[mythtv-users] What's a good projector for Myth?

[Krzysztof Adamski]

On Sat, 2009-02-28 at 11:41 -0800, Jim Stichnoth wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Jim Stichnoth <stichnot at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>         I'm thinking of moving my TV setup into a different room and
>         using a projector onto a 100" projector screen.  I started
>         looking into projectors and I'm shocked by the enormous range
>         of prices and don't want to make a stupid choice.  I imagine
>         that some of a given projector's cost may be for features that
>         MythTV doesn't need, such as deinterlacing, or switching
>         aspect ratios.  Other properties wouldn't be Myth-specific,
>         like ones that are important for the specific room.  Can
>         anyone share general wisdom or specific recommendations?
>         
>         My living room has high ceilings and the walls are all white,
>         and there would be a fair amount of daytime viewing, so there
>         could often be a lot of ambient light.  Fortunately, the
>         windows face north.  Ideally the projector would be mounted on
>         the back wall about 20 feet from the screen, but it could be
>         mounted on the side wall closer to the screen if necessary.
>         In either case, the projector would be even with the edge of
>         the screen.  It would probably be mounted at or above the top
>         of the screen and throw the beam downward.  With a 100"
>         screen, I don't know if 720p would be adequate (for
>         comparison, I'm completely happy with the 720p native
>         resolution of my 42" TV).
>         
>         Any thoughts?  Thanks,
>         
>         Jim
> 
> Thanks to everyone for your experience and advice.
> 
> I didn't see any Myth-specific comments, like "avoid this-or-that
> projector because it just doesn't work!", so I can probably continue
> with generic projector research.  (But maybe someone here can tell me
> what on earth you get in an $8000 projector compared to one in the
> $2000 range.)

One difference if it is a DLP projector is the difference between one
DLP chip with a colour wheel and a 3 DLP chips without a colour wheel.
Also an other possibility could be a LED lamp that last a long time
versus an incandescent lamp that last 3000 hours.

I have also seen projectors with an Ethernet port for control.

> I am very worried though about the ambient light issue.  This is a
> living room with high ceilings, lots of windows, and potentially
> letting lots of light in from other areas of the house.  The image
> would be projected onto some built-in bookshelves, so a pull-down
> screen is necessary.  I wonder if any projector/screen combinations
> would make this acceptable.

If you want to check if the projector will work in this room, you can
rent/buy/borrow a cheap projector to try it out and see it it works.