Can a projector replace a TV?

[Gypsophila]

Can a projector and a projection screen replace the role of a TV?


Because I really like the experience of watching movies with a projector, and I can use a motorized screen, which can be put away when not in use, which is convenient, space-saving, and easy to install.

Perhaps the live broadcasters who use it to watch the Football World Cup are very enjoyable! ! !

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I watch NFL with my PJ. No problem.

 

[TLS Guy]

Can a projector and a projection screen replace the role of a TV?


Because I really like the experience of watching movies with a projector, and I can use a motorized screen, which can be put away when not in use, which is convenient, space-saving, and easy to install.

Perhaps the live broadcasters who use it to watch the Football World Cup are very enjoyable! ! !

I really doubt it these days, in this age of streaming. I suppose devices like ROKU might help. The problem that with a projector you loose the SMART functions of a TV. Unfortunately the use of these seems to be becoming increasingly forced on some sites. I don't know if any projectors use eARC.

I have thought about this, and wired my room for a projector. However I have never been inclined to invest in a projector and the added complication.

I find my 77" OLED gives a better picture than I have seen on a projector system. Would I like a bigger picture? May be. However, I am an audio guy from way back, and my system produces a huge soundstage with depth, and so that gives me a totally involved immersive experience, and I become totally unaware of the screen size issue.

In any event in my view the video is way behind the audio in creating the involved experience, and so I have not been seriously tempted to fork out for a projector and screen.

I know a lot will disagree, especially Gene, as he is in the bigger the picture, the better camp. I confess to having not entered that camp, but I suspect many would and do.

The one thing I can not tolerate is watching a screen and having bad audio. All my three AV systems have really good audio. For me that is job 1.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...the bigger the picture, the better camp. I confess to having not entered that camp...

I accidentally stumbled and fell into that camp when I was just a youngster sophomore in college.

I think it's one of those "have to experience for yourself to understand the feeling".

I would agree that most 4K projectors available, even some PJ's that cost $25,000, won't be bright enough if you have some lights (natural or from light bulbs) in the room, especially if the PJ screen size is well over 100".

But if you have a high quality PJ with 5,000+ Lumens and excellent contrast/black levels, the picture quality can be excellent - if you happened to accidentally stumbled into this camp.

And it's true that most projectors won't have those streaming apps and TV tuners built-in like most Smart-TVs, so you would probably have to buy your own. For example, I have a standalone TV tuner + Antenna.

Also true that TVs are so much easier to operate and most TVs cost a lot less than high quality high-lumen projectors.

Another factor is the room size. I don't think PJ's make sense for small rooms just like I don't think TVs make sense for a GIANT room which will make an 85" TV look small.

After stumbling into that camp many years ago as a youngster college sophomore, there was absolutely no turning back for me.

 

[panteragstk]

I used my PJ for daily TV watching for a few years until I got my now 10 year old plasma. It was great at the time, but it needs to be updated with a 4k HDR model and I still need to pick a new one.

I'd love for it to get close to my OLED in PQ, but I'm realistic that it wont. It'll still be better than what I've got now.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Many people use a projector as their primary TV.

The biggest issues with projectors is that they really work best in a completely dark room, and the darker that room, the better.

Ultra Short Throw (UST) projectors combined with UST/ALR (Ambient Light Rejecting) screens do an amazing job of improving image quality in a brighter room, but they simply aren't in the same league of a flat panel display.

As for 'smart' functionality, that's just handled by an internal streaming device, like those found on Samsung and LG displays which use the same OS as their actual televisions, or from a external smart device like a Roku, Fire, Apple, or similar streaming unit. There are a ton out there. We use a couple of Roku devices and a couple of Apple devices in our home which are available to any TV or the projector.

But, it's all about the room it is in. Period.

Laser/LED projectors can power on/off in a similar amount of time that a TV can power on and off in. As well, many UST projectors have ARC or even eARC available to them to provide surround sound output to a receiver. Others have optical audio out. But, you can just get a surround receiver and a smart device and call it done.

For some level of idea of my personal experience.

My first home had a large sliding glass door in a darkish family room (wood paneling). This is 20+ years ago, and we installed a projector. We put on some decent light controlling shades over the door and went with a 106" retractable screen (cheap). The screen developed waves in the material within a year. The projector was tough during the day, but was watchable. It was great after dark. That was with a very DIM CRT (3-gun) projector. Our second projector was a much nicer, but barely brighter 3-gun CRT as well. Then we got our first digital LCD projector. The Panasonic PT-L300U which gave us under 1,000 lumens of brightness. It was MUCH brighter than our previous CRT projectors. It was nice.

