Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

TV or Projector?

Sep 26, 2005 1:16AM PDT

There seem to be some terrific projectors available. If I could get a projector with tuner, or a separate tuner, why buy an actual "television"? It seems like not much money can get you a bright, vivid picture of practically any size you like. And so long as the 1080i resolution is "real" rather than compressed through 800x600, what is the difference?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Lamp Life
Sep 26, 2005 3:29AM PDT

The life & cost of a projector lamp is one reason to use a television instead. Lamps usually last 2000 hours and cost $200-$400. While a television can last decades without any replacements or repairs.

According to projectorcentral.com, 'real' 1080p projectors cost $20,000 or more. All other projectors lower the quality of 1080i to fit their native resolution.

So when you watch a 1920x1080 broadcast on a 800x600 projector, it isn't 'real' full resolution 1080i HDTV.

If you get a 1280x720 projector, then you can watch 'real' 720p HDTV, but 1080i still needs to compressed. 720p projectors cost about $3,000.

I have seen projectors with built in dvd players, but not tv tuners.