Screw the 3D. If you want the kids to have an awesome 3D experience - send them outside to play and experience life in 3D. You can’t replicate that electronically.
You can get an LED HD Projector and not worry about bulb life. IMO, the bigger factor in this decision is whether you have a media center PC or other theater system to drive the projector (and whether you want to manage same.)
In the media room I’m very slowly building, I have both. I have a 42” LCD (will probably upgrade later this year) and a 110” projection screen. I use the TV for everyday shows then roll down the screen for when I want to watch a movie. I like the choice because I really don’t want something as big as a projection screen for just sitting around watching football, especially if I’m working at the same time. (also having a media room with projector is great if I plan to sell the home).
Considering how cheap components are these days, it can’t hurt to go with both if you shop wisely.
projction tv is great, providing that you have a way to eliminate all sources of light. We have a friend who just painted a wall in their basement white and they watch tv on that wall. It is like going to the movies! However, in daytime it stinks. Of course the sharpness isn’t quite as good as our 60 inch tv, but the size is a plus with projection. Hope this helps.
Something else to consider if you are using the WII with a projector is with such a small distance, will the kids motions get in the way of the projector and also where will you put the sensor bar if you have a large screen. It may be too low or high if you try to put it above or below the screen.
I haven’t seen modern projectors, but I know my 55 LED LCD is extremely bright. I just don’t think you’ll get the image quality with a projector. I’m under the impression that any extraneous light in the room is a problem for a projector, but all I know about is what I have.
A projector TV is usually not worth the trouble unless you are setting up a serious home theater. Since your post doesn’t mention anything like that, I would recommend you stay away from a projection system.
I’ve used a projector and an edge lit LED flat screen. Both have pros and cons. The LED flat screen is ridiculously convenient and colors are insanely bright - usually in the good way.
I should point out that my projector maxes out at 480P (no digital input) while my current 46” 1080P set makes blue ray’s sing.
All that said, I do prefer projector. There is something about the sheer size of it that matters, even if you sit far enough away that the relative size is the same. I can’t explain it, but it is real.
BTW, we sit about 6’ away from our 46” flat screen.
When we build our main house with media room, we’re definitely going projector, unless something changes.
About the 3D: I’ve been a huge proponent of 3D and the 3D Imax movies actually brought me back to the theater after shunning them for well over a decade. That said, I don’t like it in home TV’s. It really is more of a distraction than anything else. It also still needs to be cleaner and more perfected before it is really ready for prime time. I think it would be pretty cool for video games, though.
There is a trade-off involved.
If you have a $1,000 budget - don’t go with a projector. You will hate it, and it will sour your experience.
Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty. A projector is a CHEAP way to get into the 100-300 inch screen size. Face it, for $3,000 for 1080p projector and screen - you can get the SIZE of a theater for a fraction the cost of a LCD/Plasma TV. You can’t buy a 110-300” LCD/Plasma - and if you could, you could likely get a house with a nice car for that price tag.
But, here’s where the Projector is going to fall short. You cannot shoot a black spot on the wall. Ambient light will be ‘black’, so the goal here is “light managment”. In a dedicated ‘Home Theater’, a Projector is in it’s prime. No windows, controlled lighting in wall sconces and/or rope light hidden behind crown molding. My old house had a dedicated theater room with a 110” screen. The HDTV projector and screen cost around $2500 combined.
Now, with a dedicated room, you control the light - so you can take several ‘tricks’ to make the bulbs last longer. My bulb in my set was rated for 1800 hrs; but by running the bulb in “Economy” mode - I have over 3200 hrs and it’s still going strong. Why “Economy Mode”? Because I have no outside or unwanted light to compete with. As I said earlier, you cannot shoot a black dot on the wall - so you trick your eyes by making the projected light and colors so bright, as to convince your brain that anything not brightly illuminated, appears black (in comparison). Because I didn’t have to fight sunlight, lamps or lights outside of my Theater Room (Man Cave) - I could tone the bulb down from 1,200 watts to ~750 watts and still keep the picture looking great (plus the fan is on a lower speed as well).
If you don’t have a room with controlled lighting, and want to keep in the sub-$1,000 range - I’d encourage you to go with a flat panel. Don’t “poison” the idea of a projector - as ‘cheaping out’ will mean an inferior experience. A decent screen will cost you ~$500- 1,000 by itself.
Couple things with the projection system: First: other light. The room with a projection system has to be fairly dark and if the room has windows it’s going to be a problem watching it during the day. Brighter bulb helps but won’t eliminate. Second at the distance you have from projector to screen how large will the image be? You need to see the projector images under same kind of conditions you’ll be using. Third what kind of screen are you using or just the wall? A real screen will give you a better image, but if you’re going to use a wall then you need to buy special paint (whole wall will need to be painted or it’ll look sloppy but man is that wall going to be white).
We have a 55” Samsung LED flat screen. It is unbelievable crisp. Before that we had an LED projection, and it gave me migrains. Also, areas of the screen were turning pink. It is now out in the garage and is used for guitar hero/xbox stuff.
OLED is the new standard. Everything else is junk.
As an owner of both, let me offer the following:
We use a projector in the basement home theatre room. We and the kids love it, but ... you CANNOT get a good experience for $1000. Why? You **NEED** a big DA-LITE movie screen. You *NEED* a suitable sound system/media amp. The projectors do NOT produce anything close to movie or game sounds. You *NEED* a dark room and a 10-18’ viewing distance.
If you lack the above, DO NOT go projector.
Having said all that, again, we LOVE the home theatre in the basement, a truly darkenable (sic) room, and the big screen experience for gaming is amazing. We can project a 9.5’ wide image in HD. The room has more than paid for itself in money NOT spent on movie tickets, gas, popcorn, and worry about where the kids are.
