Help me choose projector and screen for new HT

[Schrute Farms]

I am buying a home with a dedicated Theater room. Its dimensions are 14' wide by 22' long. I would like some advice on projectors, screens, screen sizes, and miscellaneous stuff you think I should know, since its my first real theater! I'd also like some speaker placement recommendations for a 7.1 setup.

My projector budget is $2500-$3000. I have speakers, receiver, blu-ray player and two rows of seating.

1. Is my room a good size? Should it be shorter or wider? The ceiling will be about 9' high, the room itself is a perfect rectangle.

2. What 1080p proj can I afford? I would prefer to mount the proj from the ceiling, so operating noise is a factor. A closet at the back of the room will house the A/V components.

3. What screen is recommended for someone who wants a BRIGHT picture? The screen can be permanently affixed; it doesn't have to hide.

4. For my room size, what size screen is recommended? The first row of seating will be about 10'-12' from the screen.

5. What else should I know? What questions should I ask when I go looking?

Thanks !!!!!

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Schrute Farms

I am buying a home with a dedicated Theater room. Its dimensions are 14' wide by 22' long. I would like some advice on projectors, screens, screen sizes, and miscellaneous stuff you think I should know, since its my first real theater! I'd also like some speaker placement recommendations for a 7.1 setup.

My projector budget is $2500-$3000. I have speakers, receiver, blu-ray player and two rows of seating.

1. Is my room a good size? Should it be shorter or wider? The ceiling will be about 9' high, the room itself is a perfect rectangle.

2. What 1080p proj can I afford? I would prefer to mount the proj from the ceiling, so operating noise is a factor. A closet at the back of the room will house the A/V components.

3. What screen is recommended for someone who wants a BRIGHT picture? The screen can be permanently affixed; it doesn't have to hide.

4. For my room size, what size screen is recommended? The first row of seating will be about 10'-12' from the screen.

5. What else should I know? What questions should I ask when I go looking?

Thanks !!!!!

I own the Epson 1080ub. I bought it in January 2008 for 2,999 as soon as it became available. I got $200 back in rebate plus a free ceiling mount. This is my fourth projector in the last 10 years after one Sharp and two Sony's. I also have a lot of experience with projectors at work. It is by far the best projector under $3,000. Make sure you buy the Digital Video Essentials and adjust your projector as well as your TV.

The 1080UB projector includes the new D7 C2Fine LCD panels. The LCD panels in Panasonic PT-AE2000U are also made by Epson.

The following sites review the Epson Home Cinema 1080UB. The reviewers also compare it with Panasonic and Sony:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/epso...80ub/index.php , Hot Product Award
http://www.projectorcentral.com/epso..._ub_review.htm , Editor's Choice Award

I bought mine from this dealer. Check to see if they still have a rebate promotion. The dealer will give you a free $100 mount and does not charge for shipping.

http://www.projectorbundles.com/inde...ROD&ProdID=454

Get a 100" screen.

[ryoohki]

For a screen. anybody will suggest you a Da Lite High Power screen. It's a high gain screen but the biggest advantage is that it's the only sub 900$(depending on the size) screen that show no texture and that is washable...

From you sitting... anything from 92 to 107. 107 may be to big tought, 100 would be nice

[Woody]

I concur with the Epson 1080ub, and also receommend a 92" screen for your seating distance AND because of the projector.

[rubberghost]

have you considered a screen that's painted on the wall? they use paints especially made for cinematic screens. you could customize the size to your liking. i just saw this on HD Theater. i personal don't know jack about projection screens, just thought i would suggest it.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Schrute Farms

I am buying a home with a dedicated Theater room. Its dimensions are 14' wide by 22' long. I would like some advice on projectors, screens, screen sizes, and miscellaneous stuff you think I should know, since its my first real theater! I'd also like some speaker placement recommendations for a 7.1 setup.

My projector budget is $2500-$3000. I have speakers, receiver, blu-ray player and two rows of seating.

1. Is my room a good size? Should it be shorter or wider? The ceiling will be about 9' high, the room itself is a perfect rectangle.

The dimensions of your room seem fine. Of course, you can always get into more complex analysis of your room modes with your room size and parallel walls; but this isn't an issue in most cases unless you are building a dedicated theater from scratch with optimized audio.

