Front TV projectors

acdds

Anyone own one of these? What are good brands and price ranges? I thought I would be happy with 7.1 and a nice DVD player but this hobby is quickly turning into an illness! Any general info on these would be greatly appreciated. I just want to get familiar with them for a "possible" future purchase. Thanks!

Ron-P

Upgraded several months ago from an ISF calibrated 46" Mits RPTV to a Panny 200u LCD front projector, shooting onto an 80" screen.

Nothing puts the theater into home theater like a huge picture. Big sound helps, but doesn't do it.

I bought the PJ from projectorpeople.com for $1,099 which included a free Da-Lite wall mount screen (which I am selling), no tax and free ground shipping. Sadly, the 200u is no more, the 300u for about 1,500 is rapidly vanishing and Panny is coming out with their 500u for about the same price as the 300u. I may upgrade next year depending on it's specs.

I plan on moving things around a bit and building a bigger screen. I believe I can fit in an 85" screen. Not much bigger, but every inch counts.


Peace Out~:D

goingganzo

if you want to spend 7-10k runco is good but i dont know how much bang for the buck you get. i want to go front projector by next christmas. i am gooing 120+ eather 120 or 133 i can fit bith but would have to re arange my audio a bit with a new audio cabanet.

scottvamp

acdds - What's up!!! Very little interest in FP on these forums. Me Ron and a couple others have setups here. I run the Sanyo PLV60-HT with a dyi 12 foot screen. FP are taking over the serious HomeTheater market. They can be had from 30k to 1k.
One of the newest projectors to cause a ripple in the market is the INFOCUS (which was the company that made my starter FP) has put one out that can be on your doorstep for 1000 bucks is the X1 and it has got rave reviews for its quality and being bought up like crazy. Once you go FP there is no going back. Here is some industy fyi and a couple links for ya. The one site is the company I bought mine from and the Cust. service is excellent - as easy as calling them up and getting all the info. you want. If you want some more information you can email me.

FYI
****************************************************
Contributed by Sweta Dash, iSuppli/Stanford Resources [Friday 2 May 2003]

The convergence of consumer electronics and computing devices is spurring major growth in the front-projector home theater market, with unit sales expected to grow sevenfold from 2002 to 2007, iSuppli/Stanford Resources predicts.

The worldwide front projector home theater market will grow to more than 1.1 million units in 2007, up from 157,000 units in 2002, according to iSuppli/Stanford Resources. Market revenue is expected to more than triple, rising to US$2.5 billion in 2007, up from US$779 million in 2002.

The worldwide front-projector home theater market experienced more than 100% unit growth in 2002 and is expected to enjoy 80% unit growth in 2003. Front-projector home theater revenue grew 73% from 2001 to 2002 and will deliver more than 59% revenue growth in 2003.

Such growth is excellent – especially in a very slow economy where the total front-projector market generated only 20% unit growth and less than 5% revenue growth in 2002.

Front projectors in the past have been used mainly for presentations, and have been popular in the educational, corporate and large-venue markets. However, consumers increasingly are turning to front-projectors for use in home theaters.

Consumer acceptance of front projectors fits into the general trend toward the convergence of consumer electronics and computing. Users want to access the Internet on their televisions and they want to see television programming on their computer monitors. Consumers are demanding this kind of functionality in every room, providing freedom from space, time and location constraints.

With their portability, digital interfaces, data and video display capability and connectivity to PCs, DVD players, digital camcorders and digital still cameras, front projectors fit into this converged environment perfectly.

Another factor helping to spur home theater front-projector sales is declining prices. iSuppli/Stanford Resources estimates the average price for low-end front-projection home theaters was US$3,000 in early 2003. That price will decline to less than US$1,500 by 2007.

Europe led the world in the acceptance of front-projector home theater, with a 43% share of unit sales in 2001, followed by Japan with 24% and North America with 21%. The Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world accounted for only 12%.

Most front-projector home theaters in 2002 used LCD technology, which had a 66% unit share. Texas Instruments’ (TI) Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology was second with a 30% share.

However, by the end of 2003, DLP technology is expected to seriously contest LCD’s leadership and take a 44% unit share of the worldwide market. DLP already is the leading front-projector technology in North America.

