7 ms·

Projectors are still valid, and often superior, alternatives to TVs. They’re definitely more work to get right though

kuboble 8d ago
Welp... I bought recently a projector. It wouldn't start in a dumb mode without first establishing internet connection and a Google account.
Grombobulous 8d ago
Interesting idea I never thought of, though for my purposes my room gets way too much natural light for a projector to be viable.
- cobbzilla 8d ago
  blackout shades go a long way, but if you’ve got huge bay windows that’s probably too much. If it’s close to good, and you need a little more brightness, there are newer screens that reflect much more light. more reflective = pricier, but there’s a decent value/sweet spot.
  - Grombobulous 8d ago
    Huge floor to ceiling windows is exactly what I have. Of course I also don’t want to make my room pitch black just to watch TV. It’s good to know that there are solutions designed for high-light situations, though.
- d3Xt3r 8d ago
  There are ambient light rejection (ALR) screens available now that make projectors viable even under bright lights. Problem is, the decent ones are quite pricey, sometimes costing almost as much as the projector themselves. You could easily buy two OLED TVs for the price of a decent short throw laser projector + ALR. The other issue issue is that most, if not all, modern projectors are also "smart", so you may run into the same privacy issues as TVs... Maybe the best option is to just buy a PC monitor and pair it up with decent speakers, the only issue being you can't get larger screens like TVs.
  - Grombobulous 8d ago
    Yeah the projector doesn’t quite save on room aesthetics if I need whole screen setup, unless I spend even more to make it super hidden and seamless in the room. I’ve just found that disabling network connectivity and going with an external streaming box is the best compromise of the moment. On LG it’s important to never agree to the terms and conditions. I’m not sure if they still allow you to do that on new TV sets. It’s very disturbing to find out that the TV is queueing up data to send home even while offline. The Apple TV streaming box seems to be the least privacy-invasive, mostly ad-free, mainstream easy to use option on the market, but it’s certainly not perfect in that regard.
anvuong 8d ago
How is projector superior? More often than not, with the same amount of money spent, projector produces worse image quality, consumes more power, and don't last as long.
account42 7d ago
Projectors can never come even remotely close to the contrast of an OLED. That's an inherent limitation of requiring a reflective display surface and not something that can be fixed with better technology.

Welp... I bought recently a projector. It wouldn't start in a dumb mode without first establishing internet connection and a Google account.

Grombobulous 8d ago

Interesting idea I never thought of, though for my purposes my room gets way too much natural light for a projector to be viable.

cobbzilla 8d ago
blackout shades go a long way, but if you’ve got huge bay windows that’s probably too much. If it’s close to good, and you need a little more brightness, there are newer screens that reflect much more light. more reflective = pricier, but there’s a decent value/sweet spot.
- Grombobulous 8d ago
  Huge floor to ceiling windows is exactly what I have. Of course I also don’t want to make my room pitch black just to watch TV. It’s good to know that there are solutions designed for high-light situations, though.
d3Xt3r 8d ago
There are ambient light rejection (ALR) screens available now that make projectors viable even under bright lights. Problem is, the decent ones are quite pricey, sometimes costing almost as much as the projector themselves. You could easily buy two OLED TVs for the price of a decent short throw laser projector + ALR. The other issue issue is that most, if not all, modern projectors are also "smart", so you may run into the same privacy issues as TVs... Maybe the best option is to just buy a PC monitor and pair it up with decent speakers, the only issue being you can't get larger screens like TVs.
- Grombobulous 8d ago
  Yeah the projector doesn’t quite save on room aesthetics if I need whole screen setup, unless I spend even more to make it super hidden and seamless in the room. I’ve just found that disabling network connectivity and going with an external streaming box is the best compromise of the moment. On LG it’s important to never agree to the terms and conditions. I’m not sure if they still allow you to do that on new TV sets. It’s very disturbing to find out that the TV is queueing up data to send home even while offline. The Apple TV streaming box seems to be the least privacy-invasive, mostly ad-free, mainstream easy to use option on the market, but it’s certainly not perfect in that regard.

anvuong 8d ago

How is projector superior? More often than not, with the same amount of money spent, projector produces worse image quality, consumes more power, and don't last as long.

account42 7d ago

Projectors can never come even remotely close to the contrast of an OLED. That's an inherent limitation of requiring a reflective display surface and not something that can be fixed with better technology.