Projector Gaming

[Kyle]

Anyone gaming on a projector? What model do you have? Better yet post a picture of your setup!

Here's mine. I'm using an Epson Home Cinema 2040 running at 165 inches horizontally (nearly 14 ft).



It's hard to illustrate scale. For reference my ceiling is 8 ft and my kiddo is nearly 4 ft tall.

I bought this model primarily because of low input lag (25 ms) and $80 replacement lamps. 1080p 16x9, 2 HDMI and a VGA.

It's considered entry/mid level. If I had more to spend I'd go for the Sony VPLHW45ES. It runs $2k with $300 lamps.

There are only a couple of cons from my perspective:

Sunlight needs to be kept to a minimum. I replaced our curtains with blackout curtains.

Content must be HD. SD video is rough. 480p is decent if I want to play something older.

[Bahn Yuki]

I actually owned one of these(2045) and thought it was ok, but has very low contrast. I've since moved onto a jvc rs400 which looks worlds better but has horrible input delay

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[Shoryukev]

I'm running a Viewsonic pro8200, also considered entry/mid level. We moved about 2-3 months ago and I'm just now in the process of getting my home theater setup...so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it at the moment. I was using a 100" screen before, but this time I'm hoping to get into the 130-150" territory, I'm waiting to see how long it throws before I order any material or a pull-down screen. Currently in the process of ceiling mounting and hiding wires.

If I do order a pulldown screen, any suggestions on what to buy? I think the one I had before was an elite-screen, it worked fine but never really wow'd me. I probably want to go with an electric one this time as well if that matters.

[Guspaz]

I'm using an Epson PowerLite 8345 on an 80" screen. Low lag (33ms) and native 240p support (component and RGsB only) are the main pluses in terms of the stuff people around here care about.

[Kyle]

I actually owned one of these and thought it was ok, but has very low contrast. I've since moved onto a jvc rs400 which looks worlds better but has horrible input delay

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

That's a significant step up right? It looks like they're closer to 4 grand. Out of my budget but consider me jealous. The contrast ratio isn't too bad. I'm probably blissfully ignorant having not witnessed one that high end. My last projector had a lower contrast ratio.

I'm using an Epson PowerLite 8345 on an 80" screen. Low lag (33ms) and native 240p support (component and RGsB only) are the main pluses in terms of the stuff people around here care about.

I wish I had 240p. I lost component input with the upgrade.

[BONKERS]

I'm assuming these would look worse the bigger the screen gets doesn't it? (Wouldn't the pixels become more defined?)

Moving the projector closer, you could say get 50-60" instead right?

[thebeautifulones]

I use an Optoma HD25, DLP, chose it for the low input lag as well--17ms according to projector central. I think it's a great projector, but I've only owned CRT projectors before this one, so experience is limited. Most of the time I prefer it to my Panasonic s60 plasma, which I also like and was chosen for its low lag. I think even if the plasma and DLP were the same size I'd slightly prefer the DLP, but it could be down to calibration.

[niall]

I'm playing on a Sony 1271 and a 100" 4:3 screen at the moment. Last night I finished installing springs behind the R and B tubes to dial in mechanical convergence so the rasters stay centred on the tubes (http://www.curtpalme.com/Sony125x_SpacerMod1.shtm). I haven't done greyscale yet, am finding that the G2 screws tend to move with any subwoofer vibration so going to install springs under those, then will finally get onto calibrating the optics (possibly install lens flappers) and then finally geometry and digital convergence.

It's already looking pretty amazing with 15kHz sources, so the BVMs and PVMs aren't getting much attention. Such a fulfilling hobby

[citrus3000psi]

I have an Optoma HD26. I picked it solely for its price and lamp replacement cost. I switched from a 720p HD65 projector. The HD65 happens to have a 33ms input which isn't too bad.

[Guspaz]

I'm using an Epson Powerlite 8345 projector on an 80" Da-Lite screen. The projector has 33ms of lag on progressive sources, and has native support for 240p via RGsB/RGBS/RGBHV/YPbPr, as well as quite sharp upscaling from both 240p and 480p. It's rather sensitive to sub-optimal sync quality, however (The GARO and GBI ULL on the GameCube gave me issues), so I ended up getting an OSSC, which is much better able to handle sub-optimal sync. With the OSSC, all my consoles work perfectly* in 480p, excepting GBI ULL (I had to use GBI LL). The projector does not support OSSC line triple.

*: The OSSC required modified settings to work with the GARO's weak sync on 240p signals, but a workaround of connecting a VGA cable between the OSSC and GARO (even though I'm not USING the VGA input) allows the OSSC to sync on SCART with the default settings. Doesn't make sense, investigation continues, but at least it works.

[noonan2678]

Is there any known resource with input lag results for projectors? I know testing is ideal, just curious.

I have a Stewart 110" with a JVC X55 in my game room. I've only tested the PS3 on it and haven't tried any serious gaming.
Maybe will give it a try.

