Reddit mentions of Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350 Projector

Projectors aren't usually made for gaming, and there are a number of reasons most people choose not to. Refresh rate is one of them, though probably the least common. I would say responce time, resolution, and maintenance are the bigger factors.

For example, like in this picture, you're playing Titanfall 2 on console. Titanfall 2 is an EXTREMELY fast paced game, so every frame counts. Luckily, Respawn is actually quite smart, and they've managed to dynamically change the resolution of the game while playing so consoles can keep it at a solid 60 FPS. If your game is running at 60 frames per second, each frame takes up 16.67 milliseconds. In Eurogamer's 2009 tests, they found that the point where most people felt lag became detrimental was 166 milliseconds, or ten frames, of total lag on a 60 FPS signal.

Almost everything will add lag. Most things are negligable and it'll never see the (perceptual) light of day, but you have to take into account input lag, proccessing lag, and display lag. If these games have a minimum lag of 100 ms for processing, which I feel is reasonable, your projector needs to add less than 66 ms to the overall response time. Now, the Epson PowerLite 8350 has an average display lag of just under 20 ms, so these times are very possible (though about 2x longer than a TV and 4x longer than a monitor, but that's unimportant) and this is the fastest I could find. Most other projectors I could find the stats for are anywhere between 40 ms and 80 ms, so you're just about on the border.

The BIGGEST factor, I think, is maintenance. Going back to that projector I linked, the Epson PowerLite 8350, replacing the lamps for those cost $100 each. Most last around 2000-5000 hours on average, which would mean almost $200 or $300 a year on top of the cost of initially buying the projector, as opposed to a 55" LED UltraHD HDR TV which is slightly more expensive, but with no maintenence cost.

That's not to say it largely isn't possible, there are many projectors that are perfectly fine for gaming if you're willing to pay the maintenence, and it's deffinetely a pro that you're able to use an entire wall if you wish (think movie theater) but for most people it's more of a novelty and not a permanent change. Unless you just already have a projector around, haha.

I hope that all made sense.

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TL;DR

• Refresh Rate (time difference between each individual frame) is usually worse than modern TVs
  
• Responce Time (time difference between when it receives a picture and when it's displayed) is usually much longer than modern TVs
  
• Resolutions can vary widely with some projectors still only displaying 640x480, although these are mostly business power-point projectors
  
• Replacing the lamp on a good projector can cost $100 or more, twice or three times a year
  
• A 120hz 4K TV with a responce time of 17 ms is only marginally more expensive, assuming you would keep the projector for at least two years.

Both Questions depend on the projector you buy.
For the average consumer projector

1. Image Quality: watchable in the day by all means but not excellent.
   
2. Fan: mines quiet but that's why I bought it.
   
   http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm
   Will help you find an ideal projector.
   
   There's daytime projectors to give a crisp image during the day.
   I would say 50% of projectors are too loud. My projector also has an amazing 12ms response time which is rare. So generally gaming is not possible on projectors, but on mine it is. On the note of response times though, modern TV"s are horrible for response times, sometimes worst then the average projector...
   
   
   Also you need to find a projector suitable for where you're mounting it in your room (throw distance range) vs size of screen.
   
   So as you can see it's very important to do research on a projector you're buying.
   This is my projector, it's an old model, only downside is darks aren't super dark.
   https://www.amazon.com/Epson-PowerLite-Home-Cinema-Projector/dp/B0044UHJWY/ref=sr_1_72?ie=UTF8&qid=1485341966&sr=8-72&keywords=Epson+PowerLite
   
   I got stupid lucky picking this up for $300 used, and the replacement bulbs are only like $40 which lasts 6months-2 Years (i use it to watch like 50hrs /year... so not tons.)
   
   It starts to become a project though to make it feel right, projector ceiling mount, electric wiring, seating, flooring (screen reflects a lot of light), surrounding wall colors, surround, screen/window curtains, projector screen (do you go 16:9 or 2.39:1 (movie theater widescreen)) If your 16:9 you can buy/make masking bars, amp, furniture, projector sound isolation boxes, lenses, 3D Chips/glasses. List goes on. You could just buy a projector and plug it in and shoot it against a wall, but you'll start to realize how lame it's but actually works a lot better then it sounds.
   

I have an Epson 8350 and I love it! I've seen it on amazon for $1050. Only thing I can complain about is that it gets pixelated with fast motion scenes so I'd rather it be 120hz or something better.

I also got an Elite retractable screen with 1.1 gain so it wouldn't be as bright.

I change apartments once in awhile and these two are so easy to move and fit in any room. Just be sure you have dark curtains if you have any large windows or you can't watch during the day. It works great in low light but not in bright light.

