I'm turning to the dark side!

[Dieselboy]

I'm really getting into the idea of going FP now instead of plasma/LED, but I'm very new to the subject. My 'throw' distance is about 12 ft. from where I'd mount the projector to the wall where the screen will be, what size screen should I be looking at? Also, it seems that 1080p units are attainable for about $1000ish now, well what is the advantage to going to a $2K or a $5K unit? In other words, what are the features/specs I should be looking at that dictate a price range? Also, what screen materials/technology should I be looking at and how much should I expect to pay for this as well? I'd like to stay around $2,500 or less for everything since that's about what I was expecting to spend on a new plasma/LED display-

This is going in a dedicated HT room where I can completely control the light too fyi- See gallary

[igotcabada]

Hello Dieselboy

I'm in the process of taking my first foray into the FP world as well.. I've been looking into a FP/screen for a few months now and had originally decided on the Panasonic AE3000 until the announcement that the new AE4000 would be released at a street price of $1,999 later this month.

Some other FP's you might want to take a look at in your range: Mitsu HC6800, Epson 8100, Epson 6100, sanyo plv-z700

Here is a side by side comparision between a top rated entry level 1080p FP and the AE4000 for you to compare. The glaring difference to me is the 100,000/1 contrast ratio of the panasonic and the 4,000/1 of the optima. You will also have a bunch of great features that come along with the panny (it is one of the most versitile on the market) such as lens shift, frame interpolation, anamorphic lens emulation ect..

Deciding on a screen was a little more difficult for me. I decided to go with the Elite VMAX electric 120" for my room for $350. Screens can range from $50 to $5000+.. To me, elite's prices couldn't be touched by the other manufacturers, so I'm going to give them a shot. There are a bunch of members on here that have elite screens and seem to like them.. You could also look at Dalite, SI screens, draper to name a few..

Is your seating 12 ft from the screen as well? With a 12 ft throw here is a list of FP's that will put up a 120" image.. You can use Projector Central's calculator to see what image size you can get given your throw distance.

Again, i'm fairly new to the FP world, so hopefully someone with some more knowledge can weigh in as well..

good luck

[Dieselboy]

I was looking at that site and it lists some FP's as LCD and some as DLP....what's the advantage to one over the other? Is one better? My seating distance is also 12 ft. The distance from front wall to back wall is 13ft. so I'm just sorta guesstimating my seating distance should be about 12 ft. since my couch resides against the back wall. Is the contrast on/off what determines the black levels? The difference between 100000:1 and 4000:1 seems like a lot to me! Also, are the 'lumens' what determines how bright the image will be? I've been seeing that there are different #'s associated with the sceen's too- any insight to this will be greatly appreciated as well!

Thanks in advance!

[[1080-p]]

Originally Posted by igotcabada

Hello Dieselboy

I'm in the process of taking my first foray into the FP world as well.. I've been looking into a FP/screen for a few months now and had originally decided on the Panasonic AE3000 until the announcement that the new AE4000 would be released at a street price of $1,999 later this month.

Some other FP's you might want to take a look at in your range: Mitsu HC6800, Epson 8100, Epson 6100, sanyo plv-z700

Here is a side by side comparision between a top rated entry level 1080p FP and the AE4000 for you to compare. The glaring difference to me is the 100,000/1 contrast ratio of the panasonic and the 4,000/1 of the optima. You will also have a bunch of great features that come along with the panny (it is one of the most versitile on the market) such as lens shift, frame interpolation, anamorphic lens emulation ect..

Deciding on a screen was a little more difficult for me. I decided to go with the Elite VMAX electric 120" for my room for $350. Screens can range from $50 to $5000+.. To me, elite's prices couldn't be touched by the other manufacturers, so I'm going to give them a shot. There are a bunch of members on here that have elite screens and seem to like them.. You could also look at Dalite, SI screens, draper to name a few..

Is your seating 12 ft from the screen as well? With a 12 ft throw here is a list of FP's that will put up a 120" image.. You can use Projector Central's calculator to see what image size you can get given your throw distance.

