HDTV Projector or Flat Screen TV

I was wrestling with the same decision last summer and decided to bite the bullet and go with the projector.

I started to go with a 120” screen, but (never thought I would say this) it was just too big. We went with a 106” screen with seats at about 13-feet. I also added 7.1 sound system at the same time.

The projector is a 1080p Epson 8350 (about $1100) and the screen is an Elite “Sable” (about $299). The picture is amazing!! Blu-Ray discs are even more so, as in: “count Gandalf’s nose-hairs” clear. We could not be more satisfied with it and I don’t know how it could be noticeably improved. We have a two year-old 50” flatscreen in the family room and the projector on that 106” screen looks better than the flatscreen.

Projectors *do* like a softly lit (or dim) room and we had to add some window shades to control late afternoon sun glare and a dimmer switch for the lights. But that was it. I like it just light enough to read; wife wants it movie-theater dark — the screen image looks great either way.

We started with nothing but a Blu-Ray player and a bare room. For the projector, receiver, speakers, sub-woofer, screen, ceiling mount, cables and shipping, we were right at $2600. Additional costs would be for whatever hardware and install related stuff you needed. I was able to get it all in one big bite, but there’s nothing saying you can’t piece it together over time. As for the install, I did it all myself over a weekend.

I did do a lot of hand-wringing, researching reviews and vendors online. I wanted best-bang-for-the-buck and looking back over my parts list and the prices I found, I think I did pretty darn good.

We do have a Wii connected to it and the last party had about 20 teens playing some kind of dance game and they had the whole house shaking. Just have to stay back from the screen about 5 or 6 feet to be under the projector’s path.

The prices of flat-screens are coming down, but even so, you might be looking at about a 55” or smaller screen in your price range for a really good unit. If that size works for you, get the flatscreen. If you want something larger than 60”, then you might want to consider a projector as the bigger the flatscreen, the faster & bigger the price rises. A projector & screen at your distances can do 72” up to 120” or more for about $1500 +/-

I decided on a projector because the room was so large, I was looking at a minimum 60” flatscreen. At the time, that would have been $1500 to $2000 for a 60” flatscreen. So, the projector allowed me to go *much* bigger for about the same cost (for the video solution).

Both technologies are only getting better and better as time goes by. The first question you need to ask is what size screen do you want? If that size indicates a projector, then the only other “show-stopper” would be if you can control the room lighting. If you can NOT control lighting, then the biggest flatscreen your budget allows may be better. If you CAN control lighting, I would recommend the projector.

As for bulb replacement, they are typically rated at something like 3000hrs. In our case, the projector is not the main TV and we only use it for movies, ball games and parties. We will probably replace the bulb in about 3.5 to 4.5 years. I would imagine we will replace the projector with something more current before we would need another bulb beyond that. But if you are going to have it turned-on all day every day, then bulb-life would be another cost consideration.

Good luck with it!

Hadn’t heard of the Spandex screens before; and while novel, theyhave a place and a purpose. For bars and DJ systems, they may work adequate.

But, if you are going to drop $60K (and believe me, it’s EASY to drop a h*ll of a lot more than $60K) on a home theater room; why cheap out on the target of your attention? Seriously, you don’t think twice about droppign several thousand dollars on speakers, at least another thousand on your receiver, around $1,000 on a good LED 1080p projector, soundproofing and furnishing your home theater with raised seating, sectionals or theater chairs (again, approximately $1,000 each) - and then throw up a $100 to 200 display? Really?

They may be adequate for a bar; but for someone who wants to sit down and seroiusly watch a movie; I can’t say I’d every recommend or even suggest the Spandex solution.

“The screen they produce is nothing short of a complete disaster. Their product comes apart after a few uses, the material they use is “off-the-shelf” spandex and ...”
http://www.djscreen.com/faq.php

For a bar and throwing music videos in VGA or XVGA formats - it’s probably ok. But for a home theater? Sorry ....

Spandex comes in different qualities. Some of it is more costly than the standard screen material you are probably thinking of.

Depends on what you want. We've been using them for a couple of years and they do just fine.

This is where the ‘point of dimminishing return’ arguement is going to come in.

Consider, a ‘bright screen’ typicall means it’s very reflective, this gives bright contrast and great color saturation, but the down-side is that the viewing angles taper off greatly from views off axis.

The more wide-angle dispersion screens provide a more uniform view, such that the audience gets good color saturation from seats that are located to the extreme right or left of axis; however you lose the sharp color saturation and picture quality suffers. To compensate, you need a brighter bulb.

Now, for a bar or nightclub; I’m sure your Spandex solution works very well. It’s not a movie theater; there is substancial ambient light, smoke and background noise. It’s not a theater - people typically have their mind on other things.

