FP vs RP in Living Room (1 Viewer)

[KevinR]

I know this topic has been discussed many times, but I am still very confused on what to do. I have a 50" Toshiba tv now and I want to upgrade to a bigger hdtv model. I am either going to get a 65" rptv or a fp tv. My room is 15'x16'. It has vaulted ceilings, so I am not sure where I would run the cables if I did a fp. It also has a couple skylights in the entry of the house before the living room, so it does get quite a bit of light. I will be watching mostly cable, satellite, and dvd's. Would fp work for this situation or would I be better off with a rptv and which one would have the best picture?

 

[Neil Joseph]

To be honest, front projection does not sound like a match for this room but it is not impossible. You would have to find a way to stop the light coming fom the skylights if you intend to watch during the day. Also, you would either have to mount from a shelf or table, or find a way to mount off the vaulted ceiling somehow.

 

[Thomas Willard]

I must agree with Neil. The situation you describe (light and vaulted ceiling) can present problems for front projection units.

First, the light situation. During the day, the ambient light would require a high lumen output projector, but at night such a picture would be too bright and probably not have the contrast you want in a home theater. At work we have some Panasonics that put out plenty of light, but only have a contrast ratio of 400:1, which does not look especially pleasing in a dark room.

Second, mounting from the ceiling would be a problem since the projector would literally stick out like a sore thumb hanging from the ceiling. You would need an A/V cart or other piece of furniture that would place the FP six or so inches above where the bottom of the image would be on the screen. Otherwise you need to employ the keystone correction which degrades the image. You would then need to consider how to get the cabling to the projector. Most projectors (unless you can find one with a long throw lens) need to be about 14 feet from the screen (assuming a width of 100 inches or so).

Having said all of this, you can not beat the impact that a large image has in a home theater. All things considered in your situation I would opt for a RP or plasma display.