Not sure which way to go.  The room will double as a place to put the tweens when mom and dad want grown up time. Kids like gaimg as well.  Not sure when a Projection comed into play over say a 55 or 60 inch LCD.

Please help.

Regads,

OK,

I think there is a lot to consider and probably why no one wants to respond. . .

I would weigh these things in order of importance

Light- How much natural light does this room have?  Are there lots of windows, or is the room only partially enclosed etc?
Here is what most people don’t tell you about projectors. . .they are all about contrast.  The darkest black your projector will make is completely dependent on the room light.  Without a good black level, the picture will be washed out and hard to see, especially when viewing “dark” content (thin Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, etc)  You can partially, (I stress that word) overcome this by getting a brighter projector, but that adds up quick in initial purchase and in maintenance on the bulb(s) (Some high brightness units use 2!)

Room Size- Bigger rooms can dictate bigger screens, and unless you have $100k to spend on a Panasonic 103” Plasma, projectors are the way to get more size.  I say this is #2 as if you can’t see it (#1) it doesn’t matter how big it is.

Room Layout- Is this a partial gameroom?  If you are sitting 10 feet back, and you have a 100” screen, your projector may be as far back as 14-15 feet.  Will there be traffic in the light path of the projector behind the seating area that could affect this?  Nothing worse than shadows on your screen eveytime your kids switch Fooseball positions. If you have higher ceilings this could be a non issue.

Damage-  A fixed projection screen hanging on a wall has a gain coating on it that reflects the picture.  This coating can be damaged leaving hot or dull spots.  These are also bad places for kids to color, and large, white, framed “canvases” can be tempting.  Are you tweens at the stage that this should not be an issue?  Again you can do a manual or electric drop down screen, but nobody likes getting up to pull down the screen, and the electric ones get spendy.  Also, if you want to recess the case to improve the look, you have a 50/50 shot that your ceiling joists are running perpindicular to the screen which can cause major issues in restructuring to make that happen.

I love projectors in the right environment, as I think they offer best bang for the buck in screen per inch.  But many times they can be a bad investment.

Email me your room layout and light conditions, and I will post here with a gratis recommendation.  “Giver’s Gain” and all :)

markc at orangeproav dot com
(at =”@” and dot=”.”)

Best and God Bless

Mark C

I think Mark has covered everything, but wanted to add my 2 cents.  As I am in a similar position as you, with the difference that my kids are much younger (3 and 1).  After weighing options, and pro’s and cons, I decided (was told by the wife) on a 65 inch plasma over a projector setup.  I already have motorized black out shades over the window in the media room, so light control isn’t a problem.  I wanted a projector, for the bigger screen, but getting the screen out of the way was going to present many of the issues that Mark brought up, and getting colored on is a real threat at my home.  The nail in the coffin of my projector dreams, was the WAF (wife acceptance factor) and the price of doing a motorized drop down screen with the price of a decent projector.  I ordered a 65 inch Panasonic plasma for just under $2500, wereas I was looking at $6k for the JVC projector and screen I wanted. 

Good luck!

Paul

:coolcheese:

Thanks

I havae about 12 feet .  it seems like a flat screen is the way.  Did you guys buy interenet tready so you can stream movies etc ??

My TV did not have to be internet capable as my AVR is.  I would highly recommend it if you don’t have a method of streaming movies without adding ethernet to the TV.  Just a reminder that both the PS3, and X-box 360 can act as media extenders and accomplish the same thing.

Plasma versus LCD.  I think Lcd will work better with windows behind the viewers no?

If you are not going to close the blinds to watch TV, LCD is brighter than plasma.  You will need to look at the finish of the LCD screens however, as some models have a reflective high gloss coating now instead of the typical matte finish.  I still prefer plasma over LCD mainly due to the black levels over comparably priced LCD’s, and the superior viewing angles.  LCD’s have a definate sweet spot, and once you move off of that sweet spot, brightness and color fall off fairly dramatically.

I’ve read that newer and much more expensive local dimming LED backlit LCD sets have improved greatly over their less expensive counterparts, but at the end of the day, I can by a 65 inch plasma for $2500, and close the curtains instead of spending $5,000 for a 52 inch Sony LCD so I don’t have to.

Good info.  Thanks

LCD is better than Plasma. Few years back, I was using Plasma TV and recently I had bought LCD TV and I was really amazed with the results of LCD TV.

hey thank you for your information but already migrated for an LED TV. enjoying it to the best

:) He,
    I’ve read that newer and much more expensive local dimming LED backlit LCD sets have improved greatly over their less expensive counterparts…

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