest to this. I had a DIY screen that I painted light grey to help with contrast. Overall it looked good, but I noticed the colors weren't as vibrant compared to when I project it on a white wall.
I'm going to upgrade to a Da-lite HighPower screen soon. It's getting raves in the AVSforum. Pulldown screens usually have a problem with waves when it is not tensioned. But with this particular screen, the reviews say it just magically disappears when projected upon. I'll just have to deal with the narrower viewing cone though.
I have a Da-Lite screen. It is Da-matte material with a Da-snap frame. I'm happy with the 1.0 gain screen. Da-lite will send 10" x 10" samples of all their materials so you can see them first hand. I took all of them and taped them to wall and projected images and solid colors onto them. This was a few years ago. They had one material I believe it was called pearlesence, or something like that, a lot of people on www.thebigpicturedvd.com was raving about it. I didn't like it. I would suggest that anyone looking at a screen should get the samples first.
John
John
sabashioyaki said:
Agreed, except that it is such a flood of information that it can be overwhelming. Plus, as with any special interest groups you tend to find zealots divided into camps, and their inability to distinguish fact from biased opinion makes quick analysis difficult. So they are valuable resources but should not be relied upon entirely. In the end you need plenty of personal viewing which may include a few mistakes along the way. For example, I'm please with my ~1.0 DIY screen but I still plan to experiment with other materials.
I'll try and post some pictures a little later but I have a 12'x18' room. I put in a 65" projection screen TV unit and with the couch about 7' back, it is quite close to sitting in the middle row of a moderately sized theater.
Plus with my sony receiver and Boston Acoustics Speakers with 12" down firing sub, it sounds amazing.
The whole set up probably cost me $7000.
One other thing. Comcast just hooked up my HD cable box. If you can.....GO HDTV!! It is the next best thing to being there!!
Plus with my sony receiver and Boston Acoustics Speakers with 12" down firing sub, it sounds amazing.
The whole set up probably cost me $7000.
One other thing. Comcast just hooked up my HD cable box. If you can.....GO HDTV!! It is the next best thing to being there!!
Here are a couple of images of our media room. As I mentioned above we have the SE 2HD (SANYO PLV-Z2) projector, 120" Da-matte screen. The components are from Sony: STR DA50ES receiver, DVP-S7700 dvd, 300 CD changer, and Comcast HD cable box. All the speakers are Mirage: OM-6 - front and rear, OM-C2 - center, & OM-Strata 1500 subwoofer. A total of 5 powered suwoofers really get the room rocking.
Attachments
Man.. that setup is awesome!
caz-nsx said:
Your neighbors must love you as they are trying to figure out if that sonic boom was real or if its just movie night again.
Serious question though: Is the noise from having the projector open and above your head distracting at all, or are the fans in the newer units pretty quiet now?
VERY NICEEEEEE!!!!!!!
But I would mod it a little more by having a couple of foot rests 
But I would mod it a little more by having a couple of foot rests
dnicho05,
The PLV-Z2 is one of the quietest projectors on the market. In low lamp mode it only puts out 24db. You can barely hear it when you turn it on, with no other sound in the room. Once you get the DVD or HDTV going there is no way to hear it.
My old W400Q was about 40-45db and sounded like a plane taking off. I had to buy a hush box to make it tolerable.
PoohBEAR,
Actually, both ends of the couches are recliners. The drop down center is great for drinks, etc.
The PLV-Z2 is one of the quietest projectors on the market. In low lamp mode it only puts out 24db. You can barely hear it when you turn it on, with no other sound in the room. Once you get the DVD or HDTV going there is no way to hear it.
My old W400Q was about 40-45db and sounded like a plane taking off. I had to buy a hush box to make it tolerable.
PoohBEAR,
Actually, both ends of the couches are recliners. The drop down center is great for drinks, etc.
caz-nsx said:
WOW, I put you on my buddy list!
Tan
Tan,
I wanna see your set-up.
I wanna see your set-up.
What type of seating is that, and where did you purchase it? I too may be looking to do something similar in the future, and those couches look like exactly what I want.
