Garry tested the projector in the village hall on a relatively bright day. He projected the image straight onto the hall’s back wall and the quality was excellent. The image size was almost 150" and, even when getting up very close to the projected image, the image was perfect.
Garry said: “I know the HD141X is intended as a home projector, but I went to a film club where they had the more expensive projector and I'd be hard pressed to tell a difference in picture quality and brightness between that one and mine.”
Polgooth Film Club’s first screening took place on 14 May with the Oscar-winning film The Theory of Everything.
Garry’s original intention was to use the projector for the film club with occasional use at home. But the picture quality impressed him so much that he has set this up to use regularly at home to play games and watch films.
Garry said: “I connected all devices into an AV receiver which feeds the projector. It works a treat - just as well as my TV. I've gone to the extent of connecting my PC to the other HDMI input, so I can use the projector as an additional monitor to show films and TV shows easily from my computer.
“All in all this is a great, affordable projector. If room permits, people should definitely go for a projector rather than a TV and this is a good one to go for.”
Garry said: “The first film evening was a great success. Forty seven people attended and thoroughly enjoyed the film. All were impressed with the set-up.”
The Polgooth Film Club was made possible by the C Fylm scheme. This local project helps local communities to set up film clubs by providing an umbrella licence for all of its film clubs across Cornwall. This means groups only pay £20 each time they want to show a film, instead of £100+. It is mainly funded through annual membership, with members of the Polgooth film club being able to attend others in the county as well.
The next film club evening will be held on 11 June and then the first Thursday of every month from July onwards. It will also look to hold occasional special screenings, including films targeted at younger people in the village and themed nights.
Garry added: “I intend to show all sorts of films, but mainly critically acclaimed, award winning films that may have been missed by the general cinema goer on first release. I would also like to show cult films as well as bigger blockbusters.
“As time goes on I will get an idea from regular audience members about what they want to see, which might include more independent or foreign language releases that were not shown in the local cinemas. There has already been a suggestion of holding sing-along movie nights.
“The film club gives people the opportunity to watch these more critically acclaimed films with others, on the big screen, at an affordable price, within their community.”
Local people can look to see the upcoming films on the village website www.polgooth.weebly.com
Born and bred in Cornwall, Garry is a maths lecturer at a nearby college. Film is one of Garry’s main interests. He said: “I find it difficult to watch lots of films nowadays, with so much good television being produced. The film club will give me a good excuse to find the time once a month to sit down and watch a new film.”