86 Inch TV VS 110 Inch Projector

[Kosta]

After years of drooling over home theaters, I am finally on my way to build my own system! I have to make a decision though that is really troubling me and I would really appreciate your help.

I have a 4m (Width) by 6m (Depth) space where I can fit a projector screen up to a maximum of 110 inches (there is a door on the 4m wall so I can only take advantage of 2.7m including enough space for my speakers) or the biggest TV I can afford which is 86 inches. I have already read countless articles about TVs VS projectors and posts on forums but I still can't make up my mind because most of them are referring to 65 to a max of 75 inch TVs.

When it comes to ambient light I will be able to fully control it, even though there are quite a few windows in my space, since I will have blackout blinds. The main use-case will be watching movies but I will also be watching series and possible do some or a lot of casual gaming (I have never played any games on a screen other than a PC monitor so I don't know if it will be my cup of tea) and this is what troubles me.

LED TVs have a lifespan close to 100K hours nowadays so I can watch any content without worrying about a time limit unlike the lamp of a projector. If I was only going to watch movies I wouldn't have been bothered about it since you can only watch a movie per day (an average of 2 hours per day) but with series and gaming things are different. I am sure you know how it is with series and how addicting they can be if they are good, same goes for gaming since it's quite easy to lose track of time. I don't want to have to worry about changing lamps every year or less because even though I saved up money for an expensive projector, I can't afford to replace the lamps every 2K hours... Also, the more you use a lamp projector the more the quality is degrading so can you really justify using a projector to watch series or play games based on your experience? I mean, you don't use a Lamborghini to go shopping if you know what I mean...Or do you??? On the other hand, everyone is talking about the amazing experience of a huge screen but you can't really call an 86 inch screen small... Will 20-24 inches make a big enough difference to justify buying a projector and live with it's drawbacks (Closing the blinds every-time you want to watch something, lamp life, brightness/contrast, input lag)?

The second thing that troubles me is the Projector vs TV picture quality. I have never seen a home theater projector in action, my only experience is with the horrible low res projectors used in classrooms, so I don't know what to expect and even though I watched several youtube videos I can't really tell how good it is... Based on your experience, can a decent 4K projector be equally good to a LED TV when it comes to picture quality?

When it come to budget, 4000€ is the absolute max I can spend and based on that I am between the new 86 inch LG nanocell 900 series which will cost me 3700€, the 85 inch sony KD-85XH9096 at 3600€ or the Optoma CinemaX P1 at 3900€. I have never seeing any of these devices up close and I do not know how good they are quality-wise so I would really appreciate your feedback. From what I hear, sony uses better processing but the LG own has a better UI. I also heard that this year's nanocells are as close to OLED as LED can get. Finally, I chose the Optoma P1 because it was the only UST 4K laser projector with good reviews and for my use-case a lamp projector will just not be enough, even though there are some really good budget lamp projectors such as the new Epsons... Epson also has a 4Kish UST laser projector priced at 2800€ but there are not many reviews online and the ones I found where not very kind to this projector.

Just to be clear, I am more than willing to live with the projector's drawbacks if the extra inches make a big difference, what I truly care is the best Movie/series/gaming experience (in that order) for my space and budget. I also don't care about satellite TV or watching sports which would make the TV more appealing.

Finally, I have been trying to find how much it costs to replace the laser on the optoma once it burns out but I can't find anything online.

 

[TLS Guy]

After years of drooling over home theaters, I am finally on my way to build my own system! I have to make a decision though that is really troubling me and I would really appreciate your help.

I have a 4m (Width) by 6m (Depth) space where I can fit a projector screen up to a maximum of 110 inches (there is a door on the 4m wall so I can only take advantage of 2.7m including enough space for my speakers) or the biggest TV I can afford which is 86 inches. I have already read countless articles about TVs VS projectors and posts on forums but I still can't make up my mind because most of them are referring to 65 to a max of 75 inch TVs.

