Front projector for $3500 (1 Viewer)

[Mike Butny]

What is the best front projector for $3500 and is it a dlp or a lcd? Im looking to project an image on at least an 100inch screen. Also I would like that the projector use's all its resolution in the 16:9 mode and not downconvert.

 

[Paul-B]

Personally, the best front projector bar none for any resolution is CRT front projector. In order to stay in your price range, you'll have to buy a used unit, but they can be found quite easily for that amount from reputable sellers or via ebay. CRT has no native resolution, no screen door effect, no rainbow artifacts, and can display virtually any and every signal.
Personally, I find the large size of crt projectors comforting too. As well, many are much quieter than the lamp projectors which use a very high velocity fan to cool the lamp, some, like a Sony 1292 are NOT quieter, but many are.
Also, crt projectors were designed generally for the military and simulation market so they have an average 50,000 hours mean time between failure, which, anecdotally, completely surpass the reliability of all but the very high end lamp projectors.
CRT front projectors can also display any aspect ratio you like and can improve the perceived resolution since the way you achieve this is by adjusting the size controls and physically moving the scan lines of the display closer together.
CRT is the way to go.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I was going to say the same thing, but nobody around here seems to hear me on it.

If you have the proper room, there is no question, for 3500 a CRT+HTPC is the only way to go. Mint condition 8in EM units can be easily had at this price from a reputable tech/reseller.

100inch wide screen is a tad large in terms of light output, but certainly VERY doable in a darkened room. I would far prefer a CRT picture that big than looking at the crappiness of an entry digital blown up that huge. I probably wouldn't go much bigger than 50-60 inches with a digital, not without spending 10K or more, in which case I'd have a more expensive 9in CRT instead anyway...

But this also depends on how "serious" you are about picture quality. If ease of setup is preferred, and decent PQ is acceptable, then perhaps digital is the way to go :frowning:.

 

[Chester II]

Dude,

Forget the Kanadian guy. I'm looking to upgrade my current dlp projector (Plus Piano He-3200) and since I originally spent $3200 I figure...what the heck i'll spend another $3200 and see what I can get. I prefer dlp over lcd due to the lack of the screen door effect found on lcd projectors. Having said that, screen door effect is about a year or so from being eliminated so then it won't be a problem. DLP suffers from the RAINBOW effect which I can only describe as a smear of multicolored artifacts if you run your eyes quickly across the screen especially if there's an action sequence playing. I've noticed it on my projector and it happens so infrequently that I honestly don't care. I'm thinking about purchasing the Optoma H56 which has a resolution of 1024 X 768. My old Plus Piano has a highest resolution of 800 X 600 which has proven to be perfectly fine. Even watching High Definition on my projector is fantastic even though I'm watching it downconverted due to the resolution limits of my projector. For me that means the H56 will only be better. If you can you should certainly see demonstrations of any projector you are considering be it LCD, DLP, or whatever. I think CRT projectors are too high maintenance. The current generation LCD and DLP projectors are plug and play and if you want to optimize them there are some readily available and cheap dvd calibration tools.

Good luck dude,

Chester II

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Dude.

 

[Chester II]

Dude,

I almost forgot to talk about native widescreen vs 4:3 projectors. The Optoma H56 is native 4:3 and I want to see FOR MYSELF if it masks for widescreen in a way that is not distracting and maintains high resolution. My Plus Piano is a dual chip 800 X 600 and 800 X 458 (something like that) and at least I know THAT particular set up works great with good resolution up to a 100 inch diagonal screen.


Later dude

 

[Chester II]

Chris..............dude......

 

[Mike Butny]

What about sony lcd front projectors. I know they offer a 720p projector for $3000. Does anyone own these or seen the picture quility of these projectors