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We gave up on TV completely. We bought a projector and painted a wall white, plugged it into a spare old laptop, and watch everything through that. Works great.

We gave up on TV completely. We bought a projector and painted a wall white, plugged it into a spare old laptop, and watch everything through that. Works great. Bonus: the projector plays on the wall behind our main gaming desk, while the laptop sits between our gaming monitors. So if the wife is watching a show, she can turn her chair to the projector wall and watch the big screen, while I can fiddle around on my desktop and see the laptop screen version of it, too.

gruez 2y ago
Why? Projectors generally have worse picture quality (ie. brightness and contrast). Smart TVs might be privacy nightmares, but thankfully they can still be avoided by plugging in hdmi/displayport directly. The only real advantage is that you can get a bigger screen for a given cost.
- vel0city 2y ago
  Brightness and contrast isn't too bad when you're in a dark nerd cave. Definitely no comparison to an active display in a well lit room though.
- marcus_holmes 2y ago
  I don't find any difference in how much I enjoy a movie/show from the picture quality, down to a certain limit. The projector is above that limit.
- xkr 2y ago
  Projector allows you not to have a giant black rectangle in the living room
- prmoustache 2y ago
  Worse picture quality but much better immersion. I am also using a video projector and the fact the picture is taking one entire wall makes a difference regardless of the actual resolution. Picture quality doesn't matter a lot when you are watching a movie from the preHD/4K era anyway. It is even better as you are less subject to aliasing. I wouldn't trade immersion for resolution. Also one doesn't feel a lack of picture quality when not used to it. I don't own a 4K screen. So I don't miss 4K quality and watch movies with the utmost quality I know. Ignorance can be bliss. Added bonus is you don't have a huge black rectangle in your living room when it is turned off, only a tiny device (that can easily be hidden). Having said that I heard there are pretty decent laser 4K video projector these days with HDR support.
canpan 2y ago
Same here. I don't watch TV. I just need a big screen to watch movies on the weekend. For watching, things like YT a cheap tablet is enough. The screen is hidden in the ceiling in the middle of the room. The sofa is at the wall. This makes the living room feel incredibly big. Before the sofa was unwieldy in the center. Highly recommend.
tarsinge 2y ago
Here in France people my age (millennials) don't have a TV. People watch movies and series on their laptop, and those who are more into it have a video projector for home cinema. I'm always surprised to read that a TV in the living room is still a thing for non-older generations.

gruez 2y ago

Why? Projectors generally have worse picture quality (ie. brightness and contrast). Smart TVs might be privacy nightmares, but thankfully they can still be avoided by plugging in hdmi/displayport directly. The only real advantage is that you can get a bigger screen for a given cost.

vel0city 2y ago
Brightness and contrast isn't too bad when you're in a dark nerd cave. Definitely no comparison to an active display in a well lit room though.
marcus_holmes 2y ago
I don't find any difference in how much I enjoy a movie/show from the picture quality, down to a certain limit. The projector is above that limit.
xkr 2y ago
Projector allows you not to have a giant black rectangle in the living room
prmoustache 2y ago
Worse picture quality but much better immersion. I am also using a video projector and the fact the picture is taking one entire wall makes a difference regardless of the actual resolution. Picture quality doesn't matter a lot when you are watching a movie from the preHD/4K era anyway. It is even better as you are less subject to aliasing. I wouldn't trade immersion for resolution. Also one doesn't feel a lack of picture quality when not used to it. I don't own a 4K screen. So I don't miss 4K quality and watch movies with the utmost quality I know. Ignorance can be bliss. Added bonus is you don't have a huge black rectangle in your living room when it is turned off, only a tiny device (that can easily be hidden). Having said that I heard there are pretty decent laser 4K video projector these days with HDR support.

canpan 2y ago

Same here. I don't watch TV. I just need a big screen to watch movies on the weekend. For watching, things like YT a cheap tablet is enough. The screen is hidden in the ceiling in the middle of the room. The sofa is at the wall. This makes the living room feel incredibly big. Before the sofa was unwieldy in the center. Highly recommend.

tarsinge 2y ago

Here in France people my age (millennials) don't have a TV. People watch movies and series on their laptop, and those who are more into it have a video projector for home cinema. I'm always surprised to read that a TV in the living room is still a thing for non-older generations.