LCD versus DLP projectors

A

andybiz_2005

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is the correct sub-forum to post this question. I have a Panasonic DVX100A (PAL) camcorder & frequently shoot wedding & corporate videos. My business is wanting to invest in a good-quality projector, whether LCD, or DLP projector so that we can rent these projectors out to wedding clients who prefer not the use the hotel's projector. I'm viewing this as a business in addition to my videography services.

First priorities in a good projector I'm looking for are :

Colors produced from projector must be as faithful/accurate as possible
Bright, from 2000 to 4000 lumens
Contrast ratio of between 4000:1 to 6000:1
Compact so it is easily mobile
As many connector options as possible
Budget from $8000 to $12000.

Right now, I need advice if an LCD projector is better, or DLP is the way to go & what brand is reliable. Intended use of the projector is to show multimedia photo slideshows, or video montages during the wedding dinner reception. Audience would be around 1500 people in a grand ballroom. I also plan to rent these projectors out to clients at $700 per night. Currently I'm doing 4 wedding shoots a month & most clients are asking me to find a projector for them.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Andrew
 
This is actually a topic I've been studying (not too in depth) lately. JVC just recently announced a new projector with a 15:000:1 contrast ratio (that doesn't use a dynamic iris!) due out beginning of next year. Cost is approx 6,000 USD.

All reports so far have said that the projector looks phenomenal and compares favorably with 20K units.

http://tinyurl.com/ya6fk4
 
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i know this isnt really the answer you're looking for but check out www.avsforum.com -- a TON of info on projectors and they're separated into budget-based groups
Dont forget to get an extra lamp ;)
 
I have spent lots of time on projector resarch and I had two. Whatever you read on any website remember this, ' When in doubt, DLP will be always better as compared to LCD for the film look.' Specially at the lower to mid price range.

There are points like LCD has better colors then DLP
LCD you can see the pixels, so you feel like watching a computer monitor.
Now days DLP and LCD has similar contrast, earlier it was beeter on DLP
New Hybrid LCD ares out may be better than anything in the market.
more .... and more...
 
I have PT-AX100 and its gives a very good picture. I prefer LCD before a projector with one DLP.
 
Yep, that's the one AndyBiz! I think they have some reviews of the projector somewhere on the link FiddlerMD provided. Check the forums.
 
As a general rule, LCD projectors have better color, while DLP has better contrast. Honestly, in hotel situations, your number one consideration should be brightness; and, in that 2000-4000 lumen range, you're going to be hard-pressed to find the sort of contrast you're looking for without spending a large amount of money. That JVC DLA-HD1 that's been mentioned only is 700 lumens, for example. I don't have a lot of experience yet with the higher-contrast projectors in high-ambient-light situations, but I'm wondering how much contrast suffers in a hotel banquet room vs. a home theater (which is where the high-contrast units are typically designed to go).

I might suggest something like the Mitsubishi XD460U (2600 lumens, street price around $2900) or XD490U (3000 lumens, street price around $3300); the contrast ratio is 2500:1 on either (a little short of your target, but still pretty darn good, really, considering how many years projectors were at 500:1 ;) ), and they both use the new "Dark Chip 2" DLP chips that have significantly increased the color capabilities.

One last thing--is your market really going to support $700 a night? I don't even know any hotels (who in my experience have a tendency to overcharge) asking that much around here; but then again A/V rental prices vary incredibly based on what city you're in...
 
The Sanyo / Proxima / Eiki projectors (common mfg.) are excellent. They are all LCD, so there's a lot more light (wattage) required to get the image up there, but color rendition is very accurate.

They have higher-end painting controls and feature the all-important lens-shift capability, which lower-end projectors often leave out.

Call your local AV rental services house and ask what they're using. That will give go some way toward giving you an idea of what brands and models can tolerate a lot of set / operate / strike cycles without breaking down.

Many of these Office Depot or Staples machines, though good on paper, are simply not designed for life on the road.

e
 
Yeah, but none of the Eiki LCD's is even close to what he wants for contrast (500:1 mostly) except for their home theater units, and those again are only pushing 1000-1200 lumens.

Plus, on the reliability side of things, the only Eiki we've ever had in my rental operation had a way of going out of convergence literally every time it went out the door. Now, granted, that was a while ago, and only one unit, but it was enough to pretty much put me off Eiki.

I've had good luck with Mitsubishis and Sharps--but Sharp doesn't have a projector out there right now that I can recommend. Their LCD's are all around 500:1 contrast, and the color on their DLP's (and this is a personal opinion and should not be construed as being in any way representative of my company, not that any of you even know my company, but I'm in advanced CYA mode here :D ) is awful, even worse than your average DLP.

