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- haiduz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+38"As a straight male, I do not want p-ness at any price."
- popothebright, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37Yeah, but as a projector owner I'll tell you about the hidden costs:
1) The lamp.
Lamp life on projectors is a huge wild card. The margin of error on their "stats" is enormous. But plan on spending an extra $400 annually if you plan on using your projector daily. If you're a heavy TV watcher, plan on replacing it more frequently. Bulb costs vary from $250 to $500 depending on your unit.
2) The LCD filters
Here's the real kicker. The blue filter on LCD's degrades with light (as in the bulb eventually destroys the LCD panels) -- which many will tell you is an inherent flaw in LCD projectors. Its really only a problem with the blue panel and it has something to do with the organic compounds in the blue coloring. My still relatively new (1 year old) Panasonic now has the dreaded "blue smear" which means that the LCD filter needs replacing. Do it yourself? Oh no, only an authorized dealer can help you. Cost? $1000.
3) Screens and wall treatments
Well if you're a night-time only watcher you can get away with a nice white, or pale grey wall. Otherwise, you'll want to shell out for a screen or at the very least some special paint ("ScreenGoo" is good). Either option will set you back at least a couple hundred bucks.
4) Sound
It's not like these things have speakers, so you'll of course want the home theater setup. I won't even get into prices here because obviously with stereo equipment the prices are all over the map.
Granted, numbers 3 and 4 aren't recurring costs, but 1 and 2 certainly are. So if you're thinking about buying an LCD projector remember the annual cost of ownership ain't cheap. Still... mine rules. Halo2 at 8 feet wide is sweeeet. : )
And then there's the dead pixel problem.... - Marfanity, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33"How Much 1080p-ness Can you Get for $3K?"
I'm not sure I want to know. - catalysis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9$3000 is dirt cheap for a 1080p projector.
- emorphien, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8and here I was hoping it was $500
- tinman79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I am also a projector owner.
1. My lamp with much daily watching lasted 1500 hrs, half expected life, but that was still more than a year. I suspected it was due to two power outages and instant shutdown with no fan cooldown-its now on a battery backup. I suggest a service plan of some sort. For $150 at the Best (Worst-for some) Buy, I got three years of lamp and other coverage. My new $300 bulb was free.
2. Get a DLP, better contrast and your problem won't occur.
3. Cheap blackout material and wood at the local fabric and hardware store can make you a good screen for well less than $100. Add a little gray paint from how to's on some of the do it yourself websites and you will get similar results at much less money. I see mine just fine in a room with a patio door. Yes it looks better at night, but it is watchable during the day too and I haven't even painted my screen gray yet
4. If you're watching a 100" screen and just want mono sound, get some help. You should at least invest in a mini surround sound system for a little more effect. - tinman79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6If your getting it for home theater applications, why not spend a couple hundred more and get the Optoma HD70 which is truly 720p? Less lumens but a better contrast ratio and again true 720p instead of native 4:3 XGA.
- popothebright, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actually that's a common mistake by home theater purchasers.
A projector that's visible in daylight may have a massive contrast ratio, but usually poor color representation. The color curves are
important for home theater, but not as much for PC users because high contrast between black and white is fine for text.
Ideally you want your blacks to be black (which can only happen in a dark room) and you want your colors to be lush and true,
which makes accurate color curves are more important than lumens. Lumens are nice, but most projectors with extremely
high lumens do it it the cost of color representation.
If you're buying for HT use, I'd suggest buying for the quality of the image and not the brightness.
You'll want minimal screen-door effect (visible pixels), tearing, rainbows (a problem with DLP's), etc. - karltheninja, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6My Sharp XR-10XL is the 4th projector I've owned. That said, the two biggest factors in looking at a projector are lumens and resolution. The Optoma HD70 has only 1000 lumens which isn't at all visible with ambient light bleeding in from the next room. I'll never get a projector with less than 1500 lumens...its just not bright enough.
I would like a native 720p projector but all the ones that were 720p and above 1500 lumens were around $1200-1500. My projector is hooked to my XBox360 which is set to output at 720p but the projectors internal scaler takes that down to fit a widescreen picture inside the native 1024x768 display. The result? Its better way better than TV (480i), better than DVD (480p), but not quite true HD.
So for $800, I get a very bright almost-HD image, a 3 year warranty, and an extra $400 in my pocket I can use to replace the bulb when the time comes. The XR-10XL is the best projector I've owned. - deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Once you go projector, you won't go back. The lamp replacement costs are a small price to pay for such a massive screen.
- konamicode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@popothebright
This is really good info, thanks!
Does anyone know of a price list/guide for setting up a projector based HD entertainment center? - Sp0rAdiC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Make your own and you can avoid 1 and 2 (The high price of them, at least)
- tinman79, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It can be done if you wait until the day after Thanksgiving. Usually around $400 for a projector, of course as I've said above, I would recommend the service plans that cover bulbs for multiple years.
- Mr2Bits85, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4We just installed an optoma HD-73 in my house and couldn't be happier. With a 16' throw distance the picture is huge and the image is still clear. Both LCD and DLP have issues it just depends on each persons situation. One thing I'm certain of now though is that any projector is a way better deal than a traditional big screen if you have a proper place to install it.
