Large OLED, Projector or UST?

[LuisV]

Trying to decide between a 77", 83" OLED, Projector or UST (Ultra Short Throw) Projector with 100" screen for my dedicated room.  Our viewing habits are mainly movies with TV series from iTV, BritBox (British TV), AppleTV, Hulu, HBO Max, etc.   We don't watch prime time TV (hate commercials) and have a 65" OLED in the family room.   We're currently sitting around 9' feet from a 40" TV that I temporarily placed in the room, but once I remove the desk from the room, we can slide back a bit.  Wife and I visited our local BestBuy and between the 77 and 83, visually as in display "real estate", it was a toss up; didn't seem to be that much of an increase in image size to warrant the price difference.  Unfortunately the rooms in their Magnolia section had smaller displays in one room with only a 100" projector in the other, so it was tough to obtain a visual size difference between the 3 sizes.   

I'm leaning towards a projector, but nothing beats the simplicity of placing a TV onto a TV stand or console.  Unfortunately I can't mount the TV to the wall as there is a window that I need to deal with and therefore require access to, but I have a couple of ideas on how to build a "minimalist" false wall and hang a lightweight screen to it while maintaining access to the window in the event it needs repair / maintenance.  

If anyone is using a Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector please let me know how you like it as that would avoid having to add an outlet on the ceiling and running long HDMI cables to a traditional projector. 

Below represents a 77" vs 83" display: Difference between the two is the 83" display is ~3" taller ~5" wider




Below represents a 77" vs 100" display: Difference between the two is the 100" display is ~12" taller ~20" wider



Below represents an 83" vs a 100" display: Difference between the two is the 100" display is ~9" taller ~15" wider

[AudioHTIT]

You don’t say how far away you are? I’m at 11’ with 85” display and waiting for mini LED at 100” to come down a little more in price, so I lean toward your 100” projector, but have never owned one.

This set shows that the prices are getting better for ~100” displays, though the Sony is still up at $15K.

TCL 98” QLED

[cawgijoe]

I've never really been a projector type. The amount of effort for setup doesn't thrill me. Plus the OLED pictures are just fantastic.

I currently have a 65" set in a regular size family room, so that works for me. When I do move in a couple years to a brand new house, I'm thinking I will go with a 77" OLED, depending on deal.

So it all depends on your wants and needs...

[millst]

Sure, but the setup is a one-time thing and you're done. I wouldn't even factor it into the decision unless you can't manage to do it yourself and will have to pay someone.

The question itself is a bit odd...kind of like shopping for cars and comparing a roadster to an SUV. The projector is going to shine in a light-controlled room and give you a massive picture. TVs still can't compete there. The TV is going to blow the projector away in some picture qualities like brightness. If you haven't deal with a projector before, the warm-up time is usually rather long. Feels like my JVC takes a couple minutes before I can see anything.

As far as the OLED TVs, I doubt you'll notice the difference between the two sizes. You might want to check a seating distance calculator to see if 100" is too big or not.

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 14:07:22 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

You don’t say how far away you are? I’m at 11’ with 85” display and waiting for mini LED at 100” to come down a little more in price, so I lean toward your 100” projector, but have never owned one.

This set shows that the prices are getting better for ~100” displays, though the Sony is still up at $15K.

TCL 98” QLED

Completely forgot to indicate seating distance, so I just updated the original post... we're ~9' today, but once the desk is moved, we can slide seating further back.  Agreed larger LED / OLED pricing is coming down, so that is why I'm so torn.

[cawgijoe]

Dec 16, 2022 14:55:03 GMT -5 millst said:

Sure, but the setup is a one-time thing and you're done. I wouldn't even factor it into the decision unless you can't manage to do it yourself and will have to pay someone.

The question itself is a bit odd...kind of like shopping for cars and comparing a roadster to an SUV. The projector is going to shine in a light-controlled room and give you a massive picture. TVs still can't compete there. The TV is going to blow the projector away in some picture qualities like brightness. If you haven't deal with a projector before, the warm-up time is usually rather long. Feels like my JVC takes a couple minutes before I can see anything.

As far as the OLED TVs, I doubt you'll notice the difference between the two sizes. You might want to check a seating distance calculator to see if 100" is too big or not.

What millst said...

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 14:29:14 GMT -5 cawgijoe said:

I've never really been a projector type. The amount of effort for setup doesn't thrill me. Plus the OLED pictures are just fantastic.

I currently have a 65" set in a regular size family room, so that works for me. When I do move in a couple years to a brand new house, I'm thinking I will go with a 77" OLED, depending on deal.

So it all depends on your wants and needs...

In our previous home we had a 100" screen / projector setup and it wasn't that bad to install / configure... basically an afternoon to hang and adjust.  With 77 / 83" OLEDs in the same ballpark as a 4k projector (pixel shifting) / screen combo, it's such a toss up in my mind that I turned to the Lounge for additional opinions / help.  

