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In Reply to: best tv for $1500 or less? posted by ae5 on March 13, 2003 at 04:43:27:
After weighing the options for about two years now, I'm starting to lean more towards a front projection solution. Why?Well, first off, plasma screens and such are still way too expensive. Yes, they look great and you don't have to worry about ambient light and such, but that's still $6K or more. That and I still don't buy into the whole fad of the almighty flat panel... My CRT at home still looks better than my 19" flat panel here at work. That said, direct view HDTVs with 16x9 perspective look phenomenal, but they don't make 'em too large now, do they?
That brings us to the most popular choice... large screen rear projection. Admittedly, they've come a long way (baby) but I still have a few problems with them. First, they still suffer from off-axis viewing problems. This doesn't matter if you're right in front of it, but what kind of friend would you be if you didn't host movie night every once in a while? Your friends who have to sit off to the side will suffer... and hate you for it.
Next, the size: a huge screen means a big case. Getting it delivered and set up will be a pain in the butt... and what if (invariably) you have to go back and change out some of the connectors? No fun. Then there's the issue of what you do when you move... they're heavy! Ouch!
Another concern is directly related to the size... the screen itself. Rear projection screens have always been kinda fragile. I know I've smacked into my regular TV a few times and been relieved it didn't break (of course now I know how thick that glass really is...) However, I'm also worried about finger prints and dust on the rear projection screen... how well does that stuff clean off? Ugh!
Anyway, this leads me to the alternative... front projection. Yes, my first impression is a crappy, poorly aligned three gun unit in a greasy pizza joint showing a hazy rendition of what appears to be football on a beer splattered screen... The new LCD and DLP projectors, however, look phenomenal. Not only that, but cleanly projected sizes of 80"-100" aren't unreasonable. The costs are coming down a lot, too...
There are some downsides. First, you'll need to get a screen (the wall may work, but a screen will look better) and that could run up to $500 or so; however, I've also been reading how a lot of people are making their own in two hours or so using either blackout cloth or this stuff called Plas-Tex from Parkland Plastics (you can get it at most Lowe's). The finished cost is around $50 for a 90" screen. Yes... 90". Here are some pictures of one finished product.
Next, you'll have to mount the projector somewhere, most likely the ceiling. They build them to stay out of the way of the screen, so keystoning is eliminated using both optical and, if needed, digitally. This may or may not work with your room. Some of the projectors come with the mounting equipment.
Finally, the lamps do wear out. They're not cheap either... $400 is pretty common... or cheap. Most lamps last 2000 hours or more, though, so it shouldn't be that often. This concerned me a lot until I heard about a repair bill on an aquaintance's rear projection... $850 to replace one of the guns. I don't know if that includes the house call to do the work, either. Plus that TV weighs at least 200 lbs. Most projectors are under 10.
The two I'm looking at (both in your price range) are the Sanyo PLV-ZI and the Infocus X1. The Sanyo is also marketed as the Boxlight Matinee 1HD... it's a little cheaper than the Sanyo and I've seen it sold from several places including the ceiling mount and... an extra bulb! Not a bad deal... Here's a link to one of the places that has that deal.
Anyway, look into it. To me it's a viable option that could happen once my tax return rolls around. That and a new home theatre amp...
Here are some links that helped form my opinions:
Review in home theatre conditions by an interesting group of people.
Follow Ups:
Panasonic 42" plasma for about $3500, although it's only a 42" screen.You have to have the right room and be able to really control the light to get satisfactory image with FP. FP, however, does have the greatest possibilities for high impact HT.
I've never seen a projector in this price range yet that looks great, but I haevn't yet seen either of the two models you mention. The new DLPs have a lot better blacks and shadow detail than they used to, but they still weren't quite good enough for certain scenes in Dark City or LOTR when I was looking last fall.
I've never seen a projector in this price range yet that looks great, but I haevn't yet seen either of the two models you mention. The new DLPs have a lot better blacks and shadow detail than they used to, but they still weren't quite good enough for certain scenes in Dark City or LOTR when I was looking last fall.I haven't seen them either, but the reviews I've read are very interesting. I particularly like the one by the guy from Pixar... they seemed to have a fairly comprehensive approach to it all without being overly scientific. It bugs me when people take out the human element and just focus on the specs and numbers...
Regardless, most rear projections are using the same exact processes, but they have just a bit more control since the whole process happens in the box. I just want to avoid having the box to deal with 'cos I know moving it will be a pain. That and everything I've been reading sounds very promising in that it will deliver a good picture, especially in my naturally dark entertainment room.
Between LCD and DLP, they mentioned the DLP had rainbows (a nice prism effect from all the miniature mirrors combined with the color wheel) and the LCD had the "screen door effect" from all of the pixels. While a lot of manufacturers say only a small portion of the population can see the rainbows, most all of the guys from Pixar saw them immediately. They do say you can eventually tune them out (kind of like background noise at a concert) but they can be very distracting. On the other hand, the screen door effect more or less blends out with distance.
One thing they did mention is that the B&W movies is that the greys get lost and that the contrast between the whites and blacks were too severe; however, with some tweaking, the picture was more watchable.
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