Projectors and Big Screens, and old TVs

Fredrik,

it is very easy to hook up a projector (aka a 'beamer') from your computer output and watch movies....
For home theatre you can't really beat a good beamer and screen, we're looking to move up to one from my 32" crt tv (which weighs a TON) and to be honest the cost of a decent beamer and screen is small, compared to other items in the world of Naim that is!

£1200 - £1400 (if you live in the uk) will get you the Infocus 4805 and a decent screen which would do the job in most situations..... I say most because there are a few factors to take into consideration....
1. Throw distance, ie. room size, distance from beamer to screen.
2. Positioning, ie. is it possible to have the two in line (ideal) or off at an angle, 'keystone' correction can rectify this, but only up to a certain extent...
3. Light levels while watching, ie. do you have decent blinds/curtains or will all your viewing be done after dark in the winter....

Generally, as with most electrical items, the more you spend the 'better' the projector will be, meaning it will have a brighter bulb - better for a larger room or where black-out is not possible/practical. A 'better' picture, and most these days take all the decent inputs - hdmi, component, etc.

I have road tested the 4805 and was very impressed with the picture, it's what we're considering for our room - which is quite small and we have black out blinds. But there are plenty of other models out there at all sorts of prices.....

There are others on here that actually own one, so maybe they can give you opinions of certain models....

I hope this 'basic' introduction helps.....

Cheers,
Ali

Frederik,

Just do it!! Like you I have given up on TV and now just listen to music or watch DVDs on the projector. Getting rid of a big TV box between the main speakers was the best bit of all!!

We've got a smallish LCD TV for newsnight and other ocasional viewing and then we have a projector that hides in a cupboard that we get out for the big game and films. Had the projector for about 2 years, it's a Sony HS10 and of all the 'toys' I've got its the one that everyone who visits is enthused by.

The two things that made a huge difference to the quality of the projected image were

(i) setting it up at right angles to the screen; digital keystone correction buggers up the picture. The Sanyo Z3 is the only one of the cheaper models that has a proper optical lens shift if you really can't get it square on

(ii) feeding the projector from my pc via DVI. Initially we ran it from a cheapo DVD player which was OK but then I bought a small, but good, pc to sit in a cupboard under the TV. It was a bit of a faff to get the pc to talk to the projector properly, I used a bit of software called powerstrip so that the pc outputs exactly the same resolution as the panaels in the HS10, so the pc is doing all the scaling. This made a huge difference.

I use Power DVD to play DVDs and I've also got a Nebula digi TV card for watching freeview on the big screen. This means if I want to record a program I can do it to the hard drive, and then burn it onto DVD if I want to keep it.

Like I said a bit of a faff to set up, but the quality (even just shining onto a cream coloured wall) is great, and the flexibilty of using a PC is excellent.

Hope this helps
Phil

ps - there's a forum at http://www.AVforums.com with loads of advice

Hi Fredrik

Others here are more qualified than I as to recommendations re projectors, and/or getting the picture from the PC to the projector.

However, if it is all possible ($$) I would opinion that you would most likely be thrilled by the results.

Ten years ago when I upgraded from my previous 2 channel music system into Naim, I had no sense of 'future' as regards home movies, and indeed was only mildy interested. However, going from an 'add on' 3 channel amp, with Dolby pro logic decoding, feed from a VHS tape machine into some cheap and cheerful rear speakers, as a bit of a 'fun' tryout, and then to DVD running in stereo through my Naim, to now full 7.1 setup, I would not go back.

True, music is such a different entertainment medium to movies; profound to me in a way that touches the soul as well as the intellect; however I have come to appreciate the way a good and involving movie, with surround sound can provide escapeist enjoyment, taking one 'out' of ones environment to 'somewhere' else, in a way that is relaxing, thrilling, exciting and involving, albeit in a very different way to music.

If the budget allows, certainly in my experience, a full surround system, even if cheap and cheerful, adds greatly to the involvement experience with movies, more so than arguably higher quality sound, but only 2 channel from the stereo.

But of course, if this is not possible, than 2 channel Naim sound on movies can be most enjoyable; nonetheless IMHO one does not get the full 'monty' until one has the full 5.1 setup on the sound side of it.

Only my opinion of course...

But as someone else said... do it...heheheh

Lifes too short, and there are many things too enjoy, movies being one of them..

Warmest regards

John....

Dear Friends,

This developement will be the last one! Alright, I'd like a 300 as well! But I hope you don't mind me coming back to ask more about how to get the puter to talk to the beamer, when I a get a beamer! Actually I have a Volvo 240 not a beamer, so I hope the old girl (16 last March) will not be too put out. Hehe!

Thanks from Fredrik

Hello Fredrik. Like yourself, I'm not a TV watcher, other than the occasional documentary or movies on Sky.

I went the projector route, and you can't beat it! I've upgraded from a Seleco CRT projector (a real monster!) to a SIM2 DLP job, and the quality is just awesome. However, do bear in mind to really appreciate a good projector the room needs to be very dark, the darker the better, and a good screen is essential for best results. Not the really dear ones, just a good make like Vutec. Oh, and don't assume that projectors need to have a very bright output. A lot of the LCD types are really designed for presentation work in normally-lit rooms, and are too bright and glaring for home cinema use.

Go for it!

I thought Adam had deleted this! [Though I could not think why!] I could not find it anywhere... in The Padded Cell! God, I've got to try to get a grip.

When I have saved enough, I'll post again for what to try to dem, and so on. "I know nathin," you see, about this! Yet anyway.

Cheero, Fred

I too watch little TV and after much deliberation, I bought a very cheap projecotor, wondering if I would actually use it.....

I still have a TV which is perfect for watching the news and the odd TV program. However, I have my Sky digibox and DVD player hooked up to play through my projector and I find that I have used it more than I ever thought I might.
Even though it's a cheap projector (Panasonic PTAE200) it brings so much scale and enjoyment to DVD's and Sky, I can forgive it's shortcomings simply because it's "screen size" and the impressiveness makes up for it.
A friend has a budget Infocus which is (I have to admit) better quality and if I were buying now, I'd look at that brand.

Bear in mind if you want to be able to watch the news, and nothing afterwards, you'd still need a regular TV. However, if you might want to watch the news follwed by a DVD, switch on the projector!
To switch on a projector only for a few minutes will seriously reduce lamp life - and they're VERY expensive.
Even a budget model will impress - as long as it's not a real dog!!!!!

Dear blythe,

Nothing will tempt me back to the the Tele. The best news programmes I have found (in the broadcast media) are: the Six o'Clock News, The World Tonight, and the Midnight News, all on Radio Four. I love the laconic quality of the news "buletins" on Radio Three for a neat grasp, in only a couple of minutes, of whether anything has gone seriously wrong in the World in the past twenty four hours. What I can't take is the new style of rolling news everytime some terrible thong happens. I want to know what is going on, but not to have it repeated at quarter of an hour intervals, or even the ramblings of some pundit or another, who are often even more wrong in their idle speculation than I would be!

No! All I want is to eventually make films better brought out, so eventually I'll set a projector up, am sure.

Thanks for all these posts, Fredrik

It's a Bank Holiday, so given all that is going I treated myself totwo budget DVDs: Day Of The JackaL, and Brassed Off. I am wattching the Forsyth now, which is why I am so late up!

fredrik