TV or Projector?

[Speedling]

Hey guys!
So, last 1.5 years I have been working on this house project that basically is adding 400 sq ft to my house. Doing almost everything myself after work and on weekends. So it takes a long time
BUT, I am at the finish line for permit inspections but I need to make sure I have electric in the right spots.
I/we are debating going with a big old TV (like 75") or a projector.
I know most of you are like who the heck does that?! We have one thing that allows us to unwind and that is to sit together and watch TV for 30 minutes while we fold laundry. It's just what we do. The boat doesn't work after dark as well and the kids need to be in bed.
So, pros and cons obviously of the projector and such. We had it at the last house and it was really awesome for playing games and watching movies when people came over. Been loving the idea of having a retractable motorized screen so that when not in use, it all disappears.
The TV would do better with ambient light and perhaps with friends/family over for a big party (we have held off on the last 2 new years and it's KILLING US!!!)
But a TV is hard to hide!! We would love to make it disappear when not in use.
Notes about hiding the TV:
1. No, it can't go into the floor. Just installed the 2x10's myself and there isn't room because the room used to be outside and you would hit concrete floor. Not happening.
2. It can't go into the attic because well, it's a 14' high cathedral ceiling.
3. Looked at artwork that is on a track that would go over it when not in use, perhaps even something custom made.

More notes:
1. Big is better because viewing area will be from 8 feet away up to 30 feet away.
2. Projector screen and projector would "require" a tray/shelf all the way round the room in order to house both which we figured would also be used for some rope light to do ambient lighting up onto the ceiling theatre style.
3. I have electrician trying to wrap things up this week and the 1 or two outlets need to be decided pretty quickly but that's it for permit!
4. Also have electric fireplace going in.
5. Equipment will actually be behind viewing area in a custom built - in shelf unit. Basically in the back side of the bar.
6. My wife just wants whatever we do hidden so it doesnt' look like our lives revolve around some big old TV!

 

[capt]

What tv or projector do you have in mind? What's the budget? My wife and I have a projector in our bedroom and we love it.

 

[2kwik4u]

OK, please tell me you don't have drywall in yet. Please Please Please don't have drywall in yet. I'm going to work off the assumption that you don't. If you do, then all of the below changes.

Go projector if (AND ONLY IF) you have an easy way to hide the light during the day. Unless you're willing to drop $4-5k on a nice diamond screen it WILL washout in high sunlight areas. Even with the fancy screen, you'll have some washout. You're going to want a high lumen projector as well to help with that. With that said, VERY large screens are easily made with a project. My best friend has a 128in screen in his living room using a projector. He sits about 12-15ft away and it looks GIANT......ut we have to close all the draperies in front of the windows when we want to watch. I have a 55in mounted on the wall above my stairwell to the basement (12ft ceilings as well), and can watch with all the windows open on a sunny day with only minor glare. I'll be moving to a 75in here soon as we're now about 14ft away from the TV and it feels a little small. Saw a 90in Samsung 4k display at Sams last week. Almost brought it home with me. I think it was $1,700. The projector will be more $/in of screen than a regular display will.

Consider what you are watching, and where the sources and output are. You want to either place pathways (conduit/etc) into the walls NOW, or hardwire into the walls now. Sources are things like cable boxes, BluRay Players, ROku's Fire Sticks/etc. Outputs are both video and audio. You'll need to run outputs to the device making the picture, and you'll want signal wires ran to speakers/soundbar etc. One of the best things I did when we built our house was install a cable chase between the attic space and the furnace room. It's a simple 2in PVC pipe in a wall that joins the two spaces. I've already used it 3-4 times in the few years we've lived here. put your pathways in NOW before drywall goes in, and take a TON of pictures of it while you're doing it. Those reference pictures and pathways will save you so much headache in the future if you need to run something new.

Here is the VERY simple pathway I put in. This is standing on the 1st floor looking into the attic space above (before drywall)


This is the view from the basement furnace room. It's seriously nothing fancy at all.


