using a projector to create a home cinema?

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Has anyone done this?  Are you satisfied?  It is important to me not to have a "screen" taking up a wall of my living room.  But a pull down screen plus a projector for movie watching sounds like a great somewhat discreet option.  If you have one, does the projector connect to a computer, a dvd player... ?  How do you work it?  Thanks!

[Mergath]

My brother did this.  He just used a large white wall, and hooked the projector up to his computer.  I didn't actually get to watch it for myself, but he said the picture was amazing.

[happi duck]

I also know someone who projects on a white wall. The wall has artwork that they take down for movie night.

 

Eta: also connected to a computer

[KRG]

We have a screen that we only pull down when we want to watch movies on 'the big screen'.  It's on a beam in the living room--it's out of the way and I never notice it. The projector is connected to a computer.  You have to have a specific players downloaded to watch blu-ray movies.  Other than we just put a dvd in or stream and watch movies.  We bought the projector/screen several years ago and it's been a very good investment for our family.

[Lolly]

We did this. We connected the projector to a dvd player or computer to watch movies. For use as a regular tv, it connected to a box from our cable company. We just used a white wall instead of a screen. We also use it for outside movies. We bought a large white tarp that we hang between two trees in the yard when we want an outdoor movie night.

[linguistmama]

We have a projector that we can connect to a computer or ipad. We bought the projector used and then dh bought the corresponding ipad connector. Like another poster mentioned we just use a large living room wall. We take down the artwork and close the curtains. This is easy to do and leaves the room looking normal if the projector is put away.

[Farrar]

We have friends who do this. They move it all around so they can watch on a screen upstairs, a white wall in the basement den for the kids or... a couple of times a year, outside on a giant sheet against their house for a big party. It's a more versatile thing than I would have thought. If we didn't specifically want a TV screen for other reasons and were like them and only watched movies occasionally then I think that would be the way to go. It also hooks to their computers or iPads super easily. 

[StephanieF]

One thing to bear in mind is that some projectors don't work too well in daylight, the image is too faint. Ours doesn't so we only watch when it is dark.

Stephanie

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Thanks for all the responses!  It seems everyone is satisfied with this set-up who has it or has seen it!  I have convinced my family to go in for one big family gift instead of a lot (more) toys, and I htink this will be it! 

 

Any recommendations for brand?  I'm looking for something middle-of-the-line, and I can get the room quite dark. 

[Garga]

Ours can hook up to the computer or a dvd player or whatever we want.  

 

It's in our playroom, so a wall is dedicated to a screen that stays nailed to the wall all the time.  That's only because we got the screen for free.  

 

If you have the option of a pull-down screen, that's awesome. 

 

We adore our projector.  It's tons of fun, especially for a sleepover for the kids to watch a movie together.

[regentrude]

We have done this for the last ten years. Bought a projector, mounted it on the wall, are projecting onto a white wall, no separate screen. Works beautifully. initially, we were concerned about the lifespan of the bulb, but it held up for a decade!

 

First, we had the projector connected to the DVD player. Now we have it also connected to a computer so we can watch streaming video.

[Jann in TX]

We have a dedicated home theater. Room is 14' x 17'

Room walls painted a rich chocolate brown or deep burgandy (ceiling is chocolate brown).  There are room-darkening shades plus curtains on the windows.

We have 2 rows of recliners (with cup holders) set up as 'stadium seating'-- so there is a step up to the second row.

Speakers are wired for full surround sound.

We have a projector and an 10' diagonal screen (we purchased a wooden art frame and stretched a special canvas over it).  The screen is mounted to a wall and projector is on ceiling in back of room.

 

We are SPOILED!  Older dd's had many movie nights with friends... we have DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix, Amazon and HD local channels. 

System is hooked up to a computer that also records shows for playback (we NEVER watch live TV!).

 

The downside is that projector bulbs are expensive to replace.  Also it is hard to use that room for any other purpose (but we built our house around this room set up so we have other living areas).

 

It used to be that a projector gave the best picture quality-- but now the newer extra-large TVs have better resolution and better 'blacks'-- so if this projector dies we will replace with a flat-screen TV.