When it comes to ambient light I will be able to fully control it, even though there are quite a few windows in my space, since I will have blackout blinds. The main use-case will be watching movies but I will also be watching series and possible do some or a lot of casual gaming (I have never played any games on a screen other than a PC monitor so I don't know if it will be my cup of tea) and this is what troubles me.

LED TVs have a lifespan close to 100K hours nowadays so I can watch any content without worrying about a time limit unlike the lamp of a projector. If I was only going to watch movies I wouldn't have been bothered about it since you can only watch a movie per day (an average of 2 hours per day) but with series and gaming things are different. I am sure you know how it is with series and how addicting they can be if they are good, same goes for gaming since it's quite easy to lose track of time. I don't want to have to worry about changing lamps every year or less because even though I saved up money for an expensive projector, I can't afford to replace the lamps every 2K hours... Also, the more you use a lamp projector the more the quality is degrading so can you really justify using a projector to watch series or play games based on your experience? I mean, you don't use a Lamborghini to go shopping if you know what I mean...Or do you??? On the other hand, everyone is talking about the amazing experience of a huge screen but you can't really call an 86 inch screen small... Will 20-24 inches make a big enough difference to justify buying a projector and live with it's drawbacks (Closing the blinds every-time you want to watch something, lamp life, brightness/contrast, input lag)?

The second thing that troubles me is the Projector vs TV picture quality. I have never seen a home theater projector in action, my only experience is with the horrible low res projectors used in classrooms, so I don't know what to expect and even though I watched several youtube videos I can't really tell how good it is... Based on your experience, can a decent 4K projector be equally good to a LED TV when it comes to picture quality?

When it come to budget, 4000€ is the absolute max I can spend and based on that I am between the new 86 inch LG nanocell 900 series which will cost me 3700€, the 85 inch sony KD-85XH9096 at 3600€ or the Optoma CinemaX P1 at 3900€. I have never seeing any of these devices up close and I do not know how good they are quality-wise so I would really appreciate your feedback. From what I hear, sony uses better processing but the LG own has a better UI. I also heard that this year's nanocells are as close to OLED as LED can get. Finally, I chose the Optoma P1 because it was the only UST 4K laser projector with good reviews and for my use-case a lamp projector will just not be enough, even though there are some really good budget lamp projectors such as the new Epsons... Epson also has a 4Kish UST laser projector priced at 2800€ but there are not many reviews online and the ones I found where not very kind to this projector.

Just to be clear, I am more than willing to live with the projector's drawbacks if the extra inches make a big difference, what I truly care is the best Movie/series/gaming experience (in that order) for my space and budget. I also don't care about satellite TV or watching sports which would make the TV more appealing.

Finally, I have been trying to find how much it costs to replace the laser on the optoma once it burns out but I can't find anything online.

I have only had a chance to view the Samsung version (QLED) which is the same technology. I was not overly impressed. The brights were OK, but not dark scenes. Overall not as good as my 2K plasmas. So I went with OLED. That was the only technology that could beat plasma and then only by a whisker.

If you can't afford OLED then you might be better off with a good projector. They carry a lot of baggage in the inconvenience department though. The biggest advantage is the larger screen though.

In my theater the 77" OLED gives a really great picture, but it would be great if it was a bit bigger. I did engineer it so I could add a projector easily and have both options. I doubt I will do that though.

 

[Movie2099]

After years of drooling over home theaters, I am finally on my way to build my own system! I have to make a decision though that is really troubling me and I would really appreciate your help.

I have a 4m (Width) by 6m (Depth) space where I can fit a projector screen up to a maximum of 110 inches (there is a door on the 4m wall so I can only take advantage of 2.7m including enough space for my speakers) or the biggest TV I can afford which is 86 inches. I have already read countless articles about TVs VS projectors and posts on forums but I still can't make up my mind because most of them are referring to 65 to a max of 75 inch TVs.