But, for a dedicated home theater; a person is going to seriously stare at the screen, and any defects, any variation in reflective qualities, any splotches or distortions will detract from the movie. This is the differences we are talking about.

My screen would be a disaster in your application. It would be destroyed in the first couple of hours of use. Once destroyed, you cannot take windex and a rag and wipe it off - it’s trash.

However, the Spandex screen is the wrong solution for a serious home theater application as well. It’s simply the issue of using the right tool, for the right job.

Nice summary. Did the same thing you did; just 3 years previously.

Very satisfied with my results. Now, I’m looking at the new LED projectors and that was a mistake. Envy is kicking in. Imagine a bulblife of 50,000 hours (as we both control outside lighting - we can run in ‘economy’ or ‘standard’ mode).

Once you go with the ~100+ screen; it’s impossible to go back. I really feel like I’m sacrificing when I have to suffer through a movie on my 50” plasma. Plus 100% agree with you on the Blu-Ray comment. You really don’t appreciate the Blu-Ray resolution until you get well beyond the 60” range.

One of the big advantages for the traveling DJ operators is the spandex screens are readily packed by stuffing them into a bag ~ notice the ones on the net where they don't even use a frame with them ~ just attach tiedowns and hook them up to the building's parts.

Plus, you can wash them quickly to get the beer and smoke out of them.

Now, barring setting aside a huge chunk of your average 1800 sq ft tract home for use as a formal theatre room, let's say you've got young chillun and they need game screens ~ these deals are fantastic with kids. You can put them anywhere, take them down at will, set up more than one, project either side ~ and if they get cr*p imbedded in the screen, you can wash it.

Depends on what you need and what you can get for under $100.00

To avoid the psychological trauma of sizing down to 50" from an 8' screen on a recurring basis, what you'll probably need to do is get nothing larger than a 37" regular ol' flat screen.

It's real easy to jump from super giant to small than to go to the inbetween sizes.

LOL ... yeah; the trauma and drama is horrendous and almost inhumane. But, somehow I manage to persevere.

Did the DJ thing way back when ... when we had 12 plywood boxes full of LPs (and just one with about 150 CD’s suffed in it). We would have a large table in back, full of the vinyl, 2 Technics turntables with the ortofon turntable cartridges, couple of Crown amps for the subs, a Phase Linear and 2 Carver M-500t amps for the full-range speakers. Was a lot of fun; this was back in the 80’s and 90’s; long before there was much of a video component.

Some light organs, couple hundred feet of light rope, 24inch mirror ball and multi-colored spots, light organ panels, strobes, multi-colored floor floods - and 3 hours for $600. We played lots of High School Proms, dances, home comings and fund-raisers. Had a lot of fun, and made enough profit that it helped pay my way through college. Beat the heck out of stocking shelves or delivering pizza. Did this for 6 years, and loved every minute of it.

So, I know all about the convenience of packing small, durability and inexpensive. And for kids and games - this would be almost ideal. Quick set-up, quick tear down. Like you said, for smaller tract homes, this is a very workable configuration.

Now I’m an old geezer - and I just don’t want to mess with that anymore. So, I build my man-cave on the main floor; and did some sound-proofing. If you are building, you can do quite a lot of sound-proofing for very little cash. My home was substancially larger than yours - so I had room for a small theater room (13’ x 17’), my next house will have a much larger theater room.

I suggest using a 2x6 footer and header. Lay one wall with 2x4 studs set at 16 inches along one wall - and the inside wall uses 2x4 studs set 8 inches off the studs on the other wall. This creates a ‘Baffle’, such that bass hits the sheetrock inside the room, and doesn’t transfer to the outside wall directly. Fill the inside space with insulation - and you are 75% of the way there. Inside wall, substitute a product called “Quiet-Rock” in place of standard sheet-rock, and that will also make a huge difference. Use a solid core door; and you are 95% of the way there.

Also made some changes to the heating/cooling vents to reduce noise bleed. End result is that I can be making my ears bleed inside the room; and although you might hear some noise in the Kitchen; you will never know anyone is home from the outside. You will be able to comfortably watch TV in the Living room, and may only notice the Theater Room at full throttle during commercial breaks.

Buck up. Sounds dreadful.

I think we all worked out everything you could possibly need and in all relevant price ranges.

For my end, the chair you sit in to watch the show is the most expensive part. For other's it's the screen, and for others it really has to be the sound insulation!

Best bet is look at all the new technology ~ there's some incredible stuff out there, much of it thanks to Chinese slave labor working in deplorable conditions in Rare Earth Mines (for the magnets eh), but the LED stuff is infiltrating on a large scale. It's getting better and better. If you have to go cheap, last year's top of the line stuff is on the clearance shelf at Target this year.

Whole new world!