Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with projector and home

Choosing an affordable projection screen for my living room?

cortex — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:08:32 -0800

What do I need to know when choosing a wall-mounted projection screen for my living room? We're looking at upgrading our ad hoc living room theater setup from our current White Sheet Clothespinned To Drapes to something in the way of an actual screen. Looking at 84"x84" as the best fit for our setup, doing a mix of movies and console gaming.

As far as I can tell, we'd probably be fine with something as simple as a Luma or Luma 2 or Silhouette—and in fact I'm not clear what the significant difference between those is other than the styling of the hardware. The Luma at under $200 bucks is attractive as the budget choice, but is there anything I should know? Any surprises here?

The other question: surface treatment. I know ambient light might be an issue for daytime use—setting aside the use of drapes and such on our windows to minimize that, is there a good reason to drop the extra cash on a high contrast grey type surface instead of simple matte white? Or is the distinction fairly minimal in practice?

Some help on the Home Projector front.

thanotopsis — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:40:44 -0800

More home-theater projector questions. This time, it's eBaytastic. Of course, there's I've read up on a number of AskMe threads on this subject, so it looks like I'm in the right place to clarify my further confusion on the subject.

I just found a number of exceptional deals for projectors on eBay from highly rated sellers. I've investigated them and found that the projectors are well received by critics and consumer reviews, so I'm good there. My questions stem from the fact that I've never owned a projector before: Namely, I've read that bulb replacement is a common thing and could potentially occur up to twice a year. How much does a bulb for one of these things cost, anyway?

I'm basically worried that I'm going to get a great deal on a good projector, have 6 months of fun with it, and then have to replace a bulb that costs 2 times as much as I paid for the projector (the auctions I've seen show decent units for under 200.00...at buyout pricing).

Finally, most of these units show no audio input. Should I expect to purchase a sound system of some sort to accompany these units, or will the units themselves project enough sound to be serviceable?

Big Ass TV

slapshot57 — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:49:53 -0800

Home Theater Question: So I want to set up a digital projector on the wall of my apartment and I have one remaining question: XGA or SVGA? does it make a difference? What does it mean for the image that I'm going to get? Is it worth the extra 2-3 hundred bucks? I'm just going to be using this set-up to watch movies and play x-box so I'm not too anal but I want it to look good. Specifically, the model I'm looking at is:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/proj_1200mp?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

also, if anyone has anytips for setting up a home theatre I'd appreciate it

projector project?

mwhybark — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 12:08:39 -0800

Pursuant to the valuable surround sound system information found here and here, what options do I have with regard to my projector? [+] I dumpstered a brand-new InFocus projector a while ago and have recently begun to think about how to build a semi-permanent screening area. The projector has great brightness and video quality but does not incorporate some of the home-theater features seen on newer models, such as masking the non-signal areas from the projection, keystoning adjustment, and fan noise dampening.

Ideally, I'd like to mount it to the ceiling and wrap it in a noise-dampening box, venting the heat probably into my attic. Do I have to roll my own, or are there systems out there to do this?

Finally, I don't need a receiver or DVD playback system; I do need speakers. Should I even bother with fancy options such as flat-panel or Bose cubes? Additionally, what's the deal with the hype around Bose Acoustimass systems?

Thanks very much for your nerdly expertise!