When it comes to ambient light I will be able to fully control it, even though there are quite a few windows in my space, since I will have blackout blinds. The main use-case will be watching movies but I will also be watching series and possible do some or a lot of casual gaming (I have never played any games on a screen other than a PC monitor so I don't know if it will be my cup of tea) and this is what troubles me.

LED TVs have a lifespan close to 100K hours nowadays so I can watch any content without worrying about a time limit unlike the lamp of a projector. If I was only going to watch movies I wouldn't have been bothered about it since you can only watch a movie per day (an average of 2 hours per day) but with series and gaming things are different. I am sure you know how it is with series and how addicting they can be if they are good, same goes for gaming since it's quite easy to lose track of time. I don't want to have to worry about changing lamps every year or less because even though I saved up money for an expensive projector, I can't afford to replace the lamps every 2K hours... Also, the more you use a lamp projector the more the quality is degrading so can you really justify using a projector to watch series or play games based on your experience? I mean, you don't use a Lamborghini to go shopping if you know what I mean...Or do you??? On the other hand, everyone is talking about the amazing experience of a huge screen but you can't really call an 86 inch screen small... Will 20-24 inches make a big enough difference to justify buying a projector and live with it's drawbacks (Closing the blinds every-time you want to watch something, lamp life, brightness/contrast, input lag)?

The second thing that troubles me is the Projector vs TV picture quality. I have never seen a home theater projector in action, my only experience is with the horrible low res projectors used in classrooms, so I don't know what to expect and even though I watched several youtube videos I can't really tell how good it is... Based on your experience, can a decent 4K projector be equally good to a LED TV when it comes to picture quality?

When it come to budget, 4000€ is the absolute max I can spend and based on that I am between the new 86 inch LG nanocell 900 series which will cost me 3700€, the 85 inch sony KD-85XH9096 at 3600€ or the Optoma CinemaX P1 at 3900€. I have never seeing any of these devices up close and I do not know how good they are quality-wise so I would really appreciate your feedback. From what I hear, sony uses better processing but the LG own has a better UI. I also heard that this year's nanocells are as close to OLED as LED can get. Finally, I chose the Optoma P1 because it was the only UST 4K laser projector with good reviews and for my use-case a lamp projector will just not be enough, even though there are some really good budget lamp projectors such as the new Epsons... Epson also has a 4Kish UST laser projector priced at 2800€ but there are not many reviews online and the ones I found where not very kind to this projector.

Just to be clear, I am more than willing to live with the projector's drawbacks if the extra inches make a big difference, what I truly care is the best Movie/series/gaming experience (in that order) for my space and budget. I also don't care about satellite TV or watching sports which would make the TV more appealing.

Finally, I have been trying to find how much it costs to replace the laser on the optoma once it burns out but I can't find anything online.

I would suggest going with the projector. If you like movies, streaming and gaming, going with the bigger screen is a must. If you want to get into a 4k projector look at the Sony 295 or JVC NX5. If you want to go faux 4k, look at Epson. Their 5050 series is around $2800-$3000(US dollars) and will give you a very good picture. If you are building a true theater room, nothing beats the projector. TV's just don't look right in a home theater. In my opinion.

 

[Alex2507]

it would be great if it was a bit bigger.

That's what she said.

 

[Kosta]

I have only had a chance to view the Samsung version (QLED) which is the same technology. I was not overly impressed. The brights were OK, but not dark scenes. Overall not as good as my 2K plasmas. So I went with OLED. That was the only technology that could beat plasma and then only by a whisker.

If you can't afford OLED then you might be better off with a good projector. They carry a lot of baggage in the inconvenience department though. The biggest advantage is the larger screen though.

In my theater the 77" OLED gives a really great picture, but it would be great if it was a bit bigger. I did engineer it so I could add a projector easily and have both options. I doubt I will do that though.

