Ya know I keep looking at displays, especially 70", and Im about to the point its projector time. My living room is light controlled anyways, we usually have one small 40w lamp on at night and watch movies in the dark. Daytime is not much brighter.
I wanted some input when ya'll get some time:
- My living room ceiling is odd shaped and very high, so Id put the projector in the wall behind us, with a shelf. Our chairs back up to that wall, but I think we could just put it above us.
- Its about 12-13' to the wall where the screen would be, but Im not sure how much leeway in screen size and focus adjustment these HT projectors have. I know the cheap ones I've used for presentations, you kind have to move them back and forth on a table to get the size you want, then adjust focus. Not sure if there are parameters I should look for after taking some room measurements. The wall behind me and 12-13 feet away to the other wall is pretty much not adjustable.
- Finally, the way the living room is setup with the amp, avr, coaxial, I need to keep that in place on the screen wall and I may even make the screen where I can pull it down over the VT50 and keep the plasma on the wall. Question is, to keep from running a super long HDMI up and over the ceiling (attic access there is ridiculous), is there a wireless HDMI solution that could be on the output of the X4000 AVR, to send video to the projector? Power would not be an issue.
Thanks.
First, light control is a bigger issue on a front projector. Given your need to have perfect image, you really need to look at focused lighting and dark walls, ceiling and furniture. Any light hitting the screen will affect the picture more than you can likely tolerate.
Second, I usually recommend a fixed screen, and an AT one if possible with the speakers behind it. If you need to keep that plasma, then you will need a retractable screen. Don't cheap out on this, or you will have problems long term. You need to look for a tensioned screen, preferably with a woven material as the vinyl will stretch with use. Lots of $$ over that $250 vinyl fixed screen I use.
I have no problems with shelf mounting on the rear wall. That's how mine is mounted. A couple of things to consider. First, I set up my shelf with a bit of extra room and a gap against the wall This allowed extra input cooling for my Epson. Make sure you have good airflow.
Second, look for a projector that offers mechanical vertical and horizontal lens shift. The electronic lens shift usually compromises resolution. Watch your throw distance. Use the calculators at projector central to make sure you are not at the end of the zoom at your distance and screen size.
Next, consider whether you want to mask for 2.35 material. This can be done with a retractable screen, but it requires that you have motorized lens shift. These days the anamorphic stuff tends to be done electronically as a physical anamorphic lens is quite pricy. Make sure you can handle it. The alternative is to leave it all alone and build a masking layer, but this tends to work better with a fixed screen. Personally, I don't bother. I am able to ignore the unlit border on the screen and my room is width limited. Again, a perfectly dark room with dark wall and ceiling help a whole lot here.
I don't have any experience with wireless HDMI. They are out there, but I moved my equipment to the back of the room near the projector. My to-do list includes building a rack into the rear wall. If you do go this route, be aware of the frequencies in use. 2.4 GHz tends to be overloaded in most households and you could very well have issues with routers and other appliances.
