Looking for a good HD projector

[george-brooks]

Hi there, I'm building a small home theater and I am looking for a good HD projector. I know very little about projectors and all I really know is that I would like something with 1080 resolution. My budget is ~$700 but a little over is ok if it makes a big difference in quality. Any suggestions?

[Cinephi1e]

This is such a specialized topic you are better off looking elsewhere rather than MacRumors. I would recommend the AVS Forums:
http://www.avsforum.com/f/

That said, I would highly recommend Optoma projectors:
http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/projectors/

[Sniff]

AVS Forums has more info than you will ever need....


HERE is a quick "best of" projector section....

[george-brooks]

thanks

[j3yq]

While I agree that your going to want a 1080P model, your budget is a little limited. Ive had both 720P model and a 1080P model, I wouldnt totally put off a 720P model. I had an Optoma HD70 and I enjoyed it very much.

There was a Panasonic model I think the AX200, Which was a was a 720P model but had an awesome picture.

[RedTomato]

Thanks for these answers. I'm also looking for a projector for Xmas and my budget is roughly similar to the OP. Am in the UK but I guess the hardware is much the same.

[orestes1984]

It really depends on what distance you're viewing from. A 720p projector isn't bad at all even by today's standards if you want a 110"+ screen, the big issue is pixel size on low resolution projectors. If you sit too close to a 720p projector, you'll notice. The other issue is lamp brightness where you want as many Lumens as you can get unless you've got yourself an every day bat cave, most home theatre projectors have fairly low Lumens though and are not designed for daylight usage. I use a 720p data projector at home, it's not bad at all, but I don't expect outstanding quality either.

For your money you should be able to get a 1080p projector with 3D but the quality will be another matter. Have a look on a specialised AVS forum, I use http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/ in Australia, MacRumors wont have a lot of users with the kind of specific knowledge you're looking for.

[george-brooks]

Originally Posted by orestes1984

It really depends on what distance you're viewing from. A 720p projector isn't bad at all even by today's standards if you want a 110"+ screen, the big issue is pixel size on low resolution projectors. If you sit too close to a 720p projector, you'll notice. The other issue is lamp brightness where you want as many Lumens as you can get unless you've got yourself an every day bat cave, most home theatre projectors have fairly low Lumens though and are not designed for daylight usage. I use a 720p data projector at home, it's not bad at all, but I don't expect outstanding quality either.

For your money you should be able to get a 1080p projector with 3D but the quality will be another matter. Have a look on a specialised AVS forum, I use http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/ in Australia, MacRumors wont have a lot of users with the kind of specific knowledge you're looking for.

This is going in my (finished) basement. The couch is about 10 feet from the wall. The screen will be about 70" diagonal, give or take.

[orestes1984]

Originally Posted by george-brooks

This is going in my (finished) basement. The couch is about 10 feet from the wall. The screen will be about 70" diagonal, give or take.

If it's going in your basement with minimal outside light lamp brightness should not be an issue to you. It's a double edged sword, projectors with bright lamps are designed for data projection in schools/offices in daylight conditions. Really good home theatre projectors have low lamp brightness so as to introduce as little light bleed as possible.

I am not up to date with current projectors so best to ask elsewhere other than to say you should be able to get a full 1080p 3D capable projector for less than $1000 these days the quality of the image will be another matter, go with known projector brands such as Optoma, etc if at all possible.

[musicpenguy]

I'm a huge fan of the Epson 710HD - priced around $600.

Great image quality and totally usable during the day with lots of ambient light.

They have higher end models with 3D and 1080p that I'll invest in one of these days, but for a low budget high quality projector the 710HD is a winner.

[dlegend]

How are you going to do the screen? Looking to get the Optoma HD66 which was highly recommended to me. Wanted to build my own screen for the time being to save some $$.

[famous600]

You can probably get a JVC RS1 or RS2 at that price point by now. JVC will have the best black levels. I picked up a used RS1 to throw a 120" in my basement. Perfect picture.

[musicpenguy]

Blackout fabric is a great material to use if you want to make your own screen.