From what I have seen with the Qleds, they tend to be too bright for their own good and end up with washed up scenes unlike the LG and Sony ones. From what I hear about the previous LG/Sony models though the they suffer when it comes to the quality of dark scenes. Unfortunately I couldn't find a dealer to see these models up close...I have seen a 77" OLED from up close though and they are impressive quality-wise but the size was too small for my taste. LG has an 88" inch version too but the price is just too much...Personally If I was OK with the size of the 77" one I would definitely go for an OLED.

I thought about adding both a projector for movies and a TV for series and gaming but I will either have to increase the budget substantially, especially if I go for an OLED. If I want to stay withing budget I will have to go for a cheap projector and TV which will be less than ideal quality-wise. I could go for the projector and buy a TV later or vice versa but I have been saving for quite a while for the sound system and the TV/projector and I don't know if I will be able to do the same in the future so making the right choice from the beginning is crucial in my case.

My parents have a 55 inch OLED in their home and I just can't get enough of their perfect picture quality and contrast. The only downside is the size and an annoying stuck pixel which appeared after half a year of usage which made me very skeptical about buying a TV. While we are on the subject, can projectors suffer from stuck or dead pixels? I assumed they can't but I might as well be sure about it since that would be a huge plus!

I would suggest going with the projector. If you like movies, streaming and gaming, going with the bigger screen is a must. If you want to get into a 4k projector look at the Sony 295 or JVC NX5. If you want to go faux 4k, look at Epson. Their 5050 series is around $2800-$3000(US dollars) and will give you a very good picture. If you are building a true theater room, nothing beats the projector. TV's just don't look right in a home theater. In my opinion.

Thank you for the recommendations but both the higher end projectors are outside my price range. Not only that but I hear the lamp prices for sony and especially JVC are way too high. I have seen every comparison video there is to see on Native vs Faux 4k and I couldn't see a difference big enough to justify the price increase.

In my country the Epson 6050 is below 3000€ but it's a lamp projector with a very short lifespan so I don't know if it will be any good for my use-case. I also hear that their blacks are excellent but their 4k is actually half the resolution of 4K.

BTW the room I mentioned is not a dedicated home theater room but a living room which I will transform to a home theater. It's not like the dedicated rooms I have seen with multiple rows, painted walls, decoration etc so I don't know if that can count as a true home theater. In any case I will take your opinion into consideration, thank you.

That's what she said.

Steve Carell would be in heaven with threads like this

 

[TLS Guy]

From what I have seen with the Qleds, they tend to be too bright for their own good and end up with washed up scenes unlike the LG and Sony ones. From what I hear about the previous LG/Sony models though the they suffer when it comes to the quality of dark scenes. Unfortunately I couldn't find a dealer to see these models up close...I have seen a 77" OLED from up close though and they are impressive quality-wise but the size was too small for my taste. LG has an 88" inch version too but the price is just too much...Personally If I was OK with the size of the 77" one I would definitely go for an OLED.

I thought about adding both a projector for movies and a TV for series and gaming but I will either have to increase the budget substantially, especially if I go for an OLED. If I want to stay withing budget I will have to go for a cheap projector and TV which will be less than ideal quality-wise. I could go for the projector and buy a TV later or vice versa but I have been saving for quite a while for the sound system and the TV/projector and I don't know if I will be able to do the same in the future so making the right choice from the beginning is crucial in my case.

My parents have a 55 inch OLED in their home and I just can't get enough of their perfect picture quality and contrast. The only downside is the size and an annoying stuck pixel which appeared after half a year of usage which made me very skeptical about buying a TV. While we are on the subject, can projectors suffer from stuck or dead pixels? I assumed they can't but I might as well be sure about it since that would be a huge plus!



Thank you for the recommendations but both the higher end projectors are outside my price range. Not only that but I hear the lamp prices for sony and especially JVC are way too high. I have seen every comparison video there is to see on Native vs Faux 4k and I couldn't see a difference big enough to justify the price increase.

