What Projector to get?

[Quintenboy14]

My current projector just broke and i was looking for a replacement.

After a bit of searching this where the 3 best i could find:
Projector Central Calculator - BenQ W1070
Projector Central Calculator - Optoma HD26
Projector Central Calculator - LG PF80G

Now i am leaning towards the more expensive LG because its simply better but most of all the longer lasting lamp. Now what i really need to know is does it really last that long or is that only in the extreme power saving stand which makes the image terrible. and is it worth it.

Sincerely,
Quinten Ritsema

 

[Wolfshadw]

I'd asked, more importantly, what is your room configuration?

1) What's your current throw distance?
2) What is the seating distance?
3) Are you able to control the ambient light?
4) What screen size are you looking to achieve?

-Wolf sends

Edit:

Projector Central Calculator - BenQ W1070
Projector Central Calculator - Optoma HD26
Projector Central Calculator - LG PF80G

 

[Quintenboy14]

I'd asked, more importantly, what is your room configuration?

1) What's your current throw distance?
2) What is the seating distance?
3) Are you able to control the ambient light?
4) What screen size are you looking to achieve?

-Wolf sends

Sorry forgot to mention that.
Throw distance is 3.6 meters (can be 3.5 to 3.7)
seating distance 3m
i cant really control the lighting. i just close the curtains. (they dont let through any light. only at the edges)
the white screen i have is 2.4m horizontal and it can be up to 1.7m vertical. (have been using 2.4 m by 1.5)

 

[Wolfshadw]

Going over the three projection calculators, you can toss out the Optoma HD26 because you do not have sufficient throw distance to generate the optimal viewing image. Both the BenQ and the LG sit within the optimal range for a room with ambient light, but if you have some good blackout curtains (like I do), that pretty much mitigates any gains one might have over the other.

To be honest, I'm liking the BenQ over the LG simply because it seems to be a bit more flexible as far as placement goes. With the zoom lens (which the LG doesn't have), you can adjust your image size (if necessary).

Yes, the LG does have the LED lamp which gives the incredibly long lamp life, but let's be serious. The 3500 hour lamp life of the BenQ means you could watch two 2 hour movies every single night for the next two years and four months. Now two years and four months doesn't sound like a long time and when I bought my first projector, I was concerned about having to purchase a new $300 lamp every couple of years as well.

In reality though, four years after I bought my first projector, I sold it for an upgrade. When I checked the lamp life on my old projector, after four years of use, I had only used the lamp for ~635 hours or about 1/3 of it's average 2000 hours. Now your usage may be different than mine, but in the end, I only ended up watching two or three movies a week and maybe a couple dozen sporting events (football games) a year. I'll probably end up upgrading to a 4K projector long before this one's lamp dies.

So. Seriously, how many hours per week do you actually use a projector?

For the record, the two projectors I've owned are the BenQ MP610 and my (current) Optoma HD20

-Wolf sends

 

[Quintenboy14]

whit the links you provided i indeed found out it didnt have a zoom lens so i searched a bit more and also came across the lg pf1500. http/

i watch 2 hours a day on it everyday. (watch livestreams on twitch.com). then i watch some tv series on it every week like gotham, GoT, Vikings, Walking Dead. and 2 movies a week. so i use it quite a lot you can say. I am also thinking about playing some games on it. didn't do that until now because the quality of my old projector was worse then that of my monitor.
So lets say we have the BenQ, the pf1500 and your optoma hd20. which one would you choose?

Thanks for the help already

 

[Wolfshadw]

If this is going to be your primary viewing device; between television and gaming, you're probably looking at 25-30 hours a week. At the top end of that range, a 3000 hour lamp wouldn't last you two years so you should definitely go with the LG. Also, if they offer any type of multi-year lamp guarantee, I'd take it.

-Wolf sends

 

[Quintenboy14]

If this is going to be your primary viewing device; between television and gaming, you're probably looking at 25-30 hours a week. At the top end of that range, a 3000 hour lamp wouldn't last you two years so you should definitely go with the LG. Also, if they offer any type of multi-year lamp guarantee, I'd take it.

-Wolf sends

okay thank you very much for the help