OT: Short Throw Projectors

[paczki]

(Serotta Pete, please leave this up for a little bit. This is a knowledgeable audience for these kinds of questions.)

I'm thinking of getting rid of cable and buying a short throw projector to make movie watching more fun instead. Are there any relatively inexpensive ones out there which will do the job well in a small room? The walls are cream, not white, so I may have to get a screen as well -- I know nothing about this.
Any thoughts? Will I need a special kind of DVD player? Or a computer to control things?

Thanks! :beer:

[false_Aest]

Whatev' you buy, make sure to get the best screen you can afford--even if you buy less projector. Crappy screens will ruin the best picture.

[migman]

AV Science Forum http://www.avsforum.com/ has the knowledge you seek. It is THE place for all things home theater.

[dookie]

avs is a great resource indeed.

my $0.02:

remember, the projector is a display only. no tuner & no sound. you haven't said anything else about your equipment, so i can only guess. also, it is far more sensitive to ambient light...if you can't always do a dim/dark environment, you will probably be disappointed with the washed out picture. furthermore, the bulbs are consumable items. expect maybe 2000hrs from a bulb, with brightness dropping off as it ages. ~$300 for a new one.

ideally, you have an AV receiver (AVR) that can switch video and decode digital sound. your source (dvd/bluray/cable box) will connect to the AVR, which will handle the sound itself and send video to the projector. without an AVR you're in for a lot more inconvenience.

you'll want to use digital connections from source to AVR and AVR to display whenever possible (HDMI, DVI, SPDIF), or component analog video/analog stereo at worst (red/green/blue RCAs and red/white RCAs). Don't bother with S-Video or composite (single yellow RCA) for video. they're very low resolution, and when you blow them up they look terrible...think newspaper photograph under a magnifying glass.

i suggest a projector designed for home theater (as opposed to conference room presentations), with a minimum resolution of 720p (1280x720) and a 16:9 aspect ratio. 720 is a lot cheaper than 1080, and while there is a difference, it is not night and day.

you'll want a white screen. i disagree with the suggestion that you get a great screen with a mediocre projector. start small...paint a wall white (there is actually paint designed for this purpose), or stretch a white sheet tight. better yet, buy a 4x8 sheet of that plastic stuff you see on the walls of gas station restrooms (see home depot)...works great, really.

and lastly, a warning. don't open this can of worms. before you know it, you'll have 3000 watts of amplification, 7 channel surround sound, and a pair of 15" 1000w subs. ask me how i know...

[tuscanyswe]

Im running a sony wpl-15 something.

Its absolutely the best buy i ever did. Not saying its the best projector but having the ability to download movies and then play em via the comp connected to the projector is just amazing. It really is like going to the movies.

Im using a 200" screen at about 4.5 meters. Nothing to complain about at all. Any1 i bring over is pretty amazed about the quality. If i were to complain about anything i would say the colours are not as good on the projected image compared to the computer but i dont notice unless im trying to compare.

Dont think you will be dissapointed if you go this route.

Think i paid like 700 usd for the projector on ebay.

[paczki]

Thanks everyone, this is great.

[MarleyMon]

Get a real screen and get a QUIET projector made for home AV.
NEC, Sharp & Sony make nice models.

[mandasol]

Projection Calculator (http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm)

Use this to calculator to get the image size based on the throw distance for just about any projector made (even has the aspect ratios available for each model). I used this to find an epson projector to fit the exact screen size I wanted based on the only logical place I could hang a projector in my room. I ordered the screen and projector based on these calculations and the everything came out perfect, I couldn't have been happier.