Projectors and gaming.

[Squirrel 5,180]

I've been thinking about having a projector for use with gaming for a long time but I've always been put off by the large price tag of them plus the cost of replacement bulbs.

In my new place I have a nice large white wall in my living room and would be ideal for projector use. 

I've seen one on offer today but only offers a resolution of 800x600, this immediately set off alarm bells. Would it be worth the £180 price tag? 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,178]

I wouldn't get that, you'd need to shell out a lot more to get one that can compare to an HDTV.

Researched this myself a couple years ago and I was looking at close to  £1000.

 

[Squirrel 5,180]

This is why I come on here instead of making rash purchases. I'm not used to having money this close to payday and I don't know what to do with myself.

Another quick look on Amazon where I saw the first offer which popped onto my FB feed I noticed this, for £130 there has to be a catch,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flylinktech-Projector-Lumens-Cinema-Theater-y/dp/B0179AO18K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455798391&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=hd+projector&psc=1

Edited February 18, 2016 by Darth Sciuridae

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

39 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

This is why I come on here instead of making rash purchases. I'm not used to having money this close to payday and I don't know what to do with myself.

Another quick look on Amazon where I saw the first offer which popped onto my FB feed I noticed this, for £130 there has to be a catch,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flylinktech-Projector-Lumens-Cinema-Theater-y/dp/B0179AO18K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455798391&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=hd+projector&psc=1

• Resolution : 800 * 480 Pixels

[Squirrel 5,180]

5 minutes ago, Fido_le_muet said:

• Resolution : 800 * 480 Pixels

Yeah not HD, I'm digging a little deeper and found the same product under a different name for half the price, at £73 including delivery it's almost worth buying to try out before making a large purchase further down the line. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ELEPHAS-Multimedia-Projector-Entertainment-Resolution-Black/dp/B015WJ8MWG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

[Arruda 718]

In gaming I much prefer definition to size. Can't see the appeal of a projector, I think their only purpose is for relatively large audiences, and portability. You can buy an awesome TV for that kind of money, and if the size doesn't satisfy you just sit closer to it.  I sit pretty close to mine, it's incredibly immersive, and I could never get these colours or definition on a wall.

Projectors can be cool in particular situations. I remember some time ago being in a party at a friend's rented summer house. We were about 20, we all got high, someone took a projector, and we saw that movie with penguins and Morgan Freeman's voice in the outside of the house in a warm summer night.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Arruda

[Smurf 947]

What about the video input lag of the projector and the led replacement when it eventually burn out. 

A regular hd tv/ monitor begins to have noticeable input lag issues after around 48 inches, note this only really affect gaming not shows and stuff like that.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Smurf

[DavidCore89 7,402]

A friend of mine has an 86" projector for his racing cockpit, it's huge, but the picture quality looks shocking compared to even a standard HD TV, he actually can't play with much natural light in the room because the picture quality is so grainy.

Input lag is something to consider with large screens, as Smurf said. Some people just go for a huge screen without really knowing what the pro's and cons are.

TV's are for watching TV, monitors are for gaming. Example: this is better for gaming than any 65" TV which may even cost £1000 https://www.inertiacomputers.co.uk/products/asus-pb287q-28-wide-tn-led-monitor-4k-60hz-over-display-port?variant=1090181707, £384, 1ms response time, some TV's have a very high response time.

Edited February 19, 2016 by DavidCore89

[furdog 525]

Another thing to consider about using a project is to get an actual screen to go with it. While you can use a plain white wall, the image will probably not look very sharp and you will loose a lot of contrast. Also, the texture and smoothness of the wall can negatively affect the picture quality. Team that up with needing very good lighting control and using a projector for gaming starts to become worse than using a TV and sitting closer. Not having a boarder around the screen can be an issue for some people as well.

[JustHatched 12,103]

The RC plane club I belong to uses a projector for training noobs http://www.realflight.com/products/gpmz4524.html and it works real well for that purpose  but I don't think it would for PS4 gaming. Unless definition doesn't concern you.

And for the RC planes, a horse fly on the wall kinda looks like a bird attacking your plane.

[Smurf 947]

So I ran across the optoma gt1080 projector the specs and features are amazing. It's 1080p has low latency, 24 Hz to 120Hz and the Lumen is above 2500 the image quality is really crisp 100 inch display from just 4 feet away from the image display surface area. It has a 3D function but you need a pair of glasses to use it,.

The only  cons that might be there is the 262 watts of power that it uses, the 6500 lamp lifetime cycle I know some that produces 15000, finding the proper opiate lamp to replace it when the time comes and if there is a fun or moving parts does it make a lot of noise.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Smurf