[sloaner]

Can you guys tell me what type of projector you use for watching movies/hallowindow displays, and what the quality on them is.

[GUS]

check projectors as a key word search..

Mine is an OPTOMA with 2500 contrast 2600 lumens so good for low & brightish light as the sun fades..

Model is EX530, bought on the basis of DLP, lumens, contrast ratio & replacement bulb costs way cheaper than alot of others (about 50% of the price or less) ..@£100 replacement bulb.
Factor those in & opt for a business / presentation machine
We were running a kids movie with a 110+ inch image on a whiteish wall ...really good despite size

you need to check whether machine allows the image to be reversed, turned upside down etc... as this may affect your final placement et al.
Go look at Hallowindow thread.

[GUS]

http://www.optomaeurope.com/dlp.aspx

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Found this article recently....

Epson Releases Low Budget HD Projector

[GUS]

Found this article recently....

Epson Releases Low Budget HD Projector

How much is the lamp!?

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Gus - haven't found the cost of the lamp yet, but this is Epson's claim:

"The innovative E-TORL lamp, exclusively from Epson, is a reliable performer that delivers more lumens per watt and lasts up to 5000 hours.** The special E-TORL design minimizes both light diffraction and light leakage, providing you the ultimate in lamp longevity — up to 65% more lamp life than competitive products. And, E-TORL replacement lamps cost up to $100 less than competing replacement lamps."

I'm not looking to spend over a grand on some super mega projector. But at the same time, I would like to get one that has some home theater potential into the future too. 1080p seems too high to aim right away, but a 720p HD projector for a "consumer level" price seems like a decent direction to go... for my intended use, at least.

[GUS]

As I keep re-iterating, don't buy until you know (& have found it acceptable) the price of a lamp, as this can mean that you pay as much for the unit as the lamp ..or not far off!
UP TO covers a plethora of get out's.

Namely that most lamps hold an Arguable 90 day through to 6 month warranty at best!
lamp life can HALVE due to high heat (so a high altitude fan can help by keeping heat output as minimal as possible, ..this is how I run my projector (& used to at shows) ..if you take the fact that light output is 10% (typical filament) to 90% heat, & dimming ..which is where the extended lamp life claims start! ..then the cooler it runs (ie heat dissipation) then the more IN theory you should get out of that expensive lamp.

A power cut whilst watching a movie can affect the life of your lamp (& ballast) greatly as the power go's off & so does the cooling fan, .. ..bang there could go a good percentage of the filaments working life (& alot of the speculated hours)
1080i / HD is now encroaching big time on projectors but personally I'd hold off going for those specs right now.
There is always a good second hand market for projectors, BUT RESEARCH your bulbs £ /$ price via google & bookmark them! ..then factor this in to the purchase.

For instance my neighbours VERY expensive sony unit costs £300 to replace a bulb which in the past has lasted only a few hundred hours at best! ..& arguing a warranty claim is often not worth the stress involved.

They've just bought a cheap replacement £300 unit, with incredibly poor specs & a bulb replacement cost of in excess of £300 ! ..so please catch my drift.
otherwise it's like buying a new car then finding out the wheels are not included & are only available from them, & that no other wheels on earth will fit! ..thus you are beholden to them & their prices.

Some Generic lamps are out there as lower (but still high) cost replacemetns, though I recommend you bother the distributor to ascertain whether the lamp is from a good manufacturer such as Osram, who will speak to yuo if the worst happens a few months or years down the line.

Also remembr marketing blurb bears little or no reality to the item but is hype for a product the marketing team have little or no experience of in the real world! ..which is why I used to write my own marketing blurb for our products, ..marketing wasted 3 weeks & was on 2x my salary as an outsider. in the end we went with my piece word for word released in his name! ( )
Then marketing man moves on to the next project!
Try & speak to a service department, they don't want extra work through people buying crud! (believe me) IF it's IN-house repair & will have been on the end of many calls about "repairs that just went wrong, ..again" ..so these peoples opinions are often gold dust.

[GUS]

Ok, that's an LCD screen, so read up on the difference between
LCD & DLP.

the variations between resolution matter as do many aspects of display ..
go to somewhere like AV forums to read up, as this will affect both your ultimate image display size , degradation & outside film horseplay! ..(eg chicken wire effect)

CLICKING THE FORUM LINK...
http://forums.highdefdigest.com/home-th ... ector.html
Though personally I'd recommedn you look at a general AV forum for wider coverage than merely HI-Def units.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

It's good advice Gus. I'm noticing the projector manufacturers don't seem to list lamp replacement costs along with their product descriptions. In fact, they barely make it evident for a newcomer to the market that such an expense is even a concern.

They don't exactly make it easy to find info on replacement lamp costs, but it's good to know because if you're shelling out several hundred bucks for a lamp replacement or two... the next thing you know your new projector basically just doubled in cost.

[GUS]

Yes, exactly & I think I had to write that many times in order for you to notice it ONCE!
..go back to my previous post (i've amended it)

Ryan, I used to be in design from the service department point of view as well as in new ideas & designs, so my hold on product was long term knowledge, this stands true in production based companies as those guys deal with items for possibly 20 years after "it" came out (as that model) ..versus an over-paid designer who only deals with the next thing out of planning, NOT the corrections & modifications that service guys design & impliment through sheer frustration.
This is why I used to kick doors down & drag designers onto the factory floors!

