LeeMac

iTrader: (1)

Any good for watchin tv on through the computers tv card onto a wall, if so would a cheap one do at about £500

explore

not really mate you need to start looking in the £2000 price range to get anything really any good, got myself a sony one have had it for a few years not 2 bulbs and switching them every now and then to improve the life of um, watch tv,sky,dvds,pc, vcr and xbox on it . you will need a screen a wall is no good it will show up every little bump, or you could do what i did and go to b&q get yourself some melamine(dont think thats how you spell it lol) board, but you have to make sure its perfect no scretches etc bolt it to your wall making sure its not just a plaster board wall or the whole thing will come down and ya dont want that. but yeah well worth it mate have many a nights fun playing xbox live with mate on my 7' pic yes 7' not 7" my advice get one but get a good one.
The brighter the bulb the quicker you will need to replace it.
The darker the buld the darker the room will need to be.
if you need anymore advice please pm me as i am the all knowing how to set up connect eveything to master lol

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

i disagree!

I have two sony ones, im selling one actually, not a hint but I am if you are interested.

I generally use mine for ps2 and dvds, but I also have the freeview hooked up so if any decent films come on I just swith it on, its very good!

the quality and streaming is excellent, the one that i am selling is a sony vpl-es1 its 1500 ansi (very good) with full remote and still in the box! its been used a little over 70 hours, the bulb is good for 3000 hours, and when its time to replace, it will cost you around £300. not bad as an average.

heres a pic from the one im selling, this is on low quality (1200 ansi) with curtains closed light on!!, and this is the colin mccrae 2005 game on ps2!



if your interested in the projector for the right money pm me.

jamo

Dr Nick

I also disagree with explore but do agree with j4mou...

I have had a projector for three years now. When I bought mine they were a lot more expensive than they are now. I paid £1400 but you should be able to get one for less than this, or a much better one than mine for about the same.

The most important issues in my opinion are lumens (this is how bright the bulb is) and fan noise. Screen resolution is unlikely to be an issue unless you are planning on using it for professional slide presentations.

My projector is 1000 lumens. This is quite adequate once it is dark outside. But if you are watching a film on a sunny day, even with the curtains drawn its not really good enough. I would recommend a minimum of 1200 - and this should not be too expensive. 1500 would be my choice if I was buying today.

Brightness does not affect bulb life (unless your projector has an economy setting of course) but can affect price - bear in mind you are looking at about 400 quid for a replacement.

Fan noise is important because in a quiet film, if you are sat near the projector, you will hear it. The lower the db rating the better.

If you have a flat well plastered wall this is quite suitable for projecting onto, but you really should paint it white. A screen will be better but I don't want the clutter.

Most new projectors will have several types of input connector and one will most likely be the one you want - but you must check!

One technical thing to watch for is digital keystone. If you don't know what this is you need to find out. PM me if you want an explanation. But the point is if you are planning to mount the unit on the ceiling it will need reverse digital keystone (and if you are going to mount it upside down on the ceiling you will need the flip picture funciton - unless you like your movies upside down.

I will never buy another Sony projector and would not recommend you buy one (sorry j4mou). Mine broke down and they tried to wriggle out of their warranty responsibilities - my solicitor had to get involved. Lets just say make sure you know the terms of your warranty when you buy something this expensive.

I use mine for DVD, PS2 and occasionally TV movies. If you don't have any kids you will find that 2000 hours (the estimated life for most bulbs) is good for a couple of years at least. Just don't go using it for watching the news and soaps and you will be fine.

Hope that helps some

cheers

RB5-Black

http://gallery112417.fotopic.net/p9147877.html

the reason I'm getting a sore head playing halo 2

Dr Nick

Nice pic!!

Plasma screens Phooey! ..... too small

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

For £259 fine if you're only gonna use it occasionally I guess.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

projectors are mint , mine is a sony vw12ht if you get a projector you will need a sound system as well, and make sure the projector you buy has good connectivity so you can easily add your dvd player etc

Andy Hall

Generally the more you spend, the brighter they are so you can use them without the lights off. I've go an NEC 560 which was about £750.00, probably less now and the kids love it when we plug it into the DVD player and watch Nemo on the wall at about 8 foot high by 10 foot wide, must get round to painting the wall white though, the wall paper shows through a bit

Must get an X box and have a go at some of the rally games

john_s

iTrader: (1)

If anyone fancies a projector on the cheap, have a look at Dr Tom's latest offering...

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20041113/index.html

John.