Best budget 1080p projector for 165 inch screen

[Trogdor2010]

I have been looking around and I'm aware of many of these projectors "can" produce the brightness to be on my large 165 inch Dakane white screen. But I was wondering what would be the best 1080p projector for that screen size, or what would be the optimal lumens for the screen size. I am interested in the Epson home cinema 6500, the JVC RSA-HD20 or the optoma HD-806, also the Samsung SP-A800B if they have a discount. I do not have the money to afford one, but I wanted to know what would be the best performer at that screen size.

[Russell2nr]

I'd go with the optoma

[Brain Sturgeon]

I presume you are talking 165" (13.75') wide 16:9 screen? or 2.4:1? What screen gain?

Unless you are going with a high gain screen (2.8 or higher), there are very few projectors that have the lumens horsepower to properly light up that screen assuming best calibrated lumens @ D65. At unity gain, you would need somewhere near 2100 calibrated lumens to get reasonable brightness (20 fL) on that screen (assuming 16:9), and the majority of those projectors are very expensive (3 chip DLP, >$25k).

Now, if you use a high gain screen or don't care so much about calibrated lumens, you could consider using a more affordable LCD projector, like a Panasonic AE3000k or the Epson you mention. The Epson is considered the brighter of the two. But even those would have a tough time with your screen size (both are stated as having 1600 max lumens output, although the Panny is more like 1300, and calibrated lumens for the two is more like 400-500). Another projector you could consider is the Sharp XV15000 (single chip DLP, rated 1600 lumens, $3k MSRP), but again, 1600 lumens is not optimal for that screen size at 16:9 (at 2.4:1, it may do OK).

I can tell you that the JVC RS-20 and Samsung SP-A800B will not have enough lumens to light up that screen (both are about 600-700 lumens max) unless your screen is high gain (2.8 or higher). I'm not familiar with the Optoma you mention.

None of this takes into account your preference for screen brightness. Some people are okay with a projected image of down to 8 fL, but most people prefer an image closer to 20 fL. Most commercial movie theaters have brightness of about 12-15 fL. Your screen AR also comes into play-- it will be easier to light up at 2.4:1 screen at that size than it will be a 16:9 screen at that size.

Hope this helps...

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

I presume you are talking 165" (13.75') wide 16:9 screen? or 2.4:1? What screen gain?

Unless you are going with a high gain screen (2.8 or higher), there are very few projectors that have the lumens horsepower to properly light up that screen assuming best calibrated lumens @ D65. At unity gain, you would need somewhere near 2100 calibrated lumens to get reasonable brightness (20 fL) on that screen (assuming 16:9), and the majority of those projectors are very expensive (3 chip DLP, >$25k).

Now, if you use a high gain screen or don't care so much about calibrated lumens, you could consider using a more affordable LCD projector, like a Panasonic AE3000k or the Epson you mention. The Epson is considered the brighter of the two. But even those would have a tough time with your screen size (both are stated as having 1600 max lumens output, although the Panny is more like 1300, and calibrated lumens for the two is more like 400-500). Another projector you could consider is the Sharp XV15000 (single chip DLP, rated 1600 lumens, $3k MSRP), but again, 1600 lumens is not optimal for that screen size at 16:9 (at 2.4:1, it may do OK).

I can tell you that the JVC RS-20 and Samsung SP-A800B will not have enough lumens to light up that screen (both are about 600-700 lumens max) unless your screen is high gain (2.8 or higher). I'm not familiar with the Optoma you mention.

None of this takes into account your preference for screen brightness. Some people are okay with a projected image of down to 8 fL, but most people prefer an image closer to 20 fL. Most commercial movie theaters have brightness of about 12-15 fL. Your screen AR also comes into play-- it will be easier to light up at 2.4:1 screen at that size than it will be a 16:9 screen at that size.

Hope this helps...

Thank you. I rechecked the model and it was actually a Draper Luma 2 screen (Sorry, I thought it was called dakane), 180 inches 4:3 (I do not have the height for that), 165 inches (the size I am talking about), which has a gain screen of 1.1 (Not optimal for 20fL (footlamberts) at 6504K temperature), that's disappointing. The reason I did not mentioned the panasonic AE-3000K was that the brightness was not very bright at 6504K temp, it was about 400-500 while the other alternatives I mentioned (excluding Optoma which is about 1500 lumens calibrated) were 700-800 at 6504K, and I did hear people that they could find alot of brightness at that range (But I wanted to ask someone who understands optimal brightness more), and I recall someone using a JVC RSA-HD2 (Rated 600 lumens) on a 160 inch screen and said they found it pretty bright, which is why I mentioned the newer JVC RSA-HD20, as well as the Samsung SP-A800B)

This case, how much are high gain (about 2.8 as you mentioned) screens around that size? Also I am concerned about the Optoma, which costs MSRP $2600 and less online, although very bright, it uses a 2x speed color wheel (the HD80 uses a 6x speed color wheel), which I heard exibits more visible rainbow effects (I have not seen the effect alot, but my TV may have a faster color wheel).