From their modest roots as a presentation tool for schools and corporations, front-projectors are rapidly growing to take center stage in the home theater market, iSuppli/Stanford Resources believes.

Sweta Dash is the director of LCD and projection research at iSuppli/Stanford Resources. More detail on this subject can be found in iSuppli/Stanford Resources’ new report, Home Theater Market Opportunity Study 2003. She can be reached at s.dash@stanfordresources.com.
****************************************************Projector People Infocus (X1)

Ron-P

Once you go FP there is no going back.

Here! Here! I'll toast a beer to that. Watched The Italian Job again last night, the huge picture is just jaw dropping.

I in-home demoed the X1 (DLP) for about a week or so. Nice machine, PQ is the same across the board as with my 200u (LCD) less the black levels, which I thought were a hair better with the Panny. The down side is with the inexpensive DLP's the color wheel is slow resulting in rainbows, lots of'em. I for one could not handle watching it for over 30 minutes without getting a headache.

Best thing to do is demo different models. Most, online shops will give you some in-home demo time w/o charging a restock fee. Also, you can build a screen if you have some very basic wood working skills for cheap.


Peace Out~:D

4_everyman

Originally posted by scottvamp
Once you go FP there is no going back.

You speak the truth, oh wise one.

I tried out a Dell 2100MP this week. Hooked it up to the component outputs of my Denon DVD-2900. I was shooting the image to a white textured wall. I tried out three DVDs in this sequence: Red Planet, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Attack of the Clones.

I'm telling you folks, after only a few minutes, i was slack-jawed. (I was going from an 11-year-old Sony 32-inch XBR51 TV.) The resolution was astounding.

I had been trying to convince my wife that we "needed" a larger TV. She's not crazy about large pieces of TV-like furniture. A projector makes me happy, solves the "problem", and, because of the price, she's happy, too. Plus, there isn't a TV i could afford with the screen size i'll enjoy with the projector (66"+).

The Dell 2100MP is a nice little unit, but "for keeps" i'm getting an InFocus X1. The only downside is that i'm buying the X1 from Dell and they don't anticipate being able to deliver it for 3+ weeks. Oh well, i can wait knowing that what's coming will be fabulous.

Rgds,
--Pete

goingganzo

i was looking at the dlp projectors look for 1 with hd-2 dlp if you wait a bit they will be comeing down in price when the hd-2+hits

scottvamp

Hey Pete - Glad to hear ya getting into FP. The X1 is a cool little projector for the dough. What are you going to use for a screen?
Heard Dell was giving a discount on the X1! They've been shipping them out like crazy.
Anyway congrats and welcome to FP club.;)

acdds

My friend just got an X1 but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. My question is how do you wire it if is bolted to the ceiling? You would need a 35' component video cable! I am giving serious consideration to buying one of these but I need to check it out first. I am going to take my Denon 2900 over to his house and see how it looks. Any hints on the wiring? Thanks

Ron-P

I am using an Acoustic Research 25' component cable I bought from Partsexpress.com for $90. It's as good as the 6' Monster component I paid the same price for.


Peace Out~:D

brettw22

I was gonna ask that too acdds.....Would you have to essentially arrange your room so that all of the components are near the projector to avoid the excessively long lengths between sources and the projector?

I like the idea of using the projector as a computer screen, but am curious about one possible difference between rear projos....With the RP's, you can split the screen and (for instance) have half of the screen be a TV program that you're watching, and the other half being the computer screen. Is that doable with FP's?

I'm in an apartment, and by most accounts, the system that I have is HUGE overkill already, but that's not gonna stop me at this point. A friend of mine has a FP, but at the time that I saw it I wasn't really considering an upgrade on my set so I didn't pay much attention. The only reason that I'm even toying with the idea is because my 40" Mitsubishi Tube doesn't have any component plugs, which is killing off the purpose of upgrading my DVD player. (One upgrade, leading to another, to another, etc just sucks ****)

SO.....being in an apartment.....I kinda wanna consider a FP, but would only hesitate because in my head, (as I think I've mentioned in the past) I perceive that FP's really only work well in a dedicated, windowless, totally darkened out room, which isn't doable at all in an apartment.....