In my country the Epson 6050 is below 3000€ but it's a lamp projector with a very short lifespan so I don't know if it will be any good for my use-case. I also hear that their blacks are excellent but their 4k is actually half the resolution of 4K.

BTW the room I mentioned is not a dedicated home theater room but a living room which I will transform to a home theater. It's not like the dedicated rooms I have seen with multiple rows, painted walls, decoration etc so I don't know if that can count as a true home theater. In any case I will take your opinion into consideration, thank you.



Steve Carell would be in heaven with threads like this

There is very little practical difference in the size of a 77" versus an 85" TV. The OLED picture is superb. In your situation that is what I wold do, especially now I know what you say about your room.

One question I should have asked you is what is your viewing distance? At 12" a 77" to 85" TV is actually optimal. A lot also depends on what you use the room for. I watch stream opera and a lot of sites like BPO.

I think I have watched three movies in all since I finished this room in October. I do watch TV though. I just don't watch enough actual movies to justify the hassle of a projector.

In any event I think the audio is really paramount in creating an involving exciting experience. When all is said and done, the video end of it is light years behind the audio experience which is truly 3D now throughout the space if done properly. So if there is a dollar equation, bias your thinking to the audio and not the video.

 

[Kosta]

One question I should have asked you is what is your viewing distance? At 12" a 77" to 85" TV is actually optimal.

The viewing distance will be from 8 to 10 feet but that's not because I can't seat farther back but because I want to fill my field of view with the screen. From what I know, As long as your source is 4K you can watch a movie even with a 120 inch screen at that distance.

When I watch a movie on my parent's tv (the 55" one), I seat about a meter away if not less from the screen to fill my field of view but it's still too small for this.

Also the cheapest 77inch OLED I could find costs 5K euros which is a grant above my budget. If it was within my budget I would have considered going for the 77" OLED instead of the 86" LED for the picture quality alone.

I think I have watched three movies in all since I finished this room in October. I do watch TV though. I just don't watch enough actual movies to justify the hassle of a projector.

Personally I love watching movies and when I setup my system I will most like watch even more movies than I do now! Maybe even one everyday!

I never watch casual TV though (competitions, tv games, news etc) but I watch good series.

In any event I think the audio is really paramount in creating an involving exciting experience. When all is said and done, the video end of it is light years behind the audio experience which is truly 3D now throughout the space if done properly. So if there is a dollar equation, bias your thinking to the audio and not the video.

Yeah I agree... TV has been the same since ever... There was the 3D movie trend a couple of years ago but it died off pretty fast... My audio system will be a proper, home theater grade, surround and depending on my leftover budget quite possible Atmos too. What I worry about is having an awesome sound system with a screen (too small or low quality) that ruins the experience.

Personally I can't even imagine a home theater with a screen less than 75 inches. I will have an immersive 3D sound system and an unengaging screen.

 

[TLS Guy]

The viewing distance will be from 8 to 10 feet but that's not because I can't seat farther back but because I want to fill my field of view with the screen. From what I know, As long as your source is 4K you can watch a movie even with a 120 inch screen at that distance.

When I watch a movie on my parent's tv (the 55" one), I seat about a meter away if not less from the screen to fill my field of view but it's still too small for this.

Also the cheapest 77inch OLED I could find costs 5K euros which is a grant above my budget. If it was within my budget I would have considered going for the 77" OLED instead of the 86" LED for the picture quality alone.



Personally I love watching movies and when I setup my system I will most like watch even more movies than I do now! Maybe even one everyday!

I never watch casual TV though (competitions, tv games, news etc) but I watch good series.



Yeah I agree... TV has been the same since ever... There was the 3D movie trend a couple of years ago but it died off pretty fast... My audio system will be a proper, home theater grade, surround and depending on my leftover budget quite possible Atmos too. What I worry about is having an awesome sound system with a screen (too small or low quality) that ruins the experience.

