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Topic: Help need a projector that won’t give me crazy visuals!
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Joined: Jul 15, 2022
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Hi All!
I know ZERO about projectors and I would like to get a cheap one to use outside for outdoor movie nights with friends.
However I have very sensitive eyes and the projectors I’ve seen used on other peoples homes I can’t even watch because they create this weird visual effect that is hard to describe:
Basically it’s like if I’m looking straight at the screen it’s ok but if my eyes move at all from right to left or basically if they move at all (which eyeballs tend to do!) I get this crazy strobe/rainbow/prism in my visual field just briefly. But it happens every time I move my eyes and it’s enough to be super distracting and I also worry it might rigger a migraine (since I’m prone to them!)
Anywway, long story short but does anyone know what causes this effect and if there is a cheap project for out there that maybe uses a different type of technology that would not cause this when watching??
Thank so so much in advance!!!
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Joined: Mar 28, 2005
Posts: 13,330
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What you are seeing is called the rainbow effect (RBE).

RBE is caused when using single chip DLP projectors as it shows the colors sequentially. Red, then green, then blue. It does it hundreds of times a second and most people aren't that sensitive to it.

The solution is to avoid DLP projectors and instead get a LCD projector. Epson makes some very solid entry level LCD projectors that show all 3 colors at once, so you don't get any chance for RBE like you do with DLP projectors.

Not sure what your budget is, but the Epson 2250 is a solid entry level model, and the 3800 is a fair bit brighter and offers WAY MORE lens flexibility including more zoom range and lens shift.

https://epson.com/Clearance-Center/Home-Entertainment/c/cc301#scrollTgt_onRefresh

The 880 is their most entry level home theater model with 1080p resolution. It has no zoom on the lens at all, and is very inexpensive overall at about $600.

https://epson.com/For-Home/Projectors/c/h3

There are a lot of real garbage projectors on Amazon which I would recommend be avoided. They cost less and are, in every way, inferior to what you get from a tier 1 manufacturer.

I created a search list, and you can see that all the 1920x1080 projectors on the market, under $2,000, using LCD, all are Epson models, some use a laser light source instead of a bulb...
https://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&exp1=1&r=13&br=2500&br=10000&c=&w=&db=&ar=Wide+%2816%3A9-10%29&zr=&wt=<g=&ll=&wr=&dt=1.0.0&mfg=&p=300&p=2000&t=&pjl=0&pjw=0&pjh=0&td=&is=&i=d&tr=&tr2=&exp5=1&oop=1&sort=%24&sz=15#list
[Edited by AV_Integrated on Jul 18, 2022 at 3:50 AM]
AV Integrated - Theater, whole house audio, and technology consultation during the build and installation process in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.