Product test
Get that big screen feeling in the comfort of your own home!
by Lilian Dach
Have a look at my home cinema
18.2.2016
Translation: machine translated
When a small idea becomes almost too colourful, makes a big noise and results in a study-like spaghetti and tomato sauce diet...I'm still happy...and the neighbours will get in touch if necessary.
Of course, a 4K high-end 4D laser projector with IMAX screen diagonal and 5000 watts 9.2 surround system, all sources via gesture control to switch on and off, an app-controlled anti-zombie drawbridge that could prepare Sue Veed dishes...I'm losing the plot a bit...in any case, it would all be a bit unrealistic, especially with the budget set.
So far, a 55 Full HD TV with a pseudo surround soundbar has been the highest of feelings, nothing more...not even a popcorn machine or a tank for sharks with mounted lasers, in a extinct volcano with Aston Martin Garage in which F-Types would stand.
Someday, yes someday I would be able to put something together and set it up...someday...and then...then I will give you all...harharr.
Prerequisites
- Nice big picture (my upgrades in recent years: 27 to 42 to 55 and now at least 70 inches)
- A little dimming wouldn't be a problem, so a projector would be an option and wouldn't have to have the luminosity of 3 suns.
- 5.1 surround sound, top/bottom optional
- 8K...quite ok, 4K nice to have, but with my many 4K sources...Full-HD would be enough
- Switching of several - four to five - sources connected via HDMI
- No ceiling installation, thanks to plaster ceiling
- No "Building a big leaning tower in the middle of the living room to set up a projector that hums 30cm from my head" and tripping over the cables several times a day, pulling things down or practising self-asphyxiation....and, of course, to prevent any visitors in a tipsy state from trying to recreate Everest or organising Austin Powers tent shadow play tributes in front of the wall. Fidgeting with Dance Dance Revolution or Wii Sports would also work without any problems, without casting shadows...if that's what you want.
So the home cinema recommendation from digitec was quite good, but somehow not quite right for me:
First of all, I had to find the right products
The fact that I finally took the step and was actually able to decide in favour of a solution had to do with two circumstances, or more precisely, two products.
I had been researching short-throw projectors for a long time - no ceiling mounting, no shadows, no stumbling - but previous models were either too expensive or not designed for home cinema.
When LG presented the PF1000U at IFA, my ears pricked up. Full HD, ultra short throw, LED with 30,000 hours instead of just 3,000 hours for LCD. After some research, it was clear that this would be the projector. Although the whole Smart TV and the integrated DVB-T2 tuner is "wasted", that's not why I bought the thing.
Then there's the 100-inch screen with a grey projection surface for fixed mounting. Research on the internet has shown that a grey screen is better suited if the walls are white.
At the time when I had decided on the projector, I was lucky enough to find that digitec was running a special offer on at the time. For CHF 149, I didn't have to think twice, because various test reports showed that the system couldn't compete with high-end systems - it lacked various Dolby Digital Super Enhanced Holy Moly Truerer than true surround formats - but these also cost many times more with all the trimmings, but the quality was good and it would be perfectly adequate for my needs: A city flat in an apartment building, you don't want the neighbourhood to break out in panic and shout "the Russians are here" if I ever watch an action movie or play an action game.
The next step was to supply the projector with image and the Z906 with sound.
The sources would consist of my home gaming PC, the Horizon Box and these products:
An HDMI switch with separation of audio and video was necessary. In the end, I decided in favour of the .
Now it was time to set everything up
. Due to the shape of the living room, it was clear that the front and rear speakers had to be mounted on the wall. The simple and inexpensive option is . The rest fitted quite well into my old Scandinavian TV cabinet. This was conveniently the right height to place the projector on.
One last thing was important to me: I wanted to mount the PS4 with the Darth Vader motif, which I received for Christmas, on the wall, as it didn't really stand out on the wannabe Viking table. I was looking for something as simple and inexpensive as possible. I found the solution in an Austrian tech blog in the form of an exclusive wall mount.
So now everything was ready.
Now everything was complete. And once the neighbours had survived the drilling machine's continuous operation and everything was installed, I was able to hang smugly on the sofa and switch it on. The whole thing was more than worth it. It all added up in the end and the budget was significantly exceeded, but it was worth it. And it was a nice winter evenings-at-home project.
Pimp possibilities
Just wait for me to be able to order and install body augmentations online like in Shadowrun or Deus Ex. Add a pinch of Matrix and a bit of Holodeck would be fine. As long as I don't have to reboot, jailbreak, rotate and recharge myself every day...
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