Again, i'm fairly new to the FP world, so hopefully someone with some more knowledge can weigh in as well..

good luck

would use them as rear projectors

[Swede]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

I'm really getting into the idea of going FP now instead of plasma/LED, but I'm very new to the subject. My 'throw' distance is about 12 ft. from where I'd mount the projector to the wall where the screen will be, what size screen should I be looking at? Also, it seems that 1080p units are attainable for about $1000ish now, well what is the advantage to going to a $2K or a $5K unit? In other words, what are the features/specs I should be looking at that dictate a price range? Also, what screen materials/technology should I be looking at and how much should I expect to pay for this as well? I'd like to stay around $2,500 or less for everything since that's about what I was expecting to spend on a new plasma/LED display-

This is going in a dedicated HT room where I can completely control the light too fyi- See gallary

Good choice IMHO the "sweet spot" in price/performance right now on projectors is at the $2000 range, where you can get the almost-top-of-the-line pj's like the (upcoming) Panasonic AE4000, Epson 8500UB (will probably be a few hundred more), Sony HW15. Yes you can get a good projector (720p or 1080p) for around $1000 which would probably satisfy most first time buyers, but there will be a clear difference in image quality compared to the mid-to-high-end $2000 pj's so if you have the money...

Most important features on a pj (again IMHO) would be black level, contrast, color, sharpness and lumen output (less important in a dedicated light-controlled room) in about that order, and of course features like the Panasonic AE3000/4000's "anamorphic lens emulation" in case you decide to go with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio screen etc.

At a distance of 12ft you should probably look at a screen size of 100" to about 120", at the cheap end you can get a good manual Draper or Da-lite for around $100-$200, but if you are looking for a dedicated theater, you can't beat a fixed frame screen, which will be a bit more expensive if you buy it retail, probably $400+, but if you're not too afraid of getting your hands dirty there's always the DIY option - just buy the screen material, some velvet and frame materials, use some online-guide and you can get exactly the screen you want for about the cost of a cheap manual...

Choose a screen with a good normal gain between 1.0 and 1.3, and select whether you want to go with a white or gray-screen (for slightly better blacks, especially in a less than perfect light-controlled room). Materials are very brand-specific so all comes down to how much you're willing to spend, but know that even projected on a white wall, you will still get a great image Stewart makes awesome fixed screens, but they are also expensive.

[Swede]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

I was looking at that site and it lists some FP's as LCD and some as DLP....what's the advantage to one over the other? Is one better? My seating distance is also 12 ft. The distance from front wall to back wall is 13ft. so I'm just sorta guesstimating my seating distance should be about 12 ft. since my couch resides against the back wall. Is the contrast on/off what determines the black levels? The difference between 100000:1 and 4000:1 seems like a lot to me! Also, are the 'lumens' what determines how bright the image will be? I've been seeing that there are different #'s associated with the sceen's too- any insight to this will be greatly appreciated as well!

Thanks in advance!

LCD and DLP are simply two different technologies, but one isn't really better than the other, they both have their slight advantages and disadvantages.

For me DLP will always be out of the question because of the so-called "rainbow effect" that DLP projectors suffer from. Not everyone are sensitive to it, but if you are (like me) it can completely ruin the experience and even make you feel nauseous.

It sounds weird but the first time I saw a DLP was at a show and I nearly lost my balance and simply could not believe that they could actually sell products based on that technology with that kind of flaw to the public. However if you are not sensitive, and of course anyone else who is going to watch your projector it could still be an option for you...

So what is the rainbow effect? Simply put the problem has to do with the color wheel that 1-chip DLP projectors use to display different colors, which creates quick "lightning-type" flashes in all colors of the rainbow, hence rainbow effect. Here's a link that explains it in more detail, it also has a fairly accurate rainbow example image.

[Suntory_Times]

Swede have you seen any new DLP projector? There colour whell spins so fast know i'd be very surprised if you still saw the rainbow effect (I haven't come across anyone who can on a new DLP projector).

Basically DLP has better blacks then LCD, but LCD has better flesh tones (or at least that is my understanding). I also believe LCD has the ability to throw a larger image then DLP from a given distance, though this last point i'm not 100% on. You should also consider going with a constant image hieght set-up (CIH), like cinemas have.

Also remember, there is no substitute to sieng a projector in person (calibrated), which I understand may not always be possible, but if it is. Just do it (please don't so me nike).

[Blown 4.3]

i watch 2:35 on my screen, no problem. you don't need that panny lense thing (even though its pretty cool)

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by Blown 4.3

i watch 2:35 on my screen, no problem. you don't need that panny lense thing (even though its pretty cool)

So do I, it would be handy to not have to manually do it with the zoom though (whereas the panny you just click a button on the remote and it does the rest for you).