- kjk437, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'll throw out the Mitsubishi HD1000U as well. Can be found for $900 or less, 1280x720, 2500:1 contrast, and, drumroll please, 1500 lumens.
- GreatDrok, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I am currently on my third projector (all DLP) and while I expect to go to 1080p with my next one, the best price/performance can be had with 720p IMHO. On my 70" screen viewed from about 8' I can only barely make out the pixels and only if I really really concentrate. A 1080p projector wouldn't make any noticible difference to the level of detail I currently enjoy so unless your screen is substantially bigger or you sit much closer, a 1080p display isn't going to be any improvement over a 720p one.
- superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2And the other thing to consider is how little space a projector takes up next to the Huge TV you need to be able to get anywhere near the screen size. In the place where the former resident of my house had a giant TV, I now have five cubic feet of storage and a hand-built screen hanging in front of it all.
- Blandyman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Dear God, you've already said that negative ***** TWICE.
Can't you just stop trolling? What is it with you people?! - Navicerts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I got a $800 projector from BenQ, DLP. I can't imagine spending 3k on one, im pretty happy with my 800 dollar one, i don't want to see the difference. As far as lamps go im very disappointed in the industry. My projector started giving a warning after 2000 hours saying i needed to replace the lamp, i didn't. At 3000 hours the projector would no longer turn on (but the lamp was fine). I read the manual and found a reset button on the projector, I am getting a warning for 2350 hours now, a total of 5,350 hours on my first lamp so far. Granted, if i replaced the lamp i would see a difference at this point, but i still play games and watch tv (at night) with no problems. I guess if i used it during the day things might be different.
In any case, don't bother replacing the lamp in a DLP if money is an issue. Also, I could probably sell my projector and lamp as is for 200 - 300 dollars on ebay and buy a whole new projector for 700 - 800. Basically the same cost as getting a lamp, but i get a new projector to boot. I would have to stop using to actually make that happen though :( - Ericular, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6I'll tell you how much:
"So how much 1080p-ness can you get for $3000? About 120 inches." - EduardoTOWB, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Rosebud Frozen Peas: full of country goodness and green peaness.
- popothebright, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3
@konamicode -
Check out AVSforum.com for all your projector questions. Also ProjectorCentral has good info for a store...
Personally I think 1080p isn't worth the money. I have a Panasonic AE 700U which is 720p and the image is wicked. - inukki, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1How many of you have claimed geeks with gf? if you are, you guys are geeks with superhuman powers with gfs.
if w/o gf, go open up urselves and give life a try will ya guys? and girls, be who you are and we will find you....
i am a sub-geek and i just want to see something that works, not become a perl progrmammer because i have tested linux stuff
go n00bs!!11!one!one *cough* 1!!!one!1one!1! *cough*exclamation mark!!1!
go projectors!! too - brusty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I got an Optoma H31 480p Projector for $700 on ebay (retails for $1,100). I absolutely love my projector, that is until the bulb went out last week. Bulbs normally cost between $200-$300 for lower end models.
- superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Rainbows are not really a problem for most content though, I have an X1 and hardly ever see them. It is something of a personal preference though I like the image quality from a DLP projector.
- abaddono1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1however, if you don't have enough yellow in the image, the rest of the colors wont display either.
- austenw, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3$3000 for 120 inches of 1080 P? Sign me up!
- afzilla, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2$3000 for 120 inches of 1080 p-ness, actually
- nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1$3k for a projector... screw it!
i can get a more then decent TV that will have the same size i would project it anyway!
3k for a projector would payoff only when a 40" tv was deeper then a couch. - BigSlacker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I've always wanted a projector but these always trip me up:
Very pricey
Relatively poor brightness and color intensity
Expensive lamp replacements
They produce a lot of heat and fan noise.
They're very nice for presentations but not so much for the home theater market. Rear projection units just outperform them easily. - VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3For 3 grand, this projector better be perfectly visible in broad daylight or something ridiculous like that.
- esquilax, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1@EduardoTOWB: awesome reference. :)
- karltheninja, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2The Sharp XR-10XL is only $800, and while not true high def it looks damn good for less than a 3rd of the cost of the Epson. And this Epson is only 1200 lumens which isn't bright enough. The Sharp XR-10XL is 2000 lumens.
- Eccles, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Get one of these and your friends will all have p-ness envy...
- Rodzirra, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"Much pea-ness going on, here": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCS_4bizDUw
I love the near spit-take that other lady does after the comment... - clintone, on 10/12/2007, -10/+7A 3 grand projector should not be on a "least-expensive" list. You geeks are too much.
- funkspiel, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1POS
- BLueSS, on 10/12/2007, -12/+4"About 120 inches."
RTFA!!! - lowmagnet, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0Biggie your 1080p-ness!
- clintone, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1Wow you guys are too much. Too much money and too much time on your hands. Geek on.
- tippmann1, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1apparently you can get 1080 of em' with $3000. Who knew?
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