Please look at my why DLP link.
Also you will want to watch a few films in a constant queue based on a multiple factor, so I'd go for DLP for better life span, (ie not having to close it down as you approach 5 hrs use in an afternoon)

[GUS]

Lastly, when contacting a manufacturers HQ to glean info as to a prospective purchase..

Get the company HQ switchboard no..

Ask if it's service department is in house.

If In-house & not an outside contracted company, ..

Speak to service dept as to models, (have pen & paper handy, also take their name)
Do speak to an actual engineer NOT someone with access to a computer full of product specs, OR speak to the service director (they often DON'T KNOW ANYTHING)

Ask said engineer person, what they'd have, STRESS you are looking for the best deal in terms of quality, vesrus cost & serviceability & best track record for repair! & replacement lamp & ballast.
Stress that you have not bought anything yet! & are therefore coming with an open mind as to newest not necessarily being greatest!

If I'd have sat down EVER in my post I would not have been able to get up again due to the phone ringing & dealing with this type of call either from the public or sorting out screw up advice from the sales departments.
Eight years without using a desk & chair on this basis!

[sloaner]

Wow thats quite a bit of info Gus, thanks for the help , But as a side question are those office projectors that run like $700 ok to use with movies/ games?

[GUS]

Go look at the optoma I've bought ..yes! perfectly fine for movies & games via my xbox360.
My projector retails currently here (cheapest price mind you) for £406 pounds inc taxes.

Whilst there are crazy claims for contrast these days &bearing in mind contrast ratio was around 400:1 8 years ago for £1500, now anything over 2000:1 & higher will give you an enjoyable perfectly watcheable image as a cheap starting point for home cinema.

A business projector is generally brighter (more lumens) as it deals with portable presentations in a variety of lighting scenarios, so 2500 lumens is fine for partially shaded rooms ..in economic mode, let alone full power.
(darker a room the better obviously)

The office projecter ultimately relies on you placing the projector further away from the wall to upsize the image.
(mine has a flexible focus lens & another "doodah" for that which help but the principal remains the same.
remember the larger the image you wish to project, the more degradation of an image you will have based on contrast ratio & lumens light output stretching the picture.

whilst there are contrasts up to 20,000:1 ..(EXPENSIVE) unless you are going completely overboard you don't need it.
BUT like I KEEP banging on look at the difference between LLCD & DLP ..
look at units cinema & presentation units side by side & you'll see & learn.
recommend you place 2500:1 contrast ratio & 2500 lumens output as your marker point & dont dip much below that with 2000 being your lowest point! ..tat way you can take advantage of lower prices & older more affordable stock..as long as bulb prices tally!

Mine was new & cost me £170 including a projector screen via ebay.
Be awarewhen ebay-ing, some may claim a projector is new but generally there are lamp hour counter re-set buttons via the remote, so unless you are familiar with a hard to reach bulb some people may simply re-set & claim it's not been used or re-set & sell it at a few hours old.
(i've verified mine, it's fine, but I still took the bulb out to check once home) ..basically the guy lived in a wattle & daub / horsehair plastered house, so ceiling fixings were a no no as was shelf mounting in their small uk house!
Home cinema is probably a bigger key word for projectors than presentation when perusing listings.
I simply looked out for DLP on the basis of preference over LCD based on pic qual & useability.

http://www.optomaeurope.com/dlp.aspx

http://www.dlp.com/projectors/why.aspx? ... eTI&247SEM

http://www.projectorreviews.com/advice/ ... /index.php

http://www.projectorpoint.co.uk/ProjectorLCDvsDLP.htm

http://twentysix.net/HLM507W/artifacts/

http://www.avforums.com/forums/projectors/

((LAST LINK IS A GREAT MINE OF FORUM INFO))


if you have a big Hi-fi & av store nearby use their demo room to see the difference on similarly specced units of dlp / lcd.
whhilst I am prone to rainbow effect it does not annoy me & I hardly see it unless it's a really complex image.
nothing to get worked up for at the price I got my unit.

[GUS]

perhaps the other projector owners would care to chip in at this point ...(please)

Also depending upon your future use / set-up you may wish to get a quality powered amp pc speaker & sub to hook up (connections / inputs allowing) ..I use the JBL animal (storm trooper helmet white) speaker set up for a bit more oomph! without reducing it's portablility.

[GUS]

Because I'm so good to you!

In case you are interested Optoma (the projector people) are now selling on ebay ex demo(ie a few hours literally, fully warranteed projectors ...cheap)!

ebay ID: projectordirect from the manuf UK HQ checked & verified by their service guys!

(but do still check bulb prices)

Just in case it takes your fancy any time soon, ..also good for sports & kid movies in case you need any extra leverage.

I'd recommend you look at resolution from XGA variant not lower!
displayed in specs like this..
Native resolution XGA

THIS LINK IS WORTH WATCHING AS IT GIVES YOU AN IDEA AS TO SIGNALS ETC IN A BASIC FORM.