Please advise- 720p or 1080p, led vs LCD

[Amarendra]

Hi,

I just auditioned the Panasonic pt 100 projector which is a full Hd projector. The picture of course was awesome and so was the price. It's quoted for about 1.4 l officially and available for 1 lakh in the grey market.
While the picture was awesome, I felt that even for the grey market price, it's a bit too much. It does not have 3d as well. I also auditioned a Mitsubishi 3d projector but that gave me a headache in about 15 minutes hence I decided not to pay a premium for 3d.
Also Some dealers that I talked to advised me to go for 720 p saying that it's more than enough for home viewing.
I will be viewing the screen from about 11 feet and won't be needing more than 90 inches of image length- diagonal.
Most of my movies are 720 p downloads which look good on my Sony Bravia full hd LCD. However a few 1080 p downloads like avatar do look awesome.
Hence given my viewing distance what would you advice
1. Full hd or 720 p
2. Led- benq gp 10 types or LCD Panasonic types
3. Short throw or normal
4. I plan to use it in my living room hence there will be light leakage
5. I may also use it for gaming

Most of you seem content with 720 p projectors like acer and dell which confuses me even more coz while buying tv we blindly go for 1080p...

Some models which I was considering based on my limited knowledge are- Ben q w1200, benq w710 short throw, optoma hd33, epson tw6000, Panasonic pt ar 100u.

Waiting for your advice... Thanks in advance and wish you all a happy Diwali.

 

[prosenjit]

for a say 100 inch screen and 11 feet distance a 720p will be much value for maney...also as you wont play original bds.....so save money and and get a 720p one.by that money add something else in your ht set up.....
well i am not a fan of the led pjs....good old powerfull bulb projectors are my favourite....if you dont have probem with budget why thinking about led ones....you will get good 720p pjs at 80k range........

about 720p i can say it from my own experience...i see from 7 feet ...in my diy 720p pj at about 85 inches diagnal....well the brightness is nowhere like a branded one...but regarding the pixel.....never had a problem...pixels are visible at very close like 2-2.5 feet distance....so go for a 720p and save some money...
cheers

 

[Amarendra]

Thanks for the quick revert. Is selecting a projector different from selecting a tv, I mean in terms of hd vs full hd.
Also any 720 p projectors that you recommend ?

 

[prosenjit]

sorry about models i am no expert in that.
in tvs also from 6 ft distance its highly difficult so say if its 1080p or a 1024*768 one for a 50 incher model......
you can say it irrespecticve of the content only you closely inspect it.then you will find the dense/less or more dense meshes...

and for a 32 inch its pretty impossible to tell full hd or semi hd...its the technilogy advancements...as it has to be to keep up market...otherwise suppose there were no 1080p..and only 720p.....wud it make much diffrenec.now 4k tvs are avilable..do you really think for a 7 feet distance and a 60 inch screen so many density is needed??..well the idea is mine only.

 

[tma]

If budget is not a constraint and you are not going to use the pj in a dark room then do not go for LED ones as they wont be suitable for your usage. With bulb based pj, one can actually use them with good ambient lighting also. With the money saved by getting a 720p, maybe you can splurge on an additional bulb, or improving the HT or even going for a recliner :licklips:

720p is good enough for video (movies, games, etc) higher resolution really helps only in case of data or text display (like as a computer monitor, stocks etc..) And in case you use 1080p media, it will be only downsampled which is usually without much loss of noticible visual details - its the upsampling of video, where missing details are to be added, that cause display artifacts/problems..

Now that you can look for conventional pjs, you can also think of increasing your screen size if at all possible, as the main benefit of a pj is the bigger size display.. Even 90" is big but the more the merrier Note that 90" dia on a 16:9 aspect will result in a (comparatively) much smaller 4:3 display and I have seen that most of the video rips anyways have some horizontal black bands that also reduce your actual video size.. so a bigger screen may be considered.

 

[Amarendra]

Thanks. Can you suggest a few good 720p PJs that I can consider ? I need something that can work in ambient light with decent motion flow. Budget about 50k to 75k but the lower the cost the better
Most reviews point out that if something works well in ambient light it will lack in motion flow or vice versa or then there are rainbow effects etc...

 

[tma]

Can you suggest a few good 720p PJs that I can consider ? ... Budget about 50k to 75k but the lower the cost the better
...

Can you mention your room dimensions? You have mentioned about your viewing distance only but no idea on how far/near can the pj be from the screen. For a 90" or so screen you may need the pj to be around 12-14' from screen.

Also whats the max possible screen size possible in your setup?

Have look at the Optoma series, many FMs have talked about these here. Check out HD66.

 

[yrk1969]

Thanks. Can you suggest a few good 720p PJs that I can consider ? I need something that can work in ambient light with decent motion flow. Budget about 50k to 75k but the lower the cost the better
Most reviews point out that if something works well in ambient light it will lack in motion flow or vice versa or then there are rainbow effects etc...