In our bedroom we have a good HD TV and a modest 5 speaker sound system I wired in myself. etc. Perfect for sports, NetFlix and TV-based entertainment (mostly just NCIS and Antique RoadShow).
NET: You cannot go wrong with a decent LCD HD TV. Go projector when you can do the whole room thing.
1) A GREAT projector will set you back maybe $2000 or so; yes,that is "two thousand" dollars. (ie, Panasonic PT-4000) A completely light controlled environment is cool if you have it, but I set my theater up for football with side sconces lit, and a little overhead lighting so people can see their snacks etc and it isn't "pitch black" by ANY stretch. These new projectors do GREAT things. Movies will be an experience you will enjoy again and again, and will never get old. Sports will be amazing, and you will discover friends you never knew you had to watch movies and things like super bowls, etc. A 70" screen just doesn't cut it. PERIOD.
2) A GREAT sound system will set you back maybe $750. YES!! That includes speakers, sub-woofers, and receivers. No bull! But read on...
3) A GREAT screen will set you back maybe $4000. That is a 110" x 47" 2:35:1 aspect screen, acoustically transparent, blah blah blah etc etc ad nauseum. (Speakers behind the screen, DEFINITELY preferred.) You could put up your own "home brew" for easily 1/4th of that. Look around! It is out there. Get a good screen one way or the other.
4) Professional grade acoustically design room? PRICELESS!!! You MUST look at this if you want the "wow it's like a real theater" experience. End of story, no argument.
I have seen s-o-o-o many "home theaters" that have huge screens, sound systems that would break the bank, seats that are built for a king, but they sound like @7^5*^%% because they have not taken the time, money, blood, sweat and tears to design or seek advice on the acoustics of the build. PLEASE consider this when you design you home theater! I have a $500 "home theater in a box" that sounds like a million dollar sound system because I have had the theater acoustically designed and treated. OMG it makes all the difference in the world. Spend your money on a good, well-designed acoustical environment, and you can ALWAYS upgrade EVERYTHING else. I have had so many people tell me "I wish we would have done that when we were building our theater....".
A GREAT reference for the DIY'er or even someone who has someone else design and build is the AVS forum. (avsforum.com)
Have fun!
Not much to add - but agree with the following summary:
1. Projectors preferred for THEATER setting - controlled light, controlled sound, controlled experience.
2. projectors preferred for >60 inch sizes.
3. Quality of expereince - for $1K - won’t be there for projector.
3. LCD/LED preferred for everday use.
My own experience - since you mention kids - is LCD/LED all the way. With any sort of sound in the TV - can just drive the sound with the TV - no need to have kids driving 100+ watt complex input surround sound. (Also - since projector in ceiling - heck of a lot easier to just plug a new source in the back of the TV) (Also - if they play with your settings - can take while to figure out they turned off your center channel)
Then - when I want a movie with surround - switch the source.
The real killer though is the light. if you can’t make the roomdark for viewing, projector is going to lose.
I’d get a cheapish LCD, and a cheap computer (build yourself from NewEgg (start with beginner level video - make sure to have HDMI - but with open card slot. Add fancy video card later, and play games at 1080P! some of these games are better than movies).) Drive most/all AV through computer. netflix, Youtube etc. That is what my kids watch. That is what they are watching right now.
Projector great for Theater Setting. LCD for “everyday use in non-theater setting.”
The first thing that went about a year later was the color wheel, and I also had to replace the bulb, because that had died as well. The bulb wasn't covered in the warranty. The next thing that went about a year later was basically the whole innards of the TV. The picture was being scrambled because the TV wasn't properly receiving the signal, so they replaced a large component part via the warranty. The component part came with a new bulb, so the guy removed the bulb I had previously bought, and I kept it for when the new bulb died, which was about another year or so. The last problem I had with the TV was this October. By now the extended warranty had ended, so any repairs would be out of pocket. The guy came, and originally thought the problem was the color wheel again. He ordered the part, put it in the TV, but it still wouldn't work. So, he took out the new color wheel and told me that whatever was wrong with the TV was probably electrical, and would cost too much to fix. I paid one of the maintenance guys at my apartment complex to come and take the damn thing to the dump.
I'll never buy another Samsung product, not only because of the problems with the TV, but also because I'd bought one of their home theaters, and had nothing but trouble with that too. It finally crapped the bed on me last year. Fortunately I'd had bought an extended warranty on that too, and got my original purchase price back from the company when it burned out.
My sister passed in September, and I brought her Zenith flat-screen Plasma HDTV here, and that is what I am watching now. Unfortunately, because it is an older model (2005), it doesn't have an HDMI connection, but I will watch it until it $hits the bed. I hope whatever type of TV you purchase, that you have good luck with it.
Had a fair Epson proj for under 600. Loved it just on the wall with some windOw light even. Two major issues : fan noise my wife hated it and preferred the small tv just for that reason. Bulb replacement when it goes it isn’t cheap or necessarily easy to find. I’m looking for a LCD or Plasma now to address the noise.
Forget the projector. LCD will last and look great all the time doing it. I have owned DLP and multiple LCD HDTV’s and the light bulb thing stinks. Especially when you cannot even get them anymore. Plus the picture quality on projectors is just so so.
My newest favorite is the Sharp 70 in or 80 in LCD. It should be calibrated with a AV disc to get everything it can do. They have been dropping in price like crazy and will continue to do so. hey have 120 hz and 240 Quattron models which give you variable pricing options. You can also 3d or not 3d ( I think it is a waste of money and gives you a worse picture than a blur ray non 3d. However some think the horsepower to run 3d makes the non 3d look even better YMMV.)