Also, awesome Watchmen Charlie Brown avatar.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Thank you. I rechecked the model and it was actually a Draper Luma 2 screen (Sorry, I thought it was called dakane), 180 inches 4:3 (I do not have the height for that), 165 inches (the size I am talking about), which has a gain screen of 1.1 (Not optimal for 20fL (footlamberts) at 6504K temperature), that's disappointing. The reason I did not mentioned the panasonic AE-3000K was that the brightness was not very bright at 6504K temp, it was about 400-500 while the other alternatives I mentioned (excluding Optoma which is about 1500 lumens calibrated) were 700-800 at 6504K, and I did hear people that they could find alot of brightness at that range (But I wanted to ask someone who understands optimal brightness more), and I recall someone using a JVC RSA-HD2 (Rated 600 lumens) on a 160 inch screen and said they found it pretty bright, which is why I mentioned the newer JVC RSA-HD20, as well as the Samsung SP-A800B)

Yeah, that is a pretty big screen to light up. For a 1.1 gain screen, you would need 1500 lumens to get a luminance of 20 fL, assuming a 2.35:1 screen. For a 1.78:1 screen, you would need 2000 lumens to get to 20 fL. There just aren't going to be any "budget" projectors that will achieve that consistently, particularly taking into account the loss of light dependent on what zoom you are at and lamp decay (up to 30% on some bulbs). You might be able to run the Epson on a 2.35:1 screen at that size, but it would not be best picture mode and there would be substantial loss of luminance over time.

I suspect that the person using the JVC was using it with a 160" wide 2.35:1 DaLite High Power, which would have 22 fL with a new bulb. A 1.78:1 screen of that size would have 16.8 fL with a new bulb.

This case, how much are high gain (about 2.8 as you mentioned) screens around that size?

That would be a DaLite High Power (2.8 gain). They are relatively affordable from what I know, although I don't know exact pricing.

This is a retroreflective screen, so it does have a narrower viewing cone (basically have to sit within the width of the screen for best picture) and the setup for maximal gain is a bit restrictive-- the projector is best placed center to the screen shooting just over or right by the viewer's head.

Also I am concerned about the Optoma, which costs MSRP $2600 and less online, although very bright, it uses a 2x speed color wheel (the HD80 uses a 6x speed color wheel), which I heard exibits more visible rainbow effects (I have not seen the effect alot, but my TV may have a faster color wheel).

RBE sensitivity will vary from viewer to viewer. My projector has a 6x wheel and is supposed to have minimal issues with RBE, but I can still see artifacts under certain conditions.

Also, awesome Watchmen Charlie Brown avatar.

Thanks-- I got a laugh out of it the first time I saw it...

[Suntory_Times]

The question that I have is what size room is this going into? As a 165" screen is mamoth and I can't imagine a budget projector doing well at that size.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

Yeah, that is a pretty big screen to light up. For a 1.1 gain screen, you would need 1500 lumens to get a luminance of 20 fL, assuming a 2.35:1 screen. For a 1.78:1 screen, you would need 2000 lumens to get to 20 fL. There just aren't going to be any "budget" projectors that will achieve that consistently, particularly taking into account the loss of light dependent on what zoom you are at and lamp decay (up to 30% on some bulbs). You might be able to run the Epson on a 2.35:1 screen at that size, but it would not be best picture mode and there would be substantial loss of luminance over time.

I suspect that the person using the JVC was using it with a 160" wide 2.35:1 DaLite High Power, which would have 22 fL with a new bulb. A 1.78:1 screen of that size would have 16.8 fL with a new bulb.



That would be a DaLite High Power (2.8 gain). They are relatively affordable from what I know, although I don't know exact pricing.

This is a retroreflective screen, so it does have a narrower viewing cone (basically have to sit within the width of the screen for best picture) and the setup for maximal gain is a bit restrictive-- the projector is best placed center to the screen shooting just over or right by the viewer's head.



RBE sensitivity will vary from viewer to viewer. My projector has a 6x wheel and is supposed to have minimal issues with RBE, but I can still see artifacts under certain conditions.


Thanks-- I got a laugh out of it the first time I saw it...

I'll try to look around for one of those around my size, hopefully cheap, but I may end up going with the Optoma HD-806, (Or the TX1080 model, which I actually could use for a movie theater projector at 3600 lumens, I believe it is selling at $2399 at Projectorpeople.com), too bad I won't get that high contrast of some of those models.

Thank you for the help.

[Trogdor2010]

I figured out a good 1080p projector for my screen size, and it's the Infocus's 1080p projectors, from the IN83, which using the screen size calculator from projectorcentral.com for the projector, can produce about 22 footlamberts on normal lamp mode and nearly 20 FootLamberts on eco mode on a 165 inch screen with a 1.1 gain white. I also checked out the Infocus X10 (Far cheaper than the IN83), which actually produced 16 Footlamberts with the same screen type, not up there, but far better than most projectors, including the Optoma I mentioned, which actually produced 14 Footlamberts on the same screen size and type, yet has a 2X speed color wheel, while the infocus has a 4X speed color wheel.

I would want to let some know I got this information from a Screen calculator and may be found inaccurate, and used the Throw range as close as possible. I would be glad to hear more information about these projectors I will save up.