I not too long ago made the swap from a TV to a projector and whereas having a big display screen at dwelling would possibly sound like the right expertise, there are far more trade-offs that I wasn’t conscious of after I set it up initially.
Don’t get me fallacious, having a big display screen is an unimaginable expertise and the projector I used is incredible, however I’ve discovered that you simply actually need to have the ability to completely set up a projector since taking it down and placing it again up each time you need to watch one thing is a large ache.
What projector I used
I used to be fortunate sufficient to get my arms on the Dangbei DBOX02 4K laser projector, and it’s been gorgeous. The unit can mission a 4K display screen up to 200-inches and has a peak brightness of two,450 ISO lumens. It additionally has built-in audio system and a couple of HDMI ports and runs Google TV.
There are additionally two USB ports on the again, an Ethernet jack, optical audio and a headphone jack.
Overall, this is a fairly massive and ponderous projector, however it offers a actually clear and vibrant picture that I discover is definitely worth the trade-off. It’s additionally one of many few projectors that’s “Netflix approved,” which simply implies that it’s vibrant and has fairly good color copy.
Since it’s a projector it additionally will get fairly scorching, however the followers inside are quiet and after utilizing it for a few weeks I’ve by no means heard the followers kick onto excessive. All in all, it’s a powerful unit, however integrating it into my dwelling has been a wrestle.
Setting it up
Luckily my lounge is fairly darkish by default. With gentle from a close by window the projector is not as washed out as you’d count on.
The first factor you could find out about my lounge (the place I watch all my TV) is that I’ve a pretty classic wallpaper sample. While I assumed it was enjoyable after I moved in, It does imply I would like a display screen to have the ability to watch content material. Beyond that, there are two giant home windows in my lounge and solely certainly one of them has curtains on it — at the least a part of it. There’s additionally a giant stained glass portion above it that’s not coated.
While the advertising and marketing claims you may watch TV throughout the day with the DBOX02, in actuality, it’s fairly washed out when the lights are on. It’s potential, however I assume in the event you’re a film nerd who’s taking place the projector rabbit gap, you need the image to look nearly as good as potential. That means you could watch in a darkish room. So if I’m watching one thing earlier than the solar goes down, I would like to hold a sound blanket over one window and stack some cushions from a little bench in my lounge to cowl the stained glass. Someday I’ll set up blackout curtains, however for now, I primarily watch at night time.
The subsequent hurdle in setting up your projector is putting it within the excellent spot. Since the projector must be as far-off from the display screen as potential, most individuals might want to discover some solution to both hold it from their ceilings or place it behind the place they sit. I made a decision to position mine behind my sofa, however that required me to purchase a projector stand. This is mainly a tripod with just one leg and a actually heavy base to verify the projector doesn’t tip over. However, I’ll say the DBOX02 is fairly heavy so the stand does wobble a bit. It’s additionally simply tall sufficient to see over me completely, so if I sit within the centre of my sofa and lean ahead to grad one thing from the desk, you may see the shadow of the highest of my head.
It’s additionally value mentioning that the upper you elevate the projector above the peak of the display screen, the extra offset the image shall be. You can offset this within the settings with one thing referred to as ‘Key-stoning’ however this solely impacts the image, not the sunshine output. This means for me that whereas I’ve a good rectangular display screen to look at, the sunshine round it is extra like a trapezoid. Lots of individuals paint the world round their projector screens a darkish color to soak up a few of this gentle overshine impact, however since I hire that wasn’t an possibility for me. Most of the time it’s unnoticeable, however in darkish scenes it generally makes it appear to be the display screen is out of whack.
Now the ultimate piece of the puzzle is the precise display screen. If you’ve got a white wall you can begin with that, however in the event you don’t, you’ll want to purchase a display screen. I used to be in a position to bootleg a display screen collectively from some outdated seamless paper, chandelier chains and a lengthy part of PVC pipe. This was cheaper than a actual display screen, however solely barely, and the paper doesn’t sit as flat as I needed. This appears tremendous for many issues, however generally, when the digicam pans in a scene, the delicate warping within the paper could make the pan look bizarre. It’s one thing I can look previous, however I’ve been looking for a solution to flatten the paper to alleviate it.
That wasn’t all I wanted, both. Since the projector now sits behind me, I needed to get a 20-foot HDMI cable to attach it to my sport consoles or soundbar, relying on what I needed to do.
Overall, I went low-cost with my setup and it nonetheless value me over $200 to get the display screen, stand and HDMI cable. If I’d have gotten a actual display screen and precise blackout curtains I believe I’d be nearer to $400 in setup prices. If I actually had my means, I’d paint the room a darker color, particularly the ceiling to assist minimize down on gentle reflections within the room. This would make the tip image look higher, however once more, it could be one other couple hundred {dollars} and a lot of labour.
Am I going to be a projector man now?
Honestly, for all these ache factors, I’m nonetheless in love with DBOX02 projector. Having a big 115-inch display screen in my lounge is wonderful. Sure, it’s a trouble to set up and use with my soundbar, however on the finish of the day, as soon as the lights go off, the film watching expertise it offers is stellar and, in a lot of how, extra enjoyable. It’s onerous to explain however there’s one thing in regards to the big display screen that simply makes me need to make some popcorn and pay extra consideration to the display screen than my TV.
I used to be additionally nervous about lag for gaming, however I discovered it to be nonetheless very playable. Hardcore players are doubtless going to upset by the minimal lag, however I believe individuals who play largely console single-player video games shall be tremendous. Honestly, Ghost of Tsushima appears wonderful when blown up on a big display screen.
Beyond that, I’ve been utilizing the built-in audio system on the DBOX02 and, whereas it is bizarre to have the primary audio come from behind you, they carry out fairly nicely and have a fairly good stereo separation. They additionally get loud, however I’ve discovered that for the reason that speaker is proper behind my head now, I don’t must run it as loud as after I use the soundbar throughout the room in entrance of the display screen.
I’ve additionally been utilizing the projector linked to my Apple TV 4K, however it does run Google TV which I’ve solely examined a bit. To be trustworthy, I discovered the startup time to get to the fundamental apps was fairly gradual and so most frequently I’d swap it to the Apple TV enter as quick as potential. However, I did want to make use of the built-in Google interface to set give attention to the projector and to keystone my display screen and each options have been simple to make use of and perceive. There’s even a button on the distant to shortly autofocus the projector. It would have been nice for this to take customers to the main target/keystone menu and allow them to select which function they want.
Overall, I believe I’m going to stay with the projector in the meanwhile since I really like watching films and TV on the enormous display screen. If you’re trying into getting one be sure to tally up all of the equipment you’ll want and discover a good place to place it. If you may match it into your life it’s positively value it.
You can take a look at the DBOX02 projector on Dangbei’s web site. It retails for $1,499 USD (roughly $2,054 CAD).
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