Projector vs TV

[Tony H]

A am at the point of replacing our TV. The room we use to watch TV has lots of windows. Rather than look at a wall when we watch TV I arranged the room so the TV is in front of some windows so we can look outside when not watching (reading, etc). Obviously the TV blocks a bit of the windows. I started considering projection TV with a drop down screen so the window would not be blocked (when not watching)and we could darken the room(when watching). The screen would be about 12' from the projector. Anyone have experience or opinion on the quality? I have not done much research yet except some casual reading. I realize the projector must be bright enough for the environment.

[Mxfrank]

I have a projection TV, but it's a bit of an antique...a three-CRT Dwin. Older high end CRT's have a certain snob appeal, like analog audio. While the tech is different in many respects, the basic principles hold.

My old CRT can produce about 1000 lumens (brightness), I bet even the cheap digital projectors today can do 3000. The more lumens, the better the results with ambient light. At 1000 lumens, we can only use the projector in a darkened room. That's fine, because we were going for the movie theater experience. In your case, you need something with a high light output. Otherwise you would need blackout curtains to watch during daylight.

Your screen is 12' from the projector. The ratio of the distance from the projector to screen width is called the throw ratio. You need to make sure that your projector and screen are compatible for that distance. Some projectors have a fixed throw ratio and need to be a specific distance from the screen,but most can be either electronically or optically zoomed to give you more flexibility, at the expense of some sharpness. Use the calculators at projectorcentral.com to see if your chosen projector is compatible with your screen.

Another subtlety is the mounting position of the projector. It's unlikely that you can mount the projector so that it's centered on the screen. It will either be on the ceiling or on a table. because of this, the picture will be "keystoned"...wider on the top than the bottom if you use a ceiling mount, the reverse if it's table mounted. This can be compensated for with electronics, so you want to make sure your projector has keystone adjustment.

The contrast ratio is the luminance of the brightest color to the darkest, and basically you want it high so that blacks are black and not a shade of grey.

There are a few technologies used in digital projectors, including LCD, DLP, and D-ILA, in order of picture quality. You'll probably find that LCD is most cost effective. having three monochrome chips (R,G,B) will give better quality than a single color chip.

Two problems the salesman won't tell you about. The first is bulb life. The bulbs used in these projectors are fairly expensive and don't last as long as you'd like. Price replacement bulbs before you buy a projector. It's also a good idea to order a spare when you buy the projector, so that you aren't without a TV while waiting for a replacement. The other problem is noise. Projectors have fans to keep the bulbs from overheating the electronics. Fan noise can be a concern in where you place the projector. In the worst case, you may need to build a "hush box" to reduce the noise.

There is a consideration for your sound system. If the screen is very large, the placement of your center speaker becomes a problem. Placing it above or below the screen can be disconcerting for some listeners, especially if your sides are at ear level. There are acoustically transparent screens that allow you to place the center behind the screen. But the way they achieve acoustic transparency is with many tiny holes in the material. if the screen is in front of a window, that won't work.

[tbomachines]

Agree that biggest issue will be ambient light and lumen output from the projector. I have a projector setup in one room and it is tough to use until the sun really starts to fade in the opposite direction, even with heavy curtains. Mine is a BenQ, somewhere sround 4000 lumens, it sits about 12 feet away and has about a 120" projection onto a blank wall. I do like the setup for things like the super bowl, etc. but I have a 55" TV for gaming/computer monitor in my office that gets more use on a regular basis.

[okyoureabeast]

Projectors are best used in rooms meant to be dimly lit. It would drive me nuts being in a bright room trying to watch TV.

This might not be a problem if you watch TV only at night or plan on just watching movies.

[Tony H]

Thanks for all the input-It gives me some food for thought. I kind of learned about the bulb life and cost through some reading. I really like the concept although implementing it may be more difficult. Most media rooms are interior windowless rooms that cannot be used for sleeping rooms(due to lack of egress)but this is a corner room with lots of windows so kind of a unique situation. The screen would be sized to block out one wall of windows even if we did not want the image to be that big.