[bobrocks95]

Is there any known resource with input lag results for projectors? I know testing is ideal, just curious.

I have a Stewart 110" with a JVC X55 in my game room. I've only tested the PS3 on it and haven't tried any serious gaming.
Maybe will give it a try.

Projector Central checks input lag, though I don't know their methodology, and you have to look at individual reviews to see it, you can't sort by input lag or anything like that.

Speaking of, they have a recent review for the BenQ HT2150ST, and it sounds like a really good choice if anyone's looking into getting one, mainly because it only has 16ms of lag.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/benq-ht ... review.htm

That said, DLP didn't sound like a good idea to me years ago, and I'm amazed it's still hanging around. Does the rainbow light effect or whatever it's called bother anyone in this thread?

[Guspaz]

Yes, the rainbow effect and the way colour brightness works on single-chip DLP is why I stick to 3LCD projectors. A colour wheel means you're blocking a significant portion of the light at any given time, reducing brightness, while a 3LCD projector essentially uses a prism to split the light into different colours rather than using colour filters, so you're using all the light.

That said, DLP projectors can still be decent if the rainbow effect doesn't bother you.

Personally, I'm going to hang on to my Epson as long as I can (I recently replaced a burnt-out bulb for a decent chunk of change) and keep using it until either reasonable cost and reasonable latency laser projectors become available, or reasonable cost and reasonable latency ~80" OLED televisions become available. Neither laser projectors nor OLED TVs can meet all those criteria yet.

[Shoryukev]

That said, DLP didn't sound like a good idea to me years ago, and I'm amazed it's still hanging around. Does the rainbow light effect or whatever it's called bother anyone in this thread?

My projector is a single wheel DLP, and occasionally the rainbow effect catches my eye. I didn't learn about this until after I already bought mine unfortunately, but it is rare that it bothers me. It is only under very specific circumstances that it shows up....usually very dark scenes during a movie when using specific settings on the projector. Supposedly it only affects some people, but I see it.

Overall I'd try to stay away from it, because it is annoying (you want a 3 wheel).....but depending on the price it may or not be worth it to you. I got mine back in 2010 on a black friday deal for $499 so I wasn't totally heartbroken about it. Could be much worse in that price range for projectors.....my next projector will definitely be at least over $1.5k though, lesson learned. Next time a feature I might look for is the option to use a 21:9 lense as well.

The main thing that bothers me about my projector (and all entry level ones in general) is it really crushes the black levels. It looks great whenever the scene you're watching is well lit....but if it's a darker background there is a lot of detail lost. The black levels are very dark, it seems like more of a problem where everything below a certain brightness level is registered/converted to pure black....I think it's some sort of image processing that is trying to artificially enhance the contrast, but whatever it is I hate it with a passion.

[Guspaz]

That effect you're describing usually just means that your projector's RGB range setting is incorrect. That setting being wrong can either result in crushed blacks, or a washed out image, depending on which way it's wrong.

If your projector is set to auto and it's not correctly detecting it, try setting it to manual (either full or expanded). If it's set to full, try expanded. If it's set to expanded, try full.

My projector's auto setting works most of the time for most devices, but it can't correctly detect the RGB range from my desktop. It could be that the RGB range information is being lost going through the HDMI Doctor, HDMI switch, and AV receiver

My advice to people who want to buy a new projector is, above all else, make sure it has lens shift and a decent zoom range. This will make installation SO much easier, since it gives you a huge amount of extra flexibility in placing your projector.

[Shoryukev]

I'll give it a try, definitely couldn't hurt to fiddle with it (mine also passes through an HDMI switch and an AV receiver lol).

[thebeautifulones]

That said, DLP didn't sound like a good idea to me years ago, and I'm amazed it's still hanging around. Does the rainbow light effect or whatever it's called bother anyone in this thread?

It bothered me moderately when I first got it. After calibration the effect was greatly reduced. Now I notice once in a while watching a black and white movie, and on average about for about 1 second out of every 10 movies. I can't remember seeing it during a game.

My advice to people who want to buy a new projector is, above all else, make sure it has lens shift and a decent zoom range. This will make installation SO much easier, since it gives you a huge amount of extra flexibility in placing your projector.

To add a second opinion, I would recommend prioritizing input lag if you play action games and you're at all sensitive to lag. And I'd also pay close attention to how the projector handles motion. Other performance aspects come after that, like black level and colour. Features like lens shift and zoom range are usually just matters of convenience, but do pay attention to the "throw distance" of the projector and make sure it will work with your room size. In general, if your room is small and you want a large image you'll need a short throw projector. There are calculators for this.

[vol.2]

ok. so im assuming this is the official "Projection Gaming" thread. if it isn't, it should be...

i have a viewsonic pjd7828hdl

looking to figure out if i should run a OSSC or a framemeister.

