Front Projection TVs

A front-projection TV is a two-piece system: the projector and the screen. Until a few years ago, home theater front projectors were heavy, expensive CRT-based units that required professional installation and maintenance. But all that's changed with today's digital projectors that use LCD or DLP technology. These projectors are compact and lightweight enough to be considered portable. They're a snap to set up and use, and best of all, they're much more affordable than CRT projectors. In fact, videophiles used to ask, "Can I afford a front projector?" These days, if you want to enjoy a big, high-impact image in your home, the question is, can you afford not to at least consider a projector?

You can place a digital projector on a coffee table or out of view on a bookcase, or you can mount it to the ceiling (we have custom mounts). Projector screens come in a variety of sizes, and can be free-standing, wall-mounted, or retractable (manual or motorized). Displaying images on a wall can look OK, but a screen delivers a smoother, more consistent image, and helps any projector perform at its best.

How does this new breed of front projector create such big, beautiful images? Easy — that's their one and only function. Since the image is projected onto a separate screen, everything inside a projector's compact case is dedicated to creating the sharpest, most realistic picture possible. A projector has many fewer parts than a typical TV, and each part is of the highest quality. In a projector you will find a high-resolution imager (DLP chip or LCD panels), an ultra-high-intensity lamp, superb scaling and de-interlacing circuitry, top-grade optics, and a wide selection of video inputs. What you won't find is a built-in screen, or a bulky cabinet, or stereo speakers. Also, a front projector has no built-in TV tuner of any kind, but it will display signals from an HDTV tuner, satellite receiver, cable box, or your VCR's TV tuner.

With the avalanche of terrific DVD material available, plus the expanding amount and availability of HDTV, now is the perfect time to raise your home theater to the next level.