lufc001 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi All, Was at a friends place last night and he had a BenQ 7700 1080i Projector and was blown away by the size of the picture and the quality when compared to a Plasma or LCD. I am now looking into the idea now of purchasing a Projector instead of a Sony Bravia 46x3100. However, I realise that my lounge room is 4.0m x 4.0m and will be mostly in light all the time during the day. Can anyone suggest what to do in this situation. Do i put shades in front of all the windows and use a projector and screen or do I go with the Sony 46X3100?? I would love a projector but am just not sure if it will be possible given the size of the room and also the amount of daylight that it will be getting. Can anyone recommend a Projector (preferrably Full HD) and Screen, that would suit my conditions. Thanks in Advance, Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeychow Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hi Danny, Welcome to the world of projectors....once you love them...there is no going back...trust me on that one! I'll say what i know to help you out, but others around here are far more knowledgable. Now...looking at your situation....do you intend to watch a lot of stuff in the day? IMHO while its possible to get set-ups that work in the day - the real "wow" peformance comes when your able to use them in a darkened/dark room. There are tricks to better enjoy them in the light - such as using a dark grey screen (eg the Noir range - http://www.lpmorgan.com.au/noir/pages/home.html) - and very bright projectors. However - there's also some issues - I'm told that sometimes a projector that is very bright can have bad contrast levels etc. Also if you want the full HD panel, so far the HD projectors do not have the same brightness availble in other models. So my advice would be to ask yourself if your ok with mostly using it at night / and or/ being content to buy heavy drapes and shut the curtains. If your cool with this - go for it - if you want the sun streaming in while you watch - well - its probably going to be better to buy something else. I think 4m is enough space to be able to get something happening. Different projectors have different throw distances (ie distance they need to be from the screen to get the size pic you want). So you'll need to do some research to ensure the model you want works in the room. With my projector you could probably get around a 2m x 1m screen within that space. There are a few types of projecotr around Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) - These work like an old school TV - give the best colors and blacks but do require darkness and precision setups - so i'd not recomend it in your case. Digital Projectors: LCD, LCOS (and SXRD), DLP. DLP tends to be cheaper and have great contrasts and stuff but some people get headaches or see raindows when watching them - so i'd ensure you and your family go view some of these before you buy one to make sure your not effected. (Other people have zero issues). LCD doesnt render black as well as some things, and can have visible pixel strucrtre on the screen on the cheaper models (although this is fast becoming a thing of the past - many new models have zero visable screen door effect). People could write you novels on the pros/cons. I suggested going to www.projectorcentral.com and reading the reviews and specs of the models (they also have throw distance calculators) and seeing which models take your fancy/budget. But i think the first choice you have to make is if you are ok to have a dark room, as sunlight is just not a friend of good projection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliverg Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 If you get a chance, drop into a Sony Central close to you and check out the VPL-VW60. Its an excellent performer for the price. A good quality screen will really help out PQ wise... as well as lighting controlled conditions. What's your budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAVX Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Light control is the key. Also the colours of the room itself can have a significant bearing on the outcome... Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinhack Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yep, lighting control is very important, although at night you should be able to get a very nice image with most 1080p projectors. The Epson TW2000 is very bright, relatively cheap and good contrast, it's what I settled on. For "daytime" viewing, I can watch movies in a "medium" brightness mode with the equivalent of thin venetian blinds on my (small) windows. In a more normal room with little light control, even without direct light falling on the screen, you'd really be stuck with "Dynamic" mode (the brightest mode) which is not the best for movie watching, is ok for sport, TV etc. With something dimmer than the Epson (I.e. most 1080p projectors), this will obviously be even more of an issue. Also bear in mind that on such large screen non-HD sources look pretty crappy, so unless you're going to get Foxtel HD, or watch HD free to air TV, it'll look ordinary for anything less than DVD quality inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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