For my particular needs, Fudoh specifically recommends an OSSC (if it works), so I'd like to know peoples results with my projector or with ViewSonic in general.
Also, I understand that there are sometimes issues with the line tripling mode. if that's the only problem, is that a deal breaker?

thanks

[Hoagtech]

I have owned a few projectors. I used to build them with an overhead projector and fresnel lens on lumenlab before their site went down.

My favorite was the Epson 705HC it had 25,000 lumens and 34 ms input lag. It was the only one I owned that was tolerable in low light conditions. It did 720p and scaled razor sharp. I had the da-lite 105” B series (glass paint). I ran as my living room tv for 2 years.

I have only owned 3 Lcd projectors and have to take them apart once a year to clean the dust off the cube prism.

The one thing that has always bothered me about 3 Lcd is the convergence. most people don’t run their projectors at center height and have to “keystone” them to avoid a parallelogram effect. If you get close to screen you can see the red and blue separate from the solid black lines of an image beicasue the prism has to line up with the light source to avoid convergence issues

I have never owned owned a DLP but from what I saw they don’t suffer from convergence as bad.

It bothered me so much I would loosen the screws on the prism and make fine adjustments and re tighten. It was a never ending battle.

But my friends were super jealous when we had Modern Warfare 2 deamatches.

It is now in my attic and we take it out once a year to watch movies from our hot tub and lawn.

[vol.2]

I have owned a few projectors. I used to build them with an overhead projector and fresnel lens on lumenlab before their site went down.

My favorite was the Epson 705HC it had 25,000 lumens and 34 ms input lag. It was the only one I owned that was tolerable in low light conditions. It did 720p and scaled razor sharp. I had the da-lite 105” B series (glass paint). I ran as my living room tv for 2 years.

I have only owned 3 Lcd projectors and have to take them apart once a year to clean the dust off the cube prism.

The one thing that has always bothered me about 3 Lcd is the convergence. most people don’t run their projectors at center height and have to “keystone” them to avoid a parallelogram effect. If you get close to screen you can see the red and blue separate from the solid black lines of an image beicasue the prism has to line up with the light source to avoid convergence issues

I have never owned owned a DLP but from what I saw they don’t suffer from convergence as bad.

It bothered me so much I would loosen the screws on the prism and make fine adjustments and re tighten. It was a never ending battle.

But my friends were super jealous when we had Modern Warfare 2 deamatches.

It is now in my attic and we take it out once a year to watch movies from our hot tub and lawn.

when i bought my projector, i first bought an epson 1060. it was super bright (bright enough to watch it with the curtains open) but it suffered from poor contrast; when i got the image dark enough to have good blacks, the details became dark in the scene.
i eventually got sick of it and decided to get the viewsonics dlp. it's bright enough and has enough contrast that i can forget i'm watching a projector when the lights are off.
i don't really notice a lot of convergence issues with it.
the main issue with dlp is brightness. there used to be a brighter consumer level viewsonics, but they discontinued it, probably because it ate away the sales of the laser projectors which are similar to better at a higher price point.

[ModestaSerrano]

I will use the Epson projector in "game mode" to further reduce the delay, increase the refresh rate, and provide a more vivid and seamless image; in addition, it can also reduce eye strain. Everything works great, but the original bulb doesn't seem to be very durable, I just switched to a new replacement bulb.

[vol.2]

I will use the Epson projector in "game mode" to further reduce the delay, increase the refresh rate, and provide a more vivid and seamless image; in addition, it can also reduce eye strain. Everything works great, but the original bulb doesn't seem to be very durable, I just switched to a new replacement bulb.

1 post. Are you a bot, or is this advertising for these bulbs?

[Classicgamer]

If you want to game on a projector with the lights on, I recommend investing in a decent black screen or you'll get a washed out image (with any projector). I have a 110" black screen in my living room:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-EdwvQJZlg&t=37s

Even in a bright room, I still get dark blacks.

Another option worth considering is a black rear projection screen with an ultra short throw projector.

Also, I recommend buying a decent used projector over any entry level new one. I use a Projection Design F32 1080. It cost well over $30,000 when new and the lens would have been $8000. I paid a fraction of that on ebay. These pro projectors are good for over 200,000 hours of 24/7 use and the image is amazing. Much better than your average $3000 Sony or Epson device.

Ignore specs with projectors. They are mostly meaningless. Especially their "full on / full off contrast ratio". If you can't see it in person, the size of the lens will give you an idea of the quality. Tiny lens means it's a cheap crappy projector. Quality projectors have large removable lenses.

[ModestaSerrano]

As to projector, I am using DR. J Professional portable projectorin my room featuring resolution of 840 X 4 aspect ratio of 4:3/16:9 and contrast ratio of 2000:1.. I doubt for the picture quality of the projector, I would recommend you try the 24-inch monitor if you need a larger display screen. It works great with the HDMI cable.