The Happy Squirrel

Have an employee of mine who is looking to buy a projector. Wants a good one. Told him i would do some foot work in looking. SUggestions??? What to look for what to avoid? Pros and cons??

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GuruX

One thing to make sure is that the projector is used in a room where you can easily control the lighting -- in other words, an upstairs living room with large windows might not be the best idea (obvious, but still worth mentioning).

LCD vs. DLP: DLP projectors tend to be brighter & more vibrant if I recall, but watch out for the "rainbow effect" (this is due to the rapidly-spinning color wheel in said projectors). Put on a movie such as Ice Age and look at the image head-on and through your peripheral vision to see if you notice this effect. If you do, look elsewhere (once you see it, it will be a constant distraction to your viewing experience).

Resolution: Projectors are one area where you'll notice the difference between 720p and 1080p pretty quick (due to screen sizes of 92" or higher in a lot of cases). If you can afford a 1080p unit and are pairing it with a good Blu-Ray player for HD content, then go for it! 720p is a good compromise though if budget is a concern.

Lens-Shift: If you can, try to find a projector that offers both Horizontal & Vertical lens shift. This will give you maximum flexibility when setting up the projector with your screen (I really wish I had this with my Optoma HD70).

Good brands: Epson, Optoma, & Sanyo seem to be fairly reputable brands -- though BenQ is becoming a good contender as well (they have one of the cheapest projectors with lens-shift right now).

I'd recommend checking out avsforums for more info/recommendations as well - they tend to be a good resource for stuff like this.

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DarkFury

How big a screen view is he trying to acheive?

If it is less than 60 inches, I'd advise him to just go get an LCD TV and hang it on the wall.

However if he insists on a projector, my biggest issue would be the lighting issues as well. Honestly, I just don't think I'd want to fool with a projector based TV at this point... it's potentially too expensive (depending on how good a screen you'd want) and it just isn't as good a "general purpose" television when compared to some of the other HD options.

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InfiniteNothing

A budget would help.

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I guess that would mean turning signatures back on. I haven't had them on for ~2 years.

johnnymk

If you want HD, make sure it has the proper inputs.

I have an Epson projector with 1080 possibilities, but it has standard defintion inputs, which makes it worthless for HDTV.

I believe that projectors with DVI or HDMI are somewhat expensive.

chrissy

Not only agreeing with above, but he needs to remember that they use bulbs. And they can cost $200-500 (depending on brand/model) when they go out/dim. If he is planning on using it for his everyday television viewing, those hrs can add up quickly.

The Happy Squirrel

he said he would like to be around $1500 give or take a few hundred would go up to $2000 if the quality really justifies it

InfiniteNothing

Yeah, with that budget definitely consider alternatives to front projection.

Two more questions. How big does he want to project? Is the room light controlled?

A quick ebay browse turned up this rather good deal or a Pearl. Definitely inexpensive for 1080p and definitely high quality.

The Happy Squirrel

anyone else have a suggestion of a particula model or brand to go with or to avoid???