I love the current projector screen that I have, but it isn’t pretty looking. Since I am in an apartment that doesn’t allow me to attach things to the walls, I am using an outdoor setup to use it. It looks terrible and takes up a fair bit of space. I found a motorized projector screen for about $1300 and I am strongly inclined to buy it so it looks nicer in my office.
There is also a chance that it will be a better image since the screen is black instead of the gray screen that I have now. I don’t regret getting this entry level projector/screen a year ago and now I have experienced this I am ready to upgrade. I know what is important to me in a projector/screen and this next purchase will last me many years. So I want to make sure I do it correctly.
The screen is slightly smaller. It turns out that while a 120 inch screen is really awe inspiring, for the space and distance I am in, it overwhelms the space. The motorized system that I found is an 84 inch system which is still plenty for me. This outdoor screen really doesn’t work well indoors and dominates my living room. The new system would appropriately scale the projector screen size.
Do I feel bad for going down in size? Not at all. For a larger space the screen would be fine. Bigger is not always better. In fact I have in the last few years come to appreciate things that are smaller. I like not feeling owned by the things that I own, and downsizing has been incredibly wonderful in my life.The last time I moved I put everything in the SUV and went to my new apartment. That is the kind of life I want to live. I can’t do that with this screen. I had to assemble it and it is just too much.
I lived with it because I didn’t have the money for anything else. I am not suffering. Oh whoa is me, and the pains of a 120 inch projector screen. Yeah if that isn’t a first world problem I don’t know what is. It is just that this newer unit is more elegant and manageable, and from what I can tell will be an upgrade in image quality as well.
Of course I have also been looking at projectors and the one that I would like is about 5k. I have a hard time justifying that, so the step below that is $3500. Still the increase in quality would be noticeable and would help me in meetings and with that projector I would be able to use it full time instead of the part time I do now. Still weighing my options. Its hard to justify spending $5k even if it would improve the quality of my life. Having more money saved always feels safer than spending.
I need to think more about these purchases.