Should We Buy This (Pt.4)
September 17th, 2007 by Andy |
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Now that the Sweet has a bed, a cellphone charging station, and couch mostly sorted out [please, if you ahve not yet weighed in and wanted to, do- there is still time], it is time to move on to the entertainment. I want a projector, and Jess isn’t willing to fight me on it, so the Sweet is getting a projector. As far as I can tell, there are two price levels; for $1000-$1500 you can get a 720p or a somewhat decent 1080i projector that is either DLP or LCD. LCOS projectors don’t seem to be there yet in terms of price, but it seems like a pretty strong technology that will be big in a few years. For $3000 you can get a great 1080p beamer with lots of great features. I am not spending $3000, nor I do not have enough Hidef material available to me to justify the cost, so that is out. In the $1000-$1500 range there seem to be a lot of options, and Projector Central seems to be an amazing resource for figuring out which one is best for us (check out the projection calculator that tells you if the room you have will work with the beamer you want). But here is the dark horse in this race: Lumenlab. I mentioned them before, and now I am heavily leaning towards getting one of their projectors; not just because they are $500 with $30 replacement bulbs. This decision is actually one based almost entirely on resolution and obsolescence. Basically, right now I do not have a HiDef DVD player, nor do I have a whole ton of HD programming coming in through our TimeWarner cable, nor do I have an XBox360 or PS3. So in reality, anything I watch on any projector I get will be in 640×480 or 720×480. In a few years, there will be more HiDef video available, and projection technology will have increased significantly in quality and decreased significantly in price. Heck, we might even have laser projectors sometime soon. So the way I see it, 720p and 1080i projectors, for me, right now, are overkill. I don’t have the source material to watch on them, and I will be wanting to replace anything I buy in a few years anyways as newer and better technology hits the market. As of right now, $500 for a projector that is 800×480 native res seems like a pretty sweet deal to me- if it sucks I am out the cost of a replacement bulb for one of the “big boy” projectors, and in a few years I can happily upgrade without the guilt of having spent a boatload on one now. There is one last factor in the decision- brightness. The Lumenlab beamers are 800 lumens, which is lower than the 1000 that is generally accepted as the lowest you should go and still expect a decent image. But perhaps that is snobbery of the order that would insist that anything under 720p isn’t worth considering either. The room will have dark shades or curtains, so I do not care if I will not be able to watch it without closing them- it is a “movie screen” after all, and movies are to be watched in the dark. I really wish I could just get my eyes on a bunch of different calibrated projectors in a dark room and see what I like the best. I throw this decision to you all now to discuss- should we go for the $1000+ range, or is the Lumenlab enough to get the job done until I pony up for a better DVD player or cable gets a ton more content? |
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September 17th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Ok, here’s my tips.
1: Avoid Lumenlab, as you’re not getting quality.
2: Though you may not have HD devices now, get at least a 1080i, because this projector should last you for years. With a purchase like this, you’ll want something that will meet your needs for a few years.
3: You want at least 1500 lumen, ideally over 2000 lumens. Otherwise, you’ll have to black out all the windows to get a good projection.
And I’d go for LCD over DLP if you have a choice, but it is likely that you will end up with DLP, as they cost a lot less.
For brands, I suggest InFocus.
You should be able to find all that for < $1000 if you shop around.
Avoid used/refurbs though.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Things are changing FAST… I just searched ebay, and it seems that lumenlab isn’t the only ones offering a low cost projector with low cost bulbs! A $399 projector from Australia (made in china) is higher resolution 800 x 600 – and has a tv tuner! here.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:15 am
so chris was trying (somewhat successfully) to twist my arm over aim yesterday to look at some of the sub-$1000 “presentation” projectors that are currently available today. the difference between these and home theater projectors is that they are typically great at still images and tend to be not as great at moving images- stuttering/tearing/stairstepping/aliasing/strobing/you name it. they are brighter than most in their price range, and can handle 720p or 1080i at the very least, if not much higher. so the question is- is the greater brightness and resolution worth more than the better motion? hmmmm. what is more likely to bother me most!
as for blacking out the room to see better- that will be happening regardless, so brightness is not the primary factor here, as i said in my post.
as for lumenlab not being quality- back that claim up with some citations, esse. the lumenlab folks are some home theater psychos (that is one step more fanatical than enthusiast) who decided to build a better projector themselves, and researched how to do it better for less relentlessly, and while they are not the best in the world, they compete in terms of quality with projectors at twice their price point. are they amazing? no. are they the best value in the market? without a doubt. google “lumenlab projector review” and see what the people who review these things for a living have to say.
and the lumenlab is 800×600 native res, upscaling to 1024×768 is possible but that’s not native res. but as i said in the post- the sources i have are all 640×480, i will not be plugging my laptop into it very often if ever, so that is not a factor for me either.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:25 am
[...] “Should We Buy This” we are going to cover something that is kind of a companion to the projector question, and it is a lot simpler. Basically, I want to get an electric automatic projector screen [...]
September 21st, 2007 at 10:33 pm
[...] you can get a great 1080p beamer with lots of great features. I am not spending $3000 source: Permanent Link to Should We Buy This (Pt.4), The AV Club [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 10:33 am
[...] so the projector has arrived, the couch and bed are in place, things are really starting to take shape, but… [...]
December 6th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
WAIT! Earlier I suggested buying a “Low cost” projector for $399 – PLEASE BE CAREFUL! The quality SUCKS and the ebay company that sold me it ripped me off when I returned it! I lost $138! After I ordered the $399 projector, I saw that he offered an xga projector for $100 more, so he sent me a paypal invoice for $100 to upgrade it… Well the “better” projector was as very low brightness and very poorly made… it didn’t even focus if it was not as high as the middle of the screen (which meant that I couldn’t put it on a table or on the ceiling!
After paying $38 to return it to him, he only refunded the $399 – and Paypal refused to collect the $100! So I was out $138! (plus I didn’t have a projector!)… Fortunately, I found at the Epson site the MovieMate s30 for just $399 (refurbished) and the lamps are only $175 for 3000hrs!). It’s an all-in-one projector with dvd and speakers… so it’s easily set-up in 3 minutes!
PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM THE EBAY SELLER IN MY LINK AND DO NOT PAY ANY SEPARATE AMOUNT TO PAYPAL BECAUSE THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!
George
December 6th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
that is a truly sad story, i’m sorry you had that experience. so far my infocus has been great, i cannot recommend it enough. try using ebay’s fraud reporting system to try to get your $100 back, the shipping may be a loss but the $100 should be refundable. also try reporting them to the police- there are a lot of things you can do in situations like this, don’t give up yet.