Cal Blacksmith Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 A few more questions. 1. Can I watch sports with a projector on regular TV. A) Sports on a PJ is in another leauge (BUT regular TV bites) but , yes, if it is on TV then you can watch it on a PJ. However, many sports are broadcast in HD and all that is required to watch them is a HD Over The Air tuner (OTA) All the networks have SOME HD content. NBC has Sunday football [] Can you say PLAYERS THAT ARE 2 TO 3 TIMES LIFE SIZE ON A CLOSEUP??? [] When all TV is required to go "digital" you will be able to watch everything with the OTA digital/HD tuner. EDIT: You will need a tuner somewhere if you are going to watch TV on the PJ. They do not come with a tuner. You can use a tuner from a device like a VCR (poor quality video for the most part though) or a stand alone tuner (I have not looked for one so I can be of no help with them) or a Satalite/Cable tuner box, or a HTPC with a digital tuner card. (HDTV tuner card and the Dish network tuner box are my tuners, though Dish regular TV is just about the same as over the air quality unless you spring for the bucks for a HD box and service) 2. Will a video scaler help with regular TV on a projector. A) The PJ will have a scaler built in but regular TV looks pretty bad anyway. When you enlarge the image that much, there just isn't enough information to fill in all the spaces to look good. Your DVD player has a scaler also. It depends on how well the two mate. Most DVDs will look NEAR HD quality so that isn't an issue. Regular TV compresses the signal (you know how that sounds on your sound system right? ) so the image isn't all that great. 3. Can I watch Spongebob Square pants? (Ugggggggggg) A) Unfortunatly YES 4. What price range for the screen should I be thinking about? A) DEPENDS, If you have lots of time, write all the screen manufacturers and ask for samples of their material and pin it up on the wall, then see which one you like the best. You also need to decide if you are going to go with a roll up screen, electric or manual, or fixed frame. A good fixed frame Da-Lite screen (my brand) in 119" diag (that is 1 inch under 10 FEET! (my size) cost me $1150. Roll up screens will be as much and you can pay more. Other brands are different prices but that size will run about that much. Edit: Another choice you have is that if you go with fixed frame you can choose between a screen that mounts to the front of the frame or to the rear of the frame. In front, you see the sanps and it looks less finished. If you choose rear mounted, the screen blends behind a picture frame like frame and it looks MUCH nicer. Then you get to choose if you want anti reflective felt on the frame or not. Each step of "nicer" costs more. My frame is rear mount but no felt. Again thanks in advance! Sure, that is what we are here for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Phil, for screens look further then Carada http://carada.com/ I was pretty much set on getting Stewart Screen as they were hands down the best I saw every place I demoed screens. However I could not see a Carda in action. I got 3 different screen type samples from both Stewart and Carada. Carada was the clear winner to both me and my wife. Much to my surprise we liked brilliant white the best. I was expecting to get some version of a gray screen. Best bet is to get your projector first. Set it up and get samples of screens from your short list of possibilities. Then project movies, TV, HD, etc. and make a decision from there. Yes, it is a bit time consuming and you won't have it all up and running in a weekend, but it will be worth it. Also, do some digging into the aspect ratios of the screen. I probably sound like a broken record...but hands down, no doubt about it in my mind you must have a 2.35 to 1 screen for proper movie watching. What ever you do don't get a 1.78 (16:9) screen unless you only plan to watch HDTV. Go with a 1.33 constant width set up or a 2.35 constant height set up (my personal preference). OK, done ranting about 2.35 screens do some research...any reasonable person will come to the same conclusion as me. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Thanks guys. I am learning when it come to PJ's, you really need to make an educated decision. Not like the many amps I have been through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSoundBroker Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 There is another factor to take into consideration and will very much depend on your room layout. With a projection setup, you have the opportunity to do an Acoustically transparent (AT) screen. AT screens are pretty much the ultimate way to go. This is how all professional theaters are done. Having the center channel, left and right speaker all at the correct screen centered height with the center behind the screen has a very dramatic effect. You won't know how much better it is until you experience it. This is the way movies are mixed and meant to be played back. AT screen prices have come WAY down with some of the better DIY suppliers out there now. I have a 68" x 160" 2.35 CinemaScope screen going in our demo theater with all the speakers set behind the screen (recommended for a CH setup vs. outboard L/R for a 16:9 setup). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 SB GOOD POINT! AT is really THE way to go if you have the room to do it! Sadly, our room will not permit it. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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