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 14:55:03 GMT -5 millst said:

Sure, but the setup is a one-time thing and you're done. I wouldn't even factor it into the decision unless you can't manage to do it yourself and will have to pay someone.

The question itself is a bit odd...kind of like shopping for cars and comparing a roadster to an SUV. The projector is going to shine in a light-controlled room and give you a massive picture. TVs still can't compete there. The TV is going to blow the projector away in some picture qualities like brightness. If you haven't deal with a projector before, the warm-up time is usually rather long. Feels like my JVC takes a couple minutes before I can see anything.

As far as the OLED TVs, I doubt you'll notice the difference between the two sizes. You might want to check a seating distance calculator to see if 100" is too big or not.

This will be located in a dedicated, light controlled room, and yes, I recall the warm up delay from our projector in our previous HT setup (~19 x ~20 room).   The current room is indeed smaller (10' 11' x 15' 7"), so I keep flip flopping between a larger TV and projector.  We have a 65" OLED in our family room and I placed it into the dedicated room for about a week, to be honest, my wife and I felt we could go bigger...  in both rooms... 

[cwmcobra]

I'm admittedly biased toward a projector, having just this year finished a dedicated theater in the basement. I think a major part of the decision is what you watch. I watch almost exclusively movies, so opted for a scope aspect ratio 120" wide screen (130" diagonal) with a native 4K projector. This results in a full screen with cinematic material and 16:9 material being downsized to fit, but it's still just fine for watching TV and the occasional 16:9 movie. If you watch more TV, the 16:9 ratio would probably be preferred. I also use an acoustically transparent screen which allows all the speakers in the room to be hidden. A very cinema-like experience with intentional softer image than with a TV. If you watch a lot of sports, I think you’d prefer an OLED TV as large as you can fit & afford. Lamp-based projectors are sensitive to repeated start cycles which degrade the bulb. New projectors with laser light engines lose that sensitivity and can be cycled on and off like a TV without worry of degrading the light source. They are quite a bit more expensive though and all projectors have the added cost of a screen. I have no experience with UST projectors but understand they generally don’t throw the same quality image as with front projection. Many or most of them have laser light sources and I think they would be best suited to use as a large TV. I think movie images would suffer.

I sit about 9.5 - 10 feet from the 120” wide screen and find it about perfect for my taste. No moving my head trying to follow action on both sides of the screen; I find it’s easily viewable. And the native 4K capability with upscaling makes Blu-ray almost as crisp and watchable as 4K UHD. I agree that projectors take longer to startup, which is an important consideration to some. And ambient light is an obvious problem, but with your light-controlled room that’s not a problem for you.

I think your use case is likely the most important factor. It sounds like you have experience with a projector, so you have some idea of what to expect in comparative image quality as you weigh the options. Good luck and happy shopping!

[AudioHTIT]

Dec 16, 2022 15:00:31 GMT -5 LuisV said:

Dec 16, 2022 14:07:22 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

You don’t say how far away you are? I’m at 11’ with 85” display and waiting for mini LED at 100” to come down a little more in price, so I lean toward your 100” projector, but have never owned one.

This set shows that the prices are getting better for ~100” displays, though the Sony is still up at $15K.

TCL 98” QLED

Completely forgot to indicate seating distance, so I just updated the original post... we're ~9' today, but once the desk is moved, we can slide seating further back.  Agreed larger LED / OLED pricing is coming down, so that is why I'm so torn.

If you’re going to move further back I’d go with a 100” solution, if you stay where you are a 77” could be good.

[richb]

I upgraded from a 77 inch OLED to an 83 inch about a year and a half ago.
That upgrade is noticeable and the screen is easily viewable during the daytime.

Love it.

- Rich

[rbk123]

Bigger is always better, imo, if the room is light controlled. Make the wall your DIY screen and you can move the projector around to get as big as you can possibly squeeze into it. The bigger the more immersive.

If you're room isn't light controlled - TV, hands down, if you watch it at all during the day.

[richb]

Other considerations include the ability to display HDR, Dolby Vision, and absolute black levels.

- Rich

[creimes]

Dec 16, 2022 14:07:22 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

You don’t say how far away you are? I’m at 11’ with 85” display and waiting for mini LED at 100” to come down a little more in price, so I lean toward your 100” projector, but have never owned one.

This set shows that the prices are getting better for ~100” displays, though the Sony is still up at $15K.

TCL 98” QLED

Myself running a 100" spandex screen I vote projector but man that 98" TCL at that price makes it hard haha, I do love my setup and of course that TV in Canada is wayyyy more $ but wow an almost 100" TV for that price now is crazy, I purchased a 65" TCL 5 Series for my wifes business as it was a ll I could find for a decent price and it is a nice TV and I only paid $699 CAD on sale.

I vote for that 98" TCL after watching movies on my 100" screen it's hard to watch on smaller screens haha

Chad

[ttocs]

You've got a lot of great feedback from everyone to work with!

