apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

thats cool but how do u see the tv in the daytime? u will need a dark room i think.

I've been using projectors in my studio apartment for the past six years. Direct sunlight is a real image killer, but if you happen to have a really bright projector with a good screen, you can often get a viewable picture. Though in general, you're absolutely right. The darker the room the better.

Movie watching on a 100" screen in your own home any night of the week is a wonderful thing.

FYI, they make paints and screens that improve the image brightness which will help for watching during the daytime, albeit they're not enough to completely counteract direct sunlight. You can google for "high gain" screens or paint.

I rarely watch TV during the day, so that's not an issue for me. My problem is the lack of flat open wallspace, so a TV set makes more sense for my situation.

Is there an affordable way to do this? does anybody know of good but relatively cheap projectors? What about sound? do you run it through your computer or what? Great idea, I am considering doing this in my apt.

I have a Sony PSI something or the other. We love it, though it was $1100 ( about 4 years ago ). Perfect for movies, great for websurfing and essential for the Wii. As a bonus, it's reflected light, meaning eye strain doesn't happen when you've rented an entire season of some show.

One problem - replacement bulbs are around $350, which powerful sucks. Fortunately, most projectors let you know roughly how many hours of projection time you have left. Plus, we have yet to replace the original bulb ( though our use of the projector is sporadic ).

We've projected on walls, pull down screens, house siding, giant portable movie screens... all are acceptable quality ( some, obviously, better than others ).

On the dark room front, just add some roller shades underneath your current window treatment.

Projectors are frightfully expensive ($2 to $3K) and the image quality is a joke compared to high-def LCD TVs. My personal take is that it's a lot of money for the occassional movie watching. Instead I'd buy a top of the line flat screen. If you still object to its intrusiveness, make a white canvas cover for it and it will blend into the wall. Or hide it in a beautiful TV armoir.

there are a couple of sites on building your own projector, e.g. http://www.lumenlab.com/diy/. ("... a DIY projector can cost as little as $300 with used or gifted parts...")
they also sell a full system based on the same principle for $500: http://www.lumenlab.com/store/

I got all thrilled about this idea for my own space--until I read Nicole's post about the price.

--sigh--

You can actually get a very nice, bright, HD projector for $900. I just picked up an Optoma H70 a few weeks ago and absolutely love it. My previous projector didn't let me use it with even the slightest bit of light in the room. With this one, I can have a couple lamps on without any real effect on the image quality.

Both flat panel displays and projectors have their pros and cons. In making my decision I asked myself these questions: What material do I watch and how often (Movies, TV, video games)? Does image size matter? What size display can I fit into my apartment? Do I want to see my display whenever I walk into my room? If/when I move, which would I rather deal with?

For most people, a flat panel display will be fine. To get an image the best it can be, it takes a little more effort to get a projector set up. For those who watch a lot of movies, play video games and watch just a little TV, nothing beats a projector.

As for the bulbs, it's true they can cost $350*, but they can last up to 4000 hours*, which translates to watching one 2hr movie every day for just under 5.5 years. I have also seen resellers adding a two-year warranty to the bulb (it's usually 90 days), so if it ever blows it costs nothing to get a replacement.

*Depending on model

aulaire: A more realistic price is $1000. I have a couple friends with projectors and they both paid around that a few years ago, so they're likely to only be cheaper now.

I'd definitely consider doing this over owning a television. At the moment I just use my LCD monitor from my computer. The problem with hiding your tv in an armoire is that then your room is arranged around an armoire.

Nicole, I have to disagree. As others have pointed out projectors can be well under $1000 (I've seen acceptable ones for $600). The image quality of a decent projector is equal to, or in many cases superior to, flat panel TVs. The two areas where projectors can give up image quality to flat panels is in black levels and brightness. However, a bright image is not necessarily a good image, and there are ways to get around the black level issue (especially with the newer projectors).

I would say that with projectors you get a better bang for your buck than with flat panels, especially once you start talking about the $1500-$3000 price range.

With projectors you have to be more careful in planning your room than with a flat panel, but the potential for cinematic viewing is far greater. Once you've watched movies and your favorite shows at 82" wide you can't go back to a flat panel.

To answer Peter's questions, you're hooking up the projector to whatever video source you want (DVD player, computer, etc.). The sound is also originating from that same source, which means if your DVD player is already hooked up to an AV receiver you're golden. If you are running all of your DVD player's audio through your TV, then you'll have to get an AV receiver and add speakers, or some other self contained powered speaker package.

As for some very good, low-priced projectors, here are a few to look at (with street prices):

Optoma H70: $900-$1000
Mitsubishi HD1000u: $1000
Infocus IN72: $600 (after $200 MIR)
Optoma H31: $500 (after $100 MIR)

Also, all of these models support HD signals, but only the Optoma H70 and Mitsubishi HD1000u are true HD projectors.

Also, as an option for the screen, Ikea Hacker had a posting last year on how to make your own roll-down projection screen with large ikea blackout shades.

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/search?q=projector