Projector Vs. TV: Which Is Best For Home?

Considering the extreme cost of 60-inch-plus televisions, many consumers are turning to more affordable projectors to get very large displays at home.

Projectors come in variety of shapes, sizes, and price levels. Budget models can be had for a few hundred dollars, but high-end HDTV models can cost close to 10 grand. I haven't reviewed any projectors in the last couple of years, so you'll have to check the reviews if you want to pick a top model.

But let's get to the heart of your question: The pros and cons of going with a projector.

Let's start with the pros: Projectors are small, portable, and easy to move around. Want to have an impromptu film festival in your backyard? It's easy with a projector: Just throw the image up on the wall of your house. There's really no limit on how big the image can get, either: A good projector can create an image far larger than the biggest of TVs. As noted, projectors are also cheaper than big TVs in most cases.

Unfortunately, that's about it for the pros, and this big list of cons is why you probably know absolutely no one that has a projector at home instead of a TV. First, you won't probably be hooking your DVD player and Xbox up to a projector directly. That's because few projectors have speakers in them, and even if they do, you probably don't want your sound coming out of two tinny speakers embedded in a projector mounted to the ceiling. You'll need to run all your A/V through a receiver, and hook up speakers separately if you don't already do this. Most projectors also only have one set of video inputs (at the high-end, one set each of RCA jacks, S-Video, composite video, and a VGA or DVI port for a computer). So you can only hook up one thing at a time, unlike most TVs, which can have a dozen inputs. Again, a receiver solves this problem, but that adds to the price.

Next, there's noise. Projector bulbs get hot and they require fans to keep from melting the device. The whirring of the fan can be soft or it can be oppressively loud. Those bulbs also burn out after a thousand hours or so. That's less than a year based on typical usage, and replacement bulbs can easily top $400 each.

Then there's the issue of where you're going to put this projector. You need a clear line of sight between the projector and where the image will be, and that's easier said than done. Will you display on a wall, where any imperfection will mar the image? Buy an expensive screen to mount on the ceiling? Even running cables from one part of the room to another can be a major headache.

Still, think you can get around this issue and want an image the size of the side of barn? Projector's your best bet.