2. What 1080p proj can I afford? I would prefer to mount the proj from the ceiling, so operating noise is a factor. A closet at the back of the room will house the A/V components.

In your price range, the two projectors I would definitely look at are the Epson 1080UB that others have suggested and the Sony VPL-VW40. The Epson is brighter, but has had some issues with quality control, convergence, and an unsealed light path (possibility of dust blobs). The Sony is quieter from what I've heard and may have better blacks/shadow detail.

3. What screen is recommended for someone who wants a BRIGHT picture? The screen can be permanently affixed; it doesn't have to hide.

A number of factors go into this-- screen size, screen gain, and real world lumens from your projector.

luminance (foot Lamberts) = screen gain x lumens ÷ screen area in square feet

a BRIGHT picture is usually considered around 20 fL, although this varies viewer to viewer and will also depend on how much light control you have. As a reference point, most movie theaters are set up for a luminance around 10-12 fL, and there is almost always some ambient light in theaters for public safety reasons.

Most screen material out there is unity gain (~1). If you use a high gain screen like a DaLite High Power (gain ~3) or a Vutec Silverstar (gain ~6), then you can generally go with a bigger screen and maintain decent luminance.

4. For my room size, what size screen is recommended? The first row of seating will be about 10'-12' from the screen.

A bit of wisdom that I learned while projector/screen shopping-- There are very few people who ever regret having gone with a bigger screen size. There are many people who wish they had gone larger in screen size. You can always zoom down the image on your projector and mask off the unused area if you have "too large" a screen. If you wanna go larger, you typically need to buy a new screen.

In other words, get the biggest screen that will work in your setup. Going with a rough estimation of sitting 2-3x screen height, you should be thinking of screens in roughly the 90-120 inch in width range (16:9). You could go smaller, but most people who want an FP system want a larger image (otherwise, you could just get a large plasma/LCD/RP TV). You could also go larger, but you would almost definitely need a high gain screen if you do.

High gain screens are great to improve brightness, but they do have their drawbacks as well (narrower effective viewing cone, more restrictive projector placements for optimum viewing, hotspotting-- although the High Power reportedly has minimal, if any, hotspotting.)

5. What else should I know? What questions should I ask when I go looking?

Thanks !!!!!

The best thing to do is to see these projectors and screens properly set up, and see what image best suits you. In addition to the above projectors, there are other projectors in your price range that throw a great image (Optoma HD80, Sanyo PLV-Z2000, Panasonic PT-AE2000U, BenQ W5000, Mitsubishi HC4900 come to mind). You may want to compare how LCD, SXRD (LCOS), and DLP technologies look to you. They each have their pros/cons, and different people like a different look to their images.

Good luck!

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by rubberghost

have you considered a screen that's painted on the wall? they use paints especially made for cinematic screens. you could customize the size to your liking. i just saw this on HD Theater. i personal don't know jack about projection screens, just thought i would suggest it.

I would avoid this.... Painted walls don't really compare to an actual screen from the ones I have seen (even with special paint etc.)

[Schrute Farms]

Thanks y'all! That is very helpful. Keep the advice coming!

I don't think a high gain screen will affect our viewing angle much since the room is only 14' wide anyway. No one will have a bad seat.

[m_tyson]

Originally Posted by Schrute Farms

Thanks y'all! That is very helpful. Keep the advice coming!

I don't think a high gain screen will affect our viewing angle much since the room is only 14' wide anyway. No one will have a bad seat.

Panny AE2000 + Da-Lite High Power screen 106" 16:9

[DavePS3]

SIM2 D-80E or C3X1080 with a Stewart 1.0 gain screen.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by DavePS3

SIM2 D-80E or C3X1080 with a Stewart 1.0 gain screen.

While excellent, neither one of these projectors, particularly the spectacular C3X1080 (>$20K), is in the OP's price range.

[ftrez]

Much thanks to anyone willing to school me!

How far from the screen/wall that the image is being projected on would the projector have to be to get a 100" picture?

How far should one sit from the screen/wall to watch a 100" picture?

Would I connect the Epson projector to my receiver via hdmi cable? (I'd likely need some help running it through ceiling & wall, dealer installer?)

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by ftrez

Much thanks to anyone willing to school me!

How far from the screen/wall that the image is being projected on would the projector have to be to get a 100" picture?

Take the projector's zoom length range, and multiply it by 100" (I presume you're talking screen width) to get the distances that the projector can be mounted from the screen.