If you have the budget, then don't look at 720p. The Acer/dells being mentioned elsewhere are LED and primarily people are going for them because of lamp life, which is another debate to have. They also probably won't have the brightness to cover ambient light in your living room.

Look for the Epson 1080p ones like 6100. As tma mentioned, you have consider whether the PJ will throw the image of 90" from 11' as you need. Also you need to check if you need lens shift based upon where you are going to place the projector. For example, if you are viewing from 11' then a ceiling mounted PJ maybe be even closer than 11' from screen, assuming there is no space behind the sitting area. These need to be considered.

The rainbow effect is only with DLP projectors not with LCD ones from Pana or Epson.

Panasonic to me are overpriced in India, please ignore them.

 

[Amarendra]

Thanks yrk1969. I plan to keep the pj directly overhead to project at a distance of 12 ft. Other option that I was considering was a short throw projector. My idea was to finalise a model and then look at placing it in the most ideal position. I had no idea that this would be so complicated.
My room is actually 22' by 12'. The height is 10 feet. However I wasn't planning to use the length of the room but the width.
The thing I liked about Panny was that it's designed for living rooms with ambient light. But I agree that the price is too much for something without 3d- 1 lakh without warranty!

 

[inshadesofgrey]

Thanks. Can you suggest a few good 720p PJs that I can consider ? I need something that can work in ambient light with decent motion flow. Budget about 50k to 75k but the lower the cost the better
Most reviews point out that if something works well in ambient light it will lack in motion flow or vice versa or then there are rainbow effects etc...

Benq W519 - also has 3d straight out of the box
Optoma GT750E - i just bought it - and its PERFECT
Acer H5360 - Older model but very very good picture quality, even by today's standards
Optoma H66 - has some long-term performance issues (as per Amazon) but cheap

 

[inshadesofgrey]

By the way, find the below for an excellent chart as to at what conditions the difference between 1080p and 720p is scientifically distinguishable.

In a nutshell, if your home theater room is of an average Indian room size, go for a 720p.

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/

 

[AnkurShahi80]

Answer this, at your current viewing distance, are you able to differentiate between 720p and 1080p content on your LCD/LED? If the answer to the questions is "yes", then just magnify the difference to 90" or more and you'll get your answer.
However, if the budget allows you to buy a certain item only and you can't wait to get started, then there is no point in dwelling over it. The picture may not be the sharpest but it'll still create movie magic. ;-)

 

[Amarendra]

Thanks, I used the carltonbale link above and got my answer as 1080p since for a 90 inches screen I need to be at 12 feet or closer to appreciate th difference between 1080 pand 720p. Since my viewing distance is going to be 9-10 feet I better opt for 1080p. Trust cost was weighing more on my mind .
Btw as of today I finalised 2 models - the epson eh tw6001 which will cost around 1.05 lakhs or the viewsonic pro8200 which will cost between 75 to 80k.
The epson is tempting coz it will have 3d as well and most importantly LCD as against Dlp in the viewsonic one. Also I read that the viewsonic has some motion problem- don't know how valid this is. If anyone of you has seen or used either of the 2 pls share your thoughts.

 

[prosenjit]

Tw6000 is good one in 1080p catagory...

 

[Amarendra]

Sorry I meant the Epson 6100 which has replaced the 6000.

 

[tma]

... Since my viewing distance is going to be 9-10 feet I better opt for 1080p. .....

Do keep in mind that your source also has to be 720p at least, if not 1080p, to really appreciate all the awesomeness of Full HD on the pj.. Upscaled low res rips may not be fully worth to be seen at 1080p.. My experience is that the bigger the display the worser it gets if non HD video is used.. The artifacts seem to be more apparent.

...
The epson is tempting coz it will have 3d as well and most importantly LCD as against Dlp in the viewsonic one.

If going for 3d, then try to get DLP-Link system as these have generic glasses which come cheap and produce really good 3D. Proprietary 3d systems have costly 3d glasses and harder to buy/replace nd also add up to the overall cost of the system.

 

[Amarendra]

Yes you are right in terms of 3d glasses. The Epson RF glasses cost about 5k !!

 

[determinus]

How was your comparison between DLP and LCD done? I am in the market for a projector, and thouroughly confused between HD33 and TW6000. What are the trade offs in your choice? I will start a thread - with more details on my requirements etc., but what are your quick thoughts?

 

[inshadesofgrey]

How was your comparison between DLP and LCD done? I am in the market for a projector, and thouroughly confused between HD33 and TW6000. What are the trade offs in your choice? I will start a thread - with more details on my requirements etc., but what are your quick thoughts?

This is a good straight to the point article on the Pros and Cons

http://www.theprojectorpros.com/learn-s-learn-p-theater_dlp_vs_lcd_vs_lcos.htm

and this:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/lcd_dlp_update.htm

 

[Amarendra]

Guys, finally placed an order for epson eh tw6100 !!! Now awaiting delivery. Many thanks to all those who guided me in this purchase. Will update you once I receiv delivery and plug in everything.