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Television Media

Professional Projector vs. Big Screen TV? 21

Posted by Cliff from the turn-your-wall-into-a-TV-screen dept.
jarb asks: "I've been wondering if I could pick up a business video projector for use as a home theater display. We use them in the office all the time and the picture quality is incredible. I've also been told that big screen TV's have short lifespans. Has anybody thought about this and what are the pros/cons?" Now this is a cool idea and one that I haven't thought of before. Of course, this could be due to the fact that I usually like to keep stuff on my walls...and that doesn't make them very good surfaces for projecting images.
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Professional Projector vs. Big Screen TV? More

Professional Projector vs. Big Screen TV?

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  • Last week my boss had a party type thing, and he has a projection TV. It's incredible. I think it's like 100" or so with the projector mounted on the ceiling of course.
    As far as the quality is concerned, it looks just as good, if not better, than the conventional TVs. The only con that I could think of was that it's harder to see what's showing if the room is well-lit. Just hafta dim the lights :-)
    Whichever you go with, you should still consider what he did with the sound: had surround sound speakers built into the walls, making for some very nice ear candy, without intruding the space in the room. Very nice setup.
  • -X-

    I've considered using a projector for a computer monitor, but I've been stymied by two problems: very few projectors can reach my favorite resolution (1024 by 768 pixels), and those that can are pretty expensive.

    But most lower resolutions should be fine for TV use -- here your main concern should be brightness. I wouldn't settle for less than 1000 to 1500 lumens -- you might get away with 500 to 1000 lumens, but only if you're willing to keep your media room darkened.

    As for the TV you're hooking this up to, these projectors are designed to be hooked up to computers, which I believe have incompatable output (I may be out of date on this). You might consider buying a computer with a TV card to hook your projector up to.


  • Make sure to get one that has good ratings for Lumens/Brightness and Contrast Ratio. The higher ratings will ensure that you don't have to shut too many curtains to be able to see the image.

    You'll pay for that, though. Both in the projector's cost (at least $2k) and the cost of replacement bulbs ($200-$400). Sure, you can buy lower-line projectors for under $1k, with their bulbs being standard halogen bulbs (like for transparency overhead projectors) that are only about $50. But the bulb-life is low enough that you'll probably spend as much in replacements over the long run. And then you really will have to darken the room to see anything.

    You can improve the situation by getting reflective white paint, like the kind used in fire-plugs. Paint your primary viewing surface with it. It'll work just like a projector screen and probably be cheaper and more convenient.

    Also, get one that can be used for both video and SVGA (at least 800x600 native). You'll be the hit of any LAN party!

  • You can buy projectors that just do video or ones that just do SVGA. But most these days will do both. The electronics to accept S-Video and/or video & audio line-in isn't that big an extra effort for the equipment. Spend more than about $3k on a "computer" projector and you'd have to try to get one that doesn't take at least some form of video input.

  • An LCD-projection monitor a la Sony KL-W9000 or LK-W7000. Takes much less space (depth-wise) than a TV with comparable screen size, accepts SVGA input, and is quite bright.
  • You better run the numbers before you buy. The bulbs can be incredibly expensive, and they typically do not last very long (200-500 hrs).
  • How much do bulbs COST?

    - A.P.

    --
    * CmdrTaco is an idiot.

  • HDTV (Score:1)

    by optize ( 248582 )
    As to your query about big screens going out fast, that is correct. They actually say on the big screen, that if you only use it for DVD usage, it will burn out. Your only suppose to use big screens for 10%/weekly DVD usage. On the other hand, we just bought a 55 WIDE Screen HDTV, and so far so good. DVD Images are incredible, i've never seen anything so nice in my life. On the other hand, DSS and regular cable aren't so purddy.

  • If price doesn't matter I will also go for a projector. I've seen a very nice installation with a project. The only drawback is when there's already some light. But you can always buy a more 'luminous' projector or have also a standard TV.

    The Projector Central [projectorcentral.com] site has much much information about ... projectors (!) and a quasi-exhaustive database, full of details.

  • You could buy a three tube CRT projector off of EBAY, and mount it to the ceiling (involves a bit of work to mount properly and safely - those things are HEAVY!). Such a projector can be had on EBAY for about $400.00-600.00 US (shipping though, can easily reach and exceed $200.00). If work needs to be done on it, a competent shop or technician can do it for you relatively cheaply. All in all, you can get such a setup, displaying 100" screen sizes and larger, for much less than an LCD projector (for which a good one starts at about $3000.00, and then the sky is the limit). Most of the 3 tube projectors allow seperate R, G, B inputs and sync inputs, so setting up a PC is no problem (though the res might not be the best).