You should also consider sound while in this phase of planning. Is a soundbar under the TV with a bluetooth sub enough for you? Do you want a nice 5.1 or 7.2 surround setup? How much is enough. For the wife and I, in the main living space, a simple soundbar is plenty. We'll be adding a "theater system" to the basement in the future. I suggest a sound bar at the bare minimum. I think our's was like $150 during black Friday, and it looks very nice under the TV. It sounds good enough that watching a movie isn't disappointing, but it's not a concert hall reproduction either. Buddy I mentioned above has an in-wall 7.2 setup with his giant screen. Movies and sporting events are AMAZING to watch there, but the equipment is obvious, and a bit overkill for watching something like the evening news, or your basic sit-com.

Here's our "daily driver" setup at home. It's a 55in Samsung with a Samsung sound bar under it. Bluetooth subwoofer sits just to the right of that table in the foreground. Getting all the wires in the wall was KEY to making it look presentable. The lighting in this pic is terrible, and I can take a better pic tonight if you're interested. Overall, it's a great, inexpensive, and simple setup. Hopefully that will jump to a 75in in the near future, as you can tell it looks a little small in that placement.


The big thing IMO is to find a system that s right for you. If you are an audiophile and 4k enthusiast, my daily driver setup is NOT for you. If you're just unwinding for a bit at the end of the day, or watching the occasional movie with the kids, it might fit you well. I used to think you had to have a 5.1 with in wall speakers to really have anything worthwhile. Not anymore. It's neat to have, but not really value add on a day to day basis.

I used to do a good number of high end installations for both commercial and residential applications, so I've got experience planning the install, both in a finished and an new construction space. I'm not great at component selection, and am somewhat out of touch on the state of the art though. Had a couple guys in the office that would always do that part for me once I had the customers I/O figured out. Be glad to help where I can.

 

[Speedling]

OK, please tell me you don't have drywall in yet. Please Please Please don't have drywall in yet. I'm going to work off the assumption that you don't. If you do, then all of the below changes.

Go projector if (AND ONLY IF) you have an easy way to hide the light during the day. Unless you're willing to drop $4-5k on a nice diamond screen it WILL washout in high sunlight areas. Even with the fancy screen, you'll have some washout. You're going to want a high lumen projector as well to help with that. With that said, VERY large screens are easily made with a project. My best friend has a 128in screen in his living room using a projector. He sits about 12-15ft away and it looks GIANT......ut we have to close all the draperies in front of the windows when we want to watch. I have a 55in mounted on the wall above my stairwell to the basement (12ft ceilings as well), and can watch with all the windows open on a sunny day with only minor glare. I'll be moving to a 75in here soon as we're now about 14ft away from the TV and it feels a little small. Saw a 90in Samsung 4k display at Sams last week. Almost brought it home with me. I think it was $1,700. The projector will be more $/in of screen than a regular display will.

Consider what you are watching, and where the sources and output are. You want to either place pathways (conduit/etc) into the walls NOW, or hardwire into the walls now. Sources are things like cable boxes, BluRay Players, ROku's Fire Sticks/etc. Outputs are both video and audio. You'll need to run outputs to the device making the picture, and you'll want signal wires ran to speakers/soundbar etc. One of the best things I did when we built our house was install a cable chase between the attic space and the furnace room. It's a simple 2in PVC pipe in a wall that joins the two spaces. I've already used it 3-4 times in the few years we've lived here. put your pathways in NOW before drywall goes in, and take a TON of pictures of it while you're doing it. Those reference pictures and pathways will save you so much headache in the future if you need to run something new.

Here is the VERY simple pathway I put in. This is standing on the 1st floor looking into the attic space above (before drywall)
View attachment 88939

This is the view from the basement furnace room. It's seriously nothing fancy at all.
View attachment 88940

You should also consider sound while in this phase of planning. Is a soundbar under the TV with a bluetooth sub enough for you? Do you want a nice 5.1 or 7.2 surround setup? How much is enough. For the wife and I, in the main living space, a simple soundbar is plenty. We'll be adding a "theater system" to the basement in the future. I suggest a sound bar at the bare minimum. I think our's was like $150 during black Friday, and it looks very nice under the TV. It sounds good enough that watching a movie isn't disappointing, but it's not a concert hall reproduction either. Buddy I mentioned above has an in-wall 7.2 setup with his giant screen. Movies and sporting events are AMAZING to watch there, but the equipment is obvious, and a bit overkill for watching something like the evening news, or your basic sit-com.

