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Getting the Gear – Picking a Projector

// December 21st, 2010 // gear

Here’s where The Pimp gets to put some old school knowledge to good use. Digital gear is my thang, homies. Read on.

Picking the right display system for a home theater can be a lesson in technobabble overload. DLP vs. LCD. 720p vs 1080p vs 1080i. HDMI vs. Component. Blah blah blah. To make your life easier, and blood pressure lower, start with understanding your space, and how you plan to use it. Then that makes the decision process easier. Don’t panic. The ‘Pimp here to help.

Since I’m an old multimedia hack from the early days of gargantuan Barco projectors, I know my way around these beasts. It was a foregone conclusion that I wanted a projector for the space; no other way to get  a 100″+ diagonal picture from anything else without selling your first born (and I love my son, thanks.)

With my CribMac 1.0 project back in 2004, I purchased a BenQ PB8240 DLP projector. My main objectives for the unit were price ($850 refurb) and lumens (2000 ANSI). Lumens are a measure of brightness for a projector, and if you have a lot of light in your space, a higher brightness projector is critical. Since this projector was built before HDTV had reached critical mass, it had limited resolution (1024 h x 768 v pixels) and a 4:3 image aspect ratio. This is the common screen aspect ratio for Standard Definition (SD) TV broadcasts.

For the 2.0 version, the priority was on HD, ‘natch. This means selecting a projector that displays an HD TV aspect ratio of 16:9. But what resolution should the projector display, and how should the projector display it? That answer is confusing for some, so a bit of explanation.

The ATSC HDTV broadcasting standard specifies three different resolutions, instead of the single resolution from the previous NTSC SDTV standard:

• 720p – 1280 h x 720 v pixels, displayed progressively
• 1080i – 1920 h x 1080 v pixels, displayed interlaced
• 1080p – 1920 h x 1080 v pixels, displayed progressively

Depending on what you are feeding the projector with, you may have content displayed in all three resolutions. HDTV is broadcast in either 720p or 1080i. Due to spectrum/bandwidth limitations, no broadcast networks transmit in 1080p…yet. 1080p is considered the gold standard for picture quality, and the majority of BluRay disc players output at 1080p, assuming the source material is also in 1080p. DirecTV and Dish have also jumped on the bandwagon by offering select video on demand titles in 1080p.

So, the bottom line is simply to choose a projector that outputs up to full 1080p, for future-proofing. You can save a little money by going with a 720p projector, however, some detail and sharpness will be missing, especially if you intend to project at larger screen sizes.

Projector Technology

So, now that a 1080p unit is a done dealio, what about the type of projection technology? This generally comes down to a choice between DLP and LCD for projectors. LCD technology drives the lion’s share of projectors; it’s a proven technology that has been around for years. A quality LCD-based projector will feature three separate LCD panels (red, green, blue) to make up the image. By contrast, a Digital Light Processor (DLP) design uses a chip called a “digital micromirror device” to bounce red/green/blue light through the lens to the screen. Each technology has its advantages. (For more detailed info on how these technologies work, check out this most excellent tutorial from the great folks at ProjectorPeople.com.)

A DLP projector uses a spinning color wheel of R/G/B to bounce off the thousands of tiny mirrors on the DLP chip. This means that there is a high-speed spinning mechanism inside the unit, and that alone makes me nervous. The CribMac 1.0 projector I bought was DLP, and while it was fine, the technology was relatively new, and I could notice the dreaded “rainbow effect.” I still hear of people who can notice this problem, but most of the people who saw my old projector didn’t notice a thing. Newer designs are much better, and while three-chip DLP designs solve a lot of this problem, they are WAY more expensive. Hit the lottery, then nab one of them and tell me what you think. The ‘Pimp works on a budget, people.

DLP projectors also tend to be rated at higher lumens than comparable LCD projectors. Again, this only makes a difference if you have a space that has a lot of light bleed. Otherwise, it’s not a problem. Finally, color definition on DLPs won’t fade over time like an LCD, since the color is produced by the wheel instead of the chip itself.

LCD projectors have no major moving parts outside of the cooling fan. Using three solid-state panels, the LCD display provides a crisp display at high resolutions. Images may fade over time on an LCD panel, however, life expectancy measured in years, and you will replace several bulbs before you are likely to replace the whole projector.

One problem with earlier LCD designs is the “screen door” effect. This describes the visible lines displayed between the pixels in the LCD panel, and the effect gets more prominent the larger screen size. Since the target screen size for my setup is north of 100 inches, this was a concern for me. Finally, LCDs have a hard time projecting pure black, and this can be a problem in displaying high-contrast images.

So what did I choose?

I went with the Panasonic AE-1000U, a top performer with a great price ($2200) and a three year warranty. The AE-1000U is a 3-chip LCD design with some great features to overcome some of the past problems with the technology. First of my concerns was the screen door effect, and this unit features a filter that eliminates the problem. I simply can’t see it, even at 100+ inches.

My other concern was the color fading over time. This used to be due to older LCDs that use organic chemistry for the manufacturing of the panels. The Panasonic uses some fancy-schmancy inorganic chemistry, which virtually eliminates fading of colors over the life of the unit.

Last but not least, the brochure bragged about “unsurpassed black levels,” to which I said, “Fah! show me!” Ok, so I shut up now. The black levels are incredible, but not as great as DLP. You can’t have everything.

We’ve been using this projector for 2 years now, and we couldn’t be happier with it. It really performs well. It’s the big pimp in our setup.

Next up: HTIB (aka more acronyms)

Questions? Pop in a comment, and let The ‘Pimp guide ya.

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