Video Asylum

Posted by Some Guy on August 14, 2003 at 07:06:49

In Reply to: At the crossroads,what video display should I go for $2000? posted by Indranil Dandaroy on August 13, 2003 at 13:12:26:

What you're describing sounds like a perfect situation for front projection. A basement rec room is generally a room that can be light controlled very easily, so the major hurdle is taken care of there. With a budget of $2,000, you have quite a few decent options.

One of the most popular units right now is the Infocus X1. You can find it without even trying for just under $1000, so you'll have plenty left over to buy a screen. A few bits about the X1 - it's 4:3 native (800x600) and is a DLP projector. DLP projector have a higher fill rate between pixels, so less of a "screen door" effect; however, some people are susceptible to seeing rainbows in the picture. Most people do see them and can learn to ignore them, but the guy I know personally here at work who has one says it's too distracting for him. This, to me, warrants seeing the projector in action. I know that Best Buy carries them and they'll probably crack one open to test out, but I do know that they charge a restocking fee if you return it. You can probably find another dealer who'll be more lenient, so check around in your area.

The other popular projector in the sub-$2000 bracket is the Sanyo PLV-Z1. This is 16:9 native (960x540 ... 1/4 of the 1920x1080 HD standard, which makes going to HD a lot easier when converting) and sells for between $1200 and $1400. This is an LCD projector, so you don't have the rainbow effect, but the screen door is a bit more pronounced. Most people say this disappears at a viewing distance of 1-1.5x the screen width, so if you view your 10 foot screen at 15 feet, you'll be fine. Some other people have defocused the image slightly if they have to sit closer, but I don't see too many people complaining about it once they've got it up and running.

If you want to save more of that money for your audio setup or more media, you can build a screen for far less... $100 would build a really decent screen with fabric from several different screen manufacturers (www.dazian.com for one) and a frame built of either wood or aluminum. Just remember that the screen is VERY important... pretty much everyone who projected on the wall is blown away by how much better their projectors look on a screen.

One advantage of the FP route is that 40" quickly becomes VERY small. Most people project between 70" and 110" without a problem.

>Will the rear projection units have good fidelity with DVD or
>satellite tv?

both seem to be fine. one thing you might want to do is have a professional come in and adjust it for you. pretty much everyone who's had that done raves about it. but generally there aren't many complaints about either with RP.

>Is there any danger watching 4:3 tv in 16:9 TVs?

About the same as watching 16:9 on a 4:3. you'll just have the masking bars on the sides. some people are worried about burn-in, but i don't think i've heard about it actually happening.

honestly, i'd suggest going to www.avsforum.com and checking out display devices. for info on projectors, check out the Under $5000 Digital Projectors section. You may also want to check out Screens for more on buying or building a quality screen. Learn directly from others' experiences and save a few bucks in the process!