Here's our "daily driver" setup at home. It's a 55in Samsung with a Samsung sound bar under it. Bluetooth subwoofer sits just to the right of that table in the foreground. Getting all the wires in the wall was KEY to making it look presentable. The lighting in this pic is terrible, and I can take a better pic tonight if you're interested. Overall, it's a great, inexpensive, and simple setup. Hopefully that will jump to a 75in in the near future, as you can tell it looks a little small in that placement.
View attachment 88941

The big thing IMO is to find a system that s right for you. If you are an audiophile and 4k enthusiast, my daily driver setup is NOT for you. If you're just unwinding for a bit at the end of the day, or watching the occasional movie with the kids, it might fit you well. I used to think you had to have a 5.1 with in wall speakers to really have anything worthwhile. Not anymore. It's neat to have, but not really value add on a day to day basis.

I used to do a good number of high end installations for both commercial and residential applications, so I've got experience planning the install, both in a finished and an new construction space. I'm not great at component selection, and am somewhat out of touch on the state of the art though. Had a couple guys in the office that would always do that part for me once I had the customers I/O figured out. Be glad to help where I can.

Have a mid end polk audio 7.1 with sony stereo and some monstrosity of bass driver.
No drywall yet.
Need outlets figured.
Ambient light will be an issue but movies only go on at night.
Think family superbowl party though. People all over, lights on and off etc.
My last setup was dedicated and was easier.
Av cables etc willbe runup a pvc pipe inside 1' square piers on thebar. That all will be done after permit inspection for rough carpentry and electrical.
Floor speakers, tv/projector and electric fireplace are all on the "display" wall and my wife wants it hidden as possible and not theatre like.

 

[Speedling]

Originally was looking atthe epson 5040ub
Seems to have a lot of issues with power supply though.
Also looking at optema uhd65 but it lacks some lumens.

 

[Speedling]

For tvs we scoped costco and like the 75" which can be had for less than projector and screen together.

 

[2kwik4u]

Have a mid end polk audio 7.1 with sony stereo and some monstrosity of bass driver.
No drywall yet.
Need outlets figured.
Ambient light will be an issue but movies only go on at night.
Think family superbowl party though. People all over, lights on and off etc.
My last setup was dedicated and was easier.
Av cables etc willbe runup a pvc pipe inside 1' square piers on thebar. That all will be done after permit inspection for rough carpentry and electrical.
Floor speakers, tv/projector and electric fireplace are all on the "display" wall and my wife wants it hidden as possible and not theatre like.

Looks for some Russound In-Wall Speakers. They make nice equipment, will sound good, maintain your 7.1, and they are paintable so you can very easily hide them for the high WAF (That's Wife Approval Factor) scores!

If you go projector, You could possibly put a bulkhead in place above where you want it hanging, and then have it power retract into that bulkhead. Put some plants or pottery on top of the bulkhead, and some crown molding around it to hide it. Same with a projector on the opposite wall. You can enclose it mostly, then dress up the enclosure to hide it a bit. Ultimately I think a nice thin display panel will be the sleekest and have the highest WAF score.

 

[Beachbummer]

The huge screen of the projector is awesome, but only when you can manage the light sources. I had a 105" screen long ago and it was great, but only usable at night in my room with all the light sources. With current costs...you could have both! a 50" for day time and your giant screen for when the light is right.

 

[2kwik4u]

I've installed these before. They are nice units. Mostly commercial settings, recessed into drop ceilings, but no reason they can't be recessed into a drywall ceiling.

Da-Lite DescenderPro Ceiling Recessed HDTV (16:9) - Matte White Fabric - 54" x 96" - 110" Diagonal

 

[the MfM]

I just went through this decision for our family room... ended up going with a projector. Just about ready to start final assembly on the entertainment center I built to house the screen and AV equipment.

