Anyone use a projector rather than a TV

[Martin_172]

currently got a 47" 1080p LG LCD in my bedroom, its done me well over the past 5 or 6 years, but fancy a chance, and have been looking at LED TV's, 3d isnt something that really interests me at the current time.

however ive been looking at projectors and was wondering if anyone used one instead of a TV these days? ive never used one in a few years, and certainly never in the home.

i only use it for my Virgin media box and mainly connected to the PC, i ocasionally play my PS3 and X360 but rarely, however i understand all of these are compatible with one anyway?

just looking for some opinions before i look into it any further?

 

[Dan@M.A.D]

I did but you cant get great definition. L.E.D tvs are miles better.

 

[Gouldy]

The old style projector TVs are poor. Worse picture quality than the old style normal TVs.

LED is the best at the min IMO. I have a plasma in the living room which is the normal use day to day tv and I have a LED tv in the bed room for my Xbox. The picture is good on the plasma but it's awesome on the LED.

IIRC you can get LED TVs quite cheap these days, mine was £350 for a Samsung 32 inch LED.

 

[kiss-me-goodnight]

I think he means a projector and screen not a projector tv, I had one years ago and the picture quality was good then, there's probably hd ones now?

 

[Gouldy]

IIRC Sony do some very powerful and clear projectors. There was a thread on CS about it the other day.

 

[Coby.]

4k Projector

A work mate used ot use his projector for tv and it was a pretty good picture and his was a few years old, You can get Full HD Projectors nowadays.

 

[Steve]

The latest full hd projectors will blow you away, along with the prices

Anyone who is fooled into thinking led is better than plasma needs to get to specsavers damn quick

 

[Mike@MJCycles.com]

why is that?

 

[Martin_172]

after having a good look and some demos on TV's i rulled out plasma, and much prefered LED but maby thats just me?

yes guys to clear up confusion im taking projector and screen not an old skool projector tv lol!

i dont know much about them so not sure what to look out for but you get full HD ones these days and 3d ones! although as i said 3D isnt something im that fussed about, price isnt really an issue tbh i was prepaired to pay anything sub £2k for a TV so thats my budget really

 

[realnumber 1]

I used to have a projector and ran the 360 and films through it and it was great for that.
I never bothered with putting TV through it as it was too much hassle because they tend to be poor during the daytime/bright rooms.

 

[Danny133]

Got rid of my 46 LED for a plasma .. LED was s**t. Plasma is the nuts

 

[Steve]

Got rid of my 46 LED for a plasma .. LED was s**t. Plasma is the nuts

 

[Danny133]

man speaks sense!

My 46" was a Samsung LED .. it was literally shite. Poor picture, not crisp, colours were crap lalala .. anyway generally shite.

Picked up a 51" Samsung Plasma, no brand snobbery but you can't put it down to bad brand as there equal .. the plasma pisses on the LED

 

[mantis946]

If you can black your room out enough I can guarantee you will have no quarrels with the quality of a full HD projector, I paid about 1k for mine including a 87" screen and it's been treated to a bit of Forza 4 all weekend with Kinnect... Epic

 

[Tom]

Get one with cheap bulbs and make sure you buy some spares.

Personally i woudnt have one for regular use, would cost a fortune.

 

[mantis946]

Looking at about £160 a bulb for the Optoma projectors, not sure I would use it for watching TV but iv'e had day long gaming sessions and watched some long films on mine and 2 years later im still on my original bulb.

4000 Hours according to the data sheet in eco mode (Normal with boosted brightness turned off)

I worked out from my usage before I bought it I would be paying for a new bulb every 2-3 years (Basically car tax every 3 years - not so bad lol)

 

[Martin_172]

cool, think ill have to try and find someone who has one i can get a shot of to test it and see how i feel about it!

also, as above i think i need to test some plasmas for myself as nearly every review ive read said LED is the way to go these days over plasma, think ill pop in for some demos on wednesday when im off!

 

[Gouldy]

cool, think ill have to try and find someone who has one i can get a shot of to test it and see how i feel about it!

also, as above i think i need to test some plasmas for myself as nearly every review ive read said LED is the way to go these days over plasma, think ill pop in for some demos on wednesday when im off!

i have both LED and plasma, both are very good IMO. i prefere my LED but tbh there is hardly anything in it picture quality wise

 

[Munson]

man speaks sense!

My 46" was a Samsung LED .. it was literally s**te. Poor picture, not crisp, colours were crap lalala .. anyway generally s**te.

Picked up a 51" Samsung Plasma, no brand snobbery but you can't put it down to bad brand as there equal .. the plasma pisses on the LED

Same model year? Same price bracket?

 

[Danny133]

Same model year? Same price bracket?

Yes same series number and year.

Plasma was £100 cheaper than the LED. The LED was s**t. The plasma is not.

 

[realnumber 1]

Yes same series number and year.

Plasma was £100 cheaper than the LED. The LED was s**t. The plasma is not.

