Which projector should I buy for my basement home theater?

Question

There are so many to choose from! Any advice?

Answer 1

It's a good time to be considering a projector. Prices are way down and performance up relative to even a couple of years ago.

It took me over a year to decide, but you can do it quicker now that things have stabilized more re. prices and technology. I bought a Canon SX60, and it was a good choice, but if I were buying today for the same price I would look very carefully at the JVC DLA-RS1 ... it's getting rave reviews (See 1st link as an example) and yet "only" costs $6000. But, that's me, based on my priorities.

You can get a HT projector for $1000 and up that will give you good results. The site at the second link maintains a list of popular HT projectors at various price points.

But my advice to you:
- First, define a budget.
- Second, read, read, read. See some links below.
- Third, think carefully about your specific needs, recognizing that many factors interrelate (for example, what kind of material do you watch? What aspect ratio is best for your needs? How big is the room? Where do you plan to mount the projector? Is the room light controlled? What size and type of screen (although this is interdependent on the projector)). Note that there is a temtation to assume larger is better. Not true .. see the last link to help define a screen size based on room size/viewing position, and THEN consider the projector to fit screen width, viewing distance, room lighting conditions, mounting preference, etc.
- Read some more, focussing on projectors that meet your priorities defined in step 3.
- Decide.

I hope this helps. Have fun!

Answer 2

By home theater, you probably can get the best advice by picking up a Home Theater magazine (low tech method to do research but I found the side-by-side pictures and surveys to be helpful) or research the internet.

Because I move every two years or so, I'm on my third home theater system and my family moved from gas plasma to projectors on our last two homes.

For the projector, high definition projectors work much better. I had a projector that displayed only 1080i before and now I have a 1080p being shot onto a 10 foot diagonal screen.

The sound system I use is still a 5.1 audio but if/when I move again, I plan to upgrade the amp and speakers to the newer standard.

Best Buy reps and some upper scale Circuit City reps can really help but do you home work as well. Get the dimensions/floorplan of your home theater, size screen projection you want and then go to Best Buy or your local Home Theater store.

It'll be relatively expensive but my family is happy watching movies and playing video games (Sony Playstation 3) in high definition on a big screen.

Answer 3

I'd say have a look at an InFocus’s Play Big IN76 which won the European Projector of the Year 2006-2007 awarded by the European Imaging & Sound Association (EISA). InFocus have actually won the award three years in a row. The projector is high definition (760p) and DLP. There is a less expensive IN72 if your budget is tight.

Reviews of both projectors can be found here: http://www.presentationtek.com/2006/09/11/european-projector-of-the-year-infocus-play-big-in76-review/

Whatever brand you get try and get lens shift for squaring up the image on the screen rather than digital keystoning which can introduce annoying artifacts.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

There are a pair sub 1k priced projectors that are incredibly good. do now no longer ignore you'll likely pick a good projector seen exhibit unit and should be figured into the fee decision. The seen exhibit unit has a huge result on the finest large of photo so do now no longer underestimate the fee of the seen exhibit unit. the purely sub 1k projector i'd advise is the Optoma hd20, its a real 1080p projector with useful undemanding output. you'll would favor to have finished administration of the lights interior the room decrease lower back to get the right photo. the first aspect you'll favor to go back to a decision on is the dimensions and element ratio of the seen exhibit unit. the dimensions will be determined with the help of using the sitting distances, and the element ratio will be determined with the help of using the textile you'd be showing. 2;35 to at least a million is the regularly going on element ratio video reveal instruments you'll see interior the hi-end living homestead theaters, yet you'd be able to favor to have a projector that would adjust for the diverse element ratio video reveal instruments. interior the sub 1k projectors you searching at utilizing 16:9 element ratio video reveal instruments. a good source is Projector valuable on determining on seen exhibit unit sizes and good comments on projectors. Kevin 40 years hi-end audio video professional

Answer 5

Hi. First of all do you have a price range. How big do you want the image. Are you going to project onto a screen.or a painted wall.How far back do you want to view. Do you want the projector near you or further away .Do you want the projector to sit on a table attach to a wall or ceiling.

Have a look at the following link to get an idea what is available.
Cheers.
http://www.projectisle.com.au/Product-Table.asp?show=1&CateID=74&ManuID=33

http://www.google.com/products?q=sharp+home+theater+projector+models&hl=en&rlz=1T4GFRC_enAU205AU205&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title

Answer 6

What's your budget?
There are pros and cons for different type of projectors.

The most difference is LCD vs. DLP based.
You should really do some searching on LCD vs. DLP on the web. There are tons of information that compare the two.
Try the wiki for it.

I've found that DLP is not that bad once you get used to using it. I've owned my DLP projector since it came out about 5 years ago. Since then lot of improvement has been made in both LCD and DLP based. However, I think DLP has slight advantage over LCD in terms of price and quality.

Find a projector that does 1080P it will most likely come with DVI or HDMI but both will do 1080P and there are adapters for converting DVI to HDMI fairly cheaply.

Answer 7

This is the one we have...And it rocks...Click right here: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/InFocus-ScreenPlay-Entertainment-Projector-SP-4805/sem/rpsm/oid/113968/catOid/-17062/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do