I went to a local TV shop and asked about projectors and the guy went fucking crazy and ripped me a new ass hole for even bringing up the idea. He said people expected too much and wanted to spend too little. He said a decent setup would cost over $10k. I told him I wanted something easy to move and he tried telling me a 70" DLP was easier to move than a projector that I can carry with one hand.

I ignored this ass hole.

I bought this thing, pointed it at the wall, and turned it on. It's fucking awesome. I have a 120" "screen" (I just use the wall). Everyone who comes over says it looks amazing.

I actually bought it at Best Buy. It was $100 more, but I didn't need to wait. I also picked up their protection plan which I don't normally, do, but it also covers the bulb. One bulb will pay for the warranty.

Some things to think about before you take the plunge:

1. When do you watch? If I just want to waste a day watching TV I can't really use the projector. My place doesn't get dark enough and I end up using my 24" computer monitor.
   
2. Speakers. You need a way to sound to the front of the room, ideally. I left my speakers in the back of the room and I think it only works because I don't care that much and the my place is super tiny.
   
3. Input switching. TVs normally handle this for you, with most projectors you might only have 1 or 2 inputs.
   
4. Getting the sound out of it. Most projectors are make to just show video, so the sound needs to get to the speakers before you send the video to the projector. I picked up this which gives me 3 HDMI inputs, sound, and lets me have a single HDMI to my projector. You could also go with a full receiver for a little more flexibility, but I wanted something more minimal.
   
5. What you use. If you have something like an Xbox with Kinect, you are going to be jumping through some hoops to get the Kinect to the front of the room and also setting up your projector in a way where you aren't in front of it and blocking things. Soundbars (when it comes to audio) also run into this back vs front of the room problem.
   
6. Placement. Do you have a wall to project on that is big enough to make it worth it. Is your place dark enough. Do you need to ceiling mount it; are you allowed to do things like that where you live?
   
7. Do you enjoy going out to the movies? Last time I went to the theater I thought the screen seemed small since I'm used to sitting 10' away from a 10' screen. It just wasn't that impressive anymore.
   
   Right now mine is on a cart with everything else and my couch is in such a place where I magically don't block it anywhere I sit. I am moving soon and I have no idea what I'm going to do. The living room has a fireplace which is flanked by some built in shelving. I will either need to dump my couch in front of the fireplace and ignore it's there, or project to the area over the fireplace, which will make the picture a lot smaller than what I have now. Either way I have a feeling I will be forced to get a ceiling mount and do a whole lot more wire management... I'm not looking forward to that. Also, even if I wanted the Xbox One (I'm not sure I even do), I don't think I can come up with a decent way to set it up. I'd probably need a super long HDMI cable, then move all my components to the front of the room where they would awkwardly sit. I'm thinking of turning the projector into my bedroom TV and getting a standard TV for the living room. I don't know if that is a good idea or horrible.
   
   tl;dr: Projectors can be amazing in the right situation, but there are some considerations you need to make since most home theater equipment isn't designed with them in mind.

I have this Epson and I am very impressed with it. Yes I know it's an entry level machine and the purists will tell you all about how it ain't good enough, but it throws a 128" picture in 1080p from 11 ft back (from the corner to the door is about 11ft). I'm happy. You can count the blades of grass in the World Cup, the TWD zombies are crystal clear, and I can hook up my laptop and play games. And I don't have a big clunky tv stand in the middle of the wall.

My friend has a nice Epson projector. This is his. Unfortunately his bulb went out :( Anyways we had an idea of a projector screen for outdoor entertainment. The first go around was made from 3/4" PVC pipe and it was elevated a little. We guessed and checked a lot because that is what we like to do. The screen material was blackout cloth with was 8'x10'. We put grommets in it to attach it to the PVC. This screen worked just find, and was portable!

He decided bigger was better, so of course I obliged. What I didn't realize is how BIG he wanted to go. Well the new screen was 15'x30' it was absolutely gigantic. We made this from 3" PVC pipe along with some hefty stakes from Lowe's. The PVC just sat on these stakes. We used tow straps to help stretch out the tarp. We should have made cross members for this, but we didn't. The tow straps helped out considerably. Anyways here are some pictures. http://imgur.com/W0qO1DB and http://imgur.com/yS4Z7o3 My friend is about 6'2" for comparison.

Projectors are cheaper than LCDs nowadays. This projector is fantastic:

Epson Powerlite 8350

and then just buy this screen and you have a great 10 foot screen for under $1500. The only drawback to projectors is you need a dark(ish) room.

I have an Optoma HD20, pretty much the same distance away from the projector in a room similarly sized, with similar light constraints. I've been pretty pleased with that projector except for some screen door effect I tend to notice on some blurays.

