When most people think of home theatre systems, they think about a plasma or LED HDTV. But there’s another option out there that, depending on the size of your home theatre room, may be more cost-effective and offer even better viewing for family movie night: a projection system.

Here at JD Pro, we recently installed an extensive basement home theatre system in a New Jersey suburb that includes a Panasonic projector and 85-inch screen. What are the benefits to a projector and screen over a flat screen monitor?

Cost Savings
This is a biggie, because an 85-inch HDTV costs well over $10,000, while projection systems cost about one-quarter of that price. If you’re going for the biggest bang for your buck because you have a large room, projection may be the way to go.

True Picture Reproduction
Feel like you’re really at the movies. The super-sharp imagery you get with an LED TV and Blu-Ray player is simply amazing. But if you want family movie night to really feel like, well, family movie night, nothing beats the film-like quality of a projector and screen. It’s not perfect — it’s the movies! Audiophiles may equate it to the difference between CD or MP3 and vinyl.

Projection Systems May Not Be Best…

1. If you have a smaller room, big-screen movie reproduction for less money isn’t as significant, when you can get a nice 50- or 55-inch flat screen from JD Pro at a reasonable price.

2. You just don’t watch a lot of movies. If you prefer television programming and sports, and that “movie-look” isn’t important to you, a flat screen is the better value.

3. You watch TV with a lot of ambient light. If your home theatre doubles as your family room with a lot of other activities going on that create ambient light while people watch TV, you don’t need a projection system, you just need a high quality LED that permits a sharp picture from many viewing angles.