Until we moved into an apartment that had a large window near the screen.

With the window near the screen, there was simply no way to get the light down low enough to make the image usable during the day. It was frustrating and pretty poor quality. We dropped 3 grand on a 50" low-quality plasma... and that was a deal. Projector at night, TV during the day.

Our next home we put a motorized 106" screen in front of a 60" high quality plasma. It was not usable during the day, same PT-L300U projector.

Then we moved the projector to the basement, but kept the TV/projector setup down there. The 106" tab-tensioned motorized screen made it easy to switch between projector and flat panel. Upgraded to a Panasonic AE2000 projector, it wasn't really that much brighter.

New home, left the old projector and screen. Got a BenQ w1070 and installed a 161" tab-tensioned motorized screen in the basement. Our family room is simply too bright to support a projection setup. Even our 64" plasma struggled during the day to be bright enough.

It is ALL about light control.

 

[Gypsophila]

Many people use a projector as their primary TV.

The biggest issues with projectors is that they really work best in a completely dark room, and the darker that room, the better.

Ultra Short Throw (UST) projectors combined with UST/ALR (Ambient Light Rejecting) screens do an amazing job of improving image quality in a brighter room, but they simply aren't in the same league of a flat panel display.

As for 'smart' functionality, that's just handled by an internal streaming device, like those found on Samsung and LG displays which use the same OS as their actual televisions, or from a external smart device like a Roku, Fire, Apple, or similar streaming unit. There are a ton out there. We use a couple of Roku devices and a couple of Apple devices in our home which are available to any TV or the projector.

But, it's all about the room it is in. Period.

Laser/LED projectors can power on/off in a similar amount of time that a TV can power on and off in. As well, many UST projectors have ARC or even eARC available to them to provide surround sound output to a receiver. Others have optical audio out. But, you can just get a surround receiver and a smart device and call it done.

For some level of idea of my personal experience.

My first home had a large sliding glass door in a darkish family room (wood paneling). This is 20+ years ago, and we installed a projector. We put on some decent light controlling shades over the door and went with a 106" retractable screen (cheap). The screen developed waves in the material within a year. The projector was tough during the day, but was watchable. It was great after dark. That was with a very DIM CRT (3-gun) projector. Our second projector was a much nicer, but barely brighter 3-gun CRT as well. Then we got our first digital LCD projector. The Panasonic PT-L300U which gave us under 1,000 lumens of brightness. It was MUCH brighter than our previous CRT projectors. It was nice.

Until we moved into an apartment that had a large window near the screen.

With the window near the screen, there was simply no way to get the light down low enough to make the image usable during the day. It was frustrating and pretty poor quality. We dropped 3 grand on a 50" low-quality plasma... and that was a deal. Projector at night, TV during the day.

Our next home we put a motorized 106" screen in front of a 60" high quality plasma. It was not usable during the day, same PT-L300U projector.

Then we moved the projector to the basement, but kept the TV/projector setup down there. The 106" tab-tensioned motorized screen made it easy to switch between projector and flat panel. Upgraded to a Panasonic AE2000 projector, it wasn't really that much brighter.

New home, left the old projector and screen. Got a BenQ w1070 and installed a 161" tab-tensioned motorized screen in the basement. Our family room is simply too bright to support a projection setup. Even our 64" plasma struggled during the day to be bright enough.

It is ALL about light control.

Does this mean that as long as you have a projector with high brightness and a sufficiently dark projection environment or a projection screen that suppresses ambient light, you can have a good projection effect and experience? I am also planning to project in my basement, the environment is not too bright, but there will be some light, I have browsed many videos about basement home theater and am interested in some screens with light resistance! For example, the black grid screen of vivostorm, I plan to buy a laser projector of around 2500-4000, hesitating between Fengmi and Samsung, I think the effect of laser projector + anti-light screen will improve a lot

 

[BMXTRIX]

Does this mean that as long as you have a projector with high brightness and a sufficiently dark projection environment or a projection screen that suppresses ambient light, you can have a good projection effect and experience? I am also planning to project in my basement, the environment is not too bright, but there will be some light, I have browsed many videos about basement home theater and am interested in some screens with light resistance! For example, the black grid screen of vivostorm, I plan to buy a laser projector of around 2500-4000, hesitating between Fengmi and Samsung, I think the effect of laser projector + anti-light screen will improve a lot

AMBIENT LIGHT REJECTING SCREENS SUCK.

