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I have a basement and will soon be purchasing a projector. I have a high-definition box and progressive scan dvd player down there waiting. I plan on making the screen around 96x 54. My screen will be drywall, painted with a neutral gray matte+polyurethane combination as recommended by many forums. It will be totally dark down there and I really would like good black levels and bright colors. I would like to find a cheap 720p projector. I have been interested in the Acer PH530. Its about $650, has 2500:1 contrast, and 1000 lumens, with a native 1280x720 resolution. Will this be sufficient? Is there something better? Are the lumens and/or contrast enough?
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Quoted specs are iffy (simply after running a calibration disc like Avia or DVE) the numbers will change significantly (often lower) but the image quality will be better. If you are not familiar with the differences between DLP and LCD projectors, you should do a little research. Each has its pros and cons (and its hardcore fans).
I recently purchased the Sony AW15 (it is a fair bit more expensive than the Acer you mention, but I don't know if your budget is flexible or not). It is an LCD projector. I chose it for a number of reasons, but in the arena of DLP vs LCD, there were two factors. Lens shift (important for me, not necessarily important for everyone) and "rainbow effect" (both my wife and I discern "rainbows" with DLP projectors (front projectors and RPTVs) and that was a "deal breaker" for us).
If your budget reaches the 1000$ mark (+/- 10%), you have a number of well regarded options (keep in mind that in this price range, nothing is perfect--but many are very good).
In the DLP category (other than your Acer option):
Mitsubishi makes the HC1500
Optoma makes the HD70
In the LCD category
Sony makes the AW10 and AW15 (the 15 has lens shift and a more advanced dynamic iris which provides better blacks--there is about a 250$ retail price difference IIRC)
BenQ makes the W500 (it has HQV processing with the REON chip--a good feature if you watch a lot of SD material)
You might be able to get a Sharp Z5 (they are well regarded but a bit pricier, normally)
There is also the Epson 400 (which is currently available with a 500$ rebate that places it at around 1000$--though I've heard the rebate takes some time to receive)
These were the choices among which I researched and, on occasion, viewed in store.
Others will be along to offer more choices but it would be helpful if you provided a budget, whether placement will be ceiling mounted, table mounted, rear shelf mounted (each of those mounting options poses specific challenges and some of the above PJs are more suited to one type of mounting over another), etc.
Good luck. -
Ovation has made some pretty good suggestions there. Myself, I tend to avoid making recommendations because it's my belief you should demo something before you buy to ensure it is what you are looking for. I own both lcd and dlp, and though I favor the picture from my dlp PJ, the ease of set up of today's lcds make them a favorite choice of many, and for sure, lcd is quickly catching up to dlp in the PQ department, especially with the high contrast ratios of the newer 1080p projectors. Whatever you do, try to see whatever you can before jumping in. Pay a visit to Projector Central .com. They review all the earlier and latest models and they give good information on things like throw ratios and a chart that lets you see where the PJ would be situated for a given picture width.
Good luck. I hope you make the move. There is no going back once you have watched a 7 or 8 foot wide movie in your own home.Comment
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Well the Lumens are more than enough to sear your eyeballs in a dark room but "good black levels" and 2500:1 CR are not compatible. IMO, a good CR STARTS at around 15000;1. Also, 720 pixles are visible from 12 feet back in my experience. The 720 DLP's to my eyes offer a very grainy pic.Originally posted by spdwy808
As the resdent CRt guy I feel obliged to tell you that a nice CRt will give you the best bang for the buck IMO. This is more of a hobby and not a plug n play solution but they're a lot fo fun if your inclined to to be a hands on type. $650. very little money though, even a nice used CRt projector with 8 inch tubes and EM focus starts at around $1K. My favorite is the Marquee line of CRt's, originally built by electrohome Canada and in production today by VDC Florida. Check your local Craigslist or local e-bay to see one in action before buying, it wil lalso insure you don't get a beat up fixer-upper. You might just score a nice Marquee 8500 or 8110.Originally posted by spdwy808
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And to put those CRT comments into perspective, Draganm is a CRT fan, and so he is willing to put up with the greater size, weight, complexity, and setup/maintenance of a CRT for better black levels.
My first projector was an Electrohome CRT 10 years ago and it was indeed a good projector, but it was a steep learning curve to understand and setup such a display to work optimally.
As Draganm mentions, it's not a plug and play video solution, but it is a fun and rewarding hobby if you are inclined to tinker and tweak.
For some of us with a more consumer-use view, 2500:1 is good contrast for a $650, 1280 X 720p projector, and you could be quite happy with what you see, especially coming from a regular TV set.
My current projector is DLP, and I have no problems with seeing rainbows, but I'll also suggest if you can, go to actually see the projectors that you are planning to buy and if possible watch them with a DVD source because high definition video sources can hide video and scaling issues that you might see when viewing lower resolution material.Comment
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Dean I am really surprised that your still watching a 720DLP? For as little as $4500. the JVC RS1 should have been named the 2007 HT product of the year IMO. Seeings how your driving a $50K car I would have expected a 1080P display with 15K:1 CRr would have been in your HT by now at least if not 6 months ago? BTW, if your a little low on cash right now DON"T preview the JVC or you will come home very unhappy.Originally posted by Dean McManis
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I did actually upgrade my 37" LCD display to a 1080p model recently, but that was partly because they are dropping in price quite a bit so that the differential between what I could sell my my 7 month old 720p LCD display, and the new 1080p one was just a few hundred dollars, which was well worth the upgrade.
In the bigger picture, I'm building a new house now, so all costs of cars and HT toys are dwarfed by what tradesmen charge for their services, not to mention county fees. 8O
And then even after the basics of the house start coming together next year, I will likely be spending money first in actually building up my theater room with the next available freed-up cash. So I'm not expecting to upgrade my projector for maybe 2 years now, at which point the RS-1-class+ projectors should be under $2500. :T
Plus I'm still quite pleased with the picture quality of my 720p DLP FPTV.
And the HD media format wars are still going strong, plus available HD movie choices are still limited. So I'm in no rush to upgrade my projector right now.
Of course if something causes the prices to drop in half of today's (while keeping the same quality or better) then I might be tempted to upgrade earlier than planned.
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