First off...  my needs are not for a dedicated home theater.

What I am looking for, is a digital projector that can be set up relatively easily in the livingroom on a Saturday night, to watch a movie with the family, and then be broken back down and put away.  

• This is not a permanent installation.  


• Cost is a definite factor.   I don't have a ton to spend on this.


• It will only be used for movies.   Never 3D.  never gaming.   Never "office" type presentations.


• It's not a huge room.  I was thinking of an 80"-100" portable screen.   Should I be thinking of something different?

What sort of resolution should I be looking for?  Obviously higher is better.  The point of this is to have a fun movie-watching experience for the family.  But where are my noticable diminishing returns?  Where am I throwing money at "having better numbers" and not really noticing the difference with my application?
Do any projectors have built-in audio?  Or will I need a solution for that as well?   Like I said, this needs to be portable, and able to break down and put away easily.
What other variables should I be considering?   I know nothing about this sort of thing.

Can this be done affordably?

I have an older Optoma brand, 720p resolution (native, capable of 1080), DLP projector.
this should be your baseline for resolution.  I have it projected on a 110" screen in a dedicated basement room (to control room light)

you'll need a decent sound system for the projector as a small projector w/built in sound doesn't sound like it will cut it.
a bigger picture should be seen with bigger sound - to maximize the experience - think movie theater

and a decent software source, but blu-ray players are cheap these days
if you want to watch the occasional tv on the setup, you will need a Hi Def receiver to feed the projector

for my setup I have audio and screen at the front of the room, the projector at the back of the room with a long HDMI cable running from the receiver to the projector
blu-ray and Hi Def cable box up front hooked into the receiver via HDMI and use the audio/video receiver as the switch device

setting up the projector, screen and blu-ray player would be pretty easy for a mobile setup,
the audio system - receiver and speakers (at minimum center and front channels, but you'll probably want the surrounds and maybe a subwoofer for 5.1 Dolby Surround) would be a pain for a mobile setup (unless you could find a decent wireless satellite style setup)

I see this all the time.  What the hell does it mean?  Is it 720p or 1080?  I don't understand the lingo.

Remember, video is really just a succession of still images displayed at a rate high enough that you don't see any flicker as the images change.  One image (one frame) is displayed, then a different frame is displayed, ...  and so on.  Your brain perceives this as fluid motion video.

The numbers, 720 and 1080, refer to the number of horizontal (the resolution) being displayed to create an image.  Higher numbers are better resolution.

The letters, i and p, refer to the method used to display the video information.  Interlacing (i) refers to changing every other line during each refresh.  That is, only half of the information changes during each screen refresh.    Progressive (p) changes all lines during every refresh.  Progressive is better than interlaced.

720i means 720 horizontal lines which are interlaced to update the images.

1080p means 1080 lines of resolution which are progressively updated to create the images.



Does that explain it in a way that makes any sense to you?

It does, and I understand that.   But I see all these projectors labeled as 720 native, 1080 capable.    Which confuses the shit out of me.  Which is it, 720, or 1080?  Does that mean it can handle 1080 only under certain circumstances?   Or does it upconvert/downconvert?   If it can do 1080, why even say "720 native"?

It means that the projector has a resolution of 1280 X 720, 1280 x 800, 1280 x 768 or 1366 X 768 and is capable of displaying all the detail of 720p.  It can accept 1080p signals, but will have to downscale it to its native resolution .

You might be able to find a few 1080p projectors around the 1k mark (that tends to be "cheap" for a projector), but you will most likely be limited to 720 projectors in that price range.

Here is something decent:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1000371&is=REG&A=details&Q=

Though I would try to spring for this if possible:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/735442-REG/Epson_V11H373120_PowerLite_8350_Home_Cinema.html


If you can't control the lighting in the livingroom, than this projector is the better choice:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/828746-REG/Panasonic_PT_AR100U_PT_AR100U_Full_HD_Projector.html

I thought that the native resolution was what the default resolution would be for the projector
mine is 1080 capable which I think means that when a Blu-ray is shown through an HDMI hookup the display is in 1080 (that's what is displayed on the screen info)

It is

They just word the statements to make it sound like the projector is 1080p native, when it just accepts 1080p signals, but is not 1080p native.