Accept this as a reality. They DO the job that they are designed for. A proper ALR screen will reject ambient light and improve contrast significantly.
What nobody talks about is that this doesn't come for free. You introduce hot-spotting, image uniformity issues, and sparkling/shimmering into the image when you use a ALR screen. As well, many ALR screens are negative gain, often heavily negative gain, which takes away from potential brightness and makes the already weak HDR of projection even worse. Ultra short throw ALR screens are much better about reducing this issue, but they still aren't great as many are .6 gain or worse, taking away nearly half the light output of the projector.

Controlling light in the room is critical for best image quality.

You can introduce some lighting away from the screen area if desired to move around and do things in other areas. Lighting near seating locations and in other parts of the space should be controlled for best results, but it will impact the image. Windows are tough if not light locked during the day. Any actual sunlight coming through a window really can make an image unwatchable without a ALR screen.

There are some images on some forums of setups with sunlight in rooms and what happens when rooms are darkened completely. I have a set of photos up when lighting is added to a space right here: http://www.avintegrated.com/lighting html

 

[Gypsophila]

AMBIENT LIGHT REJECTING SCREENS SUCK.

Accept this as a reality. They DO the job that they are designed for. A proper ALR screen will reject ambient light and improve contrast significantly.
What nobody talks about is that this doesn't come for free. You introduce hot-spotting, image uniformity issues, and sparkling/shimmering into the image when you use a ALR screen. As well, many ALR screens are negative gain, often heavily negative gain, which takes away from potential brightness and makes the already weak HDR of projection even worse. Ultra short throw ALR screens are much better about reducing this issue, but they still aren't great as many are .6 gain or worse, taking away nearly half the light output of the projector.

Controlling light in the room is critical for best image quality.

You can introduce some lighting away from the screen area if desired to move around and do things in other areas. Lighting near seating locations and in other parts of the space should be controlled for best results, but it will impact the image. Windows are tough if not light locked during the day. Any actual sunlight coming through a window really can make an image unwatchable without a ALR screen.

There are some images on some forums of setups with sunlight in rooms and what happens when rooms are darkened completely. I have a set of photos up when lighting is added to a space right here: http://www.avintegrated.com/lighting html

I'm sorry I didn't find a photo, why would it say that the screen with ambient light suppression is bad? But it is really used and recommended by many people. What you said will lower the light brightness of the projector, but the anti-light also reduces the impact of light, or this is also complementary. Of course, there is no perfect product, but I have to admit that The anti-light screen is much better than many ordinary curtains. Most of the projection environments are in bright places such as the living room. Anti-light is particularly important. I have read a lot of evaluations about the vivostorm anti-light screen, and the effect is good ( with the lights on), but I will also consider your suggestion, thank you very much

 

[BMXTRIX]

I'm sorry I didn't find a photo, why would it say that the screen with ambient light suppression is bad?

I told you why they are bad. To reject ambient light, and optical coating must be added to the screen. This creates shimmering, sparkling, and hot spots. All of which is bad for the image quality. A ALR screen is a band aid for a bad room, it is not an actual solution. So, you don't get something for nothing.

In my experience (not opinion), ultra-short throw ALR screens do a better job because they are purpose designed to reflect light from underneath, but standard throw (actually somewhat long throw) ALR screens are just absolutely terrible looking. They are inappropriate for home use unless people really can put up with the compromised image quality.

But it is really used and recommended by many people.

In a brightly lit room, a ALR screen is mostly a requirement. It doesn't mean it is good. It just means you've made a choice to have a weak image in the room. As well, stores make a TON of profit on ALR screens, so they are happy to ALWAYS recommend them. It's a bad choice.

What you said will lower the light brightness of the projector, but the anti-light also reduces the impact of light, or this is also complementary. Of course, there is no perfect product, but I have to admit that The anti-light screen is much better than many ordinary curtains. Most of the projection environments are in bright places such as the living room. Anti-light is particularly important. I have read a lot of evaluations about the vivostorm anti-light screen, and the effect is good ( with the lights on), but I will also consider your suggestion, thank you very much

MOST projectors are not in bright rooms. They are in dark rooms. A darkened room, or a room with good light blocking curtains, can get by with a $250 screen and will look BETTER than the $1,000+ ALR screen. It will look better, with higher brightness, and better contrast, and a more uniform image than any ALR screen on the market. It's as simple as that.

But, if someone is in a lit room, they may not have a choice in the matter.