That being said I've been keeping my eye on a new projector for a while and think this one is close to what you're looking for:
http://www.amazon.com/Epson-PowerLite-Home-Cinema-8350/dp/B0044UHJWY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1377614422&sr=8-3&keywords=epson+powerlite

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with the two HD25 models but the older model seemed to do just find except for the occasional screen door. So hopefully they've done a good job updating their product line...

edit: If anyone has any experience with the screen door issue on the HD20 and has found any solutions it would be awesome if you could share it...

The addition of the back channels depends on the room size and listening position. Provide either a sketch or dimensions of the room and where the furniture is. EDIT. Well at 22' the room can probably benefit from the extra rears. There ideal placement puts the current rears to the side of the user and the back speakers flat against the rear wall firing forward. Far enough apart to differentiate left and right back.

Consult this chart to see where you SHOULD be sitting to fully enjoy 1080P or to choose the right screen size.

B652's are awesome speakers in just about every application. So as rears they are almost TOO good ;)

As for matching center to front there is some validation to that theory. If a sound(a car or person speaking) goes from left to center to right it will sound differently if the Midrange and Highs are produced with different hardware. If you go with either the 64 or 84 you can get this DV62C Center to match.

Another set of BIC I like are the Formula Series with matching center.

F12 is the recommended sub for everyone under $500 budget so that is fine. (maybe two of them?)

There are only really a handful of projectors that run sub-$1000 and 1080P. The Optima HD20, The Viewsonic Pro8200 and there is also this SLIGHTLY over budget Epson. I haven't researched in a while so I may be missing one or two out there.

I would steer you away from Sony's receivers and toward a brand that does audio exclusively. Like Denon, Marantz or Onkyo (among others). Sony doesn't have a great reputation for their audio hardware anymore.

As far as your projector choice I would suggest the Epson 8350 over that Panasonic. Costs about the same but gets better black levels. It's not quite as bright but 2000 lumens is plenty for most people.

I hope to eventually buy a projector and screen to go with it. My goal is to be able to play movies off my macbook and transmit them wirelessly to the projector and speakers. Are there any other considerations I take into account with regards to the receiver (or projector for that matter)?

Well dang. Sounds like that is hard to beat.
Visual Apex is selling em on amazon now.
Would I need to get the screen to get the gist of how things would really look? (I'm assuming this is obviously, yes, but if I needed to return that as well.. I'm not sure how it would disassemble.)

Actually.. they offer refurbs on VisualApex's site.. :| HMM

• Room is big enough, want something that can throw 120" at around 15ft.
  
  
• Light control is fine but wouldn't mind something that works well in a not so dark environment.
  
  
• Will be used to fulfill all of my Netflix and YouTube needs.
  
  
• As for quality I just want to make sure it looks as good as https://www.amazon.com/Epson-PowerLite-Home-Cinema-Projector/dp/B0044UHJWY did. And considering that i bought it 6ish years ago i would think that i could get that quality for less than i spent then which was around $1100.
  
  
• I dont have a budget exactly, I want to spend whatever I have to, to get what I had.
  
  
• Dont care about 3D
  
  
• DLP is fine.
  
  

this is the projector i have: https://www.amazon.com/Epson-PowerLite-Home-Cinema-Projector/dp/B0044UHJWY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521676832&sr=8-3&keywords=epson+powerlite+home+cinema+8350+projector

The trick is getting good cheap 3rd party bulbs. I have an Epson 8350 and can get bulbs for $22.

I'm looking forward to 4K though.

I'm running a 1080p Mitsubishi DLP (HC3800) and it looks very, very good for the price. It was $1200 with a extra bulb when I bough it over a year ago.

The HC4000 is the replacement model and has a bit better black-level performance due to the DarkChip 3 DLP.

So yeah don't rule out DLPs. Compare the DLPs to the Epson 8350 probably when you shop.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044UHJWY/ref=asc_df_B0044UHJWY1782515?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B0044UHJWY

It will be hard for a DLP to beat that price/performance right now for that Epson seeing as its $1130 right now.

The Mitsubishi is $1100:
http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-HC4000-300-Inches-1080p-Projector/dp/B0044UF0PM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321374823&sr=1-1

The Epson has a lot more placement options, but if placement isn't a problem, the Mitsubishi might look better to you.

i bought an Epson 8350 over 2 years ago and have absolutely loved it. its bright and 1080p. plus its just over $1k on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Epson-PowerLite-Home-Cinema-8350/dp/B0044UHJWY

edit: i noticed the 5030 you were looking at is 3D capable. the 8350 is not. it just depends on your preference. personally, i dont give a shit about 3D. the 5030 is definitely a better projector, no doubting that. However, i am amazed with the picture quality of the 8350 and dont believe $1500 would be worth it for an improvement you would only notice if the projectors were side by side. but thats just my opinion...