Another good thing to do is, if your local A/V rental people have a recommendation, find out if they sell it as well. It's often a good idea to buy locally even if you have to pay a couple of hundred more, because (in theory, anyway) that local company is going to be there to help you out if the equipment should fail.
 
We used their intermediate "fixed" projectors, which by whatever name (Eiki, Sanyo or Proxima) rated at 3000 ANSI or greater.

For example, the Sanyo has the PLC series HD projector with 4000 ANSI 16:9 with 900:1 ratio. Eiki has co-branded 3, 4 and 5k+ projectors with the same HD processing chipsets and spec.

Anyway, these might be somewhat larger than you'd want to haul around. We had them in small rolling cases and an assortment of prime and zoom lenses for front and rear projection installations.

e
 
Also, dont forget that lumen and contrast ratio ratings are not apples to apples. If you read any review, you'll see that most of the time, the pj's fall short of their claims or their claims are based on a "best case scenario", etc. Probably the best thing to do is go to a large home theater store or photo store that stocks these and look at a few in person with the lumen ratings you're looking for. See how it looks to your eye. The other thing is maybe yeah it can get 2000 lumens, but at the cost of color rendition and contrast and vice versa so make sure you check that out too. The other consideration is the type of screen you get. You can get various screen materials and some will give you better gain (but narrower viewing angle).. there are a lot of variables to consider. Also, if you find a good store, they may let you "try before you buy" which would be great since you can take it to where you need to work with it and see how it fares.
good luck
 
thanks all for the wonderfully helpful comments.

I've been doing research myself on pros & cons of LCD versus DLP projectors. One issue with 1 chip DLP projectors is that they produce the "rainbow" effect because of the rapidly spinning color wheel & only one color is represented at any given time. But the eye is fooled to see a spectrum of multiple colors because the color wheel spins really fast. I know now that the latest DLP projectors rotate their colors wheels at X4 as opposed to very early models that rotated at X1. So the rainbow effect is almost not noticable to the average viewer, perhaps only to more discerning people.

The other issue I'm worried about with LCD projectors is that over a period of time of using these LCD projectors, their color & contrast will deteriorate. So if I compare the color & contrast quality of a brand new LCD projector now & compare it again in about 1-2 years time, the color intensity, brightness & contrast of the projected images will deteriorate. That is what I don't want. DLP projectors retain the quality & color of the images perpetually without any deterioration. More so, I've found out that 1 chip DLP projectors have a smaller footprint & are lighter & more mobile than LCD projectors because LCD projectors have to squeeze in 3 LCDs (one for red, one for green & one for blue).

LCDs also suffer from screendoor effect, which can be very obvious when projected large on a screen. DLP doesn't have this effect either. I tend toward the DLP.
 
Actually, most of the Mitsubishi DLP's now have a 5-segment wheel, and at least one of their home-theater units has a 7-segment (but nowhere near the lumens you'll want).

You are going to see some color degredation as the panels in an LCD age, yes--but it's typically not all that noticeable to the average viewer until one of the panels actually goes bad and suddenly your image is a lot more blue (or some other color) than it used to be. You're likely to be in the market for a new projector anyway by the time that happens though. I've not heard anything about contrast degrading over time in LCD's, but honestly it's only recently that contrast has even entered into the equation in my job. ;) The other thing to keep in mind is that both of them are going to slowly get dimmer the more you use them, so the effective lamp life of a lamp rated at 2000 hours is usually more like 1200 or so. Some projectors allow you to extend this at the cost of brightness.
 
On the lumen and contrast specifications, always see the mfg. specification for ANSI rating, and, if available (usually in the manual) how the rating was taken (e.g., 8-Step ANSI for RGB).

e
 
I belive that DLP has more natural Film look then LCD. But again if you pay lots of $s I don't think there will be any difference. If you can first finalize your budget, aspect ratio, Lumens it will good. Also try to watch some of these LCD/DLP and then make a decision!
 
thanks all,

I've also read that DLPs are much better at projecting smooth & non-jerky moving video than LCD projectors & that LCD projectors have the screen-door effect where you can see the pixels in the projected image as though you're seeing the image through a mosquito netting or somethihg. Non of this happens in the DLP projectors. Is this true that DLPs are better at producing smooth video than LCD projectors?

Overlandfilms, what do you mean by "lways see the mfg. specification for ANSI rating"? What does mfg stand for?
 
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