Anyone replace their TV with a projector/have a pj in the living room/apt?

bd251

Premium Supporter
Mar 24, 2011
1,282
Ohio, USA
I'm thinking about replacing my TV with a projector in the living room of my apartment. I'm concerned about how "normal TV watching" (for me that's Netflix) will look on the big screen. The reason I'd be REPLACING the TV is because my wife is excited about a projector instead of a TV because an electric/pull down screen mounted at the ceiling is more hidden than a TV on the wall. Viewing distance will be a little over 9 ft on a 100" screen. I'm also worried about ambient light as I can't make my room completely dark (that would become a priority though if I go this route). Does anyone have a similar setup?


Back story
So right now I have a 40" Samsung (LN40C630 from 2010) that is mounted above the fireplace. I was thinking about getting a larger TV and looking at prices recently for some of these new TVs with the really thin bezels and figured I could get a 46" (UN46F6300) or possibly push to a 50" and it would barely use any more room on the wall above the fireplace than what I have now and be roughly the 2013 equivalent of the 630 series.

I'm thinking about pairing a BenQ W1070 with an Elite Screens 100" acoustically transparent electric screen. I need an AT screen due to space limitations and would prefer an 84" or 92" but 100" is the smallest AT electric screen I can find. I might be able to get a smaller screen but it would require lots of convincing and compromise on the center speaker location.
I am mainly concerned about non HD content such as Netflix and how it will look on the big screen and if it will actually be watchable. Does anyone have experience with this?
 
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I did initially, but then ended up mounting a TV on the wall.. The main issue was light control.. i.e. to watch the projector we needed to always pull blinds and darken up the lounge even for background tv..
 
I finally pulled the trigger today on the BenQ W1070 (at $639 how can I wait any longer?) and Elite Screens 100 inch acoustically transparent electric screen! Now I just need to work on building my mount...
 
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You can't go wrong with that, absolutely loving mine, movie nights is just awesome!!!:drool::drool::drool:
The projector arrived yesterday and I really like it even just in the wall. Tracking shows the screen as being delivered this afternoon! Hopefully I can get it all set up within a week or so. I'm still waiting on the 60ft HDMI cable and Wire Trak to be delivered and need to build a mount.
 
I got the screen and projector set up and I think I'm going to have to get a different screen. Some moire is visible on the screen (I knew going in that this might be an issue with an acoustically transparent screen) which I could live with but the light leakage to the wall behind the screen is ridiculous. It's so bad that I can sometimes see a double image through the screen in high contrast scenes. Also, because my projector is mounted close to the ceiling, I can see the bottom of the image on the wall under the bottom of the screen due to the angle of the light coming from the projector. I thought about lowering the screen but, if you do the math, that will only make it worse with the small amount or room I have to lower it. I can also see DLP rainbow effect everywhere. I havent had a chance to play around with the image settings much yet so hopefully I can do that tonight and that might minimize the RBE.

I think my best solution is to get a smaller non-AT screen and move my front speakers. That would eliminate the moire and light bleed for sure and possibly minimize the rainbows that I see (due to my eyes not having to move around the screen so much). That last point is debatable because a smaller screen at the same throw distance will have a brighter image than the larger screen and therefore might not make any difference with RBE. Decisions, decisions.

@DADDYCOOL187 @Blu-devil What screens are you guys using?
 
I got the screen and projector set up and I think I'm going to have to get a different screen. Some moire is visible on the screen (I knew going in that this might be an issue with an acoustically transparent screen) which I could live with but the light leakage to the wall behind the screen is ridiculous. It's so bad that I can sometimes see a double image through the screen in high contrast scenes. Also, because my projector is mounted close to the ceiling, I can see the bottom of the image on the wall under the bottom of the screen due to the angle of the light coming from the projector. I thought about lowering the screen but, if you do the math, that will only make it worse with the small amount or room I have to lower it. I can also see DLP rainbow effect everywhere. I havent had a chance to play around with the image settings much yet so hopefully I can do that tonight and that might minimize the RBE.

I think my best solution is to get a smaller non-AT screen and move my front speakers. That would eliminate the moire and light bleed for sure and possibly minimize the rainbows that I see (due to my eyes not having to move around the screen so much). That last point is debatable because a smaller screen at the same throw distance will have a brighter image than the larger screen and therefore might not make any difference with RBE. Decisions, decisions.

@DADDYCOOL187 @Blu-devil What screens are you guys using?
I just project straight on to my wall, it gives me an awesome picture
 
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The new screen (Elite Screens Spectrum2 91" with 12" drop) came in yesterday and I installed it last night. WOW! Now I am actually happy with the picture. Its 10 times better than the old screen. Before I ordered the new screen, I adjusted some settings that minimized, but didnt eliminate, RBE on the old screen and I started to not see them as much. Using the same settings with the new screen, I notice rainbows about as much (its very tolerable) and I know they will start to go away as I get used to them and get more hours on the lamp. My only problem now is that the image is a little too bright viewing 2D with all the lights off. A smaller screen as well as not loosing 25% of the light through the screen made a huge difference (a good problem to have I suppose). I watched GOTG in 3D and 2D and the 3D looked perfect but 2D a little washed out so I ordered a neutral density filter to use for 2D viewing. I'm actually really excited about my setup now!!! The 91" screen is also a better size for my room - 100" was really too large.

Next thing to do is take down the TV, re-position my speakers, and fill all the holes in the wall. SO GLAD I DECIDED TO GET A PROJECTOR!
 
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The new screen (Elite Screens Spectrum2 91" with 12" drop) came in yesterday and I installed it last night. WOW! Now I am actually happy with the picture. Its 10 times better than the old screen. Before I ordered the new screen, I adjusted some settings that minimized, but didnt eliminate, RBE on the old screen and I started to not see them as much. Using the same settings with the new screen, I notice rainbows about as much (its very tolerable) and I know they will start to go away as I get used to them and get more hours on the lamp. My only problem now is that the image is a little too bright viewing 2D with all the lights off. A smaller screen as well as not loosing 25% of the light through the screen made a huge difference (a good problem to have I suppose). I watched GOTG in 3D and 2D and the 3D looked perfect but 2D a little washed out so I ordered a neutral density filter to use for 2D viewing. I'm actually really excited about my setup now!!! The 91" screen is also a better size for my room - 100" was really too large.

Next thing to do is take down the TV, re-position my speakers, and fill all the holes in the wall. SO GLAD I DECIDED TO GET A PROJECTOR!

Glad it all worked out for you :thumbs:
 
Just came across this thread again while browsing the home theater forum. Thought I'd post some pics of what I ended up with.

159519.jpg

159522.jpg

159521.jpg

I have since moved into a house with a basement and don't use the screen anymore. It was too small and it had a wave that never went away that was annoying sometimes. Now I have a 110" DIY painted screen with a black velvet frame. The W1070 is still going strong!
 
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I’ve been using my 2007 Hitachi (since my BenQ W1070 was stolen) and the image gets better every time I use it.
My room is light controlled and images look absolutely amazing, and colours are spot on. Even though the Hitachi is 720p and the BenQ was 1080p the Hitachi destroyed the BenQ picture wise.
My plan is to upgrade to an Epson EH-TW7400 or EH-TW9400 4K sometime this year. I miss watching movies in 3D.
 
Today I officially joined the Epson EH-TW9400 Club. Just waiting for it to be delivered now.
Can’t wait to put it through its paces.2
 

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