Anyone else using a projector for home A/V

[Just Dave]

I had a 65" Mitsu I bought 5 years ago that recently took a crap. The problem with a big TV is once you have one, you can't go to a small TV, especially in our living room which is 22' long. So I did the next best thing, I bought a projector. I bought a Planar PD7060 and am using formica for my screen. Its 99" wide, 56" tall and 114" diagonal. The picture so far is awesome! Its huge, but crystal clear. I also did a fairly simple audio system for surround sound and video switching as well.

Anyone else using a projector for home A/V?

[Jeff]

I've always wanted to do one. Your setup sounds really nice. =)

[Garrett]

yeah i have one in my media room to play games and watch movies but its not used on a daily basis because the bulbs for my projector are over 300 dollars to replace. They only last about 1000 hours give or take. I do have a cable box on it as well to watch sports on occasio but i usually like to watch sports at a bar... im too lazy to get up and get my own beer.

Mine is just about the same size 112" diagonal. I use an epson powerlite 51c. It a few years old now but works like a champ. I do have a 7.1 surround sound system on it and it looks and sounds amazing.

[Deuche]

i just sold mine it was awesome !!!

[Spelunking]

Planar is kind of a "sleeper" of a projector, they recently purchased the renowned ultra high end Runco, and have been utilizing some of their secrets :gordy:

What color formica? I'm not sure I like the idea of formica, mainly as it probably reflects too much light, like an extremely high gain screen would, making your optimum seating position in a very narrow window.

[Notladstyle]

projection bulbs ftl. I would never own one for the massive cost to replace them + the insane electrical consumption (solar power + projector doesnt work) I wouldn't mind coming and using yours though..

[figment]

I had a 65" Mitsu I bought 5 years ago that recently took a crap. The problem with a big TV is once you have one, you can't go to a small TV, especially in our living room which is 22' long. So I did the next best thing, I bought a projector. I bought a Planar PD7060 and am using formica for my screen. Its 99" wide, 56" tall and 114" diagonal. The picture so far is awesome! Its huge, but crystal clear. I also did a fairly simple audio system for surround sound and video switching as well.

Anyone else using a projector for home A/V?


that has to be like IMAX in your living room

[Spelunking]

projection bulbs ftl. I would never own one for the massive cost to replace them + the insane electrical consumption (solar power + projector doesnt work) I wouldn't mind coming and using yours though..

You can actually retrofit xenon lamps from cars into projectors and achieve a fairly respectable light output. Of course, this won't be supported by anyone. Also, they've already announced one LED based projector, with many more on the horizon. Those will be very practical once they can bump up the light output, and lower costs.

[Just Dave]

Planar is kind of a "sleeper" of a projector, they recently purchased the renowned ultra high end Runco, and have been utilizing some of their secrets :gordy:

What color formica? I'm not sure I like the idea of formica, mainly as it probably reflects too much light, like an extremely high gain screen would, making your optimum seating position in a very narrow window.

Yeah, when I started to think about projectors, I went to AVSForums and they had a big thread calling this projector the best under a grand. Tiger Direct was selling them for $899 but originally they sold for about $2k. They have since sold out though.

I'm using designer white based on recommendations from AVSForums. They had people much smarter than me testing the light output and its about a 1.0 gain. Some guys use a light grey, but I chose white because I do have ambient light in our living room and the white makes for a brighter picture. Its definitely viewable during the day, and is awesome at night.

[Just Dave]

projection bulbs ftl. I would never own one for the massive cost to replace them + the insane electrical consumption (solar power + projector doesnt work) I wouldn't mind coming and using yours though..

The bulbs are about $300, but most are rated between 1000-2000 hours, which is several years of average use.

My mitsu cost me $4k 5 years ago. I could've had it repaired recently for $900. I spent $900 for the projector, and $300 every few years for a bulb seems much more reasonable to me.

Power consumption I can't comment on because I haven't received my first power bill yet. I can't imagine it being THAT much of a difference.

[Spelunking]

Yeah, when I started to think about projectors, I went to AVSForums and they had a big thread calling this projector the best under a grand. Tiger Direct was selling them for $899 but originally they sold for about $2k. They have since sold out though.

I'm using designer white based on recommendations from AVSForums. They had people much smarter than me testing the light output and its about a 1.0 gain. Some guys use a light grey, but I chose white because I do have ambient light in our living room and the white makes for a brighter picture. Its definitely viewable during the day, and is awesome at night.

If you have ambient light in the room, than white's your best bet, as they've said on AVS I'm sure. A grey screen will give you better contrast, as it's not washing out your blacks.

[Just Dave]

Yeah, that's why I went with the white. Also, this projector gets alot of praise for its blacks, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with the white.

[Notladstyle]

You can actually retrofit xenon lamps from cars into projectors and achieve a fairly respectable light output. Of course, this won't be supported by anyone. Also, they've already announced one LED based projector, with many more on the horizon. Those will be very practical once they can bump up the light output, and lower costs.

an LED projector would definitely spike my interest (see LED riddled car in sig)

The bulbs are about $300, but most are rated between 1000-2000 hours, which is several years of average use.

My mitsu cost me $4k 5 years ago. I could've had it repaired recently for $900. I spent $900 for the projector, and $300 every few years for a bulb seems much more reasonable to me.

Power consumption I can't comment on because I haven't received my first power bill yet. I can't imagine it being THAT much of a difference.

I guess 300 watts isn't that bad, but I've been spoiled with sub 100w lcd displays. For the real estate you get with a projector its probably worth the extra juice efficiency wise.

However im pretty sure projector bulbs are rated by mtfb - your actual bulb life may be much less. That combined with cycle stress (estimated run times assume constant operation), and I highly doubt you will see multiple years of use from a single bulb unless you only use it for special occasions.

I might be wrong though, I'm only talking numbers and theory. I would be interested to see some grave digging in 2009 or 2010 and see your results.

[Spelunking]

Lamp life is directly related to the number of times you strike the lamp. If you turn it off and on 3-4 times a day, that lamp will never see anything close to the manufacturer's rated hours. Typically, as you said, you will get around 1,000 per lamp. I've seen some people get well over 2,000, and some people under 600, all depends on the exact lamp, projector, installation, and usage.