smartbrabus said:
£210 for a bulb? Are they 'avin a laugh?
Actually , it's a LAMP . A bulb is something you plant in your garden
I agree it looks reasonable for the money , this price point is really LCD territory . Optoma have been on the go for a number of years now , mainly in the conference/presentation market , and are a reasonably well respected brand .
However , I'd be keen to see (and hear) it in operation before buying . Some of these small projectors can be quite acceptable - others are dreadful .
They do claim 'low fan noise' but some DLP projectors also have what is known as a 'colour wheel' which emits a sound constantly varying in pitch and can be most distracting .
They quote contrast ratios of 3500:1 and 5000:1 (this describes the difference between brightest whites and darkest blacks the unit can produce) , again reasonable figures for a small projector but nowhere near what a CRT is capable of (my CRT projector has a contrast ratio of 18,000:1 and a direct view CRT television set will better even this figure many times over) : all I am trying to say here is - please DO try to see the unit working before you buy , depending on how critical you are you may , or may not , be happy with the picture quality it can offer . Oh - and if you go for a demo take along a DVD of a film with good , natural photography , something like "House of Flying Daggers" - DO NOT let them demo the unit with the latest Pixar-type production like "Cars" or "Ice Age" which is effectively computer graphics with bright , saturated colours which do not allow you to judge what the projector is capable of .
You certainly can get DLP projectors capable of rivalling the quality of your local cinema but these machines (some of the larger models made by Christie Digital for example) cost the price of a small house and need expert set up and maintenance to give of their best (I used to install and service these units in a couple of previous jobs) .
I must echo what has been said already about using a decent screen : a white wall just won't cut it . Screens come with all kinds of different surfaces , each with their own characteristics : a matte screen surface will look most natural , a beaded one will give a wider viewing angle for people sitting off to one side . Don't mount it too high up or it will be like sitting in the front row of the cinema , craning your neck to see .
Also look at different mounts - the industry standard is Unicol
www.unicol.com not as cheap as the ones advertised but much better engineered and with proper adjustments .
Do remember that projector lamps have a finite lifespan , normally quoted in hours , anything from as little as 1000 hours to perhaps 3000 hours if you're lucky .
Since you say you plan to keep your CRT TV and just use this for watching the occasional film , this should be OK . Not sure that I'd want to use one as my main viewing screen in the house .
Hope this is of help.
