Projectors

Callison on 22/09/2014 - 01:24

Ozbargain,

I'm after a projector that can be used to play MarioKart on the Wii with a small group of friends but on the big screen. I've noticed a lot of people have been discouraging to purchase cheap projectors but have scoured my local Gumtree and haven't found a projector that's appropriate for my needs at a good price point. OfficeWorks has the BenQ MX503 listed for $370 which has been the most appropriate projector that satisfies what I'm after. I’ve done some good research on it and there honestly isn’t much I could find on it, so I've looked into the previous model.

The MX501 (launched 2011), has been proved to work actually really well as demonstrated in a YouTube video and is closely related to its upgraded device the MX503.

I'm quite aware that cheap projectors don't work very well, but does Ozbargain have any suggestions or recommendations?

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • ilovepizza on 22/09/2014 - 03:57
    +3

    my benq w1070 is awesome

    • Callison on 22/09/2014 - 12:39

      It looks like an amazing projector! How long do you intend to own it for? Have you needed to replace the bulb yet?

      • ItsMeAgro on 24/09/2014 - 10:47
        +1

        These days they tech improves so fast, and bulb life is so good, that I never even look at replacement bulb prices. By the time my current one dies I'll want a better one.

  • ESEMCE on 22/09/2014 - 08:52
    +1

    Yeah, anything XGA or better will be fine.
    Ideally go for a WXGA (widescreen rather than Square)

    • Callison on 22/09/2014 - 12:38

      16:10, 16:9 > 4:3

  • ItsMeAgro on 22/09/2014 - 10:41
    +1

    Wii? Not WiiU?

    Wii is 480p (640x480) so any new projector will have enough resolution.

    But if you're spending $400 anyway, why not spend $100-$400 more and get one with a native resolution high enough to watch and play HD content?

    Low native resolution is the main reason I can think of that we won't recommend cheap name-brand projectors (like your MX503 which is only 1024x768, not even 720p).

    But the ones we usually warn about are cheap no-name Chinese projectors such as you can find on ebay. Some of these have really rubbish colour and brightness.

    Are you really never going to do anything with it but play Mario Kart on the Wii? Never watch an HD movie or upgrade to a Wii U or other console or PC?

    Your MX503 is a few hundred backs away from a "proper" projector like the W1070 which does 1080p and 3D.

    On the other hand it's brighter and better image quality and a couple of hundred bucks more than a crappy no-namer.

    If you really only want to play this one game with it, forever, at night, save your money and get the crappy ebay one. If you might want HD at some point, spend the extra and get something like the W1070.

    PS: projectorcentral.com is your friend.

    • Callison on 22/09/2014 - 12:35

      Thanks for the response!

      Initially, the projector would be used to host a MarioKart tournament with 10 people or so. Anything after that is for general use. I'd love to use it also for my $399 PS4 or my $179 WiiU at their native resolutions or even down-scaled to 720p.

      why not spend $100-$400 more

      As stated previously, I'm on a budget (and this is OzBargain). However, I have recently looked into 16:9 or 16:10 WXGA projectors and the cheapest I could find was $749 for the EPSON EB-W18 which suggests I may as well get the next model up, the BENQ W1070 and prevent further upgrades in the future.

      It looks like I'll have to save a little more in the upcoming month. Thanks for the suggestion though, it's appreciated!

  • ItsMeAgro on 22/09/2014 - 10:53
    +1

    To give you an idea, my BenQ MW516 has fantastic colour and image quality, 1280x720 native resolution (720p) and was only $450 at Officeworks (last year, clearance, but there should be something similar now).

    • Callison on 22/09/2014 - 12:36

      What a nice purchase! Unfortunately there's only expensive WXGA projectors at the moment.

      • ItsMeAgro on 23/09/2014 - 12:30
        +1

        Have you check every single projector they have? I think mine was misplaced in the wrong category on the officeworks website or something, from memory.

        It's marketed as an "education" projector too, not "home theatre" but just happened to have home-theatre quality colour and resolution (1280x800 actually, not 1280x720 as I mistakenly wrote above, but that doesn't matter, it still does 720p content with perfect one-pixel-per-dot clarity).

        As usual, find a cheap vendor on StaticIce and get Officeworks to pricematch.

        Some deals just searching wxga projector on SI:

        http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=wxga+projec…

        • Callison on 23/09/2014 - 18:02

          Wow, that's for that! I browsed my local and found this on clearance for $399 - although not advertised on their website. It looks similar to your model; how's using it for computing, if you do that?

        • ESEMCE on 23/09/2014 - 21:56
          +2

          @Callison: ~Definitely worth pluggin it into Projector Centrals Projector Calculator Pro to make sure the screen size, brightness etc will be suitable for where you plan to put the PJ.

        • ItsMeAgro on 24/09/2014 - 10:43
          +1

          @Callison:

          That looks like an excellent deal, do check reviews on projectorcentral and Amazon, but don't hesitate too long (you should be able to return it unopened with receipt very easily if you change your mind).

          I mostly watch movies/youtube/TV and PC game on mine, 1280x800 is a tad restrictive for programming and such, but it works.

        • Callison on 24/09/2014 - 13:23

          @mgowen: It has no HDMI unfortunately - I'll have to continue looking for a bargain projector or continue saving for the W1070.

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