4k Projectors Buyers and Owners Thread (1 Viewer)

[Edwin-S]

So has 120" become the standard for a home theatre screen size? I don't have a wall big enough. A 106" is the biggest I can go and that required me to replace my M5si speakers with smaller B&W C9s.

Optoma had a laser projector for around 3G Canadian. Unfortunately, it uses pixel shifting and only two panels so that pretty well wrote it off for me as far as a projector goes.

 

[RJ992]

Hi there. I am looking for my first PJ.

I'm wondering what option would be best for the following.
120" screen.
Pretty dark room... not 100% used for a theater, but I specifically want movies to look their best with the lights out (good blacks).
HDR / 4k signal acceptance
Good detail in resolution

I know real 4K starts around $5,000, which is not in my budget! I'd say up to $2,500 at the most, but prefer to stay around $2,000.

I see the Epson 5040UB. I'm told the issues with the power failure are resolved... but who knows.
Optoma UHD65
JVC LX-UH1

First row will sit around 6' from the screen. So I'm thinking Seymour AV Center Stage UF for this.

Please help me figure this out!! Too much research just makes things harder!

You might want to check out BenQ PJs. One, the 800, is bright enough for daytime viewing. The 2550 is similar but is more home-theater oriented in that the room should be darker. Both offer 4K pixel-shift and 3D and are in the $1300 range. There is also a new model this year (dont have the # handy), also 4K/3D, at a higher cost closer to $2000.
Many have rated their PQ higher than Epson or Optoma (who also has a 4K/3D model UHD51A, which also includes or compatible with Alexa, if that matters, for around $1500)

 

[DaveF]

So has 120" become the standard for a home theatre screen size? I don't have a wall big enough. A 106" is the biggest I can go and that required me to replace my M5si speakers with smaller B&W C9s.

Optoma had a laser projector for around 3G Canadian. Unfortunately, it uses pixel shifting and only two panels so that pretty well wrote it off for me as far as a projector goes.

There is no “standard”. You can buy pretty much any size screen you want. But 120” seems to be typical for what fits in a room.

 

[DigitalDawn]

We have a 106" Cinemascope (139.1) screen and we sit approximately 15 feet away.

 

[Edwin-S]

It looks like no 4K projector presently supports DV. 8000 grand Canadian (before taxes and shipping) for a JVC NX5 and it doesn't support DV or HDR10+.

 

[DaveF]

Yep. Projectors don’t do Dolby Vision. What I’ve read, the informed speculation is that DV requires a direct view set for both brightness and the known behavior. With a projector, there isn’t the absolute brightness, and there’s a lot of variation in specific behavior with dynamic or fixed irises and different screen types. But I really have no idea.

 

[Edwin-S]

Yep. Projectors don’t do Dolby Vision. What I’ve read, the informed speculation is that DV requires a direct view set for both brightness and the known behavior. With a projector, there isn’t the absolute brightness, and there’s a lot of variation in specific behavior with dynamic or fixed irises and different screen types. But I really have no idea.

Ah. Ok. That would make sense as to why none of the projectors that I have looked at support DV or HDR10+. Those are both dynamic processes that would probably be too hard to apply to projection systems with widely varying light outputs. I guess it would also mean that with HDR treated content the more lumens a projector puts out the better the results would be.

 

[Bradskey]

You might want to check out BenQ PJs. One, the 800, is bright enough for daytime viewing. The 2550 is similar but is more home-theater oriented in that the room should be darker. Both offer 4K pixel-shift and 3D and are in the $1300 range. There is also a new model this year (dont have the # handy), also 4K/3D, at a higher cost closer to $2000.
Many have rated their PQ higher than Epson or Optoma (who also has a 4K/3D model UHD51A, which also includes or compatible with Alexa, if that matters, for around $1500)

I've had the Epson 5040UB for about 8 months and I am very happy with it. The newer BenQ "4K" projectors came out around that time also and are probably pretty good also. The Epson does have some premium features that are very nice, including much higher contrast ratio (if you care a lot about deeper black levels), and very nice motorized remote-controlled lens shift, zoom and focus, lens memory, etc. It is quite large and heavy however. The Epson has some limitations in what it can handle for HDR, but the projected image for both Blu-ray and 4K/UHD just looks gorgeous in general. It is also the most amazing in-home 3D experience I've ever seen. If all 3D was this good it might have been more popular.