There is a 100” screen that comes down automatically when we turn on the projector. Using the amazon 4K fire stick as the main controller. I’m working on programming everything to voice control so it’s easy for the wife/kids to use. Even got it set up so it slowly dims the lights as the screen comes down and projector turns on.

I went with a viewsonic 4K/UHD projector and a cheap motorized screen that I hid behind the speaker shelf. Less than $1000 for the two. Once you get over ~70” imho a projector makes more sense.


Planning to add some art work behind the screen once the wife makes a decision on what she wants.

I've installed these before. They are nice units. Mostly commercial settings, recessed into drop ceilings, but no reason they can't be recessed into a drywall ceiling.

Da-Lite DescenderPro Ceiling Recessed HDTV (16:9) - Matte White Fabric - 54" x 96" - 110" Diagonal

 

[the MfM]

And here’s the projector.

We have 9 windows in the room I need to add shades to. And a patio door. The room gets a lot of morning sun. Especially this time of year. Without shades the screen is bright enough except on sunny mornings. Even the 46” led flatscreen we had before was hard to see at times though. I expect once I get shades installed the projector will be fine all the time.

On an overcast day like in this pic it’s plenty bright enough already.

 

[AboveTheBest]

For tvs we scoped costco and like the 75" which can be had for less than projector and screen together.

I went through this debate when I stated finishing my basement as well, and ended up going with a 75” tv instead of a projector due to washout.

I actually planned on using a projector and a +100” screen, but it just made more sense to use the TV.

I bought a “dumb” 75” 4K with no WiFi, apps, or anything. Basically just a giant monitor. We have a 4K Apple TV hooked up to it along with the surround sound and it works great for us.

The brand is a Sceptre, and I had to order it from Walmart online. The brand has good reviews (although not many) and has a warranty. I think I paid right at $1K.

...oh yeah, my Surround Sound receiver is a Yamaha

 

[Speedling]

Attached photos. Ceiling is basically a pyramid looking thing.
The white paper is where the wife is thinking the electric fireplace. The insulation is all the old junk that was in the walls because this was an outdoor space in the middle of the house. Also showing the other side where the corner bar is. Seating kitchen side looking in. All openings into existing have drywall left in place until i get insulation in ceiling so i keep some heat in the house!
Once that happens just cut drywall and pop out and boom! New room!
Have two huge 8' sliding glass doors that will need to be removed.

My wife and her friend actually had a good idea for this problem.
Set up the current vizio 55" tv on the wall and then get the projector in the "shelf" that will round the room. Projctor in back side hidden in that "shelf" and a rope light in it for ambient lighting. So the screen comes down for movie time when the drapes can be drawn and the tv is for when it needs to be used during the day.

 

[the MfM]

My wife wouldn’t let me do the flat screen behind the projector screen thing


Keep in mind for any given screen size each projector will have a small window of acceptable mounting distance. And each projector is different. For example to fit a 100” screen my projector needed to be mounted at something like 14’6” +/- 9”. But another very similar model from the same mfr needed to be at 5’.

And then there’s the table top projectors that only need 4” to project 100”.
LG HU85LA: LG Ultra Short Throw 4K UHD Laser Smart Home Theater CineBeam Projector at CES 2019

 

[Mainah]

Here is what I did in our master bedroom. Was just a large long bare load bearing wall that I framed out from. Would be easy to hide av gear and tv into something this this and with a cathedral ceiling would give some dimension. Would be easy to hang some art over the panel and even do some kind of articulating/sliding hinge system. The left side vent handles is hard ducted to the outlet of the electric fireplace (also works for amiance with no heat) and the right side is open to allow for ambient temperature exchange from the fire box I built for it to slide into. Way overkill for an direct mount electric unit with a thermal cutoff switch but that is just how I do things. Lots of ways to dress up something like this but we wanted the crisp clean feel.

 

[Dixie Highway]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-65-class-led-the-frame-series-2160p-smart-4k-uhd-tv-with-hdr/6264695.p?skuId=6264695

This is what I would do. Best of both, and you get to choose your art.