    I have to say, though - if you can get a good LCD projector, they are amazing to watch - I watched a video demo (actually help set it up - the screen, mainly - 12 feet tall!) during a pulse jet demo SRL recently put on here in Phoenix (for their forever upcoming show) - great res, nice and bright - huge picture (still, even with all that, it didn't do justice to a real SRL event)...

    Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
  • As for the projector:
    As you are talking about data projectors which essentially aren't meant for video images there are two different options as far as I'm aware

    DLP - a technology developed by TI(look it up if you have time - it's very cool stuff)

    LCD

    AFAIK the DLP projectors have better color depth and are generally speaking smaller and lighter then LCD modells.
    I've used quite a few LCD Projectors(the most expensive at about 7000 USD so I don't know about absolut top of the line modells) and I always was able to see some kind of rasterisation and I also wasn't quite sadisfied with the color depth(you see that kind of thing when watching soccer games)

    I recently have been able to try out two diffent DLP projectors, one from Compaq and the other from a small company that actualy manufactures them for compaq - still the base parts are always from TI - I can look up the exact specs of the ones I used if you mail me) and I liked them a lot.
    As far as I know DLP is also the technology used in the first digital cinema projectors

    Some other negative points about projectors:

    The do make noise(both LCD and DLP) may not matter but still this can be disturbing

    the Bulbs burn out pretty fast as someone already mentioned, and are ridiculously expensive

    If you are a heavy smoker after time your picture will become blurred(doesn't apply that much if you use the thing at a bar or something tis may matter

    If you really want the best picture quality and no nois at all get a 3 Color tube projector. Which in contrary are pretty bulky and expensive

  • Generally, bulbs seem to go for about $1 per hour of rated lifetime, with a slight break at the higher end of the scale. (This is probably a psychological hump in the market, kind of like how , back in the early/mid 90's, hard drive space stayed at $1/meg for a long time before it dropped quickly after finally breaking through)

    Cheap bulbs (like for transparency-style overhead projectors) that are used in the bottom-of-the-line video projectors go for about $50 and last about 50 hours.

    More expensive bulbs for 1000+ lumens projectors will cost $250 - $350 and last 250 - 500 hours of use.

    There are certainly more expensive bulbs for more expensive systems, and they probably have a better $/hour ratio, but they've been outside of the range I usually spec for, so I'm not as familiar with them.

  • i'll be the voice of reason here. my question is, do you *really need* to project your tv that large? really, what on earth could you possibly do with a 100" diagonal display? besides that, the cost is outrageous. 5K for a good projector and upwards of that 5K *per year* for bulbs!? sorry, but i don't have that kind of money to throw away. aside from that, you've got the lifetime issue. a good tv is going to outlast that projector without question. hell, a good tv should outlast whatever media you're using. VCR's last 5 years with average to heavy use, tops. sure, the good ones last longer. mine's been goin for 7 now. dvd players? face it, you're gonna want a new one in a year or two, just to keep up with the changes and advances. digital cable, satellite, etc. are constantly evolving.

    here's a little story. we have joe and bill, neighbors. they're both tech savvy and moderately well to do. jow and bill each decide that their little 27" tvs aren't big enough, so they go out to buy new ones. joe ends up buying a nice big HDTV ready 43" projection tv for about 2 grand. bill, who's makin a little bit more money, decides to splurge and buy a projector and ends up dropping about 5 grand. he makes more money than joe, so rightfully, he should have a bigger tv. what could be bigger than an entire wall in his basement? (weird al's 'frank's 2000" tv' is currently bouncing around in the back of my head) so joe and bill are happy when they get their new toys home. joe offered bill a few beers in exchange for some help lugging his beast of a tv in, and bill had joe come over and watch as he mounted his projector on the ceiling, a one man job. so here are joe and bill, complete with dvd, digital cable or satellite, and whatever else suits their fancy. we check back in on them a year or two later. technology hasn't changed that much. coax is all but extinct, everything is now s-video or component. because they both spent a large amount of cash on these toys, they're both ready for the revolution. the only difference we see is, a noticable drop in bill's bank account. in the past year he's had to replace the bulb in his projector 7 times, even though he really only uses his massive projector when he's showing movies at a party, or watching the superbowl and whatnot. joe's projection tv gets daily use. he watches it all the time, and he's never even had to adjust the tint. so in that two years, bill's spent over 4 grand on projector bulbs alone. we look in on joe and bill again some time down the road. a new revolution in display has come about, and liquid plasma screens are now at about the same price joe paid for his projection tv oh so many years ago, and they last nearly forever. bill, however, can't go out and pick one up, because all the money he could've been saving for that nice flat panel screen with all the bells and whistles has gone into replacing the bulbs in his projector.