(SORRY THIS IS SO LONG)

Ron, what'd you build your screen out of? I remember you talking about colored paint a while back, but what other materials did you use? The friend that I mentioned above used some metal studs framed out with sheets of black felt, and then covered with a white sheet. What rainbows are you talking about? On the screen itself or between the projector and the screen?

Pete, what'd you get the X1 for from Dell? Anything spectacular?

I think that Justin, if he was so inclined, should actually make a few seperate sub-categories under the Electronics subject to specify out TV's, Receivers, CD/DVD players, etc, just so that everything isn't so lost in the mix.......

scottvamp

My question is how do you wire it if is bolted to the ceiling?

Because 90% of FP HT owners have thier equipment in the middle or back of the theater. For most, all you need is a run of component cables and they are easy to find in long runs.

Ron-P

Ron, what'd you build your screen out of? I remember you talking about colored paint a while back, but what other materials did you use? The friend that I mentioned above used some metal studs framed out with sheets of black felt, and then covered with a white sheet. What rainbows are you talking about? On the screen itself or between the projector and the screen?

My screen is built from pine 1x4's and blackout fabric (heavy white material). It's painted with a custom gray color mixed a Lowe's. The light gray color helps increase black levels and screen door effect without affecting the other colors.

Rainbows are inherent problem with DLP projection. Rainbow artifacts are small colorful rainbows that follow fast moving or high contrast objects on screen, particularly if you blink or move your head. Some see them, some do not. The faster the spin of the color wheel, the less likely they are to appear. They appear as a red/green/blue flash, very, very fast. After about 30 minutes of viewing, I got minor headaches and eye-strain from the rainbow flashes.


Peace Out~:D

tryrrthg

Anyone that is interested in the Infocus X1 check out Best Buy this week. They're having 18 months no interest financing on all projectors. might be worth a try for that deal!

For Ron and Scott:

I've been reading about DIY screens and it seems all the bigger you can go with blackout cloth is like 54 inches high. where can you get fabric to make a bigger screen or is there other options other than fabric?

Scott I noticed you had a 12 foot screen, what is it made out of?

Thanks!

4_everyman

Originally posted by scottvamp
Hey Pete - Glad to hear ya getting into FP. The X1 is a cool little projector for the dough. What are you going to use for a screen?
Heard Dell was giving a discount on the X1! They've been shipping them out like crazy.
Anyway congrats and welcome to FP club.;)

For the short term i'm going to be shooting the picture on a white textured wall. Eventually i'll probably get a screen, but not until i've decided how and where the projector will sit. My Home Theater is in the basement. It's kind of an odd room. The ceiling is about 7 feet and there's furnace ducting attached to the ceiling which will prevent me from mounting the projector in a center-aligned fashion with the viewing wall. I know i can compensate for that with Keystone correction, but doesn't that compromise resolution?

Dell was running a promotion late last week and i was able to get the X1 for 5% off ($949). Unfortunately, they said they wouldn't be shipping it for ~ three weeks. <Heavy sigh>

Rgds,
--Pete

4_everyman

Originally posted by brettw22

Pete, what'd you get the X1 for from Dell? Anything spectacular?

Brettw22 - last Friday Dell was running a "5% off special", so i got it for $949.

Rgds,
-Pete

scottvamp

Scott I noticed you had a 12 foot screen, what is it made out of?

tryrrthg - I have the same diy project screen that Ron has. I got the material from this guy on Ebay. Just email him and he can cut you a peice of material how ever long you want it. I think it was around 100 bucks for the material. 25 for the wood and 50 for the paint because of the glaze. $175 is a real bargain for a screen this size. It is the only way to go when you want a screen 10' for better. I did alot of research on paint and put together a silver/grey mixture using a silver GLAZE. Here is the link and the guy was a great Ebayer and delievered within a week. He sells this material like crazy on Ebay. Anything else - I would be glad to help. Scott
Projector Screen Material

tryrrthg

Very Cool Scott, Thanks!

I won't be in the market for another year or so when I move into a house but I haven't been able to find anything like that. I never even thought to look on ebay.

Thanks again!

goingganzo

hey cant beat it if i get this i can mess it up like 10 times and still come out over a store bought. in march when i start to try and sell my mits i will be ordering this meteral.