Projector as a main source of video?

[Rob Babcock]

I happily live with FPTV as my main TV. One beautiful thing about it is that you just watch less TV. Every time you're bored and think you'll turn on the TV and just surf, you have to warm up the lamp and think about the hours on the bulb time. Do you want to waste bulb life on Maury or Opra? I think not! The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said that to be well read we must first stop reading badly. That applies doubly to TV.

 

[RLA]

Do you have any idea what the price of that screen will be? I can't find it anywhere. I would be very interested if it didn't cost too much.

The screen review is complete and will be published in the next week or so.
The Visage is expensive but coupled with a moderately priced projector and
You have a great combination. I will be saving every extra penny I have to purchase one of these. I will then move my fixed panel displays out of the family room and use the FP for TV and DVD viewing.

After watching TV on the Visage I am spoiled I will most likely run (2) FP in my family room one will be my high performance rig for critical viewing and one will be a good el cheapo rig. You can now obtain very good 1280x720 FP's for the price of a good TV so what is the point owning a TV? Poor signal standard def looks bad on almost all displays that are lager than 27" No way am I going to have a fat, clunky, puny CRT in my family room.

 

[Hi Ho]

Hmmm... well that sounds like it is ruled out for me. I can barely afford a projector, much less an expensive screen. Maybe in a few years...

 

[cthomp]

Visage

There is a review of this screen posted at www.projectorreviews.com/Manufacturers/Screen_Innovations/index.asp

Sounds like an awesome screen but $3699 sounds a little rich for my blood!
Maybe someday!

 

[Hi Ho]

Wow, $3,699??!!!?! That's about $2,400 MORE than the Sanyo Z3 projector I was planning on getting.

 

[thxgoon]

I've become a bit of a snob in that I won't even watch a program on my projector if it is not in HD. It just looks aweful when it's blown up over 100". As far as using a projector as a main TV, it's awesome. But at my house with 3 other roomates we've put nearly 400 hours on it in the 5 weeks since I bought it. Argh!!! I wish I'd reconsidered hooking it up to cable. I think I'll put a bulb contribution jar at the front of my theater!

 

[ned]

New screen technologies such as the new Visage screen make FP systems in non-light controlled rooms viable. The new Visage screen is currently under review without going into detail before the review is published we are most pleased with its performance with a mid priced projector in a non-light controlled room.

How's the review coming along?

 

[ned]

Wow, $3,699??!!!?! That's about $2,400 MORE than the Sanyo Z3 projector I was planning on getting.

With that price you might as well get a Plasma TV.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I will probably just leave it with those dimensions. Build it with the idea of
going to a fixed frame screen in the future. For now, it will just have my
65" Toshiba Theatrewide sitting in the "hole". If/when the projectors become
more practical for everyday usage, I will be set!

What I meant by redoing those numbers is that the 106" is not the diagonal for that size, 99"x58", and, that is not a 1.77 screen size.

 

[cthomp]

Clarification

The size I was referring to is the finished size (including frame)
for the 106" diagonal Cararda Criterion fixed frame screen. Sorry
for the confusion.

 

[RLA]

With that price you might as well get a Plasma TV.

Why? When I save up enough to get the Visage my Plasma and LCD TV are coming out of the family room. Like I said previously watching Nascar on Sunday at 92" diagonal was a blast. I will gleefully burn up bulb hours to obtain the wow effect. My projector and the Visage looked just as impressive
At my viewing distance compared to my Panasonic LCD and my Plasma. The review is complete and will be published soon.
3699 for the screen
3000 for PJ
200 for mount
----------
$6699 equates to one heck of a FP rig. Many folks on this very forum think nothing of spending that much on the PJ alone and think of the screen as a secondary item. Screen selection is crucial for performance and should be selected based on

#1 The PJ
#2 the room
#3 the viewing position

I would rather have a moderately price PJ and the correct screen choice over
A high priced PJ and the incorrect screen choice any day of the week
The Visage will be the correct screen choice for many.

 

[westcott]

With that price you might as well get a Plasma TV.

And not have the off axis viewing issues like the Visage and rear projection systems have.

I guess if you are happy with the look of standard definition content on a 100" screen, I guess you do not need HD programming.

 

[ned]

Why? When I save up enough to get the Visage my Plasma and LCD TV are coming out of the family room. Like I said previously watching Nascar on Sunday at 92" diagonal was a blast. I will gleefully burn up bulb hours to obtain the wow effect. My projector and the Visage looked just as impressive
At my viewing distance compared to my Panasonic LCD and my Plasma. The review is complete and will be published soon.
3699 for the screen
3000 for PJ
200 for mount
----------
$6699 equates to one heck of a FP rig. Many folks on this very forum think nothing of spending that much on the PJ alone and think of the screen as a secondary item. Screen selection is crucial for performance and should be selected based on

#1 The PJ
#2 the room
#3 the viewing position

I would rather have a moderately price PJ and the correct screen choice over
A high priced PJ and the incorrect screen choice any day of the week
The Visage will be the correct screen choice for many.

Since ambient lightning condition varies tremendously from one environment to another (I mean how do you actually quanitfy ambient light for a typical end user like me) the net effect may not be achieved.

Take for example the reviews at projectorreviews.com wasn't promising at all as oppose to yours due probably to a higher ambient lightning condition. It may work well in certain condition and I'm glad it did for you.

I have a very high ambient light condition in my multi purpose room and have tried different screens from Severtsons, Silverstar, Firehawk to HP and Graywolf with minimal improvement.

I hope they would provide samples for me to test.

 

[RLA]

And not have the off axis viewing issues like the Visage and rear projection systems have.

I am going to assume that you have the screen or have reviewed it? What exactly are the viewing angles of the Visage and my Pioneer 42" plasma?

 

[RLA]

Take for example the reviews at projectorreviews.com wasn't promising at all as oppose to yours due probably to a higher ambient lightning condition. It may work well in certain condition and I'm glad it did for you.

The Visage is not without its limitations but selected for the proper environment and with correct set up it can be a viable alternative for rooms with ambient light. No display device is perfect when dealing with light issues. If you took a direct view or plasma outside and let the afternoon sun broadcast on the screen how would it look? For more info you will have to wait for the review.

Please keep in mind that Audioholics has over 1 million readers a month this forum represent a very tiny portion of that number. I respect the opinions of those in this forum but we must conduct reviews for the masses and there are many out there that this product will be well suited for

As for myself I have three projection systems in my home and pretty much have my choice of screen manufactures to choose from, I want the Visage in one of my systems

 

[ned]

The Visage is not without its limitations but selected for the proper environment and with correct set up it can be a viable alternative for rooms with ambient light. No display device is perfect when dealing with light issues. If you took a direct view or plasma outside and let the afternoon sun broadcast on the screen how would it look? For more info you will have to wait for the review.

Please keep in mind that Audioholics has over 1 million readers a month this forum represent a very tiny portion of that number. I respect the opinions of those in this forum but we must conduct reviews for the masses and there are many out there that this product will be well suited for

As for myself I have three projection systems in my home and pretty much have my choice of screen manufactures to choose from, I want the Visage in one of my systems

If it's not too revealing for your upcoming review, would mind sharing us the ambient light situation in your room? Thanks.

 

[cthomp]

Anybody else have a opinion on whether it would be practical to use a front projector for your main source of video?