    you get the point. i'm not advocating projection tvs. personally, i hate 'em. i like to be able to see my screen from anywhere in the room. that's one place a projector has projectino tv beat, but the price of buying it and maintaining it is far from justifiable in my mind. and trust me, the bulbs burn out, a lot. my advice, if you've got money to blow, sink it into a decently sized tv that'll be ready for component video when it comes mainstream, and spend whatever you have left burning holes in your pocket on a good sound system.

  • The only alternatives to a projector as I can see are:

    • normal TY (up to 24"): pro: price, con: size
    • big-screen tv (>24"): pro: doesn't need painted wall -> less space needed, con: has a built-in projector, so lighting problem applies here too
    • plasma screen: pro: flat-as-hell, con: price & lifetime

    so I'd go with a projector, >2000 lux, and 1024x768res, but those cost $$.. ;-(

  • How about wearable displays. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If it's for just one person, try wearable displays.

    You can ask them to make it look like whatever size you want :).
  • Actualy here's how the bulb's break (no pun intended) down.

    Halogen, $30-$50 per bulb.
    Halide, $200-$1000 per bulb.

    The cost of projecting per hour actually is about the same, the Halide bulbs last roughly 10 times longer. So don't let expensive bulbs freak you out. Reall it should come down to weather or not you whish to move your projector around alot (lets say from your place to a friends place to your parents to a lan party), breaking a $200 bulb would suck. Breaking a $30 isn't that bad.
  • i bought a coupla dozen epsons for the company i work for. damn good resolution (upto 1600 x 1200) and they took video, SVGA, XVGA and i could hook em up to my SGI Octanes and Origin machines at 1600x1200x32bpp without any problems. typically budget $5K for the projector and $5-10K per year for bulbs.
  • I'd go for the projector every time. Especially at TV resulution and it gives you the option of getting *really* immersed in your favourite first person shooter.

    You should go for the brightest projector you can find, > 2000 Lumens is good, just so you don't have to board up the windows to keep out the sunlight.

    I've used projectors to do video backdrops for live performance poetry gigs and it sure is impressive.

    Ian

  • If you buy a projektor be sure to take a good one. This is essential. If you don't want to spend at least 4k$ then let it be. The cheaper projectors (around 2k$) are shit. You will have to buy a new Bulb every 100 - 200 hours. The lumens and Brightness is bad and white is not realy white.

    --

  • Sounds great but make sure to bear in mind that some projectors cause problems with the Macrovision copy-protection on VHS and DVD.
  • I've been using an Electrohome ECP2000 at home for a couple years now. I love it. I hung it from the ceiling (yes, it was some work, this thing is huge), and it projects onto a 10' wall at one end of the room; the image fills the whole wall. Mostly I watch TV and movies on it, but it can also be used with computer video as long as the resolution isn't too great. The thing about 3-CRT projectors is the 3 CRTs have to be adjusted so that you get a "converged" picture, so the dots all line up; and over time, it drifts and has to be re-adjusted. With mine, I can't get it focused and converged sharply enough to read fine text on a high-res display. I have successfully gotten it to sync to a 1280x1024 video signal, but 640x480 is the highest practical resolution. But there are better CRT projectors than the ECP2000. If it ever dies, I will probably try to get an LCD or DLP projector; but mine was a very good start, since I got it used for a fraction of the cost, and it beats the hell out of any TV I've ever seen. I also got a DVD player with RGB outputs, so that I can see movies at their best resolution. And I have also used a TV card in one of the computers, with xawtv, and a wireless keyboard, so I can do other things during commercial breaks. I think the picture looks better that way too, rather than using a non-line-doubled NTSC decoder.

    But it's not as bright as a TV; I need to darken the room or watch it at night (fine with me, daytime TV sucks and I'm usually at work until after dark).

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