Prices of Very Large Flat TVs are Falling Fast

[EJ3]

Problem with projectors is the screen must, by definition, reflect light. Blacks cant be any blacker than the screen is with the projector off, in the ambient light conditions.

So for good image quality they need to be watched in close to total darkness.

I have black out curtains, as my (& my wife) are both nocturnal. I have had complaints from visitors (my mother, in particular [& she has good night vision]) that our home is "cave-like" in it's usual lack of lighting.
There are small lights at low outlets in a similar fashion to the down near your ankles movie theater lights that come on when they sense motion.
Since that is our normal way of life (we typically go to bed after sun-up and do not go outside before 4:00 PM [unless we have some sort of appointment]).
So, for us, that is not an issue, once we get back into a big enough space to do that.

 

[Martin]

Ten years ago or so I sold a 65" Panasonic plasma and bought a Panasonic projector and a 135" 2.35:1 ALR screen setup for constant height. It was wonderful for watching movies at night but just acceptable for daytime television watching. I loved the immersion it provided. Unfortunately, projectors and screens just do not work well for every day use in a typical suburban family room. I sold the projector and bought my 85" LCD TV. We turned the room 90° to sit a little closer and I love it. Someday I may replace it with a 98-100" TV but really have no burning desire to do so. I would never go back to a projector unless I had a light controlled dedicated theater room. Just my 2¢.

Martin

 

[Esprit]

would never go back to a projector unless I had a light controlled dedicated theater room. Just my 2¢.

Correct, everyone has their own needs.
Good afternoon to you

 

[Vacceo]

Ten years ago or so I sold a 65" Panasonic plasma and bought a Panasonic projector and a 135" 2.35:1 ALR screen setup for constant height. It was wonderful for watching movies at night but just acceptable for daytime television watching. I loved the immersion it provided. Unfortunately, projectors and screens just do not work well for every day use in a typical suburban family room. I sold the projector and bought my 85" LCD TV. We turned the room 90° to sit a little closer and I love it. Someday I may replace it with a 98-100" TV but really have no burning desire to do so. I would never go back to a projector unless I had a light controlled dedicated theater room. Just my 2¢.

Martin

For gaming, there is not even a doubt. Even though modern projectors have improved a lot in input lag and contrast, they are still quite far behind OLED and LCD.

 

[Esprit]

You are absolutely right, there are a few projectors specifically for gaming:

BenQ X3100i LED Gaming Projector Review

The BenQ X3100i is an update to the BenQ X3000i gaming projector released in 2022. It keeps the great gaming performance of its predecessor while upping the light output and adding a few game-centric features.

www.projectorcentral.com

 

[Vacceo]

You are absolutely right, there are a few projectors specifically for gaming:

BenQ X3100i LED Gaming Projector Review

The BenQ X3100i is an update to the BenQ X3000i gaming projector released in 2022. It keeps the great gaming performance of its predecessor while upping the light output and adding a few game-centric features.

www.projectorcentral.com

No 4K at 120hz. That, right there, is a feature that any basic OLED will give you. I´m not saying it´s a bad divice, it just reinforces that projectors for gaming are still behind.

 

[Esprit]

I confirmed your post.
Good evening to you

 

[Vacceo]

The combo of short throw, low imput lag, 4K with 120hz or more and a light-rejecting screen could be quite outstanding. We´re not there yet, but I think we will.

 

[Sal1950]

once you see a $55,000 MIP 1200 nit 105" xdr the believability of the colors is at another level.

$55,000, is that all? I'll take 2

 

[napfkuchen]

No 4K at 120hz. That, right there, is a feature that any basic OLED will give you. I´m not saying it´s a bad divice, it just reinforces that projectors for gaming are still behind.

Here 83" OLED TVs are now available for 2.500-3.000 Euro. If screen size matters to you, a 100"+ project-setup is still the way to go. But if you reduce the viewing distance (for me approx. 2m / 8 ft) that's not so much a problem. Advantages of the OLED tv: no noise, no projector screen necessary, and most of all you cannot unsee the contrast of OLED. In my opinion this leaves projectors to the homecinema enthusiast.

 

[Vacceo]

Here 83" OLED TVs are now available for 2.500-3.000 Euro. If screen size matters to you, a 100"+ project-setup is still the way to go. But if you reduce the viewing distance (for me approx. 2m / 8 ft) that's not so much a problem. Advantages of the OLED tv: no noise, no projector screen necessary, and most of all you cannot unsee the contrast of OLED. In my opinion this leaves projectors to the homecinema enthusiast.

It is also important to consider that there is an arms race on OLED panels towards more and more nits each year. Brightness has been the traditional weak spot of OLED, but with each passing year (Spocko is the person to ask in this forum), the shortcoming is less so.

 

[napfkuchen]

It is also important to consider that there is an arms race on OLED panels towards more and more nits each year. Brightness has been the traditional weak spot of OLED, but with each passing year (Spocko is the person to ask in this forum), the shortcoming is less so.

My 3 year old tv has a peak brightness of 900 nits and I only use it in the evening and/or when the shutters are lowered. Especially the dolby vision demos are really bright, but maybe after comparing to the current generation my opinion would change. But for now I am very satisfied with it, let's see in 3-5 years... Ambilight is then removed from the must-have list because, for me, it is not as impressive as expected given the short viewing distance and severely limits the selection of available TVs.

 

[Vacceo]

My 3 year old tv has a peak brightness of 900 nits and I only use it in the evening and/or when the shutters are lowered. Especially the dolby vision demos are really bright, but maybe after comparing to the current generation my opinion would change. But for now I am very satisfied with it, let's see in 3-5 years... Ambilight is then removed from the must-have list because, for me, it is not as impressive as expected given the short viewing distance and severely limits the selection of available TVs.

