[Number Three™]

Does anyone have one of these, or anything similar?

I want something more lavish to use with my PS3. I have a pretty smallish HD telly and don't want to spend £600+ on another TV that won't be much bigger than 42".

Is the picture quality of HD projectors any better or worse than HD televisions? And does the quality vary depending on how far the projector is placed from the wall? Should I decide to buy one of these, it will be positioned about 2.5m away from the wall directly opposite my bed.

And does a projection screen need to be bought as well?

[Chris Frost]

If you know what you're doing with a projector (i.e. model choice, set-up, professional calibration (which is well worth the investment), connections, lighting control) then the results will be more impressive and far more immersive than any flat screen tv.

What's true for TVs is true for projectors. The 'Out of the box' settings are pretty awful. It'll take you a little while to find a better set-up but it's worth the effort.

Screens vs Wall.

The cheap pulldown screens from Ebay or that are sometimes offered as a freebie with some projector purchases aren't much good as a rule. It's better to spend the extra on something decent either new or s/h than waste some cash on a bit of rubbish.

Look for decent brands sold s/h - Draper, Da-lite, Stewart, VuTec, Screenline and the midrange-and-above Beamax's.

With the exception of Stewart, you can bone up on each manufacturer's range and see where the entry level products tail off and the step up range kicks in. This is where you should concentrate you efforts to find something s/h that's good.

If you are lucky enough to have a flat wall that you can dedicate to being a permanent screen area then you're choices get even better:

Frame screens or fixed screens hang on the wall like a big picture. You leave them in place permanently.

Frame screens make outstanding second-hand buys. Unlike electronics a screen doesn't go out of date. And from time to time something really special comes up for sale. Here's a Stewart with StudioTek 130 screen surface. [LINK] StudioTek 130 is the Rolls Royce of screen surfaces. The colour rendition and focus this surface achieves is in another league to anything else available. New, this would have been £2000 - £2500. S/h the guy was asking £250 which is a steal.

Other options on a flat wall are making your own screen or using screen paint.

Professional screen paint works well. I use it when architects want a screen effect on a blank wall. It takes a couple of days to build up the various layers, and there's quite a bit of prep to do; but the final results are pretty good. You can paint an 8ft screen for under £200.

DIY paint combinations of Dulux Ice Storm this that and the other performs as well as you can expect for a £30 solution. If you have the time and money to waste then give it a go.

DIY fixed screen can be surprisingly effective. The key is to buy a decent s/h screen in an unpopular format (4:3 or 1:1) and strip out the surface. Cut to size, mount on a flat board, trim with velvet covered architrave. The only things to watch are that the board doesn't warp and to watch that the screen doesn't get too heavy. 18mm MDF is nice and stable, but a 7ft diagonal sheet does weigh a bit.

Projector set up.

It may seem like madness to spend £250-£300 getting a £600 budget projector calibrated, but the results are often better than spending £1500 on the next model up.

One of my calibration customers is looking for a new projector. He has about £3500 - £4000 to spend and has been to a number of dems. Nothing he has seen has impressed him compared to his old Optoma H57 that I calibrated for him nearly three years ago. He's comparing a single chip 1280x720 DLP against the latest 3 chip 1080p DiLA's from JVC and Pioneer and to him they just don't look that good!

Calibration makes a huge difference.

Hope this helps

[Deacon1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Number Three™

Does anyone have one of these, or anything similar?

I want something more lavish to use with my PS3. I have a pretty smallish HD telly and don't want to spend £600+ on another TV that won't be much bigger than 42".

Is the picture quality of HD projectors any better or worse than HD televisions? And does the quality vary depending on how far the projector is placed from the wall? Should I decide to buy one of these, it will be positioned about 2.5m away from the wall directly opposite my bed.

And does a projection screen need to be bought as well?

I've had the HD65 for about a year now and I'm still very happy with it. For sheer size and impact I'd have to say it's so much better than my plasma (50"), picture quality is outstanding.

There's a good detailed thread on AVS with plenty of info from various owners, there are also some screenshots.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=947156

I was lucky to get it before the prices started to increase, but even at current prices it's still a bargain.

I opted for a Beamax screen, it can be wall or ceiling mounted and prices are very reasonable, quality is also very good.

Out the box settings are excellent, only a few tweaks are needed to get it spot on, there are a few review sites that give you a run down on various output settings to get you there.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/optoma/hd65/

I'd advise a demo purely because of the rainbow effect, a side affect of DLP. Some see it some don't, always best to find out before a purchase.

The HD65 is highly recommended - 9/10