Do you think a He-3100 Piano is a good choice for me? (1 Viewer)

[JoelM]

I've been looking for a projector that would be good for these situations. I will be using this in a pitch black room viewing DVD's only. I want to keep the price(screen and all under 5000).

A couple of questions. I've seen some projection screens run in the 1000's of dollars. Can you make one yourself? How big a screen would I need to get to display a good image with the Piano would 96 be OK? Lastly how far away would this pj have to sit I know it's fixed but just to get an idea. Thanks

 

[Mike Kearns]

Installed my piano about 2 weeks ago. I love it !! I installed an 84" 4x3 screen which gives me about a 77" 16x9 screen. I mounted the projecter 9'6". That would be the largest I would go in a small room (which I have 11x11). If I had a bigger room I would have gone with a 100" 16x9 screen. I feel the projector could handle that well.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

The HE3100 has good points and bad points, just as all projectors do:

Good:

1. Excellent deinterlacing chip

2. Reasonably fast 4x colorwheel

3. Small, so easy to install somewhere

4. Reasonably cheap, and will be cheaper with the HE3200

5. Good 700:1 On/Off contrast

6. Quiet

7. Dual res 848x480 and 800x600 chip good enough for dvd

Bad:

1. Class trailing 450 Lumens only good for dark rooms and tiny screens (or people who like dim, non-punchy picture quality)

2. Contrast no longer class leading

3. No zoom. Yes, that is not a misprint

4. Other projectors in this price range have better specs

Yes, you can make a screen yourself. There are many high quality screens under $1000 and you can make one that will probably blow them away for under $200 (Parkland Plastic + ScreenGoo).

 

[Joe Bachich]

gabriel...

you mention that other projectors in the 3100 price range have better specs... please elaborate.

thanks

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

I'd say the best right around this price range is the HP XB31 at $3300-3400 (though that's a bit closer to the HE3200 range).

You get 1800:1 on/off contrast, easily the best around. It's XGA native. It uses the new 12 degree DMD chip. You have DVI connectivity. It's 1500 lumens with the white section turned on, closer to 1000 with it off. It's 3 lbs, so it's pretty easy to install, and of course it does have a zoom lens.

There are also a few other good choices. There's no perfect choice, but depending on your viewing preferences, you may be able to find a better projector for you at around this price range.