Opinions?!?

I'm in the middle of building a home theater room in my basement. I gutted the entire thing and I am starting from scratch. I was looking at plasma's, but now I'm leaning more towards projectors. I will be sitting 18' away from the screen. I need your opinions.

I have a budget of around $2000.
I want 1080p.
I have lighting control, but I really want good brightness and clarity.

What projector(s) and vendor(s) do you guys recommend?
What screen size?

You can check www.projectionguys.com for a bundle package but 1080p with all the fixn's for 2 grand is going to be tough. I would go at least 106'' for the screen if not bigger.:hithere:


There is this until 7/31/08
http://www.projectionguys.com/packages_Epson1080UB.cfm

106"?? You don't think that's too big?

the Projector Guys? Really? I use them to get an idea cause they list all the specs but I would never buy from them. Most of the time they are over priced. Thats just from what Ive noticed anyway.
I still dont understand something, Mitsu52, have you done any research or did you just come here?
If you did any research you would have seen your not going to find much of anything around 2g for a projector and a screen in 1080....maybe 720, but not 1080. And at the distance unless you pick an overly bright pro you shouldnt notice the difference between the two.
I think you should take a day to go around to some video stores that have projectors and get an idea. Then spend some time online googling or whatever projectors and audio video and do some "real" research. I would also set however much aside to buy an extra "bulb" for the projector.....just a thought.
Most of the good audio/video sites have a link to the distance calculator although it should be used as a guidline more than the rule.
Most important, it would seem 2g's is a big buy for you, so take your time and do it right the first time.......and have fun!

I've done alot of research on the plasmas, receivers, and speakers, but I'm just getting into the projector field.

I'm doing the entire room and out of my budget, I have around $2k (maybe a little more) budgeted for the tv. I'm in the middle of the remodel and I am getting a complete new a/v setup. receiver, speakers, bluray, and the lot.

I have done some research, but I was asking for opinions on what projectors to look at from people who actually have experience with them.

Is it possible that you can design the room to project on to one of the walls? This way you can delay the purchase of the screen and concentrate your $2k+ on a fine 1080p projector. Start by checking out the Sanyo Z2000 (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sanyo-PLV-Z2000.htm) or the Mits HC5000 (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Mitsubishi-HC5000BL.htm)...they're within your budget. Is your PJ going to be ceiling mounted or rear shelf? You should layout your furniture so that maybe you're not 18' away otherwise 106" may actually be too small...seriously.

I will probably end up projecting on a wall. That's the way I have it set up now. The projector will be ceiling mounted, but it will be a drop ceiling so I can't mount it directly to the ceiling. It will have to go through it.

I will consider 720p if I can find one I am happy with.

I will probably end up projecting on a wall. That's the way I have it set up now. The projector will be ceiling mounted, but it will be a drop ceiling so I can't mount it directly to the ceiling. It will have to go through it.

I will consider 720p if I can find one I am happy with.


Mitsu52,

I just got done with what your are doing. We redid our basement and put in an HT room. Doing a screen on your wall was an idea I also had. This will allow you to concentrate on getting a nice 1080p projector. As you are doing Blu Ray, a 720p projector just won't do for 1080p sources. I love my BR on the 1080p. Simply awesome.
Also, I am about 12-13 feet from my 100" screen. If you are 18' away, 106" will not be too big. Trust me. A 100" or bigger screen is way better than a 50 or 60" TV (I moved from a 55" TV to the 100" screen).

Also, a little off topic, but what are the dimensions of your planned room? If one wall is even and one is odd, this helps with acoustics in the room (i.e. like 12*17 feet). It's a very nice opportunity to start from scratch.


Hope this helps.

I use a Mitsubishi HC1500 720p projector with a 106 inch Dragonfly screen. I sit about 18 feet from the screen, and I find the screen size to be just the right size. Blu Ray discs look good even though the projector is 720p instead of 1080p. The projector runs about $1,000 and the screen was $850. My setup ran well over $2,000 because I had professional installation, and I also bought in-wall speakers and a receiver plus a PS3 to play the Blu Ray discs.

Kent McVety

I use a Mitsubishi HC1500 720p projector with a 106 inch Dragonfly screen. I sit about 18 feet from the screen, and I find the screen size to be just the right size. Blu Ray discs look good even though the projector is 720p instead of 1080p. The projector runs about $1,000 and the screen was $850. My setup ran well over $2,000 because I had professional installation, and I also bought in-wall speakers and a receiver plus a PS3 to play the Blu Ray discs.

Kent McVety

I second that recommendation for the Sanyo Z2000!

I use a Mitsubishi HC1500 720p projector with a 106 inch Dragonfly screen. I sit about 18 feet from the screen, and I find the screen size to be just the right size. Blu Ray discs look good even though the projector is 720p instead of 1080p. The projector runs about $1,000 and the screen was $850. My setup ran well over $2,000 because I had professional installation, and I also bought in-wall speakers and a receiver plus a PS3 to play the Blu Ray discs.

Kent McVety

I have the same projector and screen size as Kent. It looks great, very bright. I sit closer than he does, at 10 feet. This gives me a 40 degree angle of view. Any closer and you start to see the pixels.

Maximum and Recommended THX viewing distances:
THX requires that the back row of seats in a theater have at least a 26 degree viewing angle and recommends a 36 degree viewing angle.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

Use this calculator to figure out what you want.
At 18 feet you can go as large as 65"x116" (133" diagonal) to achieve a 30 degree angle of view which is what you want, to have theater size proportions. You can go with a 720p projector and it will still look sharp at 18 feet. If you decide to get that large of a screen you will probably want a bright projector. Like this one.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AX200U.htm

If you wanted to max out your screen size, you can conceivably fit a monster 78"x139" (159" diagonal) screen. If your ceiling height is at least 8 foot high this could work against a wall at least 12 foot wide.

It would be a little tight but it could work and it sure would look nice with a 1080p projector.

At 18 feet this screen would give you an immersive 35.6 degree angle of view.

If you wanted to max out your screen size,
you can conceivably fit a monster 78"x139" (159" diagonal) screen.
If your ceiling height is at least 8 foot high this could work against a wall at least 12' 4" wide.

It would be a little tight but it could work and it sure would look nice with a 1080p projector.

At 18 feet this screen would give you an immersive 35.6 degree angle of view.

Dimension correction.

Sony made a FP that I thought sounded like a nice projector for the money but I can't find it anymore. The BRAVIA VPL-VW40 was around $2500 from what I remember and got good reviews but PC shows it as no longer made. Didn't it only come out 6 months ago? Was there something wrong with it? I never got to see one in person but I did see some reviews that thought it was a very good FP. Maybe you can still find one, might even be around $2k now.

The VPL-VW40 has been replaced by the VW10, which should be officially released very soon. List price is $3,500 with a CR of 30,000:1.