Projector or Big Screen TV?

With video technology advancing so quickly, we now have more choices than ever when it comes to picking a high definition display. Video displays can be found in a variety of formats including DLP, LCD, LED, and Plasma. Each of these formats can be found in both TV’s and projectors, except Plasma, which is exclusive to TV’s. The first thing to determine would be how big you’d like your screen to be. For screen sizes 80” and under, a TV is going to be the best decision. Inversely, screen sizes 80” and up are better suited for projection systems. The next step is determining how much time will be spent watching the display. If you are considering a display for your main viewing area, you’ll probably spend the better part of your time for the next several years watching it. Take that into consideration when you calculate your budget. It may be worth spending a few extra dollars to ensure you purchase a display that you can easily enjoy for the years to come, rather than purchasing a less expensive set that you may not enjoy so much.

Choosing The Best Display

The best way to decide what type of display is best for you is to watch something with lots of motion. Poorly built sets will have lots of artifacts while objects are in motion and may appear blurry. Another thing to keep in mind when watching a demo is to ask the sales person what type of connection the source you are viewing is using. Big box stores with lots of TV’s on display don’t always use the latest technology that you will be using when you take the set home. They will often use large splitters that deteriorate the signal far below what the TV is capable of displaying. If you find a TV you are serious about, ask if it is possible to connect it to a Blu-ray DVD player via a direct HDMI connection to be sure that you are seeing the best possible 1080p picture that the display is capable of. After all, why spend your hard earned money on a TV that only looks ok?

Projection Film Screens

Although not the most exciting part of a home theater, choosing the right film screen can make a world of difference when it comes to the quality of your projection experience. Many of our clients have come in and asked why they can’t just take their band new high definition projector and shoot it on the wall, a bed sheet, or even use screen paint. The only answer is that even if you bought the cheapest screen on the market you would still be better off than doing any of those options. Even a $50,000 projector will look terrible when projecting onto a wall, bed sheet, or screen paint. For starters, there is an incredible amount of technology that goes into designing a home theater screen. Controlling the way the image is displayed and reflected back to the viewer is essential maintaining the high definition picture that the projector was designed to reproduce. The projection surface should also be perfectly smooth. If you look at a wall in your home you will notice a texture on the surface of the way. This texture will be amplified exponentially by the light of the projector and add distortion to the image.

The next thing to consider is how bright the room is that the projector and screen will go in. Every screen on the market comes with a gain rating. This gain rating is a measurement of the reflectivity of a screen. Screen gains generally start as low as 0.8 and go as high as 6.0. For most rooms a good starting point is a screen with a gain of 1.0. This 1.0 gain rating means that the screen will reflect the same amount of light as it receives. A screen with a gain rating of 1.5 will reflect 50% more light whereas a 0.8 gain screen will reflect 80% of the light it receives. A common mistake is to assume that a higher gain screen is brighter and better. If your room is a dedicated home theater room with no natural light then a lower gain screen will be necessary. A high gain screen would be so bright in contrast to the light level of the room that it would actually wash out the image and give you a head ache. Higher gain screens generally reside in rooms with greater amounts of natural light or when the view is seated a farther distance away than is average from the screen.

The last portion of the process is to choose a screen material and color. The color of the screen helps to adjust the gain and brightness of the screen. The most common screen colors are white, grey, and black, with a black screen being the brightest because of the enhanced contrast and black levels it produces. Screen materials are generally a coated and woven fabric or coated and stretched vinyl. Micro-perforated screen materials are also available and allow you to place your speakers behind the screen because they are acoustically transparent. Our professionally trained staff can help you choose the right color for your room. Taking advantage of our FREE in-home consultation is highly recommended so that our designers and installers can see exactly what it is you are working with.

Flat Screen TV Speakers – Photo next to this section

The final thing to consider when purchasing a flat screen TV is the sound quality. In the days of large console televisions, there was enough depth and size to accommodate a half way decent set of speakers. As technology has advanced, screen sizes have increased while cabinet sizes are almost non-existent. Today’s flat panel TV’s just don’t have any room for speakers. Consider this, the average flat screen TV is now just 1.5” deep, compared to 3’ deep just a decade ago. What kind of speaker can you fit into a 1.5” deep space? Not a very good one. It’s a pretty big problem when you have a beautiful high definition picture but cannot understand the audio. We have many options available to resolve this issue from small scale systems to complete home theaters.

Trusted Brands

At Infinite Media Design we carry many of today’s top high definition video manufacturers. We sell and highly recommend the following brands:

Projectors

TV’s

Film Screens

The Total Home Theater Experience

A big new TV is just the beginning of the things you will need for the full home theater experience. While it seems to be the first thing most people look for, when you have it you’ve really just gotten started. You’ll need an expert to help you with deciding which audio/video receiver and speaker system is best for your space, the right cables, the proper surge protection, and universal remote control to the complete experience. We also offer complete custom installation services to help you get all of the new gear professionally installed.

A great picture with great sound will be a lot of fun for you and your family. Our staff lives and breathes this stuff, so feel free ask as many questions as you may have. After all, knowledge is power! Take the time to do your research and consider that a few extra dollars spent will often buy you a lot more pleasure over the long run!