QOTW: TV or projector?

[Gentle Viking]

TV.
Not least in this day and age, and with the average size of the room where ordinary people put their TV, and the size you can get them today.

Projectors i feel are a bit like the BMW of viewing stuff, outdated and a bit over the top.

I will soon cut the cable to my 10 year old 42" TV and put it in its box to collect dust, really for the price ( of content ) there are nothing interesting for a guy like me to watch.
I have numbed my brain with drugs for many years, so now that i have stopped with that i don't want TV to replace it.
And really most of what is aired are just that, mind numbing stuff.
So for me it have been 30 years with drugs + TV, and now i have been 10 years with just TV, and soon i will be at peace.

[Zhaoman]

Optoma UHD40 projector for me, I don't have a TV anymore. I was blown away by the quality when they demoed it for me in the shop and it looked just as good when I got it home. It looks (to my untrained eye) close enough to the quality of the big OLED TVs in the shop but you get a 120" 4K image wherever you want.

I still had my concerns about brightness, contrast, colours, black levels etc especially if you browse some AV forums where people insist on expensive screens or special custom project paints for the wall. I literally took it home and pointed it at the wall that wasn't even that clean or white and it looked amazing. I have used it on a pink wall for a while using the pink wall setting which worked fine too although blacks were obviously slightly pink. Bog standard white wall works great with no special treatment.

I never watch TV during the day anyway so the advantages for me were: it saves space because I didn't need a TV cabinet anymore, it's easily transportable and flexible 120"+ 4K picture on whatever wall you want (I got a little trolley/cabinet from Ikea to place it on). It's the flexibility that's amazing because I even took it in carry-on luggage on a flight when I moved job/home. One of my friends couldn't get their head around how the blacks were coming from the projector and the huge image blows people away every time. It's not for everyone because you can't use it during the day and the lamp lasted 16 months which recently cost £200 to replace but for me it has been pretty much perfect and I can't imagine going back to a small TV now!

[Saracen999]

And that (^^^) nicely demonstrates the "horses for courses" principle. I can't argue with any of that, so it comes down, I suspect, to personal circumstances and preferences. It's not a one-size-fits-all world.

[Euphonium]

I've got a 42" TV that I use as a display for an HTPC. Last time I looked at projectors the cost was too high for the quality, and they were too much hassle to set up neatly when I'm in rented accommodation and move too often. I've nothing inherently against a projector but doubt they will ever hit a point where they are as simple and as good value for money to me as a large TV/monitor.

[excalibur1814]

I used an Optoma projector, for a few years, which was reasonably okay.

I would never, on the other hand, buy one again without making sure that certain aspects of the room were perfect. They get hot. Very hot. For the cost it's probably cheaper to just buy a great TV as it won't need a bulb replacing when it suddenly decided to break. Or the colour wheel, if the PJ has one, decided to go absolutely crazy and turns the room into a disco.

Or you have to return the projector once, or twice, a year to get the dust removed due to the PJ switching itself off. No. Only consider a projector if you're aware of certain aspects.

Other than that, having a 110" view is absolutely amazing.

[excalibur1814]

"Projectors i feel are a bit like the BMW of viewing stuff, outdated and a bit over the top."

?? Rubbish. Projectors are for people who see the value in a large screen and, possibly, not doing things the same way that nearly everyone else does. They are not outdated. Televisions are.

[Potbellieddwarf]

Personally I prefer TV's, I have tried projectors but I didn't like them (my personal opinion)

[3dcandy]

Currently projector. No real issues but we do have an electric screen and surround sound. Setup as 92" through Onkyo receiver set to 1080p and does fine for us.

[philehidiot]

Optoma UHD40 projector for me, I don't have a TV anymore. I was blown away by the quality when they demoed it for me in the shop and it looked just as good when I got it home. It looks (to my untrained eye) close enough to the quality of the big OLED TVs in the shop but you get a 120" 4K image wherever you want.

Excellent. We have a new market for projectors. The walls of a travel lodge are white. Cinema quality/size pr0n on every business trip. Over the lifespan of the device it will save you a fortune in divorces when the missus finds your stack of hotel bills with the "extras" on waiting to be expensed.

[neonplanet40]

I am a great fan of projectors. I am lucky enough to have a cinema room in my house. THis means that other than a seat in the middle, the room is bare (except for the Atmos speakers and other AV equipment). It also meant I was able to paint the walls black! So, I get excellent image quality in the dark room. I have a 102 inch screen. My projector was £800 - a BenQ HD projector now around 5 years old. I am keen to go down the real 4K projector route. However, they are expensive so may be in a year or so! Similarly, I would need to upgrade my HTPC. I watch all my TV shows and movies in this room. I also listen to music as the speakers are great.

Personally I could never go back to a TV only. However, my wife is happy with the TV in the living room. She prefers this over the cinema room. So it all comes down to preferences. In my opinion it is worth the expense.

[Ron-ski]

but if I had the space it'd be a projector in a heartbeat. 100+", surround sound, it's just such an experience. Makes even the most crappy of media come to life.

It certainly does, I built my own dedicated cinema room, 120" screen, projector and 5.1.4 sound, the 4 being 4 overhead speakers. Sounds and looks absolutely awesome - Google Ronski cinema room, you'll find a couple of threads on AV Forums.

We also have various TVs, biggest being an old 47" Panasonic plasma.

[Ron-ski]

Forgot to mention, the cinema room is used for blu rays which look stunning, also Netflix and Prime, although quality is not so good. The room is sound proofed, and blacked out.

We use the TVs for general TV watching, can't really see projectors catching on big time, TVs will always be easier and better suited to most rooms.

[whatif]

I have an older Eiki projector (not a short throw) which I got very cheap when a friend shut down his business (it was the one they used in their big meeting room). I's specs show it does up to an 8 meter (diagonal) screen. It is really good for the times you have a pile of friends over to watch a sporting event or a movie night. I set it up in the double garage so I can get a big-picture. It is perfect for that occasional use, but I wouldn't use it all the time as my new OLED TV has a vastly better picture, requires no messing around and I don't need a massive screen to watch the news or other shows in my small lounge room (only fits 1x 2.5 seater and 1x single lounge chairs).

[Jacob779]

TV Always.
Projectors can't beat TV's as because if you want HD Movies or any other stuff on projectors your budget must be high to watch HD Stuff.
and TV as always you can watch HD stuff on low budget

[neonplanet40]

No you don't. You can great a great HD projector for under £400. 4K is another story though. They are expensive.

[whatif]

Agreed, years ago I bought an almost brand new HD projector from a business that shut down for about £400 - they used it in their conference hall (from memory it does a picture up to 25 foot in the specs) - I used it on a 10 foot (diagonal) screen inside.
Great picture even on a 18 foot (diagonal) white linen sheet strung outside on the side of the house - because it was a little noisy inside (you could easily hear the dual fan noise when the show went quiet) it was better outside when we hooked up good speakers to it as you didn't notice the fan noise so much.
I loved playing with the laser pointer in the remote when I first got it (never had one before) - on a dark night, you could still easily see the dot at about 500 yards away and it would almost drive our cats insane chasing it. :-)
Unfortunately had to sell it when I needed some money (disabled pensioner).