Big TVs For The Big Game

If you're thinking of getting a large screen high-definition TV to watch the Super Bowl, the Olympics or just regular TV shows and movies, consider your alternatives. In previous columns I've written about the plasma and LCD thin-panels as well as the less expensive rear-screen projection TVs, but this time I'm testing out devices that are smaller, often cheaper and at the same time bigger than any TV on the market.

A front screen projector can create a theater-like atmosphere in your home with screens just about any size you want. Even the least expensive projectors can give you the equivalent of a 50-, 60- or even a 70-inch screen, with high-definition units starting at just over $1,000. After trying out three projectors, I'm convinced that this is a viable option for some people, though not for everyone.

A projector is not a good choice as your only TV. If you plan to spend a half hour or so watching a sitcom or the news, you may be better off with a regular TV.

Projectors have to warm up and cool down. When you first push the power button a fan starts whirring to direct cool air over the lamp. The lamp itself doesn't come on for at least a minute or two. When you're done, the process reverses itself. The lamp goes dim but the fan stays on until it has cooled down. Failure to allow for a cool down results in the lamp burning out before it's time.

Ideally, a projector should be in a dimly lit room. Although some can handle a certain amount of ambient room light, you are not going to get as clear a picture in a lit room as you will with a TV whose light source is shining through the screen.

Even Jennifer Andrews who works for ProjectorPeople.com – a website that sells nothing but projectors – admits that they're not for everyone: "The folks who should not consider front projection are people who want to use it as their primary TV all the time." Of course, she thinks they're great for watching movies or sporting events.

Unlike most High-Def TV sets, projectors don't come with tuners so you will need a source for your programs. That's not a problem if you have a satellite dish or a cable service since they provide the necessary hardware to get your signal but it means you can't just plug an antenna into a projector and watch TV.

Projector TVs also have either no audio or weak audio, so you'll need an audio system as well. On the positive side, projectors are a lot more portable than TV sets. They're pretty easy to move around, although it may take some time to position correctly (or hang from the ceiling) for optimal viewing.

I tested three units: the $2,999 Dell 5100MP, the Panasonic PT-AE900U (about $1,650 after rebate and the $1,299 Optoma DV10 MovieTime. I connected each to a high-definition Dish Network adapter and hooked up a DVD player to both the Dell and Panasonic. The Optoma has its own built-in DVD player.

Like digital cameras, PCs and just about all other technology products, there are specifications which, while important, do not tell the entire story. The main rating system for projectors is the number of "lumens" which is how much light they can emit. That's especially important in a room with ambient light because the more lumens the better the image in less-than-idea lighting conditions.

Presenters who use projectors in well-lit conference rooms care a lot about lumens because a high-lumen projector allows them to avoid having to dim the lights. If you watch TV with the lights on or during the day in a room that you can't darken, you may need some extra lumens.

Lumens also matter as you deal with larger images or "throws." If you plan to watch your video on a relatively small (say under 70 inch) screen, you can get away with under 1,000 lumens. If you want your screen to be 10 feet wide, you'll need to, literally, throw more light on the subject.

Speaking of screens, you can get away with a white wall but for best results it's a good idea to get a beaded screen which, depending on the size, can cost anywhere from $100 to $500.

ProjectorPeople.com recommends at least 700 lumens for "dedicated home theaters," at least 900 lumens for rooms with some ambient light and 2500 lumens or more for spaces with high ambient light.

My "media room" (actually a spare bedroom) is only 12 feet deep so the maximum "throw" I can get is an image that's about 84 inches diagonal. Still, that's bigger than any plasma HDTV that I could reasonably afford. 84-inch plasma TVs start at about $7,000 and go (way) up from there. A 70-inch JVC rear projection TV costs about $6,000.

What I discovered is that all of the units I tested put out more than enough light for nighttime use in my media room or even in my living room, which is larger. But with the shades down during the day, the room is far from dark and that's where the lumens started to make a difference. The $2,999 Dell which puts out 3,300 lumens, literally shone in this environment. The 1,100 lumen Panasonic did well – I could easily live with what I got. The 1,000 lumen Optoma was also acceptable, though noticeably weaker than the other two units.

Another important number is the projector's native resolution. All of the ones I looked at can accept a high-def 720p signal but the native resolution helps create a sharper looking image from high-definition sources. The Dell is rated at up to 1400 by 1050. The Panasonic's native resolution is 1280 x 720 while the native resolution of the Optomo is a much lower 854 x 480.

There are two basic technologies that are commonly used in projectors: LCD and DLP. Projector enthusiasts argue incessantly about which is better. Each has its adherents and detractors.

If you do a web search for "DLP vs LCD" you'll get plenty of arguments on both sides. All I'm going to report is that each has its tradeoffs and that there is no clear consensus that one is better than the other. Both the Dell (which is DLP) and the Panasonic (LCD) looked very good to me.

Another issue is inputs. Any projector capable of HDTV must have at least three component (RGB) cable inputs. The higher end ones (including both the Panasonic and Dell) have HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) and some (such as the Dell) also have DVI (digital video interface). Since these projectors also connect to PCs, they generally have VGA inputs as well.

The Dell or another high-lumen projector is a good choice if ambient light is an issue of if you want to project a very large image. I used it late last summer for an outdoor movie night with a very large screen on my garage door. Its extra strong lamp and high native resolution assures an excellent quality image.

Having said that, I was also quite impressed by the Panasonic, especially considering its lower price. It's a solid machine with very good image quality and exceptionally good contrast. As you'd expect, it's not as bright as the Dell which is largely irrelevant in a darkened room, but the Dell's extra lumens and slightly higher resolution does make a difference when the lights are on.

The Panasonic has some nice touches. like a large joy-stick-like mechanism for shifting the lens position, which makes it less picky about where you place the projector. It also has a 2x zoom lens, which allows you to increase the image size in a small room like mine.

The Optomo is in a class by itself. Yes, the quality of the image is not as great as the two higher-end systems and it doesn't have many inputs (though it does have VGA, component and S-video). Still, it looked very good, especially compared to a standard TV set.

What's more, it's quite a nice package. It not only has a built-in DVD player but built-in speakers as well. It's extremely portable and would be ideal for taking to "grandma's" house or even to a hotel room. My mother-in-law lives in an assisted living center and I'm very tempted to bring it over there to treat her and her fellow residents to a "movie night."

You can buy projectors from Amazon.com and many online merchants but you might start by shopping at a specialty site like ProjectorPeople.com. I found their site very helpful and their prices competitive. I also got good advice from Crutchfield.com, which handles a wide array of audio and video products.