Projectors for "presentations" vs HT? resolution? "refresh rate"? (1 Viewer)

[rexb]

I am a newbie. Purchased my first home theater system in the past 45 days, with a little bit of trial and error (for example, bought a Denon AV receiver, but decided to take it back and now have an Onkyo; likewise bought a moderate-to-low-end screen, and decided that it didn't look one iota different than my plain white wall - - perhaps because my HT speace was purpose designed to have very favorable light control, and a "just-right" ceiling mount location, relative to the throw and "fit" of the image on the wall left blank just for this use)...

We're very, very happy with our system - - we think that our Optoma HD70 is a goodly part of why we have avery good result - - even if I have since learned some ways and "wheres" that might have allowed us to have just as good or better for (slightly?) cheaper... (maybe HD DVD, for example and mail order with no sales tax and free shipping as well)...

...and certainly we got a lot of WOWs from the various family members who spent Thanksgiving day with us...

...not the least of which was one of our (adult) daughters who wants advice and help with trying to create her own starter HT system.

She started with the question/observation... "aren't there a lot of projectors in the sub $400 range now? and even cheaper on eBay?"

My initial reaction was pessimistic. "No", I told her... "a projector will likely cost you twice that".

But since, I have been combing through the bargain priced projectors. both new and used... and I do wonder - - what do you get from a projectors that costs less than $500 (new) or under $250 used?

In many cases, these projectors are depdicted as appropriate for use with "presentations". they come in 800 x 600 (SVGA?) or XGA (1024 x 768) - - and I think that I understand why/how a video picture in 720p cannot be possibly rendered in full fidelity on an 800 x 600 SVGA (DLP or LCD) chip. With XGA it seems a little less clear (does it do just as good as my Optoma HD70 when the input is a standard 480 lines video signal, carried over S-video?)

And I assume that this is not just a question of "resolution". Isn't the rate at which each pixel changes important? I have heard "8 milliseconds" is important (from an Office Depot sales staff who admitted that he wasn't sure he knew what that meant) - - this would be the same as 120 Hz ("refresh rate"), right? And color wheel speeds are rated as 3x or 5x or more (times the basic refresh rate?)

Or is the whole thing more subjective than I realize - - that in many settings, an XGA projector, intended "for use in doing presentations" can deliver a very good picture (i.e., clear, color-fringe-free, with good contrast and brightness) from an ordinary every-day $99 upconvert DVD player?

Pehaps there are "basic" or newbie" resources that I should have studies before asking all this - - but I have looked for such, and not found.

Thanks in advance for all replies,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

 

[GeorgeAB]

Business class projectors are not designed with the same objectives as home theater projectors. Beware of cheap models. Business types are engineered for static images rather than moving. Many are designed for road warriors who want light weight, small size, maximum light output for class room use, simplicity of setup, etc. Little care is exercised to make them run quietly. Light spill is common through openings in the case. Color fidelity and black levels are not such a priority. Connectivity may be limited. Optics will likely not be as high quality. You get what you pay for.

 

[Allan Jayne]

A presentation projector may be perfectly satisfying for a "starter" home theater setup.

You will, however, immediately run into the fact that the projector is 4:3. You would then have to either scrunch down the picture to utilize 576 of the 768 rows of pixels (letterboxing), rendering the picture undoubtedly standard definition, or you could add on a Panamorph or similar lens to stretch out the picture optically.

Even the 1024 pixel wide models also make 720p fall slightly shy of high definition but you might not find that objectionable.

If it's a DLP and has a 3x or 5x wheel, the rainbow effects will be no worse than "real" HT projectors with the same wheel speed.

Some of the older LCDs have ghosting where, if there is a bright object on a dark background, a slightly brighter stripe the width of the object goes through the object all the way from top to bottom and/or a slightly brighter stripe in line with the object goes all the way from left to right.

Video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Jacob C]

With some 720p projectors under $1000 now I don't see why one wouldn't go for one of those. They are built for home theatre applications. Look for some reviews.