Hi All,

I'm looking to buy a projector for my apartment ! With this is in mind, what do people think are the best options?

The Sony kindly highlighted by a friend looks good (http://www.morecomputers.co.uk/extra.asp?pn=VPL-CW125&referer=Froogle ), but I was hoping to keep the cost under £1000 as I will also need to buy a ceiling mount for the projector, screen and a good surround sound system.

If you guys say the Sony is worth the money and is that much better than a cheaper option I will bite the bullet and drop the extra cash (although might have to drop spec on surround sound system)?

Having read several posts on various websites I am not sure how important HD is? but this model does not appear to have HD capabilities?

All thoughts welcome!!

Regards
 
J

Well first thing is, the projector does have a cropped HD resolution, so no worries there.

Only thing I cant see their is the lumins rating for the brightness, as you have read about, the concern obviously is how good a projector can cut thru ambiant lights, and, on the most part, sunlight on a bright day, that you can clearly still get an image. Tho at that price is should be a good one.

Theirs other things to consider, size/ distance....you really need to go that big?...other factors are connecting it means having to buy cables that can reach the distance from your player to the projector etc etc.

Its deffo worth the cash, it is a good price for it,

Persoanly I always go with the weakest link and for an apartment get myself a Plasma and stick with a good surround.
A good sound system will last you a hell of alot longer, were as screens and displays are in a constant state of evolution right now, with MANY new technoligies to be on sale within the next 3-4 years, with prices dropping all the time would be the best time to sink more money in.

Thanks fella for the quick reply!

I checked the lumens on the Sony and 3000 seems pretty good in relation to other Projectors I’ve looked at.

The room is 14ft long and 12ft wide. The viewing wall has two doors rendering it useless for a conventional flat screen (I will only have 30”ish between doors).

The projector will be either ceiling mounted, or rest on a ledge approximately 120cm high with room for a DVD player and laptop.

I have found an 84” screen for £90 but have not looked for a good surround yet.

Thoughts on a surround and cost would also be welcome LOL


O dear really not sure what to do now

Regards

J
 
P.S. I was unable to find the contrast raito for the Sony? I think Sony might use different terminology/technology but I have been told that 5000:1 should really be the minimum spec for a good movie image?

Ahh right, didnt realise about the layout was hindering a screen mate sorry.

In which case for flexability the projector would work best for you to be able to clear the screen away, tho think day to day when watching TV etc etc.

The one you are looking at, a certain amount of the money goes on the fact that as projectors goes that one is pretty small in physical size, which is all good for the space you have.

Im not sure on surround, you looking at seperates? Amp, speakers etc etc?

Tho add, mate has one for all his gaming stuff and its f'ing awesome lol, watching South Park and Family Guy on that scale is pretty cool too lol, he had one of the first HD capible ones (quite old), ive always liked the contrast/ black levels seen.

For the Surround I will need to start from scratch……Got a feeling this is going to hurt……..
 
Another friend has recommended this projector:
 
http://www.royjowetthomecinema.co.uk/category/Projectors_LCD+Projectors/product/Panasonic-PTAX200-LCD-Projector.html?osCsid=e6442dcb57d3bd14f564fdd2c0c8c293

It’s cheaper than the Sony but not sure how the two compare?

Regards

J

Most poeple that I have seen do direct comparisons between Pannys and Sonys (which seems to be a popular comparison) usually side with the Sony, however, its has been reported that the Pannys have been shown to have less reainbow effect on the screen, which can be a syptom of LCD Projectors.

(not really helping am I lol)

Without them side by side mate I couldnt tell you, at the level of expense you are looking at tho, you are NOT getting a bad projector, anything from £700 up will offer you a spectacular picture mate, the Panny is a good option if you want to sink more money into the sound side of things....how much of a budget do you have?

My budget is depended on what I can get. I initially thought £1000 for the projector and £300 for the audio side.
 
However, I can spend a little more if the returns in terms of picture/sound are considerable and worth it!
 
LOL not a super clear description of my financial position but I think you get the drift

We are kinda screwd on the HiFi Seperates side of things then mate lol, you may to look at a "1 box package".

LOL ok hit me with what I am looking at in terms of £££££ to get something that sounds as good as the screen will look......
 
 
Don’t worry I’m sitting down

DO you have spce for Floor standing speakers at the front, preferably sitting flat against the wall but if stuck for space you can turn them into the corner...or would book shelf sized speakers suit more?

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The pic above gives a quick wall plan. The -- is the wall and the __ are the doors. On the left hand side there will be less than 10cm of wall between the door and the adjacent wall. The space between the two doors will be around 3ft (Subject to change a little as I am yet to put one of the doors in). The space on the left of the second door is about 4ft..............

The room is very minimal so small or very cool looking would be ideal.....,.not that I’m picky or anything LOL

So this kinda thing is out of the question lol



They are 18cm wide and 25 deep?

Hmmmm discreet  LOL
 
I think they might take over the room…..and although it is MY flat the VIP may not look very favourably on them or me.
 
I have seen really small little Bose ones (I think they were Bose) but I'm not sure if they would do the job and how muche they go for???

Bose ya mean?

Bose dont do the sounds system alone mate, they sell the whole thing with a DVD player etc etc, if you are looking dicreet then yes, they are pretty much the options you have, as said "a box systems", tho you are paying for a brand and you wont get the quality of a seperate system TBH.

Bose cough cough thats what I said

I want quality, but need small or cool

http://www.roundsound.com/nucleus-micro-speakers.htm

Any thoughts?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

None neverheard of them lol......please dont go for "cool" factor lol.

Just checked as it was talk awhile ago, but I think BOSE are soon doing an amp and slim speaker system, if not now very very soon, bro was telling me about it.

hmmmm O dear I thought it would be pretty straight forward on the speaker front
 
The room is very finished for want of a better word and I would prefer not to sacrifice the room’s aesthetics with some ugly boxes. I love watching movies and don’t want a crap system so I seem to be between a rock and a hard place…..
 
Any thoughts on the best solution?

I had thought something like this would do the job!

http://www.hispek.com/P/Bose-AM5W3-Acoustimass-5-Series-III-Hi-Fi-Speakers-in-White(AM5W3).aspx
 

http://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-entertainment/stereo-speakers/virtually-invisible-speakers/AM5/index.jsp
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You can look into sommin like the KEF all in one systme, pretty funky but better qaulity. value, they start at about £600

Double: