Projector instead of Monitor or TV?

[Tdog]

I know lately a lot of people having been talking about Monitors vs TV's but I'm curious if there are some people out there that have been boxing using a projector? I don't know too much about projectors and I'm trying to learn more but before I invest too much time into the idea I was just curious how others, if there are others, have been liking/disliking it and why.

I'm thinking the picture quality would be fine but how about the text quality? I was using a 50" TV for awhile and the pic was fine but the text was blurry as hell unless I made the text a rather large font. Also I'm curious about the lighting. Will I have to have it pretty dark in the room I'm playing it in just to see the picture well or can some of the higher end projectors be visible just fine with the lights on?

Any tips would be awesome, thanks!

[ShadowKntSDS]

I've used projectors for years, and actually started 2 boxing with a projector + LCD. There are some pluses and minuses for projectors, but most don't impact boxing specifically.

You REALLY want a 1080p projector to play any MMO. I played wow on a 1366x768 projector for years, and it was always painful with regards to reading text and UI elements. Now that I have a modern (and bright) 1080p projector, i wouldn't hesitate to play any PC/xbox game on it. There some games that greatly enhanced by playing on a big screen in the dark (Alan Wake, Dead Space, BIoshock, etc).

You also want a dedicated space if you can manage it. No windows is the best option, but heavy, light blocking curtains can suffice. I cram mine with a 144" retro reflective screen in a my living rooms, but have gone to great pain to make sure my window treatments can block out the sun. Luckily, my projector is bright enough that during the evenings, I can just leave the light filtering blinds up, but during the day I pretty much need the heavy blinds.


The thing one that might be boxing specific is that it is not as easy on the eyes to use a projector and a lcd at the same time. The LCD is close, and the projector is is far away. Mix that in with a dark room, and the fact that most LCD's are way brighter than the projector image causes some major eye strain. I swear I made my vision worse using that setup for extended periods. If you want more than 1 screen that you actively need to view, i'd stick with multiple LCD's.

You also need to consider that if you game a ton, you will burn through bulbs. I got lucky and the bulb on my first projector last 6000+ hours, but on my 2nd setup, the bulb blew after ~2500 hours. Most projector owners have a LCD monitor as well, to save bulb life when surfing etc. I don't usually fire mine up except for watching movies, or playing xbox games.

[Catamer]

the bulb thing... seriously check our replacement bulb prices first... they are like printer cartridges and make up 90% of the cost of ownership.

I used to have one of those projection TVs and ultimately 3-4 bulbs later @ $400/bulb and I threw the TV in the trash since nobody wanted it for the same reason I was getting rid of it. ( even Good Will didn't want it )

I think it would be a "cool to have" but expensive to operate over the long haul.

[Stabface]

One good thing is that you can make a seamless multi-screen display... I did this with 4 x 720p projectors once and it was glorious.
However it is really tough to get things lined up perfectly, though I didn't have any kind of a special stand -- just put the projectors on edge on a table and it was a real PITA to get the images all square and aligned. With a proper stand and such it wouldn't be too bad I imagine.

It's very tempting to me, I've seen some 1080p projectors @ 1920x1080 native res for ~$900...
3 projectors in 3x1 portrait ? 3240x1920 seamless!
4 projectors in 2x2 ? 3840x2160 seamless!

Yeah it costs $$$$ but... it would be killer.

[Starbuck_Jones]

I own a Sanyo PLV Z2000. I bought it about 3 or 4 years ago. reason I bought it was the price was good, and the ability to hide it in the corner and it still throws the image w/o keystoning or screwing up the picture. I have had to replace the bulb only one time so far for $200 or so.

I agree that they are a bit spendy to maintain with new bulbs, but its worth every penny for a home theater. I play movies, Xbox and PS3 on it. I do have a computer hooked up to watch netflix movies off of it as well. However I would not recommend a projector to be used on the number of hours spent using it.

When I first set up the projector, I did everything on it even box wow. Now however, I use it 90% to just watch movies and shows and a little bit of console gameing. Its not worth the price of bulbs to put 40h a week playing games on it. But its worth it once a week or so to party with drunken Rock Band on it!

[Tdog]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not playing WoW as much these days, no more 40 hour weeks But I do watch a fair amount of movies and TV and surf the web and work on my computer quite a bit so keeping my monitor for at least the web surfing/computer work would be a good idea it sounds like to cut down on bulb prices. I didn't realize they went for that much or had that short of a life.

I am willing to spend a good amount of money to get something nice though. Other than resolution and bulb life span what are some of the other things I should consider when shopping for a projector? Refresh rates? Contrast Ratios?

Also I was considering using the projector wall paint rather than buying a screen. Any thoughts/ experience using that? Space is kind of an issue in the room I'll be using the projector in and I'm thinking this might be a better option.

[Starbuck_Jones]

I had a textured wall that I smoothed out using drywall mud. I had intended to get some of the screen goop paint, but I found that after the drywall mud dried and I sanded and then simply primed gave a near perfect non-gloss surface.

The Sanyo Z2000 was the one I went with after researching. You will want to look around as that was the one I came up with a few years back so there are bound to be newer or better ones out there. Reasons I went with that one was the price to start with. It was one of the first 1080p projectors available and it was sub $3k. The rest were double or triple that price. The contrast ratio is good as are the lumins it puts out. It also got great reviews as far as color goes as well. Beating out much more expensive models. But what sold it for me was the ability for it to throw the image. I have mine in the back top corner of the room and it doesnt skew the image at all. Right now I have it set for a 10ft wide home theater goodness!

However at that distance and that panned out, its not very bright. During the day if you leave any of the windows open or have a moderate amount of ambient light, it can be hard to see sometimes. Dark images get lost if there is light. At night or if you darken the room, it perfectly fine. If you are not going to be projecting a 10ft screen, but a 8 or 6 etc. this wont be as big of an issue. I can zoom mine in and its still 4ft wide at about a 20ft throw distance and its very bright regardless of the light.

My first bulb lasted just shy of 2000h. I used it a ton when I first got it. Im on my second bulb right now and its only got around 800h on it.

In the end, do your homework and you wont be disappointed. I wasnt.

[ShadowKntSDS]

Resolution, lumens, then contrast ratio in that order.

As far as fitting your room, you may need to make allowances for throw length as mentioned. http://www.projectorcentral.com/ has a good calculator. Being able to shift the image vert/horiz without key stoning may be important depending on your setup. I prefer motorized zoom and focus, as its easier to lock in a setting and not have your sub woofer knock it out of focus =p. Sadly, my current projector does not have this feature.


Get a project first for movies, 2nd for games. Gaming on the big screen is fun, but as mentioned, bulb life is $$.

[Lyonheart]

I highly recommend reading this article. If i were going to go the projection rout, i would do this for sure. The place i live now is too small. I also watch a lot of TV and Movies and plan to do this in the future. read it all.. great info on projection not just the "3D" part >> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,2687-14.html

[Mosg2]

Honestly I'm a little suprised to see boxers of all people quail from a few hundred dollars every year. If you run it for 6 hours a day, 7 days a week it comes out to 2184 hours of use per year. Even if you double that... You're talking like one bulb a year? Maybe? Even if it's 500 bucks you're talking about roughly half the cost of 5 accounts for one year. /shrug

I'm seriously looking into this. I'd have to see the return policy, installation policy (if any) etc. Hmmmm.