Need some projector advice

[jayn_j]

My room is also a bit over 12' wide. My eyeballs are 11' back and I am very comfortable with a 120" 16x9 screen.

When I set up my theater, I projected onto a bare wall for about a month before committing to a screen. That allowed me to play with sizes from 90" to 135" and to see what worked. I finally settled on 120" My kids wanted me to go bigger, but it was killing the space I needed for my main towers. I feel the speakers are too close to the wall for ideal sound right now, but life is a compromise. If I ever make a change, I would go for the 4k acoustic transparent fabric and place the speakers behind the screen. That is something you should consider anyway for a retractable screen. Spend a bit less on the projector and a bit more on the screen.

One last thought on size. 80" may seem big to you right now, but it will be too small in a month or two. You want to get to that point where you feel it is just right for the long haul. In my mind that is the point where the screen width fills to the edges of your vision from your seating position. That is 120" at 11' for me. Anything smaller would just be a big TV instead of a theater.

 

[dfergie]

All I could get in my bedroom is 110", watching now at about 14' away...

 

[mike123abc]

Don't get me wrong, I love my FP systems, they are fantastic. Nothing beats a huge screen for watching TV or movies. I have light controlled rooms.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Light control is a worry, but in my reading I am seeing that at 11.5 foot throw to an 85" diagonal screen, this will be very bright. The way I understand it is, as throw and screen size increase, brightness decreases. So Im wondering with a short throw and smaller screen, if I cant over come that.

Ill have someone in my home Sunday night that can advise me well, I discuss with them. i think with my odd viewing angles for guests, a high gain (over 1.5) screen might be a booboo. I just have to do more reading. I wont be buying for a month or two, so I have time to think it out, but the person coming over Sunday can probably tell me "yes" or "no" real quick.

 

[JamesJ]

wow this thread moved fast lol, I will be back later to read it and add my thoughts...Has anyone metioned the sony hw50es? also I know its cheaper but the HD25-LV from optoma also makes a very nice projector!

 

[John Kotches]

For screens, you might want to check out Seymour AV. He used to sell just the fabric, and if he still does, and you can DIY, you will save yourself a bundle. Not to mention he knows his stuff. Makes a great amplifier too

Also, be careful with your projector on a shelf. If it's up high, they are usually designed to be inverted so you could well have to figure out a method that allows for you to invert the projector on the shelf.

Next, for HDMI, consider a Cat6 HDMI extender. That would minimize your cable runs. Pricing is all over the place on them.

 

[mike123abc]

Projector inversion is usually handled via a digital setting, not a physical setting...

 

[tigerfan33]

Projector inversion is usually handled via a digital setting, not a physical setting...

Yep. All fp I've had and seen give you various options in the menu to set the projector to your desired installation.

 

[gadgtfreek]

From what Ive seen on youtube, epson FP's have a great lens shift, so I should be able to mount it 6-7' up on the wall, and easily shift the screen down with the manual adjustment with zero effects to PQ.

 

[John Kotches]

Projector inversion is usually handled via a digital setting, not a physical setting...

I have had a number of projectors (NEC, Sanyo, Epson, Marantz, Sony) all have had to be set for ceiling mount.

Even with "a lot of lens shift" my concern is it sufficient to get the image low enough.

Then you are back to setting for ceiling mount in the menu and then inverting the projector.

Hence my point.


Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[jayn_j]

From what Ive seen on youtube, epson FP's have a great lens shift, so I should be able to mount it 6-7' up on the wall, and easily shift the screen down with the manual adjustment with zero effects to PQ.

This is what I have with my setup. I have a fairly low ceiling in the basement at 7'2". The projector is mounted on the rear wall with the lens about 19' from the 120" 16:9 screen. I have it mounted with the top of the projector about 5" down from the ceiling. That puts the lens a couple of inches above the top of the screen. I have no problems handling the offset with the lens shift, and there is more available if I needed it. The projector is mounted table style, and not inverted.

I initially tried a ceiling mount, but it kept getting bumped because the low ceiling put the bottom less than 6' off the floor. I'll try and get a picture.

 

[JamesJ]

you have some great great projector choices there. The Ae8000 is a SOLID projector...epson projectors are pretty good as well. As I said earlier please look at the sony hw55es or hw50es both good projectors...Light control is very important but dont let it scare you off, as People have mentioned a high power screen can offset some of that. I have recommended a projector to alot of people and they are VERY happy they bought one over a tv in a living room and basement. Just curious what projectors are everyone using in this thread? I am still using my HD33, but wanting to try a LCD, I also found this deal
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-mitsubishi-1080p-3d-dlp-projector-106-screen-and-projector-mount

while not a widely bought projector as lets say a panasonic or optoma that projector has a LOT of great reviews!

 

[tigerfan33]

I'm using the Sony hw50es.
This projector is almost twice as bright as the Panny and the Epson in best mode.
I'm not sure there are any LCD out there with a light sealed path.
I've had two Epson's and both developed dust blobs.

 

[harshness]

You may want to investigate the noise level of the projector if you're going to have the projector situated directly over your head. Some of the brighter projectors have substantial cooling requirements and even the aperture controls (on models so-equipped) can be noticeable if you're not running at concert volume.

 

[JamesJ]

You may want to investigate the noise level of the projector if you're going to have the projector situated directly over your head. Some of the brighter projectors have substantial cooling requirements and even the aperture controls (on models so-equipped) can be noticeable if you're not running at concert volume.

have you noticed this with the larger chassis LCDS? I have seen this as a problem on the smaller body DLPS but the sony and panasonic I had was whisper quiet.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Trust me, I wont hear the FP. My plasma is kinda loud, so is the amp transformer (I hear high freq stuff easily), and I drown it out with the volume control.

 

[mike123abc]

I have two ceiling mounted projectors. One with great lens shift, one without. The one with lens shift can project a great grid pattern. The other one, not so well, the projector uses keystone correction. But, when watching actual programming you really cannot tell it is slightly distorted.

 

[Ilya]

Thats def bright!

My only concern for light will be kitchen thats off to the right and behind us. When the wife cooks and the floods are on, its kinda bright, but to be honest, it washes out the plasma too and thats rare.

If you are new to projectors, one thing you need to realize is that you will need total darkness when watching movies. And I mean TOTAL! I had a room open to the kitchen, which I thought wouldn't be a problem. I ended up installing a door. That improved the room acoustics too.

My Epson is pretty bright. I can watch news and sports with ambient light. But even a minor ambient light completely destroys the black levels and in my opinion is totally unacceptable for movies.

To get an idea, do this: take a white sheet of paper and put it where your screen is supposed to be. Turn off the lights. Can you still see it? Guess what? This is how your darkest black is going to look!

One solution to the ambient light problem is getting a gray screen. It's more expensive but it improves the blacks dramatically.

 

[gadgtfreek]

We do watch movies in the dark, but it was still like CSI, Bones, Walking Dead that I was concerned about.

 

[dfergie]

I watch regular TV in my Bedroom at 110" with no problems, less light the better though.