Projector around 1500$ for living room

[Andrewfrfr20]

Hello guys!

I am renovating my whole house, and I finally have the funds and the possibility to fulfill one of my oldest dreams: having a propper home theater. I already own a pretty good 5.1 sound systhem, an amplifier for it and a screen, the only item missing is a decent projector.

 

I know my living room is probably not ideal for a projector setup. It has really good blackout curtains, so no light from outside can get to it, but I cant justify painting the walls black or grey. If anyone can suggest a projector for these circumstances, around 1500$, it would be greatly appreciated. (I would basically only use it for movie watching)

 

Thank you guys in advance

[manikyath]

with that sort of budget, you can buy quite a fancy 75" TV, or maybe even toward 85".

 

is there a particular reason for going projector, or has a big TV just not crossed the mind?

[Andrewfrfr20]

45 minutes ago, manikyath said:

with that sort of budget, you can buy quite a fancy 75" TV, or maybe even toward 85".

 

is there a particular reason for going projector, or has a big TV just not crossed the mind?

Yes, the TV solution crossed my mind, but already owning a 100inch screen, I figured a projector would make more sense. But I still have not ruled out a tv completely, if I cant find a suitable projector, that is the route im going to take

[IPD]

You are barking up the wrong tree asking on LTT.  In the entire time I've been here, I've seen maybe 1 other person--somewhat knowledgeable on the subject--actually chime in to help.  There are other forums specific to projector setups--where you will be much more likely to get an array of recommendations.

 

Keep in mind that there's a lot of factors you haven't mentioned or calculated.  Viewing distance?  Existing mount for the projector or not?  Fixed frame screen and self-tensioned?  ALR screen?  Gain of screen?  Do you need accoustic transparent?  Resolution required?  Do you prefer LT, ST or UST?

 

The thing is, $1500 sounds like a lot, but it's really not.  I really cannot recommend anything below at least 4k (pixel density gets disgusting if you go lower), nor anything without laser illumination source.  And that really makes it a difficult target at the $1500 price point.

 

https://www.projectorcentral.com/

 

Here's a good place to start looking at reviews.  Personally, if I were shopping for another projector, this is the one I'd be interested in:

 

https://www.projectorcentral.com/LG-CineBeam-HU715Q-UST-Projector-Review.htm

 

Granted, this is double your price range, but 3-laser illumination, no ceiling-mount setup (like a LT or ST projector requires), etc.

 

Getting Laser + 4k in a projector is simply not a feasible prospect for something new.  So either look for something used; go with a new, bright projector with a bulb--and expect to replace it eventually; or go with a portable projector that has lower peak brightness, but can be had for cheaper.  AAXA makes some fairly inexpensive LED type models, if you go this latter route.

[sonnumber5]

One of the biggest considerations I'd recommend you ponder is how accurate you'd like your picture to be. If you're not super picky, you have a larger swath of options in that price range. If you do want decent color with minimal calibration, here are a couple options that I can recommend from personal experience & way too much time reading/watching reviews.

 

I currently have a Benq HT3550 that was around $1500 new when I bought it. It has a pretty decent picture even with some ambient light. I've used it on 1.1 (acoustically-transparent) and 1.3 (non-AT) gain screens and it has performed well on both. If you look into it I'd recommend trying to find the 3550i model. At 100", you might even be fine with one of their 1080p models like the HT2050A for a bit less scratch (although the contrast performance isn't as good as it doesn't have a dynamic iris). Benq's Cinema and Dark Cinema modes are usually fairly color accurate OOB.

 

If you're open to the used market, an Epson 5040UB would also look great at that screen size even with some ambient light. Its black levels are fantastic and color accuracy is decent OOB. Being a 3LCD projector, you would also avoid the DLP rainbow fringing if you're sensitive to that.

 

Personally, I've gone through the chain of Benq W1070 (1080p), HT2050 (1080p), and now HT3550 (4k pixel-shift) and have been very happy overall. My only real complaint with the HT3550 is that the earliest production run (of which mine is a part) has a firmware bug that has not been fully resolved when switching between refresh rates. This sometimes leads to the two sides of the screen having different color filters. The fix is just to switch or reapply the current picture mode, so it's more an annoyance than a dealbreaker for me.