Projector...

valkyrie00

I have been seriously considering getting a home theater projector. I like the idea of the huge screen but was wondering if it's truly worth it and if it would be a better idea to hold out for a 70" or 80" 4K TV when the prices begin to drop a little? Again, I love the idea of a big screen, but I saw the picture quality on the new 4K TV's and it was pretty awesome. My concern on the 4K is obviously lack of content available. I'm sure if the technology catches on, and I think it will, there will be a flood of 4K content available. I really believe 4K will do much better than the current iterations of 3D. Thoughts from anyone with a projector or 4K TV?

madmax

Depending upon your visual needs maybe you could pick up a used proj and be happy now and save the $$ for the 4K when its cheaper later? A few years ago I bought used for $400 from a fellow on the site and truthfully have been very happy. Don't even remember the brand but it comes up every time and has a great picture. I've not had the urge to upgrade it yet. I'm not a vidiophile though.

polkfarmboy

Hi, I was faced with the same dilemma but not with a tv vs a pj but rather a really good 2k or 4k pj. Now here is the thing, there is virtually no content and the way the market is the prices wont be falling this year. I instead have opted to wait till next year for when 4k under 4k arrives mainstream.

I sold my high end projectors before the market on them when through the floor with this years new arrivals and next years 4k's. I was happy to do this because of a wonderful lag free bright, sharp, punchy contrasted low price projector called the benq w1070/ 1080, the 1080 being a short through.

I have had many projectors and very fussy about motion blur, naitive contrast, brightness and lag times. The benq is just the best option to tide me through for 4k and its almost too bright for some situations. Its not a cheap projector thats good but rather a really good projector that happends to be cheap. When it was launched many folks went nuts over the performance for the money making it a big hit.

You could buy a benq for under $850 brand new and when that big tv comes around or 4k projector should you go that route, you will still be able to sell this on for around $200 less. Even all that time of ownership you probably wont even have to replace the super cheap bulb because they give you about 5000 + hours.

The 3D on its is ghost free unlike many others and its 144hz 3D like a comercial cinema so the image is a really solid 3d one at that. The contrast on it is a naitive 10000 and the on screen ansi (checkerboard style black and white test) is way up there and higher than most ultra high contrasts as thats what gives dlp its signature look.

The color wheel is very fast on this and I have seen the rainbow effect many times with a mitz 6800 and an optoma that I owned but the benq does not bother me one bit.

Well I have ranted on but this is a really fine pj, I do not even miss my dedicated jvc rs movie projector and am content to save the money for my audio purchases and wait it out with a smile of content.

Hope this helps

PSOVLSK

My opinion? Once you have a pj, you'll always want a pj. To me a TV doesn't compare no matter how great the picture is.

polkfarmboy

PSOVLSK wrote: »

My opinion? Once you have a pj, you'll always want a pj. To me a TV doesn't compare no matter how great the picture is.

I am the same, sometime my wife just wants to lay under the covers and watch a movie and I pretend its a great idea. I just cant loose myself and become immersed into that flick the same way I can in my dark room on a 156 inch screen.

I cannot imagine how cool 4k is going to look on a dlp with a drabee cranked a third of the way up.

billbillw

If you have total light control in the room, a projector is the way to go. You can pretty much go as large as the wall allows for very little incremental cost (over say a smaller screen). You can set up a very nice projector system (not reference level, but nice) with a 100-120" screen for under $2k. For that same price, you'd have a hard time getting anything (1080p or 4K) in an 80" size. The difference between 80" and 100" is huge, 120" even more! The size really does increase your immersion into the movie.

evhudsons

I'm looking to upgrade my sharp xv-z2000 dlp projector only because I read an article that projectors made more than 4 years ago should be upgraded due to many factors including contrast.
remembering pfb's thread on his 3d projector I came back and lo/behold I get more great info!

So you have had the expensive optima, the jvc, and still feel the benq is still better?

It's priced right. I like that it is brighter than my 1200 lumens, and has a much much better contrast. I looked at lcd but am still afraid of the screen door effect and lcd color deterioration. One confusing thing is that all the specs for the new lcd's state hundreds of thousands of contrast ratio to just thousands for dlp, but all new articles still state dlp has better native contrast.
I'm confused about that.

my screen is 150 inches diagonal or 11 feet wide.

I usually watch with almost no ambient light, but sometimes I like to have company over so there is some lamp level lights on in the room.

I'm happy to hear any further reviews!

Sherardp

My JVC will do 4K and it is awesome. I think you will love a projector once you get to experience it. I'd had one in my room for yrs and looking to install another once I move.