UKC

I am trying to decide whether to invest in a large (42 inch) HD plasma screen TV to show photos on or whether to go down the digital projector route. Setting aside all the other advantages/disadvantsges of each method, I have the following two questions:

(1) For a very roughly similar financial outlay, how would the picture quality compare at the same number of megapixels with the photos projected at about the same size as the TV.

(2) My laptop screen is about 1 megapixel. Obviously I can take photos at far more megapixels, but they look pretty good on the laptop (no visible pixellation). Is there any point in paying for a TV with about 2 megapixels. Indeed, with a 2 megapixel TV, would the pictures still only appear at 1 megapixel (HD TVs seem to come with either about 1 or with about 2 megapixels)

Any useful advice greatly appreciated!

In reply to Robert Durran:

It's not just quality, it's viewing distance. Both would display your laptop screen fine. Hd tvs would look better close up, but at average lounge distance, the projector would look great too. Nothing beats the impact of a projector. I've looked at my shots many times on one, great for a room full of people...like an old skool slide show. A 42 tv is just a big monitor, have never felt like viewing pics on one. Go for the projector, you won't be disappointed.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I would avoid projectors you need to drop allot of cash to get the same contrast as you can out of a reasonable priced monitor. I would go for an IPS monitor over a TV.

As long as you out put the images at the same resolution as the screen at 72 dpi you will never have a pixilation problem. Also I wouldn't measure these things in Megapixels as its a term created for marketing cameras not TVs, monitors and projectors.

TV's etc are either 720p or 1080p as they go with movie standards. Computer monitors are a little different tho.

In reply to alex:

Yes, I have just switched from taking slides to digital and have always done slide shows with a Kodak carousel projector. Any idea how much money I would need to spend on a projector (how many megapixels, how many lumens), so as not to be disappointed by the comparison with slides? I have sometimes been very disappointed with digital projection compared to slides, even at talks by well known mountaineers I have paid to see.

I had the TV in mind for showing pictures to small groups of people in my living room. Obviously a projector is needed for larger rooms

In reply to Robert Durran:

Remember when you plug your laptop into the TV, the TV will come up as a second desktop, with it's own resolution etc. therefore the laptop screen is irrelevant in making the choice, if that makes sense?

In reply to diadem:

How much/how many times more roughly?


IPS monitors do not seem to come anything like as large as I would want:
http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php

In reply to Robert Durran: My Sony TV accepts a USB stick with Jpegs on it, which can be navigated with the remote control. No idea how the quality compares with a projector, but it does look pretty good. As for question 2, if you use Photoshop or Lightroom it's easy to create Jpegs that are 1080 pixels in height to match your TV screen. You're barking up the wrong tree looking at megapixels - you need to match or create a multiple of the the TV's pixel height.

In reply to Robert Durran:

You would be looking at £3-4k.

You can get 30" IPS screens without any issue for small groups of 5 - 6 this should be big enough. There is an NEC P401 if you need to go that big. If you need to go 40+ then plasma is the next best thing.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/monitors/30inchmonitors/NEC/600028...

In reply to John2:

My camera will do 4320 x 2880. 2880 divides exactly by 720 but not by 1080, so does this mean I would be better buying a cheaper 720p TV rather than a more expensive 1080p one? The other settings my camera has do not divide extly by either 720 0or 1080.

In reply to diadem:

Well outside my budget.....

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/monitors/30inchmonitors/NEC/600028...

£1400 is still about twice my maximum budget, so it would have to be the plasma. This would also, of course, give me the bonus of an enormous telly to watch!

In reply to Robert Durran:

No idea of current costs I'm afraid. Projection in a small dark living room is a different kettle of fish to a talk though... Any ambient light kills the contrast of projectors. As long as you go for a decent one and not a PowerPoint only one, should be ok... Check the geek sites....

In reply to Robert Durran:

In that case i would just go a troll the electronics stores and look at all the plasmas you can, then just pick the one that looks the best to you. would be worth putting you own test image on each screen to help you deside.

Shops tend to use video/settings that makes the screen look better in the shop.

In reply to Robert Durran: Good question. I'd have thought the 1080 screen would still produce a better image, but this is something I've never tried. Not sure off the top of my head where to get an answer - I'll create a Jpeg 2880 pixels high tomorrow and compare it with one 2160 high and report back on here.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Quick question why a plasma and not an LED?

In reply to saggers:

I believe the contrast is much superior and blacks are better on plasma.

In reply to John2:

Thanks, but I'll be in Pembroke for the week by then!

Actually, the TV I had in mind (LG pj350), although it says "720p" on the box, turns out to actually be 768p in the spec. 2880/768 = 3.75

In reply to Robert Durran: I've just tried it - I can't really tell the difference between 2160, 2880 and 4320. They all look pretty good. But the disadvantage of the USB stick method is that it takes about 10 seconds to load each photo. It would be much better to attach the video output of your PC to the PC input of the television.

In reply to John2:

Great! Thanks!


I was planning to connect the TV to my laptop anyway, so no problem.

In reply to Robert Durran:

I'd avoid projection at all cost. You would be shocked to see the drop in colour saturation and contrast for mid to high end projected imagery compared to even a budget monitor. We have a decent projector in the office, and it still amazes me to see the drop off in quality compared to what you see on the source (laptop) monitor.

Happy shopping. Do visit the local 'Richer Sounds' store, I'd recommend that as your first port of call.

In reply to Fraser:

Yes indeed. However, I occasionally do talks for larger numbers of people for which I would need a projector. If I go for the plasma, I would either need a projector as well (expensive!) or have the faff of borrowing one.

In reply to Robert Durran:

For the talks you give though, do you need faithful reproduction of photos, or are they more text-based presentations with a few graphics? If they are the latter, you could sacrifice quality and get a budget level projector....or borrow a decent one.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Our TV (some Panasonic) has a dedicated SD Card slot, and a slide-show mode, which makes it all very easy.

Chris

In reply to Robert Durran: If £1400 is about twice your budget then you should be able to afford a 42" Plasma tv AND a 720p projector (both being approx £400) Surely this would be the ideal solution?

In reply to Robert Durran:

NOT read whole thread and NOT an expert but I bought my son a laptop recently and one of his most important criteria was it must have a HDMI slot so he could connect to the TV. I'm assuming your laptop has this? Just thought it worth mentioning.
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