Ultra Short Throw Projectors for watching Movies

[Poppet 703]

As they say,  I'm about to "Pull The Trigger" on something and maybe thought that someone might have bought either of these 2 Items

 

There are 3 types of Projectors 

 

Regular,  What you would see in the Cinema 

 

Short Throw, You can mount these 4 or 5 feet away from the screen

 

Ultra Short Throw,  You can sit these only a couple of Inches away from the screen and you will get up to 100 Inches of Screen and they are very portable to.  Perfect for my living space 

 

The Ultra Short Projector has my attention and I'm going to buy one.  I will be watching Movies on it,  that's it.   

 

There are 2 Types at the 1000 Pound mark 

 

LG Minibeam UST PF1000U  http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-PF1000U-Theater-Projector/dp/B014OUD5KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462208842&sr=8-1&keywords=LG+Minibeam+UST+PF1000U

 

Optima GT 5000 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Optoma-GT5000-1080p-Cinema-Projector/dp/B0179OLE3G/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462208924&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=OPTIMA+GT+5000

 

The Optima GT 5000 is what i am steering towards but there is no Reviews at all on this particular one at all,  as its very New 

 

Does anyone have either of this 2 and would like to share an opinion,  Good or Bad ?  

[TPerson 15]

Not exactly a full review but a 3 page post on the AVS Forums.

 

Link

[Poppet 703]

Hello TPerson,  Thank you for your reply and Link.   

 

Yes,  Well, I made a Purchase today.   I bought the Optima GT 5000.  I'm happy i did (time will tell i guess) 

 

I should have it by the 10\12 of May.  I will post some pics and a quick Impression of it. 

 

Looks great though,  So portable and no setting up.  I will be getting a pull down screen as well.  There cheep enough,  about 80 Euro or so 

 

[Jayjay 62]

Thank you Poppet.  Exactly what I am looking for.  I am looking forward to your first impression.

 

Jean-Jacques

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL 663]

Nice unit , I use a projector to watch movies when I want to go for that Big Screen Cinema feeling .  Its the bulb in these things that costs a fortune , you will see in the setup menu a setting for luminosity / brightness , If you set that to 50% your bulb will last nearly forever.

 

Other thing is I have always painted one wall white so as to use as a screen , makes the projector screen disappear when not in use, very discreet.

 

Best CJ

[Poppet 703]

 

 

Its the bulb in these things that costs a fortune , you will see in the setup menu a setting for luminosity / brightness , If you set that to 50% your bulb will last nearly forever.

 

Very good Chuck, thank you.    

 

Yes the white wall solution would be perfect alright.     I will start with a screen though as i have just painted my dining room a lovely deep cream  :smile:   In time though i will do this.

 

I should be receiving my unit next Wednesday or Thursday,  I will give it a good twirl first and come back with some pics and first Impressions 

[Silverbird 115]

Nice unit , I use a projector to watch movies when I want to go for that Big Screen Cinema feeling .  Its the bulb in these things that costs a fortune , you will see in the setup menu a setting for luminosity / brightness , If you set that to 50% your bulb will last nearly forever.

 

Other thing is I have always painted one wall white so as to use as a screen , makes the projector screen disappear when not in use, very discreet.

 

Best CJ

I have a screen ended up using almost my whole wall now lol using BenQ 1070

[zmak 331]

Nice unit , I use a projector to watch movies when I want to go for that Big Screen Cinema feeling .  Its the bulb in these things that costs a fortune , you will see in the setup menu a setting for luminosity / brightness , If you set that to 50% your bulb will last nearly forever.

 

Other thing is I have always painted one wall white so as to use as a screen , makes the projector screen disappear when not in use, very discreet.

 

Best CJ

You can get just the bulb (no housing) from Ali express for around $100. Its then just a matter of carefully pulling apart the current projector housing and popping the bulb in. I did it several times with my benq projector before selling it for a 55" tv

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL 663]

They wanted over $400 CDN for the replacement bulb in my projector , happily with the thing set for 50% brightness I have not had to replace the bulb , I got the unit in 2008 , Its still hooked up to the network and will run any of the inputs the other 4 monitors carry,  be it the computers, TV or VCR.  About the only thing I don't  like using it for is simming , the panel being 72 " wide makes a 182 look like its as big as the office in a 380.   

 

Best CJ

[OmniAtlas 93]

I have the PF1000U, I'm enjoying the short throw distance, LED bulb (instant on and off) and longevity (20 years bulb life)

 

I put up some pictures with mysetup here -- http://prosim-ar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=9433

[Poppet 703]

Nice pics Omni,  Thanks for posting.

 

-------------------------

 

I spent all of last evening and all of today researching Pull-Down Projector Screens educating myself on my new venture,  One thing I didn't like the look of was the screen Curl and Ripple that is almost

certain to Happen with these type of screens,  There is no tension in them and only relies on the weight of the screen material to hold straight.  

 

So I came across Frame Projector Screens,  these are basically a big blank picture frame that you hang on your wall,  the material is pulled tight leaving you with a perfect surface for your projector.

 

Be warned though the more you learn about this the more questions you have in your head :smile:   You can buy the original White screen with a 1.1 Gain or even just a 1 Gain,  OR  you can buy a Grey screen with a 1 Gain or even a 1.5 Gain.

 

There are 2 type of Frame Projector Screens:

 

White Screen:  These work best if you can control the light,  Meaning that, if you can make the room really dark when using your Projector,  these are best.  Dark room = Amazing.  Some light=Just ok

 

Grey Screens:  These work good in all conditions,  they are good in dark and a slightly lite room,  But not amazing in either condition    

 

"They Say"  In a really dark room with black paint on the walls and ceiling with a foot thick curtains tied with Velcro the white screen is Amazing.  

 

"They also say"   In a really dark room with black paint on the walls and ceiling with a foot thick curtains tied with Velcro the Grey Screen is Very Good but not Amazing,  But its pretty good in slightly lite rooms as well.  

 

If i was to compare White and Grey Projector Screens to types of car tyres,  i would say the Grey screen is like an All Weather conditioned car tyre good in all conditions "winter and Summer"  but not Amazing in either condition. 

 

On the other hand the White Screen is like a dedicated winter tyre,  Amazing in winter conditions but lacks the ability in summer conditions,  hence dark and light  

 

I'm actually losing the will to live here. 

 

So what does 1.1 Gain mean Regarding the white or Grey Screen,  I couldn't F@@@ care less

 

 

Look, If this is your first Projector and what ever screen you choose,   Get it,  Close the the ducking curtains, throw on the movie and enjoy. 

 

 

Anyway,  after nearly 19 hours  i settled on the , Silver Ticket 92" Diagonal 16:9 screen,  Great Reviews all around,  and its a white screen  :smile:  My walls are cream and ceiling is bright white, My curtains are heavy though.  http://silver-ticket-products.myshopify.com/products/str-16992   it cost 320 Euro all in,  179 + 141 shipping to Ireland,  The high price is due to living in Ireland. I could of got a cheaper screen but this was the one i wanted. 

 

The 92 inch was the smallest i could find,  I will be sitting 11 feet from the screen,   so i should be fine with this.  

 

As you can see its still a monster though for a room this size,  Measuring 80 inches long and 45 inches wide of screen space. 

 

 

Regarding pure screen space,  If you look at your 40 inch TV,    this will be twice as wide + five inches  and  twice as long + 10 inches.  And ill be sitting 11 feet away with a wheel barrow of popcorn.