Personally I can't even imagine a home theater with a screen less than 75 inches. I will have an immersive 3D sound system and an unengaging screen.

All I can tell you is, that the 77" screen does give a good movie experience in the front three rows, but it is a bit small for the back row. The better picture of a TV over projection does make up for some of the loss.

So I really don't want to cover the speakers with a screen. There is no perfect acoustically transparent screen.

There is a disconnect between the sonic width, and for that matter especially the depth, which a bigger screen would not correct.

This rig has no trouble producing a sound stage wider and deeper than the room. So no screen would correct the visual audio disconnect anyway.

 

[Kosta]

Wow, I really like your setup! I see you are using a vertical center too, placed above the screen! I ordered a horizontal one myself with an extra mid drive to fix the issues that comes with the horizontal orientation. Any specific reason you placed it above the screen or is it just to widen the sweetspot for the back rows?

So I really don't want to cover the speakers with a screen.

I wasn't planning on putting speakers behind the screen. Even a standard speaker mesh/grill messes with the sound so putting a screen in front of them, even an acoustic one, would ruin their fidelity which is important to me since I am planning to make my system suitable for both movies and HiFi music.

In any case I will make sure to visit a tech store and check the 77" Oleds and 85" Leds again and see if I will get the experience I want by seating closer. For example, based on the picture you posted, I would be seating a lot closer since at that distance I doubt the 77" would fill my field of view.

Before I make my decision, is there someone who has made the transmission from a good and large TV to a projector or vice versa? I would appreciate some feedback on the quality difference. Can a projector such as the optoma p1 reach LED TV levels of quality equal to the TVs mentioned above, better quality and closer to OLED or worse than a LED TV?

 

[TLS Guy]

Wow, I really like your setup! I see you are using a vertical center too, placed above the screen! I ordered a horizontal one myself with an extra mid drive to fix the issues that comes with the horizontal orientation. Any specific reason you placed it above the screen or is it just to widen the sweetspot for the back rows?

I wasn't planning on putting speakers behind the screen. Even a standard speaker mesh/grill messes with the sound so putting a screen in front of them, even an acoustic one, would ruin their fidelity which is important to me since I am planning to make my system suitable for both movies and HiFi music.

In any case I will make sure to visit a tech store and check the 77" Oleds and 85" Leds again and see if I will get the experience I want by seating closer. For example, based on the picture you posted, I would be seating a lot closer since at that distance I doubt the 77" would fill my field of view.

Before I make my decision, is there someone who has made the transmission from a good and large TV to a projector or vice versa? I would appreciate some feedback on the quality difference. Can a projector such as the optoma p1 reach LED TV levels of quality equal to the TVs mentioned above, better quality and closer to OLED or worse than a LED TV?

I will answer your question as best I can.

This system was originally installed in our lake home on Benedict Lake in 2006. Due to advancing years we sold up last year and built a new home in Eagan a suburb of St. Paul MN. We moved in October 2019. The latter room is a bit bigger and has Atmos speakers.

The center speaker is a vertical design and is through wall. It uses two coaxial drivers from SEAS.

As you can see the lower driver is just above the screen. This gives good dispersion over the listening area, especially in this larger room. Also if you take note, heads have a strong tendency to be near the top of the screen, which I feel also favors an above screen location.

The lower driver carries the bulk of the sound. The upper driver provides variable baffle step compensation and its tweeter provides an Eq signal. It is driven from two amplifiers.

The right and left speakers are dual TLs and each powered by three amplifiers.

Now the MTM speaker configuration is designed to be placed vertically and NOT horizontally. The reason being is that in the vertical array it has good and controlled horizontal dispersion, and limited vertical dispersion. When you mount an MTM horizontal as so often done with centers, then you maximize reflections from the floor and the screen, and limit dispersion over the listening area, which is the exact opposite of the desired requirement. This does limit speech clarity in particular.