[Diseasel300]

Unless the room is quite dark, expect the coloration and saturation to be very muted with a projector. It isn't like a rear-projection TV that still will show a decent picture. The more ambient light, the worse the picture will be. If you want to hide the TV, consider one of the cabinets that lets the TV drop down inside it when not in use.

[Tony H]

I did consider that concept. Obviously he screen size would be limited by what would fit in the cabinet.

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

Unless the room is quite dark, expect the coloration and saturation to be very muted with a projector. It isn't like a rear-projection TV that still will show a decent picture. The more ambient light, the worse the picture will be. If you want to hide the TV, consider one of the cabinets that lets the TV drop down inside it when not in use.

[FCBayernFTW]

Are short throw projectors just as bad with ambient light?

[Diseasel300]

Originally Posted by FCBayernFTW

Are short throw projectors just as bad with ambient light?

Yes. Long throw vs short throw, if the lumens are the same, the light density for a given picture size is the same.

[tbomachines]

Originally Posted by FCBayernFTW

Are short throw projectors just as bad with ambient light?

Short throw just has a different angle so you can mount it closer and not worry about keystoning as much.

[Mxfrank]

Assuming all adjustments are made with optics rather than electronics, then projecting onto a smaller screen would give you better results in a lit room.

Throw ratio is constant for any fixed lens, so reducing screen size also reduces throw distance.OTH, if the projector has a zoom lens, then the throw distance can be constant while the throw ratio is varied by adjusting zoom. With either lens, lumens are constant, so concentrating the image on a smaller screen increases intensity. My Dwin projects onto a monster 120 inch screen, and can only be viewed in total darkness. If I reduced the screen to a still-generous 80 inches, it would probably be good in dim light. But then I would have to move the projector closer to the screen or switch lenses.

The measurement you're interested in is "lux", which is lumens per square meter. For any given projector, reducing screen size brightens the image, because lux increases. With a 5000 lumen projector and a 100 inch screen, I would expect that anything short of direct sunlight would still be acceptable for viewing. Of course, there's a tradeoff between ambient light and picture quality that's going to be personal. So you should try to find a setup you can see in person.

[Mxfrank]

Assuming all adjustments are made with optics rather than electronics, then projecting onto a smaller screen would give you better results in a lit room.

Throw ratio is constant for any fixed lens, so reducing screen size also reduces throw distance.OTH, if the projector has a zoom lens, then the throw distance can be constant while the throw ratio is varied by adjusting zoom. With either lens, lumens are constant, so concentrating the image on a smaller screen increases intensity. My Dwin projects onto a monster 120 inch screen, and can only be viewed in total darkness. If I reduced the screen to a still-generous 80 inches, it would probably be good in dim light. But then I would have to move the projector closer to the screen or switch lenses.

The measurement you're interested in is "lux", which is lumens per square meter. For any given projector, reducing screen size brightens the image, because lux increases. With a 5000 lumen projector and a 100 inch screen, I would expect that anything short of direct sunlight would still be acceptable for viewing. Of course, there's a tradeoff between ambient light and picture quality that's going to be personal. So you should try to find a setup you can see in person.

[Tony H]

Something like this is what I'm considering now:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorized-TV-Lift-Mount-Bracket-for-14-70-LCD-Flat-TV-W-Remote-Controller/392325114331?var=661322667583
I could find a piece of furniture or build a cabinet. It would need an interlock of some kind so the tv could not somehow turn on in the cabinet.

[Cobalt117]

Forget about cable TV and switch to streaming. This will be the perfect option for you. You will pay less for this and it is much easier to connect. I gave up cable TV a long time ago and I don't regret it. As soon as I found an alternative at yourmoneygeek immediately switched to streaming. Now I can watch whatever I want without any restrictions and pay three times less for it. In addition, there is no annoying advertising, which makes me very happy

[Tony H]

Thanks for the suggestion. We are in a small, somewhat isolated town with sketchy internet. I will probably just stick with Directv for now.