project on the ceiling that way you can watch while lying in bed
QLED/OLED aside, are projectors a good option for playing games at home?
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Ah okay. Well, a short throw one could be nice to have in my case, 'cos I could put it on the front edge of my desktop -whose back sits against the wall-. Another idea is to put the projector on the bedside table, which would be like almost 3m from the other side of the wall.
tbh I'd rather prefer one of the projectors you shared than a TV, since I have 3 at home and I want to use them for as long as I can, or want to. The 1080p one is a great panel I purchased back in 2013 and it's still working.
Those projectors you shared sound more like a dream than anything else for now. I can't buy one of those now, but even if I could I wouldn't. I first want to test the waters getting something cheaper with a minimum quality and if it's for me, then from then on I might consider better projectors for gaming or anything else.
thanks for the clarification Shifty. That 1:4 throw should be a short throw, right?
I am looking for those technical details on affordable projectors but I don't find much info.
For instance, when reading the supposed specs of one of the projectors I'm curious about, the info I found doesn't show any data regarding the throw ratio, and it shows an image mentioning FL (floor lamberts) instead.
that'd be awesome. Question is where to place it. I wouldn't put it on my chest, not somewhere on the bed between my legs xD. The bedhead doesn't have space for it.project on the ceiling that way you can watch while lying in bed
My ceiling is flat and it has the colour of varnish, plus there are joists distanced like 70-80cm from each other (maybe enough for the vertical resolution of the projector....).
I've seen this guy doing this in a video I shared before, but yeah, there is no space in my bed to put it behind my bed.
He uses a cushion to rest on the floor and watch content from the projector -the aforementioned iZeeker-. I don't have that luxury on my bed.
totally out of my reach but it's good to know devices like that exist.
Been talking about projectors with a techie guy who had one in the early 2000s. The typical chinese projector from the early 2000s. And he completed Zelda Wind Waker for the GC on it with 0 lag he said, 'cos the projector was totally analogic.
He told me that it coud have some input lag, but being an analogue source it was lower. Digital sources..., between the fact that they are decoded and picture enhancements are added, they increase the input lag, he told me.
so I got a cheap -but with quite good reviews- projector today, It's a native 720p projector, contrary to what some stores say where they describe it as a 1080p projector (it accepts a 1080p output). I set it up today so here is my review:
First the bad:
- the fans are a bit annoying, the sound that the projector makes doesn't compensate for the noise of the fans
- It scales well up to 1600x900 but it 1080p it doesn't scale well and some pixels on the edges are lost (this is by far the worst thing about it, imho)
- The text is readable but it doesn't look perfect, far from it
- Very good contrast, but in games it's too dark. Using the projector settings didn't change anything, it's like changing the contrast and brightness didn't matter
- not so good sound. It doesn't matter, I am surprised it has sound at all. In fact even if not being a good sound, anything neglecting the fans sound is a good thing.
- It doesn't have a lateral keystone adjustment, the wall of my room is slightly tilted inwards. It's an attic.
My wall is at an angle and it's very difficult to compensate with the keystone, or you lose some focus above or below, there's no middle point, but this isn't a problem with the projector, I'll start looking at a projector screen to project flat.
The good:
- The screen size is awesome, because I set it at 70% zoom, if I set it at 100% it almost takes up the whole wall xDDD (and there's more than 3 meters of wall)
- It's completely changed my room, I've gained space, 2 less screens and it's great
- It's a joy to use it with the PC.
- It comes with a tripod and it helped me a lot to keep it stable and configure the image
- I'm enjoying the experience, the next thing I'll buy will be another projector, not a screen, as I already have plenty of them.
Using games it's great to see everything in a big size, the resolution is important but seeing this doesn't matter that much. I'm going to enjoy it in games for sure. The input lag, if there's any, don't seem to be bad. (ony tried with Indy)
My final score: 6
A great experience watching your stuff in the biggest screen I've tried to date. Text is flawed, maybe a bit more contrasty than it should, but I'd recommend it. The noise of the fans and 1080p upscaling are the weakest points of the projector.
The perception of resolution changes a lot from a typical screen. 1080p or 4K native on one of these with low input lag and better trapezoid settings, etc, might be a serious contender for the good screen you can have outside OLED stuff.
First the bad:
- the fans are a bit annoying, the sound that the projector makes doesn't compensate for the noise of the fans
- It scales well up to 1600x900 but it 1080p it doesn't scale well and some pixels on the edges are lost (this is by far the worst thing about it, imho)
- The text is readable but it doesn't look perfect, far from it
- Very good contrast, but in games it's too dark. Using the projector settings didn't change anything, it's like changing the contrast and brightness didn't matter
- not so good sound. It doesn't matter, I am surprised it has sound at all. In fact even if not being a good sound, anything neglecting the fans sound is a good thing.
