Yet another "under £500" advice thread Epson TW650, Optoma 143 etc

indecisivepbuyer

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I'm looking for an HD projector to sit on a shelf about 2m and project film and tv onto a white wall 3 away to get an image of 100" or so. I'd like to spend £400-500.

I've done a bit of reading around but can't make up my mind so I am hoping someone else will do it for me and save me the regret and self loathing.

I'm not interested in 3D. Contrast and brightness are important (not sure which is more so though) because the room is never in full darkness and I'd like to watch during the day from time to time. My intention is to plug in an apple tv or fire stick and play audio through bluetooth connected speakers.

I've seen there's a lot of helpful advice on looking at older models from Sony or JVC but these still seem a little out of my price range. Plus, I have limited space where I plan to place it so the depth needs to be 30cm or under ideally. Perhaps there's other better second hand options out there (?) but failing that I'm looking at what's available new with a guarantee from richer sounds and alike.

Volume of the projector is very important to me as it will sit above me as i watch.

I'm looking at Optoma 143x or 128x, ben q 1050 with richer sounds. Optoma seems to offer much higher contrast so seems a better option.

John lewis have an epson tw650 back in stock at 475. I see this model received quite a lot of praise in various places but some prefer DLPs in the price range to the 3LCD. Also, it seems to have varied in price pretty wildly so not sure if i'd be snapping up a bargain or paying way too much.

Any advice appreciated!
 
Hi,
I'm facing the exact same dilemma. Please leave a word about what was your choice (and if you are happy with it). I'm leaning towards the Optom 143x and plan to buy it untill the end of the month, but I might change my mind until then (or wait for the black friday).
 
I am also in the exact same position! Looking at the 143
 
I’ve been happy with the TW650, was purchased mainly due to constraints with throw distance but has performed well for almost 2 years now.
Used for both films and gaming
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second hand jvc x30, sony hw40es or panasonic ae8000
 
sorry for the delayed response to those who are interested. I got the 143 from richer sounds in the end and it does a great job for my purposes (with the little AV knowledge i have).

I have it run it eco mode at night, but definitely not pitch black, and I get a lovely picture on a white wall and the fan is very quiet (though this depends on the "mode" its in, i am using "reference" not "cinema" which runs louder)

during the day i haven't used it much. In normal mode it's bright enough during the day with the curtains open for a reasonably good viewing but its a bit too loud of me, at least where it is placed.

there are a few things i am figuring out still. I have in on a shelf just above the sofa and the projectors on table top mode which leaves the projected image a bit high on the wall for me. I might well flip it and mount it on the ceiling when i've a chance.

I have a chromecast (3rd gen) plugged into the back which is working well but doesn't connect to my bluetooth receiver and amp which is annoying for the sound but thats not the projectors fault! i run a wire to a smaller battery powered speaker which does the job for now and is better then the projectors speaker but I might switch to a firestick, apple tv or wire up the speakers in the future to solve this problem.
 

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