Now, I presume that you already have a TV which may be functional or broken and with your progress in life, you have decided to upgrade it. Our attempt to explore the option of projector applies almost equally even if you are planning to buy your first TV. Major consideration that comes into play for up-gradation is the screen size. You have 28/32/40 inch screen sized TV and now you are planning to buy 55 inch or above. At this size, obviously you are looking at a SMART TV.
Before we proceed, please consider the following points deliberately and ponder upon yourself:-
1. Where is your present TV placed..? Drawing room..?? Bedroom..?? Or a TV Room...??
2. What do you mean by SMART TV and what are the SMART features that you are looking for...??
3. What are the SMART features that the TV is bringing with it and would you use all of it...??
4. Do you already have a Fire Stick/Prime/Netflix/Zee/Hotstar subscription..?? If not, are you planning to buy...??
5. How much time do you watch, let us say, in a da...??
6. What do you watch…?? Movies, NEWS Broadcast, SOAP serials, etc..,. Obviously we are likely to watch everything at some point, what is that you are looking for the most…?? Movies or TV broadcast in general..??
7. How frequently you invite people to watch a movie/match etc.., with you at your place….??
8. Do you own any gaming console or planning to buy...??
9. Do you have TV watching kids at home...??
Now let us get started...!! I have observed that at most of our houses, the TV forms part of the drawing room. Obviously, it is a personal choice, but reconsider this aspect....you are watching a movie and a neighbor or a friend of your sibling/mom/dad walks in... what happens to the movie…?? Also, imagine a 4 feet x 2.5 feet blank screen (physical size of a 55 inch TV) occupying your drawing room... ;P
While the latest SMART TV packs an endless list of smartness, you actually don’t use much of those stuff. Practically you need your TV to be WiFi enabled, Multiple Display & Sound modes, audio output (3.5mm & Bluetooth), multiple input options (minimum two HDMI in), connectivity to external device like mobiles/Laptops and capability to handle Apps. The TV manufacturers will give a list of so many SMART features which you may never even need. One of the feature that appears in almost all the lists of Top Must-have-features for SMART TV in the review websites is Music Streaming. Music Streaming by TV...??? Duhhhh....
Just imagine....you have a room set with a projector in one side, the opposite wall comes live and watching a movie with your friends on a 126 inch size image....Which is more fun, a Projector or TV...??
Let us agree that most of us are past our prime to watch TV serials and NEWS Broadcasts in TV... We are mostly glued to TVs for Movies and Sports. The quantum of time that we actually watch TVs has reduced considerably because of the mobile phones...
Yeah, the clarity is important aspect that the TV will win over in argument between the TV and Projector, as the cost of Projector giving that much clarity will be at least five times. But for a moment, a take a breath and visualize watching 126 inch screen with lower clarity, connected to good speakers against watching the same in 55 inch with greater clarity…choice is yours....
The projector doesn’t need space as it can be mounted in one unused corner/roof of the house and a plain wall can be used as screen. With the short-throw projectors with high lumens you don’t need big room or a dark room to see the movie. Obviously the image is a reflection and hence the impact on eyes considerably lower. Have a gaming console, try it with Projector...mind blowing.
Initial cost of the projectors that are available today are not very high as it used to be and the running cost is very low. Life, yes depends on the time you utilise it and out of my personal experience, wherein have been watching around two to three movies a week and frequent Kinect gaming for last seven years, I have not noticed any drop in performance.
When you called a couple a friends for movie over lunch, put it in any room, draw the curtains, connect your speakers for enhanced effects and enjoy. Have called friends for dinner..?? Shift the projector to garden or porch or backyard, connect your gaming console and have fun...or just watch that high volatage sports event you have been waiting for... or just a watch an horror movie lying on grass.... Your kid would love to watch huge sized Peppa Pig or Grizzy and The Lemmings and will keenly bring friends to show off the immersive gaming....
I have kept this post purposefully in an emotional point of view about utilizing a Projector instead of TV…Will do one more post bringing more head-on comparison between the both...