- It doesn't have a lateral keystone adjustment, the wall of my room is slightly tilted inwards. It's an attic.
My wall is at an angle and it's very difficult to compensate with the keystone, or you lose some focus above or below, there's no middle point, but this isn't a problem with the projector, I'll start looking at a projector screen to project flat.
The good:
- The screen size is awesome, because I set it at 70% zoom, if I set it at 100% it almost takes up the whole wall xDDD (and there's more than 3 meters of wall)
- It's completely changed my room, I've gained space, 2 less screens and it's great
- It's a joy to use it with the PC.
- It comes with a tripod and it helped me a lot to keep it stable and configure the image
- I'm enjoying the experience, the next thing I'll buy will be another projector, not a screen, as I already have plenty of them.
Using games it's great to see everything in a big size, the resolution is important but seeing this doesn't matter that much. I'm going to enjoy it in games for sure. The input lag, if there's any, don't seem to be bad. (ony tried with Indy)
My final score: 6
A great experience watching your stuff in the biggest screen I've tried to date. Text is flawed, maybe a bit more contrasty than it should, but I'd recommend it. The noise of the fans and 1080p upscaling are the weakest points of the projector.
The perception of resolution changes a lot from a typical screen. 1080p or 4K native on one of these with low input lag and better trapezoid settings, etc, might be a serious contender for the good screen you can have outside OLED stuff.
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just wanted to note that it's better to study every little detail before buying a projector. Similar to a TV or anything else. But in the case of projectors, if you are like me and you don't have a clue as to how to use them or what's convenient for you, read the comments on it before buying.
I.e. I thought the projector I got was 1980p native until I read a comment on a amazon review -which rated the projector as ok not bad- from a user who measured the pixels a la Digital Foundry and found out that the internal resolution was 720p, not 1080p-.
Then I checked other amazon stores from different countries and in the spanish web of amazon the projector's features section says that it's 720p native, which is right.
In regards to other projectors, I quite liked the HY320, judging from review, 'cos it's 1080p native, but I read this comment on a youtube review which recommended the projector, and although the review's author detailed the flaws, he didn't mention issues like this one (from a youtube comment):
Very good projector, I loved it, just need to clarify. IT IS NOT CLOSED OPTICAL. That is, dust gets in and sticks to the screen, you have to take it apart to clean it. IT OVERHEATS AND burns the screen and you see a yellow spot that then grows. Solutions: Even so, it is still a very good projector with very good quality. My recommendation is not to use it for more than 3 hours and not to let too much dust get into the place where you are because the dust gets in and sticks to the projection screen and you see little dots. This can be solved by opening the projector and cleaning the screen, of course, only if you have the ability to do this. I had to learn, but I love this projector, which is very, very cheap, for $50 dollars, you can buy it on Aliexpress.
Since I want to use it for productivity and games alike, for as many hours as I use any regular screen at home, the 3 hours thingy was a definitive red flag for me, even if it was the best projector of the world.
I.e. I thought the projector I got was 1980p native until I read a comment on a amazon review -which rated the projector as ok not bad- from a user who measured the pixels a la Digital Foundry and found out that the internal resolution was 720p, not 1080p-.
Then I checked other amazon stores from different countries and in the spanish web of amazon the projector's features section says that it's 720p native, which is right.
In regards to other projectors, I quite liked the HY320, judging from review, 'cos it's 1080p native, but I read this comment on a youtube review which recommended the projector, and although the review's author detailed the flaws, he didn't mention issues like this one (from a youtube comment):
Very good projector, I loved it, just need to clarify. IT IS NOT CLOSED OPTICAL. That is, dust gets in and sticks to the screen, you have to take it apart to clean it. IT OVERHEATS AND burns the screen and you see a yellow spot that then grows. Solutions: Even so, it is still a very good projector with very good quality. My recommendation is not to use it for more than 3 hours and not to let too much dust get into the place where you are because the dust gets in and sticks to the projection screen and you see little dots. This can be solved by opening the projector and cleaning the screen, of course, only if you have the ability to do this. I had to learn, but I love this projector, which is very, very cheap, for $50 dollars, you can buy it on Aliexpress.
Since I want to use it for productivity and games alike, for as many hours as I use any regular screen at home, the 3 hours thingy was a definitive red flag for me, even if it was the best projector of the world.
some pictures besides my regular 32" 1440p PC monitor, which looks tiny by comparison. And that's with a 70% zoom, it almost takes the entire wall.
