NEED HELP: should I choose RPTV or FPTV? (1 Viewer)

[Chauncey_G]

I also posted a version of this in RPTV.
I'm just needing a hand on figuring out the pro's and con's of RPTV vs. FPTV. I'm going to be buying one or the other this year sometime, it's just a matter of which one.
So far, the RPTV's that I've been leaning towards were Pioneer Elite and Hitachi.
I just want to make sure that I get something that's not going to have me wanting to get something else a couple of months after I've purhcased it!
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[John Kotches]

This depends on several factors, including Budget, room and goals.

Can you give us an idea of your budget?

Is the room totally light controlled?

How big a screen are you looking at purchasing?

Regards,

 

[Chauncey_G]

Hi, John. Thanks for the reply.
I was imagining that the budget would be in the neighborhood of 3.5-4K. I had that thought running through my head because I had heard that you could get a good FPTV for the same ballpark as an RPTV. The ceiling on that budget is a little flexible, though, if need be. Did I hear right on those prices?
Currently, the room is nowhere near controlled. You might consider it Light Anarchy, actually. However, I had already been planning on doing some work toward that end anyway, so consider it done for our purposes here.
As far as screen size, I don't know. I haven't really gotten too far into my FPTV research yet, so I'm not sure what dimensions are available to be honest. If I do go the FPTV route, though, I would like to have a fairly big screen, though. This does bring up a question that I know nothing about: how much do screens cost?
Again, thanks for the help!

 

[Neil Joseph]

As far as screen size goes, you can get whatever you want really. What are the dimensions of your room and how far will the seating be from the screen. Give us some room detail. As a guide (to give you some idea) if you have a 16x9 screen and the seating is 12ft away from the screen, you could look at approximately a 7ft wide screen.

 

[Chauncey_G]

Hi Neil-

You know, if I'd been thinking, I would've verified my room dimensions for this. I, however, was NOT thinking, so...:b

I'm going to guess that it's around 15'X 20'. That's a ballpark guess. I'm at work now, so if exact figures are needed, I can get them later. Currently, I have my TV, main speakers, etc. along one of the shorter walls.

As far as seating, I'll do whatever I need to given the limitations of the room itself.

So how much do screens cost, roughly? And would you recommend FPTV over RPTV? If so, why? Sorry for all the inane questions, but I hadn't really been considering FPTV until recently.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Matt Stryker]

A good place to get a ballpark idea about screen prices is Link Removed ; They have good information, and once you decide on what kind of screen you want you can hunt for the best price. A 100" diagonal screen that rolls up is around $150, and prices go up for permanent screens, tab-tensioned screens, etc.
You can also make your own screen using materials from a DIY store, and get pretty good results with very little cost.
Your room is good sized, and would work well for FPTV. I have owned both FPTV and RPTV and here are the benefits of FPTV.
-Much more theater-like; you really can't appreciate this until you've seen an FPTV setup, but even at the same size, the FP will "feel" like a theater moreso than an RPTV
-Size and quality : Price; You can get about twice the size screen with an FPTV for the same money as an RPTV; the quality is about the same, and usually better with a properly set up FPTV.
-Weight/Bulk: This may not be as much of a concern as you live in a house, but a 65" RPTV can weigh upwards of 300 lbs and is very difficult to get downstairs,etc. My LT150 weighs 3 lbs and is about the size of a laptop. Even the heavier CRT units are still not nearly as bulky as the larger RPTVs
I would absolutely recommend FPTV over RPTV if you have control over light in the room, and the room is set up primarily for home theater. RPTV is good in a multi-use room or in a room where light is a problem.

 

[Deane Johnson]

Part of the question has to be "how are you going to use it?" If someone will be watching soaps all afternoon, you may not want FPTV. On the other hand, if you're wanting to create the theater experience, nothing can substitute for front projection. Unless there is a specific reason why you shouldn't do front projection, it's a no brainer.
As I began to get interested in this stuff, I thought 56" to 65" RPTV. As I began to investigate, my wife kept saying that those things were just big TV sets, I thought we were going to do home theater (lucky me). About that time I stumbled into a great buy on a projector with an excellent on-board scaler and 1400 ANSI lumens.
The end results are that we went FPTV and I am now convinced it's the only way to enjoy movies. We started out sitting it on a table (actually an Indian drum) and pointing it at the white wall.
Now we watch a movie every single night and our library is just under 1000 titles.
Here's what that little venture grew to look like.
http://www.kathiejohnson.com/HomeTheater.html
Deane

 

[Chauncey_G]

Hey, guys, thanks for the fantastic info! This is the kind of stuff I was looking for.

Matt-

The room is multi-use, but only barely. I'd say 75% home theater usage. Thanks for the link on the screens, and thanks for the list of the pro's of the FPTV. Just what I needed.

Deane-

If I do the FPTV thing, I was thinking on leaving my existing direct-view set in the room strictly for watching X-Files, E.R., etc. reserving the big set-up for movies. BTW, I'd looked at your HT link after reading one of your other posts on a different thread. I was remiss in not commenting then: really nice set-up. Nice combination of a living space/home theater. The personallized logo at the top of the curtains is a great touch.

Thanks to all that have responded! This is the stuff I've been wanting, and I must say that I'm going to be checking out FPTV's a lot closer now! I certainly don't mind any more advice, so if anyone can think of anything else, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again.