So that makes centers problematic. The only adequate solutions, are coaxial drivers as used here, a good full range driver, or a three way design with the tweeter above the midrange.

Like this center I built for my wife's system, at least she always refers to it as "her"system, in the main floor living room.

The larger lower driver is the sub driver of the in wall TL sub.

These are pictures which show the rest of the new AV room.

 

[Kosta]

This is very informative, thank you for taking the time to share it!

Your home theater room is just gorgeous! I am so jealous (in a good way) of people like you who have the knowledge and skills to build their own systems!! I was fortunate enough to meet a speaker builder with a deep understanding on the subject, who is currently building my system, and every time we seat down and talk about speakers he is sharing a lot of knowledge with me and it's really exciting. But still having a general idea about how a system works and what makes it sound better is a far cry from actually building one...

How did you acquire this knowledge? I mean where do you start? Building speakers requires both woodworking skill and physics knowledge and it's not like there is a speaker building curriculum online to help you (at least I couldn't find anything other some basic youtube videos). I started reading the loudspeaker design cookbook but it went from easy stuff like the driver parts and what they do to deep waters like physics formulas real fast...

 

[TLS Guy]

This is very informative, thank you for taking the time to share it!

Your home theater room is just gorgeous! I am so jealous (in a good way) of people like you who have the knowledge and skills to build their own systems!! I was fortunate enough to meet a speaker builder with a deep understanding on the subject, who is currently building my system, and every time we seat down and talk about speakers he is sharing a lot of knowledge with me and it's really exciting. But still having a general idea about how a system works and what makes it sound better is a far cry from actually building one...

How did you acquire this knowledge? I mean where do you start? Building speakers requires both woodworking skill and physics knowledge and it's not like there is a speaker building curriculum online to help you (at least I couldn't find anything other some basic youtube videos). I started reading the loudspeaker design cookbook but it went from easy stuff like the driver parts and what they do to deep waters like physics formulas real fast...

I have been fascinated with sound reproduction since I was a very young child. I built my first speaker, a Voight quarter wave pipe when I was 7.

I was lucky growing up in the UK, and got to know speaker and amp designers. For instance Raymond bought on old iron foundry 15 miles up the river Medway, at Tovil.
The was the former Kent Engineering Foundry. (KEF).

Back then design was very hit, and largely miss for everyone. The big break through was Thiel and Smalls paper that actually allowed you to calculate the interaction of speaker and box, and identify the key parameters you needed to know and measure a driver for.

This got even easier in the early eighties with computer assisted design of box and crossovers. I designed my first speaker with computer assistance in 1984.

Now we have it easy, with both computer design and measuring software easily affordable for the DIY speaker builder. The strangest thing to me is that now it is so much easier, we seem to have less doing it. Having said that though I think there must be enough of it going on, to give outfits like Parts Express a decent living.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I was first introduced to home theater projectors around 1991 when I was a Sophomore in college.

After I saw my first projector demo, there was no going back.

All the big screen TVs seemed small and insignificant compared to a 120" screen.

Sure you can't fit a 120" screen in your room?

But even a 110" screen is significantly bigger than an 86" TV.

I have both the JVC NX5 and NZ3 in my HT room. Both are about 23 FT away from the 150" screen (which seems small in my 22'x26'x14' room).

The NX5 clearly has better overall picture quality and contrast. But the NZ3 is still pretty great to me.

Thus, the NZ3 is actually my favorite projector.

The NZ3 is a Laser 4K-eShift Projector. I use the economy lamp setting. I think the high lamp setting has a rating of 20K hours, so the economy lamp setting should have more than 20K hours.

There is no lamp to replace with the NZ3 since it is a Laser PJ.