But, they do. They could just get an 85" television for daytime use, and have a motorized screen come up/down in front of it for after dark viewing. Plenty of people who have done this for years.

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

Depends on your situation TS.

In my situation, yes it can. Yes it does. And yes it has. But I have a dedicated HT room in my basement. It has 1 small window at the back of the room, and I bought custom black out blinds for that window. My HT room is also on the side of my house that gets practically zero sunlight, no matter the time of day/year. It's glorious. Everything in larger than life full HD. TV, movies, sports. I watch it all down there, and cannot imagine watching it on anything smaller (my screen is 110").

With a 4K (well, pixel shift not "true" 4K) projector, I even forgot half of the time that it is a projector. The blacks could be a little blacker, but that's a minor nitpick.

I believe that picture and sound quality go hand in hand. The immersive experience relies on both. The picture could be amazing, but if the sound is garbage it doesn't matter. And vice versa. And I'm firmly in the "bigger is better" camp. I was trying to make a 120" screen work in my room, but it was going to be just too much given my viewing distance.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Lamp hours could add up fast as a TV and some bulbs may be costly and difficult to replace.

 

[panteragstk]

Lamp hours could add up fast as a TV and some bulbs may be costly and difficult to replace.

That's why I won't be buying a new PJ unless it has a laser light source.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Being realistic, if you are getting a projector as a TV replacement and it isn't a laser projector, then it SHOULD be an Epson.

Their lamps are rated well beyond 2,000 hours. The 2350, for example, is rated to 4,500 hours. That's over 10 hours a day the entire year.
One replacement lamp is 65 bucks.

Really, lamp replacement is rarely difficult and the cost/value proposition is definitely real.

I certainly wouldn't get an Optoma for their cheap laser projectors when the lamp models are typically less money and actually have decent color rendition and better color brightness in a family room.

 

[Gypsophila]

Being realistic, if you are getting a projector as a TV replacement and it isn't a laser projector, then it SHOULD be an Epson.

Their lamps are rated well beyond 2,000 hours. The 2350, for example, is rated to 4,500 hours. That's over 10 hours a day the entire year.
One replacement lamp is 65 bucks.

Really, lamp replacement is rarely difficult and the cost/value proposition is definitely real.

I certainly wouldn't get an Optoma for their cheap laser projectors when the lamp models are typically less money and actually have decent color rendition and better color brightness in a family room.

Does that mean I just buy a projector with a laser light source? Such as Formoives Theater, AWOL Vision, Samsung's laser ultra-short throw projector

But maybe the TV is only in a certain function that the projector can't surpass, such as its imaging and lifespan, but the experience of the projector with a large electric screen like vivostorm or elitescreens is also something that TV can't achieve

This is my personal opinion, see what you are after

 

[BMXTRIX]

Does that mean I just buy a projector with a laser light source?

No, that's not what I said at all.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Lamp hours could add up fast as a TV and some bulbs may be costly and difficult to replace.

That's why I won't be buying a new PJ unless it has a laser light source.

A little late visiting this thread, but I still have the original lamp in my Panasonic PTAE4000. It's close to 12 years old and nearly 12,000 hours on it. I'm sure it's not as bright as new, but it still has a great picture.

 

[panteragstk]

A little late visiting this thread, but I still have the original lamp in my Panasonic PTAE4000. It's close to 12 years old and nearly 12,000 hours on it. I'm sure it's not as bright as new, but it still has a great picture.

My HC4000 lamp is still good too and it's almost 8 years old, but I don't use it much since the PQ isn't really very good compared to modern displays. That and the theater is basically a giant closet until I clean it out.

Which is happening today now that I think about it. Getting a quote for black carpet tomorrow.

 

[Gypsophila]

All right! So what do you suggest?

No, that's not what I said at all.

All right! So what do you suggest?

 

[BMXTRIX]

All right! So what do you suggest?

I typically don't suggest without more specific information about the budget, the expectations, and the environment it is going into.

Projectors are not a one-size-fits-all scenario.

Ultra-short-throw projectors are notoriously difficult to setup accurately for a screen and typically only support specific screen sizes. Their quality is often quite good, but there are potentially better looking models for similar money that are easier to maintain. But, I would typically recommend a solid state light source, if budget allows for it, in a standard home setup. Standard throw models, like the BenQ X3000i are excellent.

Still, there are many who want to do this for less money, and Epson has great models with a fair bit of brightness and LONG lamp run time. This means that for $1,500 or so, you may see 30,000 hours of use from a LAMP-based projector, while it would run $3,000+ to get a ultra-short-throw model to do the same.