Does anyone use a projector instead of a TV?

mexico1970

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Wife wants to shift to a projector instead of having a TV I'm not too sure. Has anyone bought one and thought they were a bit faddy so stuck it back in a box and in a cupboard or do you use it daily?
 
Have got one but don’t use it anymore - it only connected with scart or rgb connections not HDMI, and the resolution not as good as tv - but it was bloody great watching football on a screen the size of half a wall!
 
Have got one but don’t use it anymore - it only connected with scart or rgb connections not HDMI, and the resolution not as good as tv - but it was bloody great watching football on a screen the size of half a wall!

We bought a cheap one a few years back and it sounded like Concorde was taking off, and the room had to be pitch black to get a half decent picture on it. After scouring youtube I am none the wiser because I can't tell if the videos are just adverts for certain projectors.
 
My brother in law has one that I set up for him in his "cinema room" (loft)

He likes it, but personally I would always go with a big tv over a projector, for reasons of resolution and ease.
 
I've had a projector for over 20 years now. Started off at the budget end of the market and worked up a bit.
However, i had a dedicated room. And that allowed me to get the best out of it.

Then kids came along, and the room had to go.
Now i have a hidden living room setup (which still includes a TV). This is a good compromise, as the alternative would be no projector.
Sadly, this is not good picture wise.
The trouble with a modern living room is light coloured walls. A projector is a very different beast to a TV.
A TV is emissive, in that it creates its own light. A projector is reflective in that light reflects off the screen.
And there lies the problem.
During the day, all other light reflects off the screen, washing the projected image out.
At night, the projected image lights up the room, which then reflects back to the screen washing it out.

There are a couple of ways of improving this.
Treat the room to darker paints/wallpaper/carpets.
Buy a special "Ambient Light Rejecting" (ALR) screen. The helps by only reflecting light from one direction. In this case from front on. Reflections from the sides are suppressed meaning the black levels and colours are much improved.
The downsides are a reduced viewing angle and a darker overall image.

The simple answer is, is a projector doable as a TV? Yes.
However, that depends if the compromises are worth it to you.
I think Richersounds have a demo room. Go have a look with the lights left on. That will be similar what to expect during the day.
You really need to see a setup for yourself to see if you can live with it.
 
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My sister in law has a HD beamer (Non UHD/4K) and it's impressive. We have an LG OLED for living room that I have no complaints with but have been considering a 4K beamer (mainly to project against large wall or ceiling) for our guest room / office / utility space - looks like there are a lot of good options out there
 

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