Question Home Projector + Screen for under $2,000 ?

[Muckster]

I'm just starting to understand the options and lingo around home projectors. I'm thinking about getting one that would meet the following criteria:

1) quiet or relatively quiet

2) wall/shelf mounted to focus screen about 15 feet away

3) able to connect to a laptop to stream movies, play games, etc. (I'm really not up to speed on connectivity options)

4) Something that has some hope of working in non-total dark rooms. Little daylight, lamp light, etc.

I'm looking for a few go-to recommendations I can start with just to see what's out there and what I can afford. I've only watched/read a few reviews so I'm not ready to dive deep just yet.

Thanks if you have any suggestions for what to look at.

 

[Eximo]

What size screen are wanting to achieve?

Any sufficiently large screen size is going to demand 4K for decent clarity, and that means a powerful system for gaming, though you could game at 1080p upscaled.

HDMI 2.1 120hz would be the standard to aim for today.

For reference, there are 77" OLED TVs under $2000 (not ideal for brighter rooms)

98" Samsung LCD at BestBuy for $3000.

 

[Muckster]

Thanks for he post Eximo, but I think I posted too early. Wow, there's a lot to consider and I'm down the rabbit hole. I have conflicting needs for it and I really don't understand the stats well enough to judge. For example, how bright can a room be and still have a decent picture? It might be so subjective that I'll just have to try it to know.

I think I'm settling on a 100" diagonal screen, but it has to be pull up. I think there are options for it to be greyish instead of white in some cases? Like I said, a lot to process. I think I'll be better off doing more homework before checking back, which might be a week or so. Still, I totally appreciate your response.

 

[Eximo]

Yeah, it is a bit overwhelming.

Depends a lot on the projector. Brightest ones are laser models, and they can work decently in non-blacked out conditions, normal room lighting. Most other projectors, you need a relatively dark room for a decent experience or you lose a lot of color contrast.

Seems the market for laser projectors has exploded since the last time I looked. Quite a few models, some even relatively cheap, but no idea how good they are.

Screen materials differ a lot as the price goes up. The more reflective ones help with brightness. There are also special paints you can use directly on a wall if you don't want the hassle of a pull down screen.

 

[Muckster]

Okay, I've educated myself more now and am looking for feedback.

My main restriction is the room itself which has a high ceiling and several windows, including two sky lights. My hope for ambient light viewing is to be able to watch late in the day, maybe 2 hours before dusk. Not much of an issue in the winter months where it gets dark near 5pm.

For a variety of reasons, I just don't see how I can get away from using a pull down screen. This basically means no ALR/CLR and the screen will not be very "flat". I've come to understand that Short and Ultra Short Throw projectors don't work well on pull down screens because they aren't flat enough. Also, because it's roll down, I wouldn't be able to use the ALR/CLR that seems to greatly benefit ST and UST. I also had to rule out the screens that roll UP from the floor.

Anyway, I think the way to go is to use a pull down 120" screen, probably white, unless I see a reason to go grey.

Right now I'm thinking... Elite Screens Manual Series, 120-INCH 16:9, Pull Down Manual Projector Screen, $300.

Of course, I want it all, but in this order.

1. At least a good or very good picture for viewing in a dark (after sundown) room with shades pulled. It will not be a pitch black room. In other words, whatever I compromise on, I still want to have a good picture at night as this will be 85% of the way I will use it for movies, tv, etc.

2. Ambient viewing. This one's hard to know without acutally seeing in person. Stats only say so much. Again, I'd like to be able to start watching an hour or two before dusk in the summer time. So maybe 2000 lumens at the least?

3. Gaming. I'd like to be able to game, not competive online FPS, but maybe more than casual. Not sure what input lag should be. Under 30 maybe?

4. Fan noise. I might just browse online using the projector without volume. I don't want to hear fan noise, so maybe 30db or less?

5. I'd like to do LED or laser. Traditional bulbs blow out faster and would probably be hotter and therefore noiser.

I mostly expect to just plug my laptop in and use the projector that way, so I'm not going out of my way to use android TV or other built in stuff.

Ideally, I'd like the projector to have decent audio. Nothing extraordinary, but like you might get from a quality flat screen TV. However, if the projector ends up being right in front of my sitting area, or above my head on a shelf, I may not be able to use the onboard audio so I might have use some kind of 3rd party sound bar. I'm not sure.

Wall to screen wall is 14.5', so if I'm sitting on the couch, maybe 13+' between my eyeballs and the screen. I could put the projector on some kind of table in front of me or I could mount it on a shelf on the wall opposite the screen. The high ceiling disqualifies a ceiling mount.

Budget just for the projector? Maybe around $1,500 but I could be talked into a little more to get the stats I want. I've searched a bit and seen projectors that fit my criteria. I can study stats and what's recommeded, but I just don't think I'll understand what matters until I see it. Likewise, I've read complaints about certain models or brands but I really don't know how seriously to take them. My plan is to buy 2 or 3 projectors and test them out before returning two. If it turns out, for example, that I just can't get a decent viewing with ambient lightly, I might just restart my hunt and aim for a projector that only needs to work in the dark. I have almost zero real life experience with projectors and will be buying online. US Market.

 

[Eximo]

Top of the list here is a little more expensive than your budget, but would be pretty decent for mixed use. You might want to explore some of their notable mentions at the bottom. Several are in your price range, but are typically lamp/LCD type.

https://www.rtings.com/projector/reviews/best/projector

 

[Muckster]

Okay, thanks for the link.

If anyone has any more info about certain brands reliability or can address the specific issues I raised, that would be great. Again, I don't want lamp. That said, I realized Tom's is more about PC hardware and Home Projectors may not quite be in the wheel house of this forum.

I will say in doing my research, AI has been more helpful that I expected, although it's never to be trusted 100%. You can just ask... give me full stats on this or that model. Compare models. Tell me what model goes with this screen, etc.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Sorry to jump in so late on this topic.

If you haven't been to Projector Central, that needs to be your next stop. They have reviews and a throw distance calculator so you can determine your image size vs throw distance for each projector.

I actually own an Elite Screens 135" pull down screen. Worked very well for me and my mostly darkened room. Yours should do well for you. Probably can't do too much about the sky lights, but you may want to consider black out blinds or curtains for your windows. They will definitely help with the ambient light situation. Mine worked very well for West-facing windows while watching daytime Sunday football.

As for projectors, I really don't have too much experience with them. I don't remember the model of my first one, but it was a BenQ something. The last one I owned was the Optoma HD20. It was 1080p and gave a great image at 130" diagonal (around 19' throw distance). Had it hooked up to my HTPC (w/Blu-Ray drive and Ceton InfiniTV4 Card installed). Had the audio go out to my Onkyo Home Theater System via optical out on the motherboard and video to the projector via HDMI out on my AMD HD4650 graphic card.

While I was sitting approximately 15' away from the screen, I didn't notice any "screen door" effect. That only came into play when I walked up close to the screen. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with playing games with it.

Head on over to Projector Central and take a look and which ones match your desires and which one are best reviewed. In my opinion, Epson and Optoma are two of the best brands and BenQ is more budget friendly.

-Wolf sends

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Are there no stores where they have CInema Room setups near you? We have some (Ireland Local Stores), so you can go in and see for yourself. They have everything set up, and you sit down and watch. They can switch between different audio devices and speaker setup, and inputs to show various aspects of the projectors or large TVs.

Maybe that's an option.