Help with my projector please?

HDTV and HD PROJECTOR, Which one is good for gaming and movie? Help me decide Please!!?

• I have around $1200 to spend. I planning to buy a HDTV or HD projector for my wii and ps3. Which of them is good for gaming and movie?? Help me decide please. People who is using projector or hdtv, please leave some comment and reason why. Thank you very much.

• Answer:

  As the others said, it really comes down to your needs. Here are some things to consider. - Do you only intend to use this setup for gaming, or also for TV and/or movies? Projectors are great for movies and HDTV ... much more immersive and satisfying than a flatscreen (in my view). They will also give great results for gaming (under certain conditions ... see below), so a projector could be, overall, a better choice if you envision dual/triple use. - How big a room are you putting it in? Projectors can work in a small room, but this usually implies a small picture (in which case the only real advantage is portability. See the last point below). - How far will you be from the screen? Viewing distance is best at about twice the screen width for both projectors and HD diplays ... so think about this one (while considering the point above about multiple use) - What are light conditions like in the room (bright and sunny or dark / light controlled)? Projectors can work in a reasonably bright room, but are best in a dim to dark space. Some HDTVs work better in brighter conditions. - Do you intend to have a permanent setup or is portability important? Is space a concern? If you want to pick up and move a projector is the way to go (you can project on a blank white wall). Projectors also take up less space than a flatscreen and much less than a projection HDTV. - Screen response time? Some technologies exhibit fast screen response times while others are slower (read blurry fast action). This can be a big deal for action gaming. In general LCD is more prone to blurring than DLP but look at the specs ... anything under about 10 ms should be OK. Note this is a concern for both projectors and HDTVs. - Additional equipment? A projector can work fine on a blank wall but look their best on a screen (or specially painted wall ... which can be done for about $50), so consider whether you want to worry about a separate screen or being tied to a particular fixed screen location. You may also need to consider speakers for surround sound (which begins to make portability more difficult), but this applies to either a projector or HDTV. Finally, a projector doesn't have sound capability (while HDTVs do). As to comments that projectors do not give as good a picture as HDTVs ... garbage. For the price you are suggesting you can buy a 720p HD projector and in a light controlled room on a reasonable screen surface the picture will be great. Also, mounting a projector does not have to mean a ceiling mount, it can be as simple as putting it on a coffee table or a shelf at the back of the room (although you want to be sure the projector has lens shift capability (most LCD projectors do) to be sure of this. See the link and explore this a bit if you are not familiar with the issue). - Maintenance? Lamps wear out in both projection TVs and projectors (rated lifetime approx 3000 hrs). They are also expensive ... typically $400. Plasma and LCD flatscreens have much longer lifetimes (20-50000hrs). Now, you have to decide which pros and cons are important to you and you will be able to make a choice. I would suggest you try to demo whichever equipment you decide on ... or get an agreement you can trade if the one you pick doesn't work for you to your satisfaction. Finally, see the link for a site that reviews and provides a great deal of info on projectors and flatscreen HDTVs. It's always good to ask opinions ... but there is no substiute for doing your own reading. Hope this helps.