January 15, 2005
Enormous Screen TV
With the new basement on its way, I have to finally embark on a dream of mine that I have had for a long time — a very large TV screen for playing games. I mean huge as in the whole wall huge. I have a wall in the basement that is about 8 feet tall and 13 feet wide. This is where I want to put the screen.
I dropped by a local electronics store today and quickly checked prices on the largest rear projection TV that they had. I like Sony. So the 60” Sony was $5000. Ok, so that is the ballpark.
I went into their theatre room and had a seat and started reading literature. The Purdue vs. Indiana game happened to be on. What a finish that was! Anyway, I am not trying to do a movie theatre looking thing in my basement. I am only after a big screen. So they sold 3 different screen: 92” for $1200, 106” for $1400, and 120” for $1600. I can fit the 120 so might be that one. Not a big price difference anyway. But the true test is how far back you want to sit. I have to plan the seating with my wife for the final decision then. I noted the recommended distance for screen sizes. If you sit 13-17’ from the screen, you should go with the 92”. If you sit 15-20’ from the screen, you should go with the 106”. If you sit 17-23’ from the screen, you hsould go with the 120”. Obviously some overlap.
So then I started looking at projectors. I will only buy an HD projector. This store happend to carry only 2 brands: Epson and Sharp. The only Epson that would work was $3000. The Sharps ranged from $3000 to $11,000. Ok, that is a lot at the top end. So it seems like the price jumps as the contrast ratio goes up. The Epson was 1000:1 while the best Sharp was 5500:1. What the hell is contrast ratio and why do I want it?
Most projectors are rated in the 300/3000 to 1 contrast ratio, that is to say the blacks are 300 times darker than the white (on a 300:1 model), this means that true black may appear as grayish. Projectors with say 1200:1 contrast ratio look more realistic showing dark subject matter than 300:1. Having said that the difference in performance is provided your room is totally free from light (vary rare) in the real world we have trouble justifying the price hike between a 1000:1 and a 3000:1 projector as the difference is not 3 times better, rather a slight difference that most people may not notice unless the room is dark.
Ok. So bigger is better but how much is OK. Sounds like 1000:1 to one might be a little low. The cheapest Shart model was $8000 for a 2600:1 contrast ratio. Doesn’t sound like it is worth it.
So gotta do some more research and fine out what other number to be looking at. I figure there was some kind of brightness number that was important, which helps indicate how the screen looks in a lighted room. More homework to do.
Looking for advice if others have done similar setups.
