Anyone here uses a projector instead of a TV? ?

Question

What are the pros and cons?

Answer 1

i have one but i don't use it as much as my tv

pros:

really great for movies

fantastic if you have surround sound

great for wii or any video games its as if you are in the game

when the screen is up it saves a lot of space

Cons: it takes a while to rewire everything and also to have the wires from your cable/satelite running down over your ceiling since you have to hang it to keep it out of the way

takes a while to set up (pull down screen turn on)

takes up a lot of space if you watch a lot of tv and you leave the screen down all the time

but what i would recommend is to get one and see if you like it as a tv and if you do chuck your tv out and keep it but if not watch movies on the screen and things like that............        :]

Answer 2

i use one on an electric screen that comes down

its great for movies and if i need to i can watch free view on it but would rather keep the lamp hours for great movie nights

its also worth investing in a good surround sound system for the full experience

at the moment from a distance of 8ft i am using a 120" screen and a 1000w sony system for sound the projector is a 2200 lumen's dlp projector from benq

running component cables from dvd hdmi from pixel magic mb200 and composite from freeview digital recorder.

Answer 3

I have a projector and screen that are permanently installed and ready to go, along with a surround sound system. I also have an HDTV in a den.

I use both, but most of the time it's the projector for HDTV (via an HD Satellite receiver) and movies (DVD and HD DVD). The TV gets used for SDTV (SDTV on a projector is unattractive) and when I just want something quick ... like the news.

The advantages of the projector:

- BIG picture and great surround sound ... like at the movies.

- room for more people to watch.

The disadvantages of the projector:

- you can't (or at least shouldn't) turn on for less than 5 minutes (short cycles and improper cooldown wears out the lamp faster)

- You need darker room conditions than a LCD HDTV

- lamps wear out (~3000 hrs) and cost $350+ to replace (~$0.20/hr of use), so are more expensive to operate than an HDTV.

Some debatable things:

- TVs take up more space compared to a ceiling or shelf mounted projector and a retractable screen, but permanent screens can be more obtrusive than a flat-screen TV.

- projectors are no more expensive than HDTVs of equivalent quality ... but typically generate 2x the image size

- projectors can be tricky to mount if they can't be shelf mounted at the back of the room ... in which case ceiling mounting is more expensive and troublesome to run cables (but no more so than wall mounting a flatscreen)

- projectors (and less so TVs) should be protected by uninterruptable power supplies/surge protectors to protect the lamp and electronics

Overall, I find the disadvantages are more than offset by the benefits of a BIG PICTURE so I only watch the TV occasionally.