A few questions about front projectors

millerman 3732

I'm thinking of replacing 60'' lcd rptv with a front projector set up. its about 15' from the seating position to the wall so I think i could put at least a 80'' or 92'' screen on the front wall, but I have NO experiance with projectors and do not know the first thing about them so I am looking for a little help here.

1. How practical are they for just watching T.V. SD an HD?
2. Is turning one on a big deal? will I have to wait 15 min for the bulb to warm up or say if I mistakenly turned it off how long will I have to wait to turn it back on?
3. can I control one with my remote, off and on?
4. how long do they last?
5. are you happy with your projector or do you wish you had went another direction?
6. can they be veiwed in normal light or will I have to completely black out the room? this is my main concern.

Thanks for any info that you might give and if there might be something else I need to know or might have over looked please let me know.

Frank Z

I've been using a Sony VPL-HS20 for almost 2 years and am still on my first bulb...approx 3800 hours so far. The manufacturer says to replace it at 2800.

The front row is at 12' from the screen (106" diag.) and the picture is breathtaking.

I've programmed my MX-500 to control the projector.

Bulb warm up time is under 30 seconds and cool down takes about a minute.

Our HT is very dark but the picture can be viewed in dim light without too much loss of brightness.

Deb surprised me the other day when we were talking to someone about our HT and the big-**** screen. She originally thought I ws completely off my rocker when I wanted to install the FP. She didn't think watching the local news in SD on a huge screen was something that was going to work too well. Now she admits that it's a huge improvement over our "old" TV (Mits 55" W.S.)

Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

millerman 3732

thanks for the input Frank, Is your setup in a dedicated media room or a family/living room type enviroment

Frank Z

Had to dig a little, but this is what mine looks like.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16726&highlight=latest

millerman 3732

looks great Frank love the color you picked but wheres your sub?

Frank Z

Take a look behind the left main speaker in post #2. It's curently between the rack and the left main. It's a Sunfire TrueSub EQ, so it's hard to see.

millerman 3732

what kind of mounting options do you have with a projector does have to be dead center of the screen or can it be offset to the side? how far away does the projector need to be from the screen? what is the native resolution of your sony vlp-hs20 and how do you think it compares with other displays you have seen? sorry about all the questions but I new to all this.

jhermance

I have a toshiba TDP-S25 Projector and a Da-Lite 80x60 Matte white screen. I like to combo for the time being till i get a house and can have a home theater room.

millerman 3732

Thats great I'm glad that your enjoying you set up. How do have your projector mounted?

Frank Z

I bought the Sony mount and have it approx. 15' from the screen. I do have a keystone correction feature that allows for setting the projector off center. The resolution is 720p....HD programming is freakin' amazing.

I looked at a few locally but most of them were $10K or more at the time that I bought mine. Most of the ones I saw were DLP and had really nice picture quality, some looked like crap. I attribute that to lousy set up, not poor performance. I've been very happy with the Sony and it actually cost less than my Mits. did.

Here's a link that you find useful for determining the distance from the screen...
http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator.cfm

millerman 3732

thanks Frank your alot of help!

Frank Z

You're Welcome.

millerman 3732

How far off set does the the correction feature of your projector allow for? the spot that I had hoped to mount it is 13.5' from the wall and 6.5' offset from where the center of the screen would be is this to much? this location I know isn't the ideal spot but it would be the easiest on me no drilling or cutting.

Frank Z

When projecting a 480i/480p picture:

Using the keystone adjustment and side shot adjustments, the projector can be offset by 3.3' with a 100" screen with an aspect ratio of 16x9. There's a few charts in my manual that show a wide variety of offset distances vs. screen sizes. Another axample would be having the projector even with the horizontal centerline of a 100", 16x9 screen, the offset can be 15.4'

1080i/720p

The offset is less.

I would suggest auditioning a few projectors and pay particular attention to the manufacturers installation instructions. All of the data is there.

jhermance

Mine is sitting on a shelf may be ceiling mounting it soon. It is centered and 14' away from the screen.

wallstreet

millerman 3732 wrote:

I'm thinking of replacing 60'' lcd rptv with a front projector set up. its about 15' from the seating position to the wall so I think i could put at least a 80'' or 92'' screen on the front wall, but I have NO experiance with projectors and do not know the first thing about them so I am looking for a little help here.

1. How practical are they for just watching T.V. SD an HD?

SD, fogetaboutit. PQ is bad at 36", at 106" unwatchable.

2. Is turning one on a big deal? will I have to wait 15 min for the bulb to warm up or say if I mistakenly turned it off how long will I have to wait to turn it back on?

Not a big deal, two minutes tops. I have macros recorded on my remote, 1 for watching TV, one for DVD. Takes 30 seconds just for my AVR to turn on.

3. can I control one with my remote, off and on?

See previous answer

4. how long do they last?

Bulbs last a minimum of 2K hours.

5. are you happy with your projector or do you wish you had went another direction?

Happy's not the word, ecstatic would better describe it. I'm so out on movie theater's today. Watching HD football with your buddies on a 106" screen, priceless.

6. can they be veiwed in normal light or will I have to completely black out the room? this is my main concern.

And it should be. I've got a dedicated media room, so no problems for me. There are some new screens that work in daylight that provide a bright picture. The room doesn't have to be completely black, but the darker the better.

Thanks for any info that you might give and if there might be something else I need to know or might have over looked please let me know.

Prewire is the one biggie you haven't mentioned. May be a problem if no access to the walls.

Frank Z

wallstreet wrote:

SD, fogetaboutit. PQ is bad at 36", at 106" unwatchable..

Untrue.

wallstreet

Frank Z wrote:

Untrue.

Opinion. I watch SD material on my 36" Mits.

Frank Z

I watch SD material on my 106" all the time, not as good as a DVd or HD, but still watchable.

Dennis Gardner

SD watchability has more to do with good cable/dish/antenna feed than resolution issues. Faroudja or other top line doubling chips in some of the projectors can help with SD too.

adam2434

At my normal viewing distance of 13 ft with a 100" diag screen, SD looks pretty bad. If I move a few ft back, it is much more watchable. I don't know if this is a limitation of the projector or source (Time Warner digital cable with HD box). SD looks better on my parents' 60" SD rear projection TV. I don't use my projector for SD, other than when a Bengals game is not in HD.

HD picture quality is phenomenal - definitely better than what I've seen on the TVs in Best Buy or Circuit City (but the HD feed could be part of the problem there).

My projector is in my basement, where I can control 100% of ambient/daytime light. It can tolerate a low amount of ambient light, without washing out the picture too much. However, normal daytime light would be a problem and would limit use to nighttime.

Some projectors have a lens shift that gives you more vertical and horizontal mounting flexibility, without the need to use keystone. The lens shift specifications/calculations will tell you if it's adequate for your needs.

I was a total projector newbie before I bought mine in June '05. As mentioned above, projectorcentral.com is a great place to learn and research models.

del44

With the cost of bulb replacements, I don't watch anything but dvd's on my projector. I got a 50" Sony RP for TV viewing. As far as being 6' off center, don't know if many FP can handle that much of an offset. Your best bet may be to look into a FP with lens shift. My Sanyo has it, but I've never took it to the extreme left or right. Projector central is a great place to get info on projectors. And good deals too.