I have a C2 at home, so my guess is that the performance of yours is quite similar. I find it quite adequate for the use, but it is also true that if you play games, brighter panels "look" better. In a few years, this situation will not be a connandrum.

 

[mike7877]

This is good news... My 6 year old OLED now has just under 40,000 hours of power-on time. It's lasted me longer than I thought it would!
The panel has almost no wear, too. Where the cable networks put their logo in the bottom right, if I do a 1/3/5% grey slide, you can see a bit of wear there, but only grey - no colours show wear, and it's not visible at all on images.
The average peak brightness the TV has been set to 250 nits for SDR and maximum/750-800 nits for HDR. 97+% of content displayed has been SDR, about a third of that has probably been streaming services, a couple thousand have been me on the computer doing various things including some FPS, and the rest has been "cable TV". While TV shows and movies you typically get on netflix and prime aren't exceptionally bright, all of the cable TV commercials are seriously intrusive... If you're not ready for it, after a dark scene, the 100% red background that comes on out of nowhere can cause eye pain when you're about to fall asleep. News and documentary type stuff is always almost as bright as the commercials.

At this point I'm not concerned with the panel being the reason I need to get a new TV - it's probably going to be a board or something that goes. Maybe the power supply...

If I get bored over the summer at any point I'll remove the rear cover and inspect the bulk electrolytics - especially on the input side. See what rating caps they decided to use - hopefully some 8,000 hour 105C'ers. Probably not lol, but if so, this TV might last until 8k ACTUALLY becomes a thing (remember the hype guys? that was so bad! I almost bought into it and delayed my A8G purchase in '19

 

[Sokel]

Don't want to waste a new thread so I'll ask here:

What's the biggest size screen (doesn't matter TV or proj screen) one can use for about 3-4 meters viewing distance?

 

[Robbo99999]

Don't want to waste a new thread so I'll ask here:

What's the biggest size screen (doesn't matter TV or proj screen) one can use for about 3-4 meters viewing distance?

I found this that might help:

https://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/televisions-learn/televisions/tv-size-to-distance-calculator-how-to-find-the-perfect-size-tv.html

Ignore the highlighted bit of the text, that was Google search that did that, I'm not highlighting any of the information.

For a 4K TV and with 10ft being 3m, then your optimal TV size would be 80" or bigger, likely bigger. I don't know the max size of TV's nowadays.


EDIT: and from Samsung here are their recommendations, you multiply the TV size by 1.2 to get the ideal viewing distance:

How to Measure & Find the Perfect TV Size | Samsung UK

Wondering what to look for when buying a TV? Read more to learn how to measure a TV screen and how to choose the perfect TV size for your space.

www.samsung.com

So for your 3.5m viewing distance then you'd want a 114" TV for optimal immersion for that 40 degree angle immersion they talk about, but 98" is ideal for 3m as you can see in the table, still don't know the maximum size TV's available, but sounds like you'd want up to 114" TV

 

[Sal1950]

Don't want to waste a new thread so I'll ask here:

What's the biggest size screen (doesn't matter TV or proj screen) one can use for about 3-4 meters viewing distance?

So for your 3.5m viewing distance then you'd want a 114" TV for optimal immersion for that 40 degree angle immersion they talk about, but 98" is ideal for 3m as you can see in the table, still don't know the maximum size TV's available, but sounds like you'd want up to 114" TV

Good pic of provided evidence @Robbo99999 , there are older that don't take the modern immersion thinking into consideration.
That 40 degree viewing angle is a great one for movie/theater type viewing. I'm currently using a 85" Samsung QLED at around 11' and I
love it but will definitely consider a 98" when the time comes for replacement now that costs have fallen in the screen size.

 

[Oddball]

As far as TVs in this size range there are 98”, 110” and 115” mini LEDs. There are some micro LEDs in larger sizes but start at $30k plus.

It’s a bit of a mess with options so would be good to know price range and expectations. Generally speaking, last years TCL and Hisense mini LEDs models will be the best value although in some sizes 2025 models will be better sets. There might be some older 97” G2 LG OLEDs for around $12 or so K.

 

[Sal1950]

last years TCL and Hisense mini LEDs models will be the best value

Not sure I'd be comfortable buying those low end Chinese manufacturers sets. Not much of a value if they blow up three weeks after the warranty runs out. Think I'd stick with Samsung or Sony for now, they're only a few buck more, tech level to tech level. JMHO

 

[Oddball]

Times are changing, so one might as well. I am 18 months into my first TCL- 98x955 - and as you noted was exclusively the Sony/Samsung club member. Still own a Sony OLED and bunch of Samsung FALDs.

Zero issues with TCL thus far. Just works like a Sony or Samsung only better and cheaper on performance basis. My choice was driven not really by value but performance. Sony and Samsung 98" offerings in 2024 were quite pitiful compared to TCL or Hisense. Old tech for high price. So I just took $8k gamble and so far it paid off.

Samsung came back this year with refreshed models, but not really interested in Samsung any more as DV is the prevailing format nowadays and I think it is petty and silly that they save few cents by not having DV support. So they can enjoy their savings, and I will enjoy DV elsewhere. Sony is preparing for ground-breaking 98" model next year (which seems to be based on 2025 TCL panels), which I am sure will be good. I can't see them selling it for less than $15K which would include the usual Sony tax. They still have nothing new in the large display class this year.

TCL and Hisense will have newer panels next year, as every year, and will probably go around $10-ish K for the 98" flagships. By that time, TCL's 2025 98" flagship (with same/similar panel as Sony) will be likely half the price of 2026 98" Sony that will likely be better, but definitively not twice as good.

EDIT: "low end Chinese manufacturers" - was probably a typo as should read "high end"