A regular youtube video compared. My crappy phone doesn't make justice to the 32" monitor:
Playing Indiana Jones and the Great Cicle. The game looks really good in such a big screen but also too dark, 'cos of the contrast. Might use the gamma settings in game, dunno.
For the price I paid, I can't complain. I even got another one for my gf. Talking of which, maybe in the future I might use a double projector setup, but that requires some thinking and getting a silent one, which I don't know if it even exists tbh.
A regular youtube video compared. My crappy phone doesn't make justice to the 32" monitor:
Playing Indiana Jones and the Great Cicle. The game looks really good in such a big screen but also too dark, 'cos of the contrast. Might use the gamma settings in game, dunno.
For the price I paid, I can't complain. I even got another one for my gf. Talking of which, maybe in the future I might use a double projector setup, but that requires some thinking and getting a silent one, which I don't know if it even exists tbh.
arandomguy
Veteran
Just to comment regarding the medical issue I'm wondering if you maybe should see someone about that rather then approach this from home remedy stand point?
Granted I'm not an expert here but while I can see a projector being easier on the eyes out of the box because they'd for example be much less brighter I wouldn't be sure they are actually easier on the eyes if you were to say to normalize for things like brightness, color temperature, field of view and etc.
The harshest thing on the eyes with current dipslays is probably because most people blast them at high brightness along with a higher color temperatue (moee blue light) due to preference.
Granted I'm not an expert here but while I can see a projector being easier on the eyes out of the box because they'd for example be much less brighter I wouldn't be sure they are actually easier on the eyes if you were to say to normalize for things like brightness, color temperature, field of view and etc.
The harshest thing on the eyes with current dipslays is probably because most people blast them at high brightness along with a higher color temperatue (moee blue light) due to preference.
do you mean the double vision? I went to an ophthalmologist 2 years ago. The double vision was caused for using the screen to close to my eyes, since I used laptops a lot, and focusing too much on the screen for a very close distance it is like your vision gets adapted to that and then when you go outside or you are driving and so on, the fine detail like the traffic lines on the road get doubled.
Initially I fixed that just closing one eye and it worked but over time I stopped using displays from such a close distance and now I'm totally healed.
On another note, I've used the projector a few hours and it worked well all the time. The sound of the fans is super annoying though, they don't tell you about that in the reviews.
The resolution is a bit low for what it seems like a 120" I am projection on the wall. However it's usable. I guess that 1080p native is the minimum today. 720p for a projector is ok but 1080p and above is the way to go. I am poor and I got 2 of these projectors so I am going to use this one for a while before getting a 1080p or 4K projector.
The upside, as it were, to your issues is they can be solved by more expensive projectors, so the concept seems proven for you.
It works, a large screen that doesn't weight a gram, and my room feels much less cluttered now.
The built-in sound is bad, but it forced me to connect a pair of small but decent speakers directly to the PC. This setup allows me to have audio from the PC even when the screens are turned off.
The projector is very budget-friendly and works excellently for presentations and tasks that don’t demand high precision. However, the image quality is just worse, as expected, compared to my 1440p VA monitor and QLED TV.
That said, there are no issues with viewing angles at all, which is a plus.
As for upgrading to a better projector, I am poor and also I want to give some good use to this one before getting a better projector, which also gives you time to read/watch reviews.
For now, getting a projector screen is my main focus. Some come with tripods, while others don’t....
Overall, the concept works well as you say. The most important downside is the projector's fan noise. While it’s not unbearably loud, the constant hum is something I don't like and I haven't seen it mentioned in the reviews.
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changed the setup, my small screen is now on the desktop and the projector's screen is just above it on the wall. It works very well for me. You can adapt the OS to that, placing display 1 on top of display 2 or viceversa. The only issue with that is that if the top screen is screen 2 and you set up the taskbar to hide automatically, then when moving from screen 2 to screen 1 the taskbar doesn't appear except in a very limited fraction of the screen. But that's not a problem at all.
It's easier to compare the image quality of both the monitor and the cheap projector. The monitor has much more brightness and much better image quality overall. Also the text looks much better on the monitor. Even so, the projector does its job rather well for the price I paid for it -10 times less than the cost of my 1440p display-.
Still to play games or certain video content the projector might be preferrable.
My main gripe with it continues to be the constant humming. When it comes to productivity, if you prefer to work in silence, this projector in particular is a bit noisy, not excessively noisy but enough to be a distraction.
