Projectors not suitable for TV viewing??

[Rexy]

I wanted a Loewe Anaconda for a long time (I'm a quality over screen-size person), but settled on a projector for two big reasons:

(1) Cost for size of screen. Nothing can beat a projector
(2) Ability to use a lounge PC. As it turns out, I have mainly set top components, and only use the lounge PC occasionally. I since put all my old components into the lounge (P4-1.8/1GB RAM/RAID HDD etc) and its a very capable PC. The main reason for that was that it was cheaper and more flexible than the $500 Divx players you see around. It can also watch streaming video, real, quicktime, which no set top box can do. The wife loved watching big brother streaming on the projector, and through broadband it was almost like watching regular TV. You can't do any of that with a set top box. The lounge PC is now never turned off, and with a Logitech DUO mouse/KB combo, its ready to surf the net from the coffee table, watch Divx's, watch streaming, check hotmail, broadcast guides etc. Considering I spent nothing (parts from an old PC) it was a good effort to setup networking in the lounge. I can even wake my other PC's via WOL and never leave the couch With VNC I can do anything on any PC in the house.

(As an aside, anyone who thinks HTPC's are the best, I'd urge you to think carefully if its your ONLY device. If you're the only one using it, and are happy to stuff around with it all the time, and have it difficult to use for your wife/kids etc, then go for it. The reality is HTPC's are for geeks who are happy to tweak all day and put up with limitations in ease-of-use and other issues. I do enough tweaking at work, I shouldn't have to use a mouse and keyboard or spend 2 weeks in girder setting up a remote just to watch TV at home. I realise I've just upset all the HTPC people, but "been there, done that" and it just aint easy to use, and I end up tech-supporting my own PC when someone from the family comes in and tells me the entire entertainment system is down because the computer crashed!)

I have always had BIG BIG reservations about projectors. Quite frankly, anything less than $8-10k+ is a BIG reduction in picture quality. With a good DVD source in a dark room at night, my projector looks pretty damned good, not as good as a plasma, but bigger and less expensive. BUT for average TV viewing, in the lounge, watching TV with house lights on, its a compromise.

I've bought about 20+ projectors for work, and I know their limitations well. But until large widescreen TV's don't compromise on quality (eg large screen LCD's) or have other issues (like
plasmas) then I'll settle with projectors.

I do want to make one statement...projector technology generally improves twice as fast as computers, on average. A $5k projector just 2 years ago would now be worth $1000 tops. A $5k spend 2 years ago would have maybe got you 1024x768 (but probably 800x600) with maybe 800 lumens. Now $5k would get you native HD widescreen, huge brightness, and almost anything you desire for your situation, and they are tweaked for HT use, instead of being glorified business data projectors with horrible colours. Hence why I settled on a $2k projector, knowing I'd get 1-2-3 years out of it before wanting to upgrade again, and I'd STILL be in front of those idiots spending $8k on a SD plasma. I consider them the form over function people. For the life of me I can't work out why a thin TV is somehow "sexy". Sheesh!

I was mainly very concerned with that statement on the Hitachi AU website stating "not for TV watching" as I have never seen or heard that before. When you don't have a CRT TV in the lounge, and your projector is your only source, you use the projector all the time. Think about how often the average family TV is on, and its no different once you go all-projector.

I dropped the projector AND the dead globe into the dealer today, he was very helpful and told me he would try his hardest to get the globe replaced under warranty, despite having done some 1200 hours. I told him the story, and he was receptive and understanding. He mentioned for a globe to blow at 1200 hours, assuming adequate cooling and everything else, it is a problem. It is not normal.

I am not confident I will get it for free, and am not looking forward to another $400 bill for a new globe, but the truth be known had I bought a plasma over 12 months ago, I would have spent $6-7000 for a STANDARD DEF piece of crap. A HDD plasma was so expensive it wasn't even thought of. I only spent $2k on the projector, so I'm still waaay in front.

I would love to hear if anyone else reading this has had any "interesting" replies from techs/dealers about their blown globes.

I will certainly try to remember to ask him about whisper mode, and if it has an impact on globe life.

Rexy.

[Cryogenic]

so you have your projector mounted on the ceiling somewhere? Have you had it professionally installed?

Sorry about the questions

[Rexy]

No I don't have it roof mounted. The mounting brackets are OBSCENELY expensive. I have a small table, and the size/shape of my lounge permits it to be in the middle of the room without too much interruption. Also the design of my lounge means you almost never walk in front or anywhere near the projector.

As an aside, if you install a projector, and you have lots of people underneath it, make sure you do it right. I've heard some horror stories of projectors dropping from the ceiling and people being sued. That was in a public area, admittedly, but still you want to be careful. There's a reason HT shops will charge you over a grand to install it properly in the roof with an approved mounting bracket.

[Cryogenic]

Originally posted by Rexy
There's a reason HT shops will charge you over a grand to install it properly in the roof with an approved mounting bracket.

I'll stick to the 68cm TV for now Prices of projectors are just coming down so nicely now that i could almost justify buying one. Might just wait that little bit longer though.

[kurwa]

sif roof mount it, just stick it on a few boxes like i did, nice and secure

[mavric41]

Well for $180 for a X1 roof mount, I'll be using boxes as well!!

[Xplode]

i got a show modle projector which was a panasonic and i got it from dick smiths. They said it only had 400 hundred hours on it and the globe was meant to last for 2000 hours. After about 40-50 movies (we didnt use it for TV) the globe blew. Panasonic have had it for like 3 or so months coz we were arguing to get it under warranty and get a new globe. They ended up only giving us the globe for $600, which ussualy costs $900!!!!!! (wat a rip off!!) They still have the projector and it is really getting annoying.

[Rexy]

Yeah, I was privvy to a discussion as to why these mounting brackets are so expensive. One of the main reasons is that they have been certified by an engineer, the reason being that if something happens, you can go sue the manufacturer.

If, as many people have done, you make your own bracket, and something terrible happens and it comes down and causes accident/injury, then you'll be sued instead. For home use, its probably not an issue other than your wife beating you to a pulp if it lands on her head

In a public space, however, in this litigation happy world, I wouldn't like your chances if someone was injured because you didn't have your bracket and installation certified by an engineer. At work I had some custom tables modified and mounted the projectors on wheeled-trolleys. I got the maintenance shop to build them up, and basically saved $1000 off our budget that it costs to mount each one "properly" in the roof. Its not perfect, but compared to spending $4k on a projector plus another $1k to have it mounted and powered in the roof, I'll live with the negatives! One side benefit of having them mounted on a custom trolley is of course that you can move them to other rooms as required. And anyone who thinks mounting them in the roof will stop them getting flogged, think again. I've heard of universities that have had 40+ projectors stolen in one weekend! They were mounted in a steel cage bolted to the roof, but that still didn't stop the thieves!

As to globe life, yes, the reason I spent extra money buying a new projector, and not an $800 ex-auction jobby is because (1) when a projector fails you are up for a RIDICULOUS amount of money and (2) warranty. My mate bought an ex-auction jobby for about $1300, and it was an XGA unit that was pretty nice. But within 3 months, the power supply failed, and he had to pay $1000 (yes you read that right) to have it repaired. He tried all sorts of tricks to get it repaired by TV repairers and electronics people but none of them could get the parts, and that

[swampy]

Hi i got an Hitachi 225wat projector
The globe has have done 2400hrs eco mode
and stiil going fine we use it every day for FTA TV,DVD and FOX