How far should one sit from the screen/wall to watch a 100" picture?

Usually, 2-3x screen height is recommended, although people's preferences differ-- do you like to sit in the front, middle, or back of a theater? For a 100" wide 16:9 screen, 2-3x screen height would be 9.3-14 feet.

Would I connect the Epson projector to my receiver via hdmi cable? (I'd likely need some help running it through ceiling & wall, dealer installer?)

I presume you're talking about the Epson 1080UB, which does have HDMI inputs; so yes, you would use an HDMI cable from your receiver to your projector. You can get an installer (preferably a CEDIA member) to run the cable(s) in-wall for you, or you could do it yourself with some knowledge of what's behind your walls, a little drywall work, fish tape, and a little luck. You would need an in-wall rated HDMI cable as well (CL2 or better). You could run power to the projector as well by running some Romex and installing a new outlet yourself-- there are also some in-wall solutions using Romex so that you can use a power conditioner distant from your projector if you have one.

[Schrute Farms]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

A bit of wisdom that I learned while projector/screen shopping-- There are very few people who ever regret having gone with a bigger screen size. There are many people who wish they had gone larger in screen size. You can always zoom down the image on your projector and mask off the unused area if you have "too large" a screen. If you wanna go larger, you typically need to buy a new screen.

The best thing to do is to see these projectors and screens properly set up, and see what image best suits you. In addition to the above projectors, there are other projectors in your price range that throw a great image (Optoma HD80, Sanyo PLV-Z2000, Panasonic PT-AE2000U, BenQ W5000, Mitsubishi HC4900 come to mind). You may want to compare how LCD, SXRD (LCOS), and DLP technologies look to you. They each have their pros/cons, and different people like a different look to their images.

Good luck!

Your first point is excellent. I will probably go with a 120" screen. I will check the differences between LCD and DLP soon. thanks!

[ronjones]

The Mits HC4900 is now discontinued and was recently replaced by the HC5500. Here is the link to the Projector Central review (posted just today). This new model streets for under $2300 if you check around and can probably give the 1080UB a run for the money in terms of overall picture quality, but at a lower price. However it only has a 1.2-to-1 zoom lens and vertical lens shift of +/- one half screen height (meaning the lens center cannot be above the top nor below the bottom of the screen). If you can live with those characteristics it would be worth a hard look.

[Schrute Farms]

So with a 120" screen and the Epson HC 1080UB, if I place the projector 14' from the screen, should I go with an EliteScreen with 1.1 gain or the 1.8 gain? Keep in mind that I will have 95% ambient light control, but I will also have a pretty narrow viewing angle since my room is only 14' wide.

The higher gain screen might help boost some light output since the foot lamberts are only at about 15. I calculated 1.1 gain x 468 lumens (info from Epson) divided by the sq. footage of my 120" 16:9 screen. If I go with the 1.8 gain screen, the ft. lamberts are upped to about 21. professionals recommend a minimum of 15, but prefer closer to 20, according to one of the projector sites.

I guess my question to someone with the Epson is, Which screen gain is better, and is there a better distance at which to place the proj?

Thanks!

[Deadset]

Shrute, are you going Epson? Did you already buy one? Just curious and when you get it setup, I'd like to see some pics. I'm in the market for a proj as well.

[Schrute Farms]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

Shrute, are you going Epson? Did you already buy one? Just curious and when you get it setup, I'd like to see some pics. I'm in the market for a proj as well.

I am going with Epson, but since the house won't be ready till March, I thought I would wait until the Christmas shopping season and see if prices come down or if there are any better deals. Shoot, who knows what could happen in six months?!

[bhampton]

I would go with the Sony VW 40 or even a refurbished Sony VW60 (more money but may fit your budget.)

Epson or Sony ?

I haven't seen the epson but wouldn't buy it simply because it's popular right now. I have seen many Sony Sxrd projectors and that is what I hope to replace my current projector with if and when I replace it.

-Brian

[WriteSimply]

After watching the video for Panasonic PT-AE3000U, I think you could go with a constant height screen and use your wider wall for the scope screen. For 16x9, the throw distance (14") should give you about 105" or more based on PT-AE2000U. I don't know if the lens can accomodate a constant height screen at that distance but the video of the demo looks convincing. The new Panny PJ will be out in October!


fuad