Video Projectors

You also need to be careful that the projector you purchase supports the display bandwidth you will need. For example, the Epson 5040UB only goes up to 13Gbps, and 18Gbps is required for Ultra HD with some devices or content (e.g. Xbox One S games or streaming video, high-frame-rate, high bit-depth). Almost all TVs do 18Gbps so you rarely need to think about it, but the same can't be said for projectors.

I had both the Epson 5040UB and now use the JVC DLA-RS500 and independent of the specifications, the picture quality of the JVC is better. Just a comment to reinforce the fact you won't be able to tell everything about picture quality from specifications alone. (I also really appreciate that the JVC comes with auto-calibration software, although you need to read up on it a lot in forums to use it correctly.) I also have an LG OLED55E6P which is arguably one of the best 2016 models, and the JVC also provides superior picture quality in my opinion.

I do think true-4K is an improvement over faux-4K, but faux-4K is itself a major improvement over 1080p. High-frame rate is also super awesome (say goodbye to judder during panning scenes).

Another thing to keep in mind is that this year's TVs is the first time there seems to be major support for the other "HDR" formats, like Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10+, etc. I don't know of any projectors that are supporting all of these other standards though, or in what time frame they might.

If this is your first time getting into Ultra HD, you may also want to do some homework on your source. There are lots of different quirks with the different sources, like the Xbox One S/X, Playstation 4 Pro, Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield, Roku, Google Cast, OPPO / Samsung / Panasonic players, etc. They don't all provide the same quality of video or playback, and sometimes different firmware versions will affect playback. Your choice of streaming service may not be supported on some of them, or have their own behavior quirks. If you don't have an Ultra HD-compatible receiver/processor you may care about having a separate HDMI or optical output for audio-only.

 

Well I just came across this section of the forums... I too have been using a projector BenQ 2150ST projected to a 125 inch motorized screen.. I personally love it. Not going to lie though, it took a ton of effort and time to get everything aligned and setup right.

Overall the cost was under 1500 which I consider a steal. BTW that screen is acoustically transparent (at least it is supposed to be) and I don't really notice any issues from the SQ when using it.

 

Sorry for the necro, but I just had to show off the JVC X3 I mentioned. I initially bought an X7 that needs a ballast board repair, but then I saw this X3 for 40 bucks with a ballast board issue.

Repaired it for 20 bucks in parts as practice for the X7 and now I have a working X3 for 60 bucks. Still waiting on one chip for the X7 as I initially didn't plan on getting two



I kinda like the white, so if the X7 isn't a decent improvement I may actually keep the X3.

I built my own mount adapter for the ceiling mount as it was too heavy and didn't fit the original mount. It replaced an ubiquitous BenQ W1070.

The screen I'm currently using will also be replaced. For now it's just some ALR screen off aliexpress that I got for 80 bucks, but it's impossible to get it flat.

1080p is still 1080p, but the contrast on this thing is awesome! I can't even really take a picture of the black levels handheld with my phone. On a tripod I could, but this is almost on the level of OLED/calibrated Plasma or my FW900. Dark scenes are great and the bloom isn't distracting to me.
Plus it's really quiet. Noise isn't distracting, either.

Yes, it still needs calibration. My Plasma TV and FW900 still put out nicer colors so far. So maybe that could be what pulls me towards the X7. We'll see. I hope I can do it with my DTP94. For now I just eyeballed it.

Original bulbs are too expensive for an old projector like this. 400€. Luckily the one in this one visually appears brand new and I bought a "premium grade" replacement bulb for 100€, too. Plus the old OSRAM bulb that came in the X7, so now I have three.

Of course I'll sell either the X3 or the X7. I hope it can finance a rollable tension ALR screen.


Rewatched Dune on it as my first movie with some friends and it was great! Now it just has to last before it fails again.


Edit: Attaching a picture of it in action on my temporary not-flat screen.

 

I got my Celexon Dynamic Slate ALR tension motorized screen. Supposedly a pretty good ALR screen. I got it used and it's not perfectly flat, but in 21:9 content it's fine. There's some sparkling in the highlights, but it's much more controlled than my temporary ALR screen. I think it's a well-rounded screen, not too much of an ALR effect with a total 0.8 gain that works well for rooms like mine.
It also includes a wireless trigger, no need to use two remotes all the time.


Here's the X7:


Calibrating it took some time, but the 12 point gamma adjustment allows for great results.
The problem: The gamma for the green and red was wildly different. There's no way you can do this by eye. I will have to adjust the X3 again properly to compare them. But the gamut of the X7 is closer to sRGB, anyway.


This is what I calibrated the gamma to. It's simply BT.1886 with an assumed contrast of 50k:1. In between 2.3 and 2.4 with some shadow detail lift. I think it looks great, but I have another profile that is set to 2.4 flat for when I need just a tiny bit more pop.


The end result is an image unlike anything I've seen before. The colors, the contrast are first rate. Sharpness is good, at least as far as 1080p goes. Motion resolution is also quite good with BFI. And the input lag doesn't seem terrible, good enough for some Nintendo Switch games. I don't even want to know what the more recent JVC projectors look like, this is more than enough for me at the moment.

Well, it's not the brightest image around, especially in eco mode and with BFI, which is how I run it all the time. I have a new Philips bulb in a first gen JVC cage, but the original lamp is likely brighter. The brightness in lux I measure is comparable to the 80 nits I have my displays calibrated to, but white doesn't look quite as bright. In the bright lamp mode it does look as bright or maybe a bit brighter, but it's quite noisy.

The effective contrast is higher than my Sony GDM-FW900, as for it to have a decent gamma tracking the black levels need to be raised a bit. I attached the gamma I measure from the monitor. It's close to 2.5, not the 2.2 you may see mentioned sometimes. This is with maybe a contrast in between 10k and 50k:1. I think the projector might really do more than 50k:1. From long exposures I did, it certainly did. And that's with the aperture open (stopping it down makes it blurry from diffraction).


So yeah, JVC projectors like these do have their issues. Who knows what may break next. There's a reason for the relatively cheap prices compared to what you're getting. Lamps are expensive as hell and they may break any time. But the picture quality you get in return I find simply incredible.

 

Hey all. I am dipping my toe into using a projector at home for the occasional movie and video game session. I've gone to the trouble of DIY-ing a spandex-based screen that I can set up in about 30 seconds (maybe I'll make another post about that to show off what I did). The takeaway is: I cannot have a permanent screen or blank wall for projecting and needed something that I can put up for a couple hours and then take down and put away in a cabinet the rest of the time without fuss.

I'm shopping around for a projector now. Here are some parameters:

• Must be easy to set-up and break down. It won't have a permanent home in my space.
• Must have automatic keystone correction and focusing so I have flexibility in where I can set it up.
• Not looking for something too expensive since this will be a first for my house and not sure if we will love it long term
• Will be using this mostly at night and/or with blackout shades so does not need to look great in daytime
• Integrated audio is a nice-to-have, but I can also use my speaker setup for audio so not essential

I've found this BenQ that seems to fit the bill at $799, but I don't have any experience with the brand. I've seen good reviews of their other products, so this looked promising:
https://www.benq.com/en-us/projector/portable/gp100a/buy.html

Also looking at the N1 and N1 Pro from JMGO
https://global.jmgo.com/collections/gimbal-projector/products/jmgo-n1

Anyone have experience with either of these? Are there other options I should be looking at?

Appreciate any input/advice you have.

 

Since you are looking for occasional movie and game then why not try those AR glasses like XReal Air 2 Pro etc