Advice on a new HD projector for an apartment

kdbolt70

Hello everyone,

New member here, coming in search of some opinions. I currently have a Mitsubishi XD205 projector, so I'm not entirely new to the home theater experience. I'm moving to a new apartment and hoping to set up a new home theater in the coming months. My first and foremost question is what projectors should I be looking for. From the research I've done it sounds like 720P is nearly 1080P, so I would be fine with saving money in that arena. Will there be any losses by going with 720P? I havn't been able to check out an HD projector yet, I might try to see some this week.

So here's my situation. My new apt has an 18x17 living room, with one doorwall that I plan on getting blackout cloth curtains for, so the lighting should be pretty controlled (I'm living alone so I won't have to deal with a roomate whining that its so dark ). I plan on getting a PS3 for bluray and dvd's as well as some gaming, but a majority of my gaming will be done on my PC. It has plenty of power to push a high quality picture on the newer games. I can run DVI, HDMI, or Component connections from my PC. I don't plan on watching TV on it, in fact I don't plan on getting cable at all.

I'm not really sure what I'm looking to spend, I'm more of a bang-for-the-buck kind of guy than a strict budget. Maybe somewhere in the $1200-1500 range, if that would suffice. I already have some decent (albeit not great) surround sound speakers and a receiver, however the receiver is not high def compatible so I'd have to run the video connections separately. I'm really looking for what projector will give me the best picture at 90-95% darkness, at approx 17ft from the screen, and be good for gaming. I've seen a couple suggestions for the Panasonic PT-AX200U. Looks like its available around $1300 which I could do if it fits these needs. Thoughts?

The other thing I'm interested in is the projector goo. I built a 12' screen for my Mitsubishi out of 2"x2" wood and some white blackout cloth I got online. It has worked great for that projector, so I would do it again, but now I have the opportunity to paint my walls and thought goo might be easier. What are peoples opinions on that?

mshulman

On most 40" or so screens, I think its harder to tell a difference unless they are sitting side by side. With a 100" screen, its much easier.

I have the Sanyo PLV-Z3. Its a 720P projector. My friend just got the Sanyo PLV-Z2000. I can definetely tell the difference in resolution as well as brightness.

The Panasonic is definetely a good projector. But if you can afford more or can wait until you can, I think you'll find the 1080P is worth it. Especially if much of your viewing will be Blu-ray.

If you decide to stick with 720P, I'd also consider the PLV-Z5. Sanyo offers a 3 year warranty vs Panasonic's 1 year. Buy it with a CC that adds up to a year and you've got yourself a 4 year warranty

I'd also keep in mind that I think most 720P projectors are a year+ old at this point. Even if they are made new, the technology is older as most of them have been replaced by the 1080P projectors.

I simply project onto a yellow wall and it looks great. I finally tried a 4:3 screen on half of the image and corrected the colors a bit, but it really looks great and anyone that has seen it has had nothing bad to say about it and can't believe it looks the way it does.

The goo should be more than fine.

__________________
Toshiba HD-A2 and HD-A3
PS3
Sanyo PLV-Z3
Canon HF-10
Onkyo 805

"I eat green berets for breakfast and I'm very hungry!"

mshulman

The Z2000 can be had for a great price right now.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...PLVZ2000&Q=&O=

$2179 plus $600 in rebates drops it to $1579. Its definetely a steal at that price!

__________________
Toshiba HD-A2 and HD-A3
PS3
Sanyo PLV-Z3
Canon HF-10
Onkyo 805

"I eat green berets for breakfast and I'm very hungry!"

Type A

Since you will be able to darken the room, I would seriously reconsider your stand on 1080p. Remember, the difference between 720 and 1080 is more apparent the bigger you go, so it does make a difference in projection. Even if it means an older model and used, I would look at 1080 for those blu rays, and even gaming. Yeah, your budget will allow a good 720, but you would benefit from 1080 if you can swing it. Otherwise it sounds like you have a good feel for what you want.

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tcarcio

I agree 100% with the previous advice. I just wanted to give you a site that can give you some bundle options. You can get everything you need in a package deal so you can take a look at www.projectionguys.com

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kdbolt70

Thanks for the input guys. I'll certainly reconsider my thoughts on going with 720p. I will try to get out to an AV place locally to see the differences first hand. I'm not ready to buy just yet (almost $2k for my first rent + security deposit tomorrow!) but sometime in august might be more doable. Perhaps then the 1080p projectors will be down in price a bit and in my range. Thanks again for the input!

borromini

Finding an A/V shop that properly displays projectors will be difficult. You'll almost have to rely entirely on sites that have performed editorial reviews like Projector Central.

__________________
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

mshulman

B&H Photo is a great place to buy from. At least last time I did, they had a very good return policy, even on open projectors.

__________________
Toshiba HD-A2 and HD-A3
PS3
Sanyo PLV-Z3
Canon HF-10
Onkyo 805

"I eat green berets for breakfast and I'm very hungry!"

kdbolt70

Thanks for the opinions again, everyone. I just moved in last night and I'm very excited to get my setup going. The wall I have is huge to project on, and the current blinds actually do a very good job of blocking the light. At an approxamate 17' viewing (and projector) distance, what would be the largest widescreen screen size you would suggest?I basically have a 17' by 8' wall to work with for the screen.

I'm going to hold out till I can get the funds together for a 1080p projector. I'm also going to look into new receivers that control high-def output. Any suggestions on those?

borromini

The size of the image projected will vary from PJ to PJ...each having a throw and zoom range. On Projector Central, you can use their image calculator available on the spec sheet for every PJ.

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"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

mshulman

What do you have for a reciever now? Do you need a new one?

I had a decent Sony 5.1 reciever that I paid around $200 for when new (I think it was more but I bought an open box). Anyway, I replaced that with the onkyo 805. While I'm very happy with the onkyo and its other features, I really haven't noticed a difference with the audio. Maybe its better, but it wasn't as if it was night and day.

If you have something decent, I think you'd be better off spending the money on the projector, screen or blu-ray player.

__________________
Toshiba HD-A2 and HD-A3
PS3
Sanyo PLV-Z3
Canon HF-10
Onkyo 805

"I eat green berets for breakfast and I'm very hungry!"

kdbolt70

I have a decent Technics reciever. It is a good 5 years old or so, but is plenty loud. I'm not really worried about the volume, or any sound output for that matter, I'm more worried about video connections to my projector. If it were possible, I'd like to have the inputs from my PS2, PS3, Computer, and DVD player all run through the same cable(s) to the projector. Perhaps I'm looking for a receiver that does to much, but right now mine only outputs rca to the projector.

I guess you're right however, my sound system is pretty set, especially for being in an apartment where I can't crank it up. I'll look to put more into the projector. I set up my XD205U last night at the distance my new one will be at and I'm extremely excited. The paint on the wall actually does really well with the projector, so I'm satisfied for now. I have it running at about a 160" diagonal, but it is 4:3. When I get my 1080p projector I'll be more interested in a screen or goo to ensure maximum performance.