best home theater projector for a home bar room?

Question

The room is in the basement but, I may have the lights on sometimes..

Answer 1

It is difficult to recommend a specific model without more idea of price range, details of the location where it will be used, and viewing preferences, here are some specs. to look for.

The primary requirement is a brighter projector than one designed exclusively for home theatre use ... say 2000-2500 lumens.

Most do have it, but you should also ensure there is a low light setting for when you would use in the dark ... this extends lamp life.

Depending on the priority you place on home theatre use under controlled (i.e. none) light conditions "contrast ratio" may be more or less important. For use in a lighted room anything over 1000:1 would be fine, but if you wish to use as a home theatre projector look for at least 2000:1 (higher is better).

There are many other specs to consider. The most important is "resolution" -- the number of pixels that make up the image -- if you don't intend to watch HDTV you could get by with a 480 x 854 (vertical x horizontal resolution) projector, but otherwise you should look for at least a 720 x 1280 model. If money is not an object consider a true HD projector (1080 x 1920) ... although note that all I am aware of under $20K or so are lower brightness projectors than you need.

Another important consideration is "aspect ratio". These days most recommendations will be for a 16:9 (widescreen) projector; and this is valid if you intend to watch mainly HDTV (e.g. sports) and widescreen movies. However, if you intend to watch old movies (4:3 aspect ratio) consider that 4:3 as a subset of a 16:9 image (there will be black bars on each side) makes for a small picture. If you note that even on a 16:9 (1.78:1) screen wider aspect ratio movies (1.85:1 to 2.40:1) will have black bars on the top and bottom, black bars will be a fact of life. So consider that a 4:3 aspect ratio projector will provide a huge picture for 4:3 material and widescreen will show as a subset the full width of the 4:3 screen but with variable amounts of black bar above and below. (Put simply a 4:3 image on a 16:9 screen is small, while 16:9 (and wider) and 4:3 images on a 4:3 display are all large). Worth considering.

Other specs to consider:
- "fan noise" (anything under 32 db should be OK in a bar room, but for quiet viewing look for something under 28 db)
- "lens zoom ratio" (at least 1.3:1, but 1.5:1 or more provides greater flexibility)
- "weight" and "size" (something in the 8-12 lb level would be good, but unless space is a big issue this isn't a major consideration)
- If a DLP (digital light processor) based projector the "color wheel rotation speed" should be at least 4X, and preferably 5 or more). If an LCD this is not relevant.
- The availability of "lens shift" (ability to shift the picture vertically (or horizontally) relative to the position of the projector) is desirable to make mounting easier. ("Keystone" adjustment may be provided but should be avoided since it degrades the picture).
- cooling air filtration: THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IF THE PROJECTOR WILL BE USED IN A SMOKING ENVIRONMENT. All projectors use a fan to push air past the bulb to cool it. Most have a removable/replaceable air filter. A few have a sealed system. If everything else meets your needs, a sealed system is a desirable feature. Failing that look for an easily accessible filter (e.g. you don't have to remove the projector from a ceiling mount to get at it).

OK ... how about a few possibilities (not intended to imply there are not other good choices, particulalrly if you settle for less brightness):

$1000 range: Sharp XR-10

$2-3000: Panasonic PTAX100U (16:9)

$3-5000: Canon SX-60 (4:3)

I personally have the Canon SX-60 and while you can get a less expensive projector it would work well for your purpose.