Help me with projector purchase!

[Lyris]

LOL - well you're probably in a slightly better position for giving advice in that case You'd probably run in horror at my setup - the projector isnt even parallel with the wall and is at an odd height so is balanced on bits of card/cd cases! The thrill of playing Bomberman 2 on the SNES on an 82" screen is too much for me to care at the moment, but one day when I've got a bit more space I'll make a proper setup.

My setup is unsightly, but geared towards performance when the lights are out. This is the most frustrating part of home theatre for me - the room. Unless you own your own home then you are limited in what you can do to correct issues. I'd love a dedicated room, because there's nothing quite like watching the screen and ONLY the screen. For now I've minimized all the light contamination that I can (half of the room is blacked out), but just seeing the rest of my room - even a little - during bright scenes takes you out of the film a little.

Some day...

[NeoStuey]

Well Colin did you go and get a demo and if so what models did you see?

[Colin]

Not yet mate, i'm kind of rethinking it after some of the stuff said here. You see, my living room is very light, and I have no intention of painting it dark. If you look at the pic below, the intention had been to put the motorised screen central of the chimney stack. I have high level sockets to the side round from the Seasick Steve picture as the TV was previously mounted here. (Yes, the picture is covering the mounting bracket!) That was going to leave the projector 3.4m across the living room on a shelving unit dead opposite the centre of the fireplace. Now i'm not so sure the lightness of the room is suitable for using one, and the impressions i'd get from the demo room wouldn't reflect what i'd get at home. So a bit unsure if I want to go for it right now.

[Lyris]

I"ll tell you what happened with me when I was first buying a projector.

I wandered around looking for demos. From trade shows I knew how good they could look in the correct surroundings. And I had a look at some DLP models in one store's demo room, which was white. I left disappointed and was thinking of abandoning the plan.

Then I saw another demo (of a JVC D-ILA projector) in a more specialist store (Stereo Stereo, Glasgow) and was delighted. So I bought a projector and set it up in this creamy-coloured room which is actually very similar to yours.

It took me a while to get a proper screen instead of a sheet (wish I was kidding) and I was never entirely thrilled with the experience. Contrast is the most important part of picture quality on any device, and the room was certainly taking its toll, lighting up the screen when only the projector should have been. Eventually I bought some black fabric and patched over the most offensive areas. This made a nice improvement to contrast, but the main improvement it made was to minimise distraction and let me focus more on the screen itself.

Eventually, I got rid of my first projector (mid-range, a Sony VPL-VW60) and went all the way with a JVC DLA-HD750. The difference this made to blacks and overall contrast was immense. I was surprised at how much of my annoyance was the projector itself and not just the room. The next weekend I blacked out half of the room; this brought a definitely visible improvement on "mixed scenes" (ones with a lot of white and black in the frame).

My advice: if you're prepared for a long-ish ride and can alter the room to accomodate video near-perfection, buy the projector and take it in steps. Enjoy the big screen images at first and upgrade the room as you want. I am very glad that I did this.

If you're not, then there are plenty of big-ish screen TVs which effortlessly pump out great contrast and don't ask anything more than that you turn out the lights

[Matt]

While I agree with Lyris in theory, remember the guy reviews all the latest kit and has a great eye for detail. Lyris, I imagine you're more critical than most of us!

Now, when I built my lounge, I planned it around the screen and contrast ratio. But my ceiling is only slightly off-white, and one of the walls next to the screen taupe suede (so a very light creamy brown). On that light wall is the LED TV which reflects the projector screen so much, that if I look a foot to the right of the screen, I can see exactly what's happening in the movie in it! Is it ideal? Of course not. But it's workable, I can live with it. Eventually I can get some black velvet and chuck it over it, but it's not spoiling my enjoyment of films (or games).

I used to be one of those guys who wanted "the best" all the time, and I'd of blacked out all the room, fretted over black levels, worried about perfect alignment, etc etc. But these days, I can simply sit back and enjoy the movie. That's what it's about. I'd argue that if you can't overlook room deficiencies and enjoy the movie, the movie isn't that good.

I have no issues with contrast ratios in my "not black" room. My friend who has the HD65 in his garage, has unpainted plasterboard everywhere. Sure, you can see the room when you're watching the film, but what are you looking at? The walls, or the screen? It should be the screen.

Completely black room with an image floating in a "sea of blackness" may be the "ideal" scenario, but for those of us without spare rooms at home (and probably a family) it's not viable. Do the best you can, knowing a projector is more than maximum contrast. It's the big cinematic experience at home. There's no substitute, no [realistically priced] TV can come close

Besides, as I've said before, how many cinemas have you been at that are perfect? I'm guessing none. They all have Exit lights glinting in the corner of your eye, and the black borders on their screens are always far darker than the blacks on the screen itself. Does that spoil your enjoyment? Hopefully not.

[Lyris]

While I agree with Lyris in theory, remember the guy reviews all the latest kit and has a great eye for detail. Lyris, I imagine you're more critical than most of us!

Very true - I always wonder what the case is with "normal" viewers though. It's my belief that people do notice the combined result of less-than-perfect conditions (to an extent) but perhaps can't explain exactly what they are. If that's the case, the flaws are still affecting their enjoyment, just more subconsciously.

No cinemas are perfect (as you said, Fire Exit lights in the UK) but none of them are white and reflective.

In any case, tell us what you decide to do and enjoy!

[Matt]

Very true - I always wonder what the case is with "normal" viewers though. It's my belief that people do notice the combined result of less-than-perfect conditions (to an extent) but perhaps can't explain exactly what they are. If that's the case, the flaws are still affecting their enjoyment, just more subconsciously.

I don't actually agree with that. Most people just don't care. I had a mate with a TV that done blue instead of black. He never even noticed, we actually had an argument about it until he plugged in another TV and then saw the difference! Most people still stick with the default preset (usually some over saturated awful "dynamic" mode) - they don't know any better, and don't care. And when I then offer to "fix it", some moan about the duller colours!

Another mate told me he didn't see any difference on his PS3 between DVDs and BRs. Turned out he was using composite.

Maybe I just know daft people

As I said, I used to be critical of flaws, but let a lot go these days.

Though for me, it depends where the flaws are. I try and stay away from DNR'd and sharpened BluRays as I don't like the image one bit.

[NeoStuey]

I'm not sure what to make of the normal people comment.

I would say that normal people would notice the shortcomings but would not let them take over control of their viewing experience.

Things that could have spoilt things for me;

My screen is home made, not perfect, but not bad at all, family and friends that have seen it all thought it was a bought item.

Projector position, followed a throw distance calculator, but still have some bowing in the the top third of the image. Projector and screen both perfectly level, and the projector lens is equidistant to the left and right side of the screen.

720p projector not 1080p, image still looks very good.

Not a totally blacked out room, can get very dark even in daylight using black out blinds on window and skylight. Ceiling off white like most others. Still I can lose myself to the film without noticing the surroundings. I'll only look around if the movie isn't engaging.

Still if I had the room and the money I would strive for perfection, but then I wouldn't I guess I wouldn't be normal as I wouldn't no when to stop.

[Lyris]

I'm not sure what to make of the normal people comment.

It was intended to be jokingly self-deprecating, BTW - not "holier than thou". I hate, hate, hate the "AV Elite" mindset. It's all about the films, not the black boxes that run them.