Lol, probably Just needed calibrating.

 

[Danny133]

Lol, probably Just needed calibrating.

not according to AV Forums lol

 

[realnumber 1]

Then in that case why did you buy a s**t tv in the first place?

 

[C.J]

I've got some money set aside for a projector once I've moved in.

51" Plasma for daily TV, projector for movies at night.

Would never use a projector 100% of the time due to light.

 

[Danny133]

Then in that case why did you buy a s**t tv in the first place?

I didnt know it would be s**t! for £1000 you expect quality

 

[Munson]

TBF most people spending any decent sum of money on something, normally do a bit of market research beforehand.

In any case. Your plasma is better than your old LCD therefore plasma is always better than LCD. Largely true, but not quite as clear cut as that these days. LCD/LED has come a very long way. Plasma carries its own set of special issues.

 

[Silent_Scone]

hah, thought I just read a handful of people rating plasma units.

The only thing plasma panels were ever good for were colour and contrast ratio. You'd have to be nuts to buy into one now.

Projectors are awesome for the big occasion / movie but not really an alternative to having a TV ( f**k having soaps use up my bulb hours), nor will the clarity ever be as good.

 

[realnumber 1]

hah, thought I just read a handful of people rating plasma units.

The only thing plasma panels were ever good for were colour and contrast ratio. You'd have to be nuts to buy into one now.

Projectors are awesome for the big occasion / movie but not really an alternative to having a TV ( f**k having soaps use up my bulb hours), nor will the clarity ever be as good.

How can you not rate Plasma?
They can easily be as good as LED and better. They have improved the technology in them just as much as LCD and you'd be a fool to just dismiss them. You get good and bad of both and they both have pro's and cons...

The bulbs on modern projectors last so long now that you hardly need to worry about the amount of hours they use. For example a projector that is on for 5h a day and has a 4000h bulb hours would give you 800 days of use which is plenty for most people.

 

[C.J]

The only thing plasma panels were ever good for were colour and contrast ratio. You'd have to be nuts to buy into one now..

I've got a new 51" plasma, and a 32" LCD. Both are brilliant, but my plasma is the better of the two.

Better colour, better viewing angle, deeper blacks. That's my experience.

I prefer the LCD for gaming though.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Maybe 2 or 3 years ago

Life expectancy of 2 years can fck right off..

+ power drain.. 400w plasma vs what, 40? extra cost of running a tv for better blacks? LCDs can match plasmas in most areas these days if you do some research. It's a dying form factor tbh

 

[Munson]

My LCD has better black levels than my previous Panasonic plasma.

 

[realnumber 1]

Maybe 2 or 3 years ago

Life expectancy of 2 years can fck right off..

+ power drain.. 400w plasma vs what, 40? extra cost of running a tv for better blacks? LCDs can match plasmas in most areas these days if you do some research. It's a dying form factor tbh

Wtf are you on about lol.

My plasma fluctuates from around 140-300w depending on whats on. Hardly bank busting!
As much as LCD can match plasma's, plasma's can better LCD these days.
And if you did some research you would realise that they are both dying technologies with a short to mid term expectancy before other technologies such as OLED and the Eink stuff being developed take off.

 

[realnumber 1]

My LCD has better black levels than my previous Panasonic plasma.

Maybe but it was older and I'm sure a new plasma of similar spec/price would be as good or better.

 

[Munson]

Buzzing is the biggest plasma annoyance for me.

 

[Munson]

Maybe but it was older and I'm sure a new plasma of similar spec/price would be as good or better.

Yeah for sure.

Kinda the whole point really. EachTV should be judged on its own merits, not on which is best out of LCD or plasma. That viewpoint is too simplistic. There will be LCDs that are way better than some plasmas, and vice versa.

 

[realnumber 1]

Buzzing is the biggest plasma annoyance for me.

That's another thing of the past in the main as long as you choose the right one in the first place (or don't get a faulty one). Mine does buzz but it's only just audible when it's on mute or if I stick my head around the back of it. My laptop makes more noise tbh.

 

[Munson]

Mine only buzzed on white screens and was not loud. IR always bugged me a bit. Trails I quickly got used to and my brain couldn't see them after a while.

 

[realnumber 1]

Kinda the whole point really. EachTV should be judged on its own merits, not on which is best out of LCD or plasma. That viewpoint is too simplistic. There will be LCDs that are way better than some plasmas, and vice versa.

Very true. The sad thing is most people make their judgements by what they see in Curry's etc with their bright shop floors and all the TV's setup as bright as possible to catch the eye....

 

[Munson]

And make no attempt to calibrate them in the home.

 

[Krispwee]

Odd, never heard any buzzing on our Pioneer plasma.

In terms of projectors the new ones are very good but you do have to have a fairly dark room to get the best out of them. My brother runs an 84" screen instead of a TV now. As winter draws in light isn't a problem at all and the picture quality is exceptional and it's awesome for games, films and sports. It's a big change though.