Projector help...1080p? 720p?

munckee said:

.........What are the advantages/disadvantages of going with a 1080p vs. say a 720p? Will I notice THAT much difference? ........

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You need to give more info. What size is the screen? What is the viewing distance? What source material are you watching?

Technically you want the pixels to be 1/2 the size that human vision can resolve. In other words if you can see lines (black and white bars) spaced at one arc second apart then you need two pixels to make the lines.

Even simper, if the screen looks "big" and you care "close" and you are looking at bluray discs then you want 1080p

1080 is a lot huger, more pixels, allows for a longer distance range.

You should head over to http://www.avsforum.com and read up on what you can, there's a lot of great info on the forums there. Head for the projector forum, just be ready to do some in-depth reading.

mcpryon2 said:

You should head over to http://www.avsforum.com and read up on what you can, there's a lot of great info on the forums there. Head for the projector forum, just be ready to do some in-depth reading.

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At the Blu-Ray.com site they have a forum that has a lot of Home Theater enthusiasts http://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.php?f=44

I dig my 1080p Sanyo PLV-Z2000 projector on my 10 foot screen. Paired the Mac Mini and Plex, it makes an awesome home theater setup.

1080 might be good if you watch sports and have a large screen say 60"+.

With movies, 720 and 1080 looks similar at viewing distance unless you pay attention to the details.

If you're not a videophile, then it's not productive to spend an inordinate amount of money on a projector. Decide on a budget and go from there. Since you're not a videophile, you don't need 1080p. At a 10 foot distance you might or might not be able to notice a difference between 1080p and 720p, but so what? You're not a videophile, remember. Sony makes a Bravia LCD model for around $700 (B&H) that will satisfy most people.

Do not buy a business presentation projector for home video use. They were not designed for that and the projected image is inferior for home theater use. Don't underestimate bulb replacement costs. Bulbs burn out and are expensive to replace (typically $300+). Don't ignore noise...some projectors have fans that are louder than others. Some projectors are significantly brighter than others and you pay for that. Decide what you need in terms of brightness and buy accordingly. Be careful where you buy. B&H is reputable, but many retailers (especially on the net) are NOT and you will be very sorry for doing business with them. Check resellerratings.com before purchasing from any retailer that you don't have good personal experience with. If the retailer isn't listed there and you don't have good personal experience with them, do not buy from them. With price, if it sounds too good to be true, it's almost always a scam.

Oh, and stay away from AVS. You're not a videophile, so all you end up doing is overbuying and overpaying since AVS is a videophile message board.

I just upgraded from a 720p to a 1080p, and the difference is both nominal and significant. I had my 720p throwing from about 12' back onto a 120" screen; I have my 1080p throwing from 15' back onto the same screen. From my normal viewing distance of about 15', they look the same. The resolution stays crisp on the 1080p to a much closer distance, and the seats that are around 10-12' look significantly better. Also, my bluray movies are completely crisp and clear.

You can score a good 720p projector for less than 1k now, and as long as you have the viewing distance to accommodate for your desired screen size, they offer a tremendous value for the money. Also, if you're looking to be budget-conscious, a good quality screen etc is equally as important as the projector that you choose, as is sound and peripherals, blahblahblah.

I would agree, AVS can definitely lead to serious e-peen syndrome and result in overbuying, but it can be helpful. There are a couple good threads in the under $3k forum that can help you know what to look for, and I recall a thread about high-end 720p vs low-end 1080p. Sorry, I don't have any links.

You can find out some basic stuff about the technology that exists, if you want LCD or DLP, viewing distance and placement, light control, stuff like that. And, as fa8362 pointed out, make sure you don't get a business projector.

I have a Sharp DT-510, which is 720p and throws a great image. There are some really good 720p projectors out there for decent prices. I got my Sharp on a closeout sale for $500 new from Costco. I'm pretty happy with it, I have it on a 92" screen and use it on a bigger one on occasion in the theater I where I work.

But, yeah, I would suggest definitely looking for a decent 720p projector.