Opinions on Sony short throw projectors
 

I saw a Sony short throw projector , it was maybe 8-10 inches from a 120 inch screen picture looked great even with all the lights on in the room . I am considering this for my place in Florida . Anyone have experience pro or con ?

:lurk:

David.......I have not seen any of the new Sony short throw projectors in action, but I have looked at then online. The price points are fairly steep for the 85" to 120" capable projectors. My opinion leans toward the better value of a 75" or 85" full array local dimming LCD or an OLED television. In general nearly all projectors have far lower contrast ratios and light output, thus requiring you to have control over ambient lighting both day and night for the best possible pictures, especially during the day time hours in rooms with exposure to outside daylight. That's not to say I haven't seen some great projector presentations, but always in near total darkness for the best picture.

I think that dollar for dollar and overall performance under all lighting conditions a full array local dimming LCD or an OLED television makes better sense unless the projector is going to be installed in a dedicated room that can take full advantage of external light control. Sony's newest 2019 premium 85" LCD, the X950G 85 Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with HDR (XBR85X950G) is less the $5K. That's the way to go.


http://4k.com/wp-content/uploads/201...x95glcd-2l.jpg

I agree with many of the things that jdandy pointed out. However, imo a 85 inch TV is too small for what I would consider a "home theather". When one is talking 120 inch, only a projector will do. To put in in perspective, a 120 inch diagonal screen has twice the area of a 85 inch diagonal TV. With the right amount of light control (and it does not have to be 100% dark) there is just no comparison in terms of the visual impact of a 120 inch screen.

I want 120 inches

I guess size really does matter. . :laughin:

Opinions on Sony short throw projectors
 

If you want 120” then the price of entry is a Liquid Crystal on Silicon imager. JVC markets this technology as DILA and Sony as SXRD. If you are not susceptible to frame sequential flicker a TI DLP based projector may work for you.
Ceiling mount, screen specified to meet your viewing requirements.

3 panel LCD projectors need not apply.

Short throw optics are a massive compromise.

Tom

Opinions on Sony short throw projectors
 

I have owned JVC DILA projectors for many years and highly recommend them. Totally agree on ultra short throw optics being a compromise.
To the OP, have you considered rear projection?

I sell very few short throw projectors for that reason.

Minimum viewing distance should be at least 20 ft away for a 120" screen according to the experts. Are you sure you need 120" ? :smoking:

Source?

Viewing 120” closer than 20 ft and you can expect fatigue, eye strain, and or nausea.

If one has to move the eyes or worse, the head to view/cover the whole screen... it is way too big... That WILL cause strain and fatigue.

My theater room was about 17x30 ft and my screen size was 102" if my memory serves me right. :scratch2:

In any case, my preferred spot was roughly the middle of the room or 15 ft from that screen. A 120" screen I would have been watching from the back of the 30 ft room for sure. :D

For average sized room that is not a dedicated room and is not completely dark and/or is not painted with non reflective wall paint, I would simply get the biggest OLED 4k TV and be completely happy with that. :thumbsup:

Projectors have their place but not in a sunlit room full of windows which can not be completely controlled for external light. Nothing worse than paying all that $$$ for a projector and a screen and then watching washed out images that are lacking contrast when a modern OLED 4K TV could have been the answer for much less $$$.

That's just my opinion and I did not go the projector route in my new house. Perfectly happy with a 65" OLED TV, watching from 10 ft away. Perfect. :thumbsup:

Serge is pretty spot on with those distances. I thought I'd chime in here since I used to design theaters back in my former days....as far as the projectors go, without getting too detailed, you can break them up into roughly 3 go to brands these days.

1. JVC - known to have the best contrast. JVCs are the go to projectors if you have total or almost total light control since they tend to be slightly less bright than comparable models in other brands. Black levels and shadow details are second to none. Their (now former) 4K shift models can get you very very close to a native 4K projector if it's dialed in properly. The best pure "cinema" projectors. Contrast ratios and natural colors are vivid and look fantastic. Films on a calibrated JVC is the best home theater experience there is.

2. Sony - a close second to the JVCs, not quite the level of shadow detail and blackest blacks but pretty close, tend to be a tad more expensive than the comparable JVCs. Most reviewers see a bit better detail and sharpness in their pictures and their "motion flow" works and looks a bit better than the JVCs version. Colors and contrast are close but not quite up to the JVC level.

3. Epson - Best bang for the buck, comparable models cheaper than the Sonys and JVCs. They tend to have a brighter picture so they seem to work better in more typical family room settings where you don't have total light control. Epsons seem to do nothing wrong but nothing as good as the Sonys and JVCs. If I was designing some type of man cave/room with pool tables etc in a basement with outside windows/lights, using it for viewing sports primarily I may go with an Epson. Have excellent customer service.

Anyone interested in projectors and specifications should look no further than projector central's projector calculator page. It's very detailed and can give you all the throw distances, seating distances and any other thing you need for your particular model:

https://www.projectorcentral.com/pro...ulator-pro.cfm

I've owned 2 Epson, a Panasonic and the JVCs. I've been a JVC owner for the last 9 years and use mine primarily for movies on a cinemascope 2.35:1 screen and it's spectacular.

- Buck

And I own 4 Sony Projectors; go figure. ;)

Opinions on Sony short throw projectors
 

According to that website, viewing distances would be:

Width of your TV or Screen (Not the diagonal length) X 2 = minimum distance

Width of your TV or Screen (Not the diagonal length) X 5 = maximum distance

For a 120 diagonal, the width of a 16:9 screen is 104.6 inches, so...
Minimum distance = 17.4 feet
Maximum distance = 43.6 feet.

My screen size is 116 inches. I sit about 17 feet from the screen. The room is multipurpose music, theater, entertainment. It is not dark or designed as a cave. It has three normal windows but with blinds and/or blackout shades you can make it as dark as you want.

There are a lot of ways to calculate seating distance. Included angle is the best method, with a cross check on visual acuity. This gives you an immersive experience without eye strain or head movement.

SMPTE standard EG-18-1994 recommends a minimum viewing angle of 30 degrees

THX recommends a viewing angle of 36 degrees and an absolute minimum of 26 degrees.

Using the more modern THX recommendations, I sit 12' back from my 106" diagonal 94" wide screen, giving me an included angle of 36 degrees.

I can tell you it is a perfect distance - immersive but not visually fatiguing at all.

For a 120" diagonal screen the THX recommended seating distance is 13.4' (36 degrees) and the maximum is 18.9' (26 degrees)

Tom

Sounds like you are in the ballpark. :yes: I prefer not to be too close and the THX recommendations are way too close for my taste but it’s a personal preference type of thing.

My HT in pa has a 120 inch screen and the front row is maybe 11 feet away, no eye strain...no issue just a great viewing experience. Honestly anything less than 85 inches is not a theater experience to me.