It's easier to compare the image quality of both the monitor and the cheap projector. The monitor has much more brightness and much better image quality overall. Also the text looks much better on the monitor. Even so, the projector does its job rather well for the price I paid for it -10 times less than the cost of my 1440p display-.
Still to play games or certain video content the projector might be preferrable.
My main gripe with it continues to be the constant humming. When it comes to productivity, if you prefer to work in silence, this projector in particular is a bit noisy, not excessively noisy but enough to be a distraction.
They are all DLP at this range. The only difference is the light source. Old and cheaper projectors use very hot bulbs. Newer and better projectors use LEDs. I think fancier ones use lasers, although laser projectors might only be direct laser projection and not DLP.
Sounds like your projector has a bulb. That runs hot, needing the fan, and also has a limited lifespan. They tend to count lifetime in thousands of hours, but eventually it'll blow and need replacing and they tend to be quite expensive.
Sounds like your projector has a bulb. That runs hot, needing the fan, and also has a limited lifespan. They tend to count lifetime in thousands of hours, but eventually it'll blow and need replacing and they tend to be quite expensive.
the official specs say 30000 hours. We shall see. This thing is so noisy, sigh. The best way to get rid of the noise is to use it as the default sound output in the OS, that way the incredibly annoying humming I am listening to while typing this gets slight bearable, hidden behind the sound coming from your computer and so on. Especially if you use Dolby Atmos, which gives you a much punchier sound.
It's so-so speakers are its saving grace.
Whenever I get a new one, apart from looking for certain specs, I am going to make sure it is silent, 'cos I learnt they exist, and maybe there are more of them than I thought.
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Another important thing to consider is getting a Full Sealed projector, so dirt doesn't get inside, as I learnt from some video. Most projectors are open so you have to open them and clean them, but Full Sealed projectors don't have that problem.
It's also very important to choose a projector with an external power supply, since the noise, DLP projectors aside, disappear by using an external power supply.
It's also very important to choose a projector with an external power supply, since the noise, DLP projectors aside, disappear by using an external power supply.
davis.anthony
Veteran
I used a projector for a while so feel I can somewhat chime in.
It wasn't the best projector but was the best of the 'cheap 1080p Chinese' projectors that were on Amazon at the time.
I had it blown out to 90 Inches diagonally on a wall that was not fot for the purpose (it was painted cream and not white)
Prior to this I had been playing on a 43 inch 4k TV with HDR.
The experience from the projector was outstanding, the level of immersion in everything (games and movies) was indescribable and I remember at the time wishing I had never finished the RE2:Remake as it would have been even more 'shit your pants scary' playing it for the first time on such a set-up.
The only two things I wasn't happy with was noise (expected for a cheap projector) and moving to 1080p on a 90 inch screen was some downgrade from 4k on a 43inch screen and it showed massively. DVD and Blu-ray movies looked amazing on it though.
It was only the lack of the space to have a projector setup in a permanent position that caused me to move back to a TV.
I'll have to check my NAS backup later and see if Instill have any photos of it.
Managed to take some captures from the Facebook marketplace listing from when I sold it. They're compressed as shit but it'll give you an idea.
It wasn't the best projector but was the best of the 'cheap 1080p Chinese' projectors that were on Amazon at the time.
I had it blown out to 90 Inches diagonally on a wall that was not fot for the purpose (it was painted cream and not white)
Prior to this I had been playing on a 43 inch 4k TV with HDR.
The experience from the projector was outstanding, the level of immersion in everything (games and movies) was indescribable and I remember at the time wishing I had never finished the RE2:Remake as it would have been even more 'shit your pants scary' playing it for the first time on such a set-up.
The only two things I wasn't happy with was noise (expected for a cheap projector) and moving to 1080p on a 90 inch screen was some downgrade from 4k on a 43inch screen and it showed massively. DVD and Blu-ray movies looked amazing on it though.
It was only the lack of the space to have a projector setup in a permanent position that caused me to move back to a TV.
I'll have to check my NAS backup later and see if Instill have any photos of it.
Managed to take some captures from the Facebook marketplace listing from when I sold it. They're compressed as shit but it'll give you an idea.
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thanks for the detailed explanation. Glad to know i am not alone regarding the annoying humming coming from the projector.
RE 2 Remake is one of my favourite games ever. It's a game I know really well so maybe another walkthrough using the projector might not be a bad idea.
How much did it cost you if that's not asking much? With the inflation and the current times we are living, things that were once good and cheap are very difficult to find or they just got a lot more expensive.
You mention you had a projector setup. Did you have a projector's screen? Or did you simply used the projector on the wall? Just curious...
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