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Buying a home use projector

CrashtardCrashtard Registered User regular
edited June 2008 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
So, I want to buy a projector to use for watching movies/tv on, probably play my 360 on it; things like that. The one I'm considering buying is here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3201180&Sku=I427-3003&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

I'm not actually buying it from tiger direct, but that's the one I'm considering because I can get a pretty decent deal on it I think. Is that going to be a pretty good projector to do what I want it to do?

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    FaceballMcDougalFaceballMcDougal Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    800x600? ya that will probably do just fine

    I'm actually looking for an old one... just 640x480 so I can set up a screen outside for a kids' movie night

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    Monolithic_DomeMonolithic_Dome Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Research the replacement bulb now and see how much it costs. Bulbs for these things can get pretty bad. Some of my friends who had one were burning bulbs much faster than they should have been, and the company told them that after you power the projector down you are supposed to wait an hour before powering it back up again. I'm not sure if that was just for their model or if that is general advice for all projectors, but keep it in mind. It can be a total pain in the ass.

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    CrashtardCrashtard Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Lamps for InFocus projectors run around 250, but I'm not really concerned about that. I just don't want to spend the money on one and find out it's a piece of shit, but considering it's a 1080i HD projector, probably it will be fine.

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    PeregrineFalconPeregrineFalcon Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Crashtard wrote: »
    Lamps for InFocus projectors run around 250, but I'm not really concerned about that. I just don't want to spend the money on one and find out it's a piece of shit, but considering it's a 1080i HD projector, probably it will be fine.

    Uh, no it's not. It's not even 720p - it's 800x600. That being a 4:3 resolution, when you 16:9 that, you're looking at 480p. And if you think SD looks bad on a moderately-sized TV, imagine blown up to projector size.

    That would make it, as you colourfully termed above, "a piece of shit" most likely.

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    CrashtardCrashtard Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    PeregrineFalcon wrote: »
    Crashtard wrote: »
    Lamps for InFocus projectors run around 250, but I'm not really concerned about that. I just don't want to spend the money on one and find out it's a piece of shit, but considering it's a 1080i HD projector, probably it will be fine.

    Uh, no it's not. It's not even 720p - it's 800x600. That being a 4:3 resolution, when you 16:9 that, you're looking at 480p. And if you think SD looks bad on a moderately-sized TV, imagine blown up to projector size.

    That would make it, as you colourfully termed above, "a piece of shit" most likely.

    Then I guess I don't understand the specs on the page I linked. It says it's compatible with 1080i video signals, but I suppose that's probably not what I think it means.

    Anyone have a suggestion on what I should be looking for?

    On another note, I noticed this one can do 1024x758. Is that a high enough resolution for gaming to look good on?

    http://store.infocus.com/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=infocus&bc=infocus&pc=IN24%2B-RE&clist=01ae803206ee:01ae8032111c&ret=Refurbished%20Business%20Projectors-3&pls5catname=Refurbished%20Business%20Projectors-3&tab=spec

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    Mr_RoseMr_Rose 83 Blue Ridge Protects the Holy Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    USB 1.1 devices are 'compatible' with USB 2 hosts, but no-one believes that will magically boost your 1.1 thumb drive to 2.0 transfer rates. What that signal compatibility line is telling you is that it can take a native 1080i signal and reformat it to its own shitty 800x600 output. It also means that it will choke if you try to force-feed it 1080p.
    The key spec you're looking for is the resolution (sometimes 'output resolution'). Anything less than [number]x1080 is less than "full HD", with proper widescreen 1080p being 1920x1080.


    P.S. If you've got an upscaling DVD player and a projector that's downscaling like this, setting the player to output 1080i and letting the projector reduce it back down will be counter-productive in the extreme, producing a much worse picture than just using the native formats, since the picture has to be electronically processed twice.

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    CrashtardCrashtard Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Ahh. After talking with some other people, it looks like I'm probably going to just buy a HD TV instead. I want a projector, but it's looking like I'm not going to be able to spend the 700+ dollars on a projector that's really going to do what I want it to do.

    Crashtard on
    Robert Khoo wrote: »
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    ZonkytonkmanZonkytonkman Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    i have an acer ph530 that does 720p, and i paid about 600$ for it. I'm in love with it.

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    PeregrineFalconPeregrineFalcon Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Crashtard wrote: »
    Ahh. After talking with some other people, it looks like I'm probably going to just buy a HD TV instead. I want a projector, but it's looking like I'm not going to be able to spend the 700+ dollars on a projector that's really going to do what I want it to do.

    Well, you're definitely not going to get a six-foot image from a $700 TV, so it just depends on where your priorities lie. Don't be discouraged. :)

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    BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    The projector has to do 720 in order to be 720p compatible. The rest is just a matter of scaling to 1080i or 1080p through HDMI. 720p however is totally acceptable for gaming.

    The projectors that do 1080p natively however, are hella expensive. The ones that do 720, are easily the exact same cost as a good HDTV.

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    SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    It's compatible with HD signals, that just means it can receive them - it will just project them in whatever resolution it can handle.

    Honestly I wouldn't recommend this one, mainly just because it looks more like a business/table kind of projector - the only inputs it has are composite and vga.

    I have a 480p projector and I like it just fine, while I would like to get an HD projector at some point, it doesn't look like shit either. I posted the one I have in the last projector thread here, I'll see if I can find it.

    edit:: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=59007

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    RandomEngyRandomEngy Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I am thoroughly enjoying my PT-AE2000U. It's 1080p, makes a huge, bright, beautiful screen, has tons of inputs, has a really flexible setup (big zoom and lens shift) and is whisper quiet. It's a bit expensive, but very nice.

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    Seaborn111Seaborn111 Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    i've got an infocus in72 that i picked up new for 430 bucks, it only does 480p in 16:9 but it looks glorious with my 360.

    unless you're DYING for hi def, it's totally acceptable. nothing beats a 109" screen

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    ZonkytonkmanZonkytonkman Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Seaborn111 wrote: »
    i've got an infocus in72 that i picked up new for 430 bucks, it only does 480p in 16:9 but it looks glorious with my 360.

    unless you're DYING for hi def, it's totally acceptable. nothing beats a 109" screen

    seconded. it feels like you are surrounded by the game, though can get tiring for your eyes/neck if you sit too close.

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