Nothing to add but thanks for all the awesome info. I too wondered what the hell "720 native" meant but forgot to Google it.

I just typed out the below in another thread before I saw this one. You may want to consider a permanent ceiling mount. Ultimately that may be easier than packing it up after using it. Anyhow, here was my response in the other thread.......

Ok, I will give you my 2 cents. I'm an ordinary guy who isn't prone to notice the blackest blacks, whitest whites or subtle color issues. I don't believe I will ever calibrate my projector for colors. I'm satisfied with a clear, sharp picture where colors look like I think they should. I bought my first projector 3 weeks ago, and I'm happy with the choices I made. I have about $900.00 in my setup though. It's not the top of the line, but it did get solid reviews as an entry level unit. I went with an Optoma HD131Xe. I also looked at the Acer H6510BD, Ben Q 1070 and the Viewsonic PJD7820HD. All of these are full HD projectors and I believe are 3D ready. All also have HDMI inputs.
I would recommend a 1080 NATIVE projector. If you want 1080, make sure it is 1080 NATIVE, not just 1080 capable. If you buy a 720 NATIVE that is 1080 capable, understand that you can put a 1080 signal in, but you are only getting 720 projected. I wanted a 1080 NATIVE, 3D capable with dual HDMI ports. The Optoma had all of these. I have a cable box, Wii U, Bluray and DVD player hooked up to it through an HDMI switch. I'm happy with the cable box and the kids LOVE it with the Wii U. The projector and mount were about $800 from Amazon. The projector currently comes with a $50 Amazon account credit.
I went with a 120" motorized screen. The screen goes up and down with the push of a button. I have about $165 delivered in the screen from ebay. I have 4 kids from 7 to 11 and a big dog in the house. I thought about a manual screen, but then thought back to my childhood and the old pull down window shades. I could see the kids or the dog trashing a pull down screen in short order.
As I said, I'm happy. I've got a big TV to watch that looks good to me. Movies are great as well, either DVD's, blurays or streamed. If the kids let loose with a Wii remote, the absolute worst I'm out is a new screen. That's better than a new TV. If they somehow break the projector (ceiling mounted) I'm not a ton either. Kids and big dogs break things, that's part of the reason I went with the pricepoint I did. If you are at all interested, PM me and I will provide you with the specific items and sellers I went with. I sourced everything from different vendors and I am more than happy with all of them.
Installation of the projector and screen took less than an hour total and was very easy.

ETA: The Optoma projector also has 2 built in speakers that work pretty well on their own if you don't already have a separate HT system to hook it into for sound or if you plan on adding a HT system later.

Excellent post, thank you.

unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, a permanent installation of either a ceiling mount projector, or a screen is 100% out of the question.   I need to go with something that can be set up, and taken down.

How about throw distance? How far from the screen does your Optoma need to be mounted, in order to take full advantage of the screen?

It looks like you would be looking at a 9.5' - 12' throw for the Optoma at an 80"-100" screen. There should be a little bit of play in the projection size, so I don't think your measurements have to be that exact. Check the below projector calculator link out. You can play with all sorts of variables as to projector model, screen size, ceiling or floor mount throw. I took painters tape and laid out a 100", 120" and 135" screen size on my wall to help decide what size to go with.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm

I thought the same thing when I built a dedicated room.  I'm in there every night.  I can't remember the last time I turned on the TV in the living room.  Maybe it was last year?

I was planning on watching movies and sports on my 103" projector screen but it is addictive.  Big Bang Theory on the big screen.  Why not?  Local news where the anchors are larger than life?  Sure.

I'm quite sure of it.  I don't have time to watch TV during the week at all.   And I don't have the resources to build a dedicated room.

This is purely for a special family activity type of thing.   For a variety of reasons, it can't be permanently installed, so I am absolutely certain of my requirements.