 

[panteragstk]

Funny, while reading this thread, my brother sent me a link to an interesting projector.

https://www.projectorreviews.com/vava/vavas-laser-tv-delivers-an-affordable-4k-viewing-experience-for-your-home-whether-in-your-theater-living-room-or-family-room-immerse-your-family-with-the-wow-factor-of-a-movie-theater/

 

[NINaudio]

The NZ3 is a Laser 4K-eShift Projector. I use the economy lamp setting. I think the high lamp setting has a rating of 20K hours, so the economy lamp setting should have more than 20K hours.

There is no lamp to replace with the NZ3 since it is a Laser PJ.

If there is no lamp to replace, what do the lamp settings and hour ratings mean then? What happens once you hit 20k hours on high with an NZ3?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If there is no lamp to replace, what do the lamp settings and hour ratings mean then? What happens once you hit 20k hours on high with an NZ3?

I think the NZ3's 20K hours is based on the default high lamp mode. You will have to manually change the mode to Economy. JVC didn't give a time rating for the Economy mode.

Anyway, when any laser projector can no longer output any picture, you have to buy a new laser projector.

With lamp-based projectors, you can replace the lamps. But as soon as you replace the new lamp, the light output immediately starts to deteriorate. So by 24 months, you pretty much need to replace the lamp if you want to have the same great light output.

Laser projectors are supposed to retain most of the great light output from start to finish (end of PJ life).

 

[panteragstk]

If there is no lamp to replace, what do the lamp settings and hour ratings mean then? What happens once you hit 20k hours on high with an NZ3?

I know you already know this, but 20k hours is a LOT. I've had my plasma for 8 years and it was the primary TV for most of that and it's only a little over 10k hours. This is the TV my kids had on cartoons for most of the day and then me and my wife watch TV on it after they're in bed. So, lots of use per day.

It's now sitting in my office and doesn't get used all that much, but still looks fantastic. Pretty much my gaming TV at this point.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I know you already know this, but 20k hours is a LOT. I've had my plasma for 8 years and it was the primary TV for most of that and it's only a little over 10k hours. This is the TV my kids had on cartoons for most of the day and then me and my wife watch TV on it after they're in bed. So, lots of use per day.

It's now sitting in my office and doesn't get used all that much, but still looks fantastic. Pretty much my gaming TV at this point.

Exactly. I'm hoping that on Economy mode, I will get 25K hours on my NZ3, which would be about 17 years for me.

I would be more than happy to buy a new NZ3 after 17 years.

 

[NINaudio]

I know you already know this, but 20k hours is a LOT. I've had my plasma for 8 years and it was the primary TV for most of that and it's only a little over 10k hours. This is the TV my kids had on cartoons for most of the day and then me and my wife watch TV on it after they're in bed. So, lots of use per day.

It's now sitting in my office and doesn't get used all that much, but still looks fantastic. Pretty much my gaming TV at this point.

Exactly. I'm hoping that on Economy mode, I will get 25K hours on my NZ3, which would be about 17 years for me.

I would be more than happy to buy a new NZ3 after 17 years.

It does sound like a lot, but with how much the TV in our house is on (at least 8 hours a day), 20K hours goes by a whole lot quicker! I was mostly curious as to what happens with a laser projector at that point.

I will admit that I was a bit confused when OP was concerned about lamp replacement but then mentioned laser projectors!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Finally, I have been trying to find how much it costs to replace the laser on the optoma once it burns out but I can't find anything online.

I will admit that I was a bit confused when OP was concerned about lamp replacement but then mentioned laser projectors!

From everything I've read, you don't replace the Laser at all.

You have to buy a new projector once the laser burns out.

I think if you're going to be using the PJ/TV 8 hours per day 365 days a year, it's best to get a TV, especially if it can last 100K hours.

But for 4 hours per day 365 days per year, it would be about 17 years before you need to buy a new PJ (assuming High-Lamp Mode = 20K HR, Low-Lamp Mode = 25K HR).

I think most people get a cheaper TV for cartoons and kids and PJ for movies/TV series (Snowpiercer and other shows are 4K).