Help Needed! - First time user ( Non Technical Background)

[manvi]

Hello,
This is manvi here and recently joined the forum.I spent around 2 hrs yesterday and was quite suprised to understand the knowledge this forum has.

I come from a non technical background and i thought to start the thread which would have answers to all the questions a newbie who wants to buy a projector has.

Hopefully this thread will act as a ready reckoner for all the first time users.

It would be great if the experts from the forum can answer the below questions

1) Which according to the reviews are the budget projectors you would suggest in the price range (40-50k). The usage would be to connect xbox, DTH and Hard-disk and weekly usage of 12-15 hrs a week.
Would be great if experts can suggest atleast one projector from each company.(Epson-BenQ-Acer)

2) I understand a lot of experts are saying to buy projectors from amazon US which come at 30-40% less than the Indian cost. What about the warranty? I heard EPSON provides international warranty. Any one who knows about it?

3) Consider that I purchase one from Amazon US ( probably when the sale season is going on) , now comes the question of after sales service. Which projector company according to you has least maintainance and good service in India? Also, When it comes to changing the bulb , which is least costly? I heard in the forum, EPSON bulbs replacement is least costly. Can someone confirm?

4) Coming to connectivity, I would want to hang the projector to the ceiling and buy a 120 inch screen
Can we hang ALL the projectors to the ceiling? And wat adjustment to the projector will i have to do to make it project on the screen properly.
I dont want to buy a projector which later i find ..that it cant be hanged nor it can project from the ceiling.

5) Wireless : I m really not inclined to use 15-20Ft HDMI cables to connect from HDMI splitter to projector. Is there any other way? I tried searching the net for HDMI wireless transmitter and receiver, but best i could find was ASUS WICAST but it is costing 9k. Any one knows cheap and better option?

6)Coming to screen, I was inclined to use motorised screen in my living room,but the forum made me realise manual is better. Can someone give more knowledge on the same?

and lastly, if anyone could help me with some projector experts number in mumbai tat would be great

 

[manvi]

Dear Experts,
Any help will be appreciated..

thanks

 

[GeorgeO]

Experts will read and reply don't fear. Give them some time, but I will provide some input.

I have an Optoma HD 20 that I bought from the US about 2 years ago, so far so good. I note that Optoma is not on your list, but its a good product.
To fix a pj on the ceiling you use a ceiling mount-this is freely available here in India. The ceiling mount is fixed to the ceiling and then the pj is mouned onto it.

I got my Dalite screen from the US, but there should be decent screens available locally, you need someone to suggest which brand.

 

[manvi]

Thanks George, I m still waiting for help from proj owners

Also to add more information, I did speak to Amazon US yesterday...

They confirmed if the projector is having any issues in 30 days they replace/repair and also pay you for the shipping cost

But then , I called up the head office of Epson to check if they have any international warranty.

The concerned person said, no warranty applies if you buy it from any online store and secondly, he recommended me EB W03 from Epson and told will come around 40k.

I checked it online, Australia nd UK selling the same at 39K (online price)

The person said, the advantage of buying from epson and from the company directly is... you get 1 yr or 1000hrs on lamp warranty ( whichever gets over earlier) whereas other companies give u just 90 days warranty.

Can someone correct this as well?

 

[GeorgeO]

Unfortunately I have no first hand knowledge about this pj so cannot advise you.

 

[manvi]

Can anyone please help?

 

[AV55]

Hi,

I have recently purchased Epson TW 8200 projector (ceiling mounted) from mumbai. As it is expensive, this model may not fit in your budget. However, I suggest you go for Epson (whichever model you choose) as its service is good. If you import from US no warranty is available but if the unit works well for one year than it does not matter. But i would not take that chance if the Projector is shipped from US and not carried personally by some one.

I have also purchased a motorized 106" screen from mumbai. Have been using it for about two months and no problem so far. While selecting the screen size, please take care that there is no shadow / interference of the ceiling fan (if applicable) on the screen. Also the bottom of the screen should be about 2 feet from the floor level so that your neck does not ache while watching for a long time. - for this purpose, my screen has a 2 feet black band on the top side.

In India, I think HDMI input wifi proj are not available. In US they are available. I presume that you may have to do some modification in the ceiling to provide the power point and to fix the bracket - so do a lot ) more and go for the HDMI cable - it is 100% trouble free (in my case, I have put two HDMI cables as I can use two separate inputs or can have one as spare cable)

For projector reviews and screen size / sitting distance calculation please see Projectors, Projector Reviews, LCD Projectors, Home Theater DLP Projectors at ProjectorCentral.com website. It is good.