[Swede]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

Swede have you seen any new DLP projector? There colour whell spins so fast know i'd be very surprised if you still saw the rainbow effect (I haven't come across anyone who can on a new DLP projector).

Basically DLP has better blacks then LCD, but LCD has better flesh tones (or at least that is my understanding). I also believe LCD has the ability to throw a larger image then DLP from a given distance, though this last point i'm not 100% on. You should also consider going with a constant image hieght set-up (CIH), like cinemas have.

Also remember, there is no substitute to sieng a projector in person (calibrated), which I understand may not always be possible, but if it is. Just do it (please don't so me nike).

New no, fast wheel yes. Last DLP's I saw were 5x and 6x speed wheels and while it was definitely an improvement to slower speed DLP's, I could still see rainbows often enough to be distracting. Considering the technologies are so similar otherwise I really don't see a reason to take the risk of going with DLP even if there would be even faster models out there now, and in the recent reviews on DLP's I've read on for example projectorreviews.com rainbows are still as much of a problem with today's models, especially with lower-end models like this guy is looking for.

I think you have the advantages a bit mixed up. DLP's do not generally have an advantage in blacks, in fact the projectors with the best blacks right now are the LCoS models by JVC and Sony, and the LCD Epson 6500UB (which in all likelyhood will be improved on by the 8500UB), followed by a few other "ultra-high contrast" LCD's like the Panasonic AE3000 (and ofcourse the AE4000 which may even be better than the 6500UB, remains to be seen in any comparisons).

What DLP's are generally known for is great sharpness, good shadow detail and in some ways colors. LCD's typically have better blacks & contrast ratio, and have better lens zoom ratio (which yes means a larger image at a given distance) and better lens shift for better placement flexibility.

[swilliams]

I have the panasonic pt-ax200u (720p) for only $999.my throw distance is only 12.5 ft on a 92 inch screen.At that distance i think i can go up to 120in . excellent picture .

[Disky76]

Good luck with your new theatre build.

Keep in mind, with the projectors that you are looking at whether you want a 16:9 or 2.35:1 screen. Panasonic makes a few reasonably priced models that can do CIH.

However, with lesser-priced projectors, It's easy to build masking panels with either situation. I have an example in my gallery.

Just a thought, in case you like screen-filling movies for all aspect ratios as I do.

[bhampton]

I used to always relate going to the "dark side" with switching to a CRT Front Projector.

I had CRT FP's for about 10 years and they make inky blacks.

I use a SXRD now. The blacks on a full black field are elevated compared to the CRT but just about every other aspect of performance is improved.

-Brian

[BarkingGhost]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

I'm really getting into the idea of going FP now instead of plasma/LED, but I'm very new to the subject. My 'throw' distance is about 12 ft. from where I'd mount the projector to the wall where the screen will be, what size screen should I be looking at? Also, it seems that 1080p units are attainable for about $1000ish now, well what is the advantage to going to a $2K or a $5K unit? In other words, what are the features/specs I should be looking at that dictate a price range? Also, what screen materials/technology should I be looking at and how much should I expect to pay for this as well? I'd like to stay around $2,500 or less for everything since that's about what I was expecting to spend on a new plasma/LED display-

This is going in a dedicated HT room where I can completely control the light too fyi- See gallary

The 'dark side' is usually referred to those using CRT-based front projection. Somehow, I doubt you meant it that way. Maybe you meant you are moving into a bat cave to accommodate front projection?

[Dieselboy]

Originally Posted by BarkingGhost

The 'dark side' is usually referred to those using CRT-based front projection. Somehow, I doubt you meant it that way. Maybe you meant you are moving into a bat cave to accommodate front projection?

Actually all I was referring to was my decision to no longer go with a plasma tv and going with FP!!!

[saprano]

Why is it the dark side? if anything its the better side, no?

All of us home theater enthusiast will eventually get a projection setup. i know once i get the space im definitely doing it.

[Dieselboy]

Originally Posted by saprano

Why is it the dark side? if anything its the better side, no?

All of us home theater enthusiast will eventually get a projection setup. i know once i get the space im definitely doing it.

Umm...the dark side IS the better side!!!

Long live Vadar!

[Rob J in WNY]

What an excellent thread. Thanks for all the helpful information!

Someday, I'd like to get into a dedicated room for a theater setup, but that's in the future in a different house. But, it never hurts to get educated on some basics and fine points in the interim!