Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Oct 01, 2007 8:10 am There seems to be many cases where people put in both a projection system and an LCD/Plasma TV in.
I'm not sure which gives the better viewing experience, but I would image the projection system would. It may however depend on the ambient light conditions. Purchasing two systems will increase the setup costs. The main argument put forward is projection systems light bulbs cost about $500 each and only last about 1000 hours, therefore you want to use the LCD/Plasma system for everyday casual viewing and switch to the projection system when you want to watch a movie. If the main reason for two systems is economic, has anyone considered that it may be cheaper to just have a projection system. Using rough numbers, let's assume a projection system cost $5000, an LCD/Plasma costs $5000, projection bulbs cost $500 and they last for 1 year before replacement. At first glance, it would take 10 years to break even. In fact it's longer since the $5000 can be invested and return you $250 per yer thereby stretching out the 10 years to something much longer. So, my question is: What is the reason for having both a projection system and LCD/Plamsa over just a projection system? Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 2Oct 01, 2007 9:17 am I guess that'd vary a lot with the cost of the LCD/plasma. My 40"LCD was only $1900, so as long as you dont need a 50" HDTV in addition to the projector, the maths changes a fair bit. Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 3Oct 01, 2007 9:28 am Matt/Rodd, do you have some rough figures for projection system (projector + screen), LCD/Plasma TV (say 50") and projector bulbs?
What do you think about the economics? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 4Oct 01, 2007 9:48 am Casa2 I'm not sure which gives the better viewing experience, but I would image the projection system would. It may however depend on the ambient light conditions. The projection system gives a better home cinema experience - no doubt about it.. provided you can control the ambient light. The darker the room the better. Turn on a light or open a curtain and it all goes to dust. The plasma/lcd is more suitable for everyday use in this respect. Therefore have both. Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 5Oct 01, 2007 11:13 am Hi guys.
A modest 1080P projector these days would be anywhere from $5K to $7K. A screen would be anywhere from $500 for a cheapy to $2000 for a decent large motorised screen. Globes for these projectors are around the $800 I think, last time I looked. The average life of these globes is around 2000 to 3000 hours (full mode vs economy mode). You can get a nice 42" plasma TV for less than $1800 these days. So, on these figures, the plasma becomes more economical after a little over 2 years. Add to this the fact that most decent plasma panels quote half-lifes of at least 60,000 hours. And, I totally agree with Cookiemonster's comments regarding light. Put all this together and I think the case for having both becomes the clear winner. Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 6Oct 01, 2007 11:16 am Casa,
economics aside - I've rented projectors for seminars etc and taken them home to watch TV over the weekend and my experience is that most - free to Air TV shows have far to much rapid movement in them - especially the ads, and watching this type of programming on a full wall projection image a not an enjoyable experience on a long term basis. When you think of it movies are made to be seen on big screens - and tv shows and ads are designed to suit smaller screens. My thoughts. Steve Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 7Oct 01, 2007 11:28 am Now, the plot thickens.
I have an usual situation in my house design. The one wall has three functions: 1) Projection screen (down from the ceiling) 2) LCD/Plasma TV 3) Window with view If I only have 1 and 3, it's no problem as I can have some heavy curtains and the projection screen coming from above. Therefore, when watching TV (most of the time) the screen is down and the curtains are closed. When using the room as a formal lounge, the screen is up and the curtains are open. Everything OK so far. Now we introduce a LCD/Plasma screen. I will need to add a mechanism to raise and lower the screen so that it can get out of the way of the window. Talk about moving things - projection screen, curtains and TV. Preferably everything should be automated so that the curtains, screen and TV can all happen at the flick of a switch (and a nice automtion system). I know I'm asking for a lot, but how do I make it work well? Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 8Oct 01, 2007 11:41 am Easy - Put the LCD on a conterbalanced system on rails - it slides up the wall to be in front of the window - - and make you main curtains drop from above - like in a real theatre - they drop to the floor to cover the windows ands LCD for projection viewing, or they drop to the top of the LCD for LCD viewing.
Steve Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 9Oct 01, 2007 12:10 pm Yak_chat,
Your idea has led to another idea. First, get rid of the curtain. Second, the LCD TV when in the up position covers the window. So the LCD TV assembly acts as both a TV and window light blocker. Then, when I want to use the projection system I just ensure the LCD TV is up and lower the projection screen (as well as close the double doors to the room to ensure the light level is better for watching projection stuff. Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 10Oct 01, 2007 1:20 pm I'd stuill have some curtains there to soften the room as well.
And to solve the sliding doors - how about a magnetic latch on the edge of the doors - as soon as they close the lock together. Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 11Oct 01, 2007 1:32 pm Projection screen located inside the roof:
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Plasma or LCD like this: lift from inside floor or cabinet Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ drop straight down from inside ceiling Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ swing down from inside ceiling Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Matt I have reverted to username - mattwalker Carlisle Homes - Grande 43 My building experience is here: http://www.ourgrandeplan.blogspot.com Re: Home Theatre - projection system plus LCD/Plasma 12Oct 01, 2007 5:12 pm Yak_Chat,
Thanks for your input and for remembering that I also have an issue with the two sliding doors. Mighty decent of you. Matt, Thanks for the informion regarding screens that hide in the ceiling and TV lift systems. I will definetly follow up on them. Not sure how well the ceiling screen system is concealed since they've used a generated picture rather than a photograph, but agian I can follow up. Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6302 We are building a house that was planned to be clad in Hardie Linea, our builder has now requested to swap this for BGC Nuline Plus. They look fairly similar and he has… 0 653 We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16691 |