Still undecided (1 Viewer)

[JasonBenway]

Thank you everyone for all the great information.

When I ran my wire I only ran a component for video.

Looking at the two 720p projectors recommanded in this thread, they can handle hdmi.

If i ever want to hook a computer upto the projector, should I run a hdmi cable?

I read somewhere that I need to use hdmi if I want to be able to play DVD movies though a computer higher then 480?

It also looks like I could also use a vga cable, would that work?

I really don't want to have to purchase and run another 50 foot cable.

thanks,jb

 

[frankinG]

I use an upconverting panasonic s97 dvd player with excellent results. This player has hdmi and I have my unit connected this way. This player upconverts through the hdmi output at 1080i or 720p but I do not like the picture performance at 720p. It seems sharper with less artifiacts with the 1080i signal. This is just my own personal opinion.

I also have my pc connected via the (PC IN ) terminal and it looks fine to me. But you will be the final judge on how it looks. I have friends who run there projectors from home PC,s with 1 to 1 pixel mapping hardware. There is a growing trend to run projectors from PC,s and you could try it out. Just get some information on it as I do not have much knowledge about this.

Your calibrated projector on a screen under 100" is going to look better than you might expect. No, it will not look as smooth or filmlike as a 10,000$ dlp unit but for the price the panny will give you results you will never regret.

There are some excellent threads over at the AVS forum on HTPC setups. I am sure there will be some excellent information for you.

 

[John Alvarez]

How important are the amount of Lumens of these projectors?

 

[JasonBenway]

Are you asking a question for your own knowledge or questioning how good these projectors are?

thanks,jb

 

[frankinG]

High lumen output is really a personal preference. You need high lumen output for either a really large screen or if you are operating the projector with some ambient light present.

Most commercial movie theaters have a lot less lumen output than you would think. Probably around the 200-300 range. This is less than your average 'calibrated' hometheater projector.

What your rated lumen output for a given projector is, the "calibrated" readings are much less. and I mean a lot less.

Sure you could go for a super large screen and a high lumen projector but your 'image quality'will degrade usually after you start to exceed the 110" range. Dvd,s have only so much resolution and spreading out the image also starts to spread out the pixels as well. HD dvd,s will enable much larger images as long as the projector has enough light output to keep the picture vivid.

The panasonic 700 in a light controlled room has more than enough light output.

Look at all the neutral density filters people are installing on there projectors to actually cut down the light output in hometheater applications.

Most projectors end up in the 300-400 lumen range after proper calibration, but start off in the 800-1200 lumen range.

Too high light output will have you running for your sun shades during extreme high contrast scenes.