 

[sound_maestro]

Read this and could be helpful
The Best $500 Projector | The Wirecutter

 

[manvi]

I have read that, but my questions still remain unanswered

Can someone whos from mumbai and have recently purchased the projector from Amazon US please connect

 

[sash]

Why do you not want to use a lengthy HDMI cable? i use a 35ft hdmi cable and there is absolutely no prob. I got it for Rs 3000 or so through ishopinternational from Amazon.com.
All projectors (at least the well known brands) can be hanged upside down from a ceiling - you shouldn't worry.
To position the image perfectly on a screen is tricky. If your projector has horizontal and vertical lens shift then this is relatively easy - otherwise you'll need to manually adjust when you are mounting the PJ. But this is a one time thing - once you set it up, there shouldn't be a need to fiddle with it again.

 

[manvi]

2) I understand a lot of experts are saying to buy projectors from amazon US which come at 30-40% less than the Indian cost. What about the warranty? I heard EPSON provides international warranty. Any one who knows about it?

 

[AV55]

Epson does not provide international warranty. Most of the good companies do not support warranty outside the country of purchase as they want to support their subsidiary companies.

 

[poppy]

I have read that, but my questions still remain unanswered

Can someone whos from mumbai and have recently purchased the projector from Amazon US please connect

Hi i am from mumbai and Purchased optoma HD25e from Amazon USA 15--20 days back. Tell me what information you need .

 

[ManishW]

The Optoma projector I bought from the US costs twice as much here in India. I really don't care for the warranty, will pay for repairs if required or get a new one which would then eventually work out to the same as buying from here. But if no repairs or replacement is required you get a latest model projector with good specs at half the cost of what you would pay in India. The dynamics will change if you're ordering online though but not by much.

If you're getting a Full HD projector with decent specs for 40-45K here in India , I suggest you go for it. You can get a 120" Liberty Grandview Motorised screen for around 27-28k while a manual with Controlled return mechanism screen should cost you around 15k.

HDMI cable is your best bet as a good wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver will not be less than $150-200 plus shipping. Anything cheaper might not support the data transmission speeds required by 3D movies or XBox games.

 

[poppy]

The Optoma projector I bought from the US costs twice as much here in India. I really don't care for the warranty, will pay for repairs if required or get a new one which would then eventually work out to the same as buying from here. But if no repairs or replacement is required you get a latest model projector with good specs at half the cost of what you would pay in India. The dynamics will change if you're ordering online though but not by much.

If you're getting a Full HD projector with decent specs for 40-45K here in India , I suggest you go for it. You can get a 120" Liberty Grandview Motorised screen for around 27-28k while a manual with Controlled return mechanism screen should cost you around 15k.

HDMI cable is your best bet as a good wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver will not be less than $150-200 plus shipping. Anything cheaper might not support the data transmission speeds required by 3D movies or XBox games.

I agree with u Manish recrecently I had purchased optoma HD25e from Amazon. Com it cost me 63k where in india the dealer was offering me best with 2-3 k margin (as i had purchased complete HT systems from him) at 105k.
By the way can u pl share with me the contact details of the dealer offering Grandview motorised screen 120" at 28k because I got the offer from local dealer 106" Grandview motorised screen at 43k. Thanks in advance.

 

[tally3tally]

I am not an expert Just a User..
You could give a thought to LED Projectors
http://goo.gl/7yHFLg
Positives
- No regular lamp so no recurring expenditure
- Instant Switch on/Off
- Wifi built in (though this feature can be availed with regular ones too with a cheap android dongle)
- Light and portable.
Cons
- A little dim (Dark room has to be used for projection, I have a 700 lumen model its more than sufficient in a dark environment)
- No International warranty on LG
- Would Bust your budget 2 times over(shipping incl)
{I would wait till nov when electronics are cheap in US
Woah the customs deposit should not be that much!!}

My two cents

 

[ManishW]

I agree with u Manish recrecently I had purchased optoma HD25e from Amazon. Com it cost me 63k where in india the dealer was offering me best with 2-3 k margin (as i had purchased complete HT systems from him) at 105k.
By the way can u pl share with me the contact details of the dealer offering Grandview motorised screen 120" at 28k because I got the offer from local dealer 106" Grandview motorised screen at 43k. Thanks in advance.

Contact Sanjay Kapoor at Abhi Projection. He quoted me 29.5k plus taxes for Grandview 120" motorised. He's located in Delhi.

 

[bhargavk]

Please take good care about the air conditioning for the entire setup because the lamp life depends on cool air circulation. Don't compromise in this aspect. if you think about money you will lose the life of the lamp.