Projection TV

I am considering getting a tv projector. I thought it could project onto a white painted wall rather than a screen.

Will this be satisfactory? Your thoughts please.

mark

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mark
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That would be ok if the wall was pristine.

Have you looked at the price of the projector lamps and the life of them?

Reply to
EricP

EricP wrote in

I've a 2,000 ansi lumens xga projector - it works on a white wall in a room with pale cream blinds (i.e. nowhere near blackout curtains) and it's excellent in all but direct sunlight, which does shine through the blinds and weakens the image. Still, why would you want to watch TV when there's bright sunlight outside?

Bulbs last 2,000 hours and cost £65 - at our rate of viewing that's considerably less than £15 per year.

Having said that, I'd probably go for a 3000 ansi lumens next time - mind you, at the current rate of use, there'll be an entirely different technology by the time a replacement is called for.

Reply to
PeterMcC

My next-door neighbour does just that, and it's fine. Just matt white emulsion.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Interesting site here:

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guess a painted wall gives you a "diffusion screen". I once kitted out some conference rooms with screens - they were a hit with the (more discerning) users. The black border in particular makes the image seem more contrasty. I recall choosing from glass beaded and white lenticular and going with the latter.

Reply to
John

Its not bad - and probably as good as an ordinary white screen. You will lose some available black levels. The top end screens are actually dark(ish) grey to look at to the eye, and give fantastic saturation and black levels on a bright projector - but these are silly money usually!

Reply to
John Rumm

You'll get a wider viewing angle than with a reflective screen - but need more power for the same brightness square on.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Buy from John Lewis and you get a 5 year warranty. I have a DLP rear projector - and find it's plenty bright enough on the economy setting so expect more than the stated life.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

In message , mark writes

it depends on your circumstances

Q1 - how noisy is the projector Q2 - how much do replacement bulbs cost Q3 - do you really want it to so totally dominate your living room

I went through as phase of this

then I realised it was just easier to switch t'telly on

Reply to
geoff

I work in a school where we have 22 projectors. The rated life of a lamp is around 1500 hours but I have only had one last just over 1000 hours and most run for about 600 hours. They are ceiling mounted and not abused. The replacement cost is around £220 + vat,I make that over

40p per hour on average. The lamp sare designed to be run for at lest an hour at a time and do no like to be swithced off frequently. This experience has been gathered from some NEC VT45 projectors (now about 5 years old) and a number of different models of Sanyo projectors all used with Interactive Whiteboards. From my experience I would not consider a projector for general TV viewing

Malcolm

Reply to
Malcolm

In message , EricP writes

rubbish

I used to project onto a creamy coloured, uneven (patterned) surface

the brain filters it out and you don't notice

There, as they say, is the rub ...

Reply to
geoff

geoff wrote in

Ceiling mount at one end of the room and you'll never notice it - unlike the TV which in my experience, does dominate a living room.

Reply to
PeterMcC

If you only watch the odd movie on it and use a TV for day to day stuff, the bulb ought to last years.

Reply to
John Rumm

Try using the economy setting.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It'll suffice,I have an old Sony projector that I bought off ebay for £50 less bulb(Kaput!) I touched lucky on a brand new bulb again on ebay for £70. Its now working great and have watched DVD films whilst viewing the picture on the matt magnolia wall,I mainly got it for transfering pics to canvas ie I select the pic and then project it onto the canvas and draw the intended picture then paint it.

Reply to
George

I would. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Yup. Agree. Keep the TV for day to day stuff.

Do ye want to watch the heads of newscasters projected to twice the size of ye own. Freaks me out!!

:-)

Reply to
Adrian C

Adrian C wrote in

All the talk so far has been of TV but the projector really comes into its own for a game of Wii tennis 8' wide on the living room wall.

Reply to
PeterMcC

Despite some other's objections, front-projection is quite a nice way to watch films / sports at home. I agree with some comments that you don't want to be using it to watch "conventional" tv, but after watching a film or two, with a bottle of wine inside us, me and the wife tend to switch back to Sky-TV without bothering to turn the TV back on.

So... 40" LCD Hi-Def TV + Sky-HD for conventional viewing, Sky-HD/XBox-360 and Sanyo Z2 for films. Very nice, very handy, and not at all obtrusive (the TV is by far the most obtrusive item).

Check

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about now - that has a forum on screens, including painted walls / MDF etc. There are (from a poor memory) a few threads that document that you shouldn't use a brilliant white, rather, a matt, off-white (grey?) paint to allow greater contrast in the image. "Dulux Artic White", also rings a bell, but I'll leave you to research that one.

Personally, I use a 2m pull-down screen. It fits neatly on the ceiling in front of the curtain rail looking almost pelmet-like in appearance.

Don't forget the usual home-cinema requirements - speakers, etc, that you're gonna need - there's no point in big-screen entertainment with poxy sound. You want it big, and all around :) This was one thing that caught me out, having spent ~£900 on the projector, having to spend another ~£500 on the audio (well, I wanted component video switching through the AV-amp, which limited my choice a little to less-than-cheap units, at the time).

Lamp-life?, as others have said, yeah, usually 2000 hrs to 3000hrs (eco), I've had the PJ for ~4 years now, on first bulb, although thinking now that maybe when the bulb does go, time to replace the PJ. It's important to understand the the bulb is susceptible to damage when hot, and particularly when cooling, and know to ensure that the power is not disconnected whilst cooling (the internal fan tends to run a few minutes to prevent overheating). A good many people, myself included, use UPS devices to power the PJs, to provide enough time for the fans to cool down the device in the event of a power-cut. £50 for a UPS is a lot less than £250 for a replacement bulb.

One thing to consider is the PJ noise level, at 24dBA the Sanyo is a nice, quiet PJ, some are less so - it's worth working out where the PJ is to be placed relative to your listening position, and consider the noise level from that.

If you fancy "big-screen entertainment", and can justify a PJ as well as a conventional TV, go for it, it transforms movies.

... and games :)

Reply to
Mike Dodd

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

try concentrating on the message rather than the messenger ...

Reply to
geoff

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