At this point I think there is an expectation that Epson should be announcing a 5040 successor any time now, or sometime this year at least. It will likely still not be true 4K, but a very slightly improved version of their 4Ke pixel-shifting technology that is already featured on their newer 4050 model. But the price for the "new" model will almost certainly be back over $3k, whereas the 5040 is routinely selling now at a relative bargain of about $2k. It has been said that there is little or nothing else in the market that has quite the same picture quality of the Epson at it's price point. If someone is interested in one they might just think about holding out for the theoretical new model, which may represent only a slight revision but perhaps with some HDR enhancements and higher lumens, or grab the 5040 while they can at a really good price.

 

[Wayne_j]

So has 120" become the standard for a home theatre screen size? I don't have a wall big enough. A 106" is the biggest I can go and that required me to replace my M5si speakers with smaller B&W C9s.

Optoma had a laser projector for around 3G Canadian. Unfortunately, it uses pixel shifting and only two panels so that pretty well wrote it off for me as far as a projector goes.

You are fine. I have an 80 inch screen in my house.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

You are fine. I have an 80 inch screen in my house.

I’m currently at 100”.

The nice thing about projection is, if my space ever changes and I get a larger room, I can easily get a new screen then.

 

[DaveF]

The other thing about 100"-class projector screens: that's the size that still makes sense financially as the largest direct views are about 75" (as 80" was about the max and super expensive). But as direct display sizes increase, such as from micro-LED, projectors might become more the domain of 150"+.

Personally, I anxiously await a 130", $5,000, micro-LED, assemble-onsite display (even though it would take a major rework of my movie room).

 

[Sam Posten]

At that price point I would take an OLED 100" over a 120" projection screen, maybe even 95. See you in 2025.

 

[Edwin-S]

At that price point I would take an OLED 100" over a 120" projection screen, maybe even 95. See you in 2025.

So would I if the 100" OLED supported 3D so a person could watch their legacy titles; however, since 3D support on TVs is permanently dead, the only way to keep using those titles is with a projector.

 

[Sam Posten]

My PJ supports 3d and it has never been used.

 

[Bryan^H]

My PJ supports 3d and it has never been used.

Not a fan?

 

[Edwin-S]

My PJ supports 3d and it has never been used.

Mine would be if I had a projector that supported it. Unfortunately, my RS2U does not. Not that I have been using it since I am having trouble knowing where to start on converting my basement rumpus room to a theatre room.

 

[DaveF]

I’m about the same as Sam. I like 3D, and have used it a few times. The loss of brightness really detracts from the experience. So much my wife commented on it, preferring 2D at home. And none of my friends like the 3D experience, so it’s not been used for parties as I anticipated. And finally, 3D with HTPC adds extra complexity. So I’ve given up on 3D and no longer use it. I’d be fine upgrading to an non-3D display.

Sucks for enthusiasts. But that’s how technology goes sometimes.

 

[Bryan^H]

I’m about the same as Sam. I like 3D, and have used it a few times. The loss of brightness really detracts from the experience. So much my wife commented on it, preferring 2D at home. And none of my friends like the 3D experience, so it’s not been used for parties as I anticipated. And finally, 3D with HTPC adds extra complexity. So I’ve given up on 3D and no longer use it. I’d be fine upgrading to an non-3D display.

Sucks for enthusiasts. But that’s how technology goes sometimes.

Wow. I can't even imagine watching certain films "flat" (Moana, Inside Out, Marvel films etc.). To me there is nothing better than 3D projection. I will support it until I'm ashes.

 

[Bradskey]

To me 3D doesn't work that great on even the largest size TVs that most normal people would buy. Unless you're going to sit too close. You really need something that's going to reasonably fill your field of vision or else it's just gimmicky. It takes a sufficiently bright projector and a large 100"+ screen to make the 3D experience enjoyable. The Epson 5040 I mentioned does really good 3D, as do a few others. Some people still won't enjoy it of course. As to content, vintage 3D stuff is fun, and some contemporary films are meant for the format. Others are just half-hearted 2D to 3D conversions of varying quality. So I hope projectors keep the format alive, even as a niche, until perhaps there is some 4K+ 3D standard in the future.

 

[DaveF]

Wow. I can't even imagine watching certain films "flat" (Moana, Inside Out, Marvel films etc.). To me there is nothing better than 3D projection. I will support it until I'm ashes.

I think animated movies are great in 3D. The live-action “2.5D” of Marvel movies and such I’ve been pretty meh on.

My enthusiasm is dampened further because an all-time favorite 3D movie isn’t available in 3D: Coraline. Add in the nonsense of current releases: 3D or Atmos, pick one (or, 3D or 4K, pick one) and I finally decided it’s easier to not worry about 3D than to chase it.

If wife and friends were into it, I’d embrace it anew. I figured out how to get my HTPC to do it. And I’ve got six (!) pairs of glasses.

And still, I’ll be inclined to buy Spiderverse in 3D because it was brilliant.