Morning all. Projector failed a few months ago - one I bought in around 2007 at same time as house build but not used for first ten years until we got a dedicated cinema room a couple of years ago. I have really enjoyed having a big image, despite the projector i have no doubt being a bit out of date and nowhere near the current “best”.
For reference purposes I have full Naim n-system speakers (had an nVi but that died a couple of years ago so bought an Arcam amp (AV390 I think it is) and DVD player. Have a couple of B&W speakers in the ceiling for atmos purposes. There is a projector shelf at the opposite side of the room with a couple of HDMI cables to it from the screen side so no need to look at a short throw projector. The room is roughly 12-13 feet across, so a decent size
Am going to get a fixed screen on the wall at the same time as a new projector - don’t need to keep the bit of the wall free for other things and want to make best of the projector that I can. Getting at the same time means I can get the ideal size
My wife would prefer a TV but I went to Currys before lockdown and looked round the various enormous TVs and none of them made me think I wanted one rather than a projector - even the somewhat old one before it broke. I think having a projector just makes it a bit more of an occasion, somehow
But which projector? I think the absolute maximum I could spend on one is £2,500 (plus screen). I had originally been thinking of less (around £1,500) but after some trawling of reviews in various places (which stated this one approaches the level of projectors much more expensive) this one is a possibility and probably the ceiling for cost at £2,499 Optoma UHD65
I don’t really trust magazine reviews that much but What Hifi? do seem to rate the UHD65 highly at its price point
4k capability is good (and it seems a bit daft not to get a projector with this as I hope to be using for a good few years yet), not interested in 3D
Any tips as to how to choose a projector? I don’t know anybody locally with a projector or cinema room to get advice from so would appreciate any pointers anyone can provide
A big decision for sure on Projectors these days–one can spend more than a Whole Naim system at a pretty high level on just a projector. For me, its just a piece of gear to watch some movies, some tv and some dvd concerts. I found that there was very little 4K material at this point so I went with a pretty high quality HD, but not 4K unit that gives stunning pictures. 4K is better, but like audio, there is superb material at the lesser format—just like Redbook can be stunning and Hi Rez can disappoint in some cases particularly pop gendre. It might be a way to go. Depends upon if you have lots of 4K material available in you area. One has to be careful to decide whether you are an audiophile, or a videophile, and crossing the border is painful. Nothing wrong with being both of course–it just hits your wallet.
You’re quite right - I am quite good at getting carried away. The old projector was 1080i I think, and I never thought “ooh, that’s a bit rough isn’t it?” Need to see if it’s possible to have a dem of a 4K projector against a non 4K one after things open up
Seriously for a moment. I’m a complete neophyte when it comes to home cinema/media. I have been casually toying with the idea of making a small spare bedroom into a cinema/media space.
I want to only spend as little as possible for something acceptable, I dont want to divert funds away from my love of audio too much.
A projector is high on my consideration due to the small room. It isn’t 4K but at the moment that’s not a high priority due to limited availability.
I understand that the Epson EH-TW650 is supposed to be quite good for about £400?
It’s an iPad Pro. Had it for about three years now I think - great for watching Netflix in bed!
I have no experience of any projector other than the one I have. It was supposed to be quite decent when I got it in 2007 but prob beaten or matched by a good £400 Projector now. I never really felt that my old projector was terribly lacking (until it broke!) so I don’t foresee any problems if you want to keep the cost down. I don’t know what it is about a projector - I just prefer one to a big tv
For me I’m thinking it probably gives more of a cinematic visual experience, space saving and less fatiguing to watch. Plus I’m guessing maybe a bit more flexibility with what can be hooked up, tailored to ones priorities.
I’m wondering if I can get away with projecting directly to the wall to safe space
I bought a Mirroir UltraPro M631 at Christmas for $650. Not bad, and runs on a battery, for a while. Nice for less permanent installations. I run it from a camera tripod for movie nights.
So far I have only projected directly into a wall - helps that it was freshly plastered very recently, but never saw any great difficulty with not having a screen. In part that was because I knew I would have to replace the projector at some point and didn’t want to get a screen for the old one and then have something unsuitable for a new one
The the tv v projector, I think I am just not all that keen on a really saturated set of colours - maybe they were all turned up too high when I went into curry’s to have a look
Anyway, am currently pondering taking advantage of the Linn offer to get a free Karousel (not sure of the spelling) which would use up the projector money, so I might end up with a cheap projector myself… tempting to get a cheap one and then find a way of rigging it up in my loft where I plan to have my driving seat for large screen playstation driving games