I love a projected image!! But it absolutely needs a light controlled room, and as such, makes casual viewing of anything more of a hassle. I became weary of controlling the light in my multipurpose room, so after a few years of loving the projected imagery, I went from the great 100" ambient light rejecting screen to a 85" panel tv.

My question for you is how much "casual" viewing will you want to do? In other words, how much non-movie viewing? If it's all movies, then projection all the way! But if regular tv shows and the like, then OLED.

And, if the room is not 100% dedicated light controlled and has no other purpose, then go with OLED.

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 17:31:23 GMT -5 rbk123 said:

Bigger is always better, imo, if the room is light controlled. Make the wall your DIY screen and you can move the projector around to get as big as you can possibly squeeze into it. The bigger the more immersive.

If you're room isn't light controlled - TV, hands down, if you watch it at all during the day.

It's a dedicated room, so yes... light controlled.  Room darkening shades with side channels to prevent any leakage; similar to the picture below are installed.  It's currently painted a medium flat gray, but will be painted slightly darker. 

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 19:09:32 GMT -5 ttocs said:

You've got a lot of great feedback from everyone to work with!

I love a projected image!! But it absolutely needs a light controlled room, and as such, makes casual viewing of anything more of a hassle. I became weary of controlling the light in my multipurpose room, so after a few years of loving the projected imagery, I went from the great 100" ambient light rejecting screen to a 85" panel tv.

My question for you is how much "casual" viewing will you want to do? In other words, how much non-movie viewing? If it's all movies, then projection all the way! But if regular tv shows and the like, then OLED.

And, if the room is not 100% dedicated light controlled and has no other purpose, then go with OLED.

I updated the original post with our viewing habits... basically no Prime Time TV viewing, sports... only during the major games.  Casual viewing... TV series yes, but not Prime Time stuff, we prefer iTV, BritBox due to better acting, writing, plots, etc.  Yes, it's a light controlled room.  

[ottaone]

I’m in the planning stage for the basement finishing and I’ve been researching a lot. I’ve been flip flopping between TV and projector and now leaning towards a long throw for a 120” diagonal.

I’ll be watching this thread and similar ones in AVS forum.

I hope the laser 4Ks will be cheaper by summer next year. I’ll probably wire for both a long throw and UST. Btw, only two projectors have Dolby Vision which are both USTs.

[LuisV]

Dec 16, 2022 16:16:26 GMT -5 cwmcobra said:

I'm admittedly biased toward a projector, having just this year finished a dedicated theater in the basement. I think a major part of the decision is what you watch. I watch almost exclusively movies, so opted for a scope aspect ratio 120" wide screen (130" diagonal) with a native 4K projector. This results in a full screen with cinematic material and 16:9 material being downsized to fit, but it's still just fine for watching TV and the occasional 16:9 movie. If you watch more TV, the 16:9 ratio would probably be preferred. I also use an acoustically transparent screen which allows all the speakers in the room to be hidden. A very cinema-like experience with intentional softer image than with a TV. If you watch a lot of sports, I think you’d prefer an OLED TV as large as you can fit & afford. Lamp-based projectors are sensitive to repeated start cycles which degrade the bulb. New projectors with laser light engines lose that sensitivity and can be cycled on and off like a TV without worry of degrading the light source. They are quite a bit more expensive though and all projectors have the added cost of a screen. I have no experience with UST projectors but understand they generally don’t throw the same quality image as with front projection. Many or most of them have laser light sources and I think they would be best suited to use as a large TV. I think movie images would suffer.

I sit about 9.5 - 10 feet from the 120” wide screen and find it about perfect for my taste. No moving my head trying to follow action on both sides of the screen; I find it’s easily viewable. And the native 4K capability with upscaling makes Blu-ray almost as crisp and watchable as 4K UHD. I agree that projectors take longer to startup, which is an important consideration to some. And ambient light is an obvious problem, but with your light-controlled room that’s not a problem for you.

I think your use case is likely the most important factor. It sounds like you have experience with a projector, so you have some idea of what to expect in comparative image quality as you weigh the options. Good luck and happy shopping!

Thanks for the feedback Chuck... all very good points for sure.  I heard the same about USTs, but they are getting better... at least that is what the YouTube reviewers say.  Seating distance wise, I'll be in the same ballpark as you are... so I'll need to do some testing.  Not taking tweaking and calibration into account, I recall the half a day or so it took to hang the screen and mount / aim the projector, but I also recall the 15mins it took to unbox and place a 65" OLED onto our media console in our living room.  I'm leaning more towards a projector, but the image from my 65" OLED is simply beautiful... 

[LuisV]

Appreciate everyone's comments thus far... please keep them coming. I just took my BenQ HT1075 projector out of the closet and will be bugging the wife for a bedsheet to hang on the wall. Although it's an older 1080 projector, for now, I can at least test varying sizes.