This project of moving my home theatre into our living room is turning out to be very difficult for me and would appreciate the advice of people on this forum. I am VERY concerned about aesthetics since it is a beautiful 1920's Hollywood home with old plaster and rare beams. I don't want visible projectors or speakers in sight, but want to do this right. I have installed many theaters with great ease until this one. I am stuck and can't make the first incision.
Dilemmas:
12 foot ceilings and approximately 20 foot throw for a huge screen in a room with light ceilings. I will only view at night since the big wall of glass has no curtains. Lights will be off, so only reflective light.
My initial thoughts: Infocus IN83 in a Stewart motorized 2.35:1 150" diagonal. I think it should have the light output. 1600 max lumens and 1280 calibrated.
I feel as though my JVC RS-1 will NOT have sufficient light output to properly light the screen up. So I may sell it. I have been told to NOT use a Hi Power due to hot-spotting. I could table mount the projector and have the perfect projection angle for a hi-power and that would save me from having to do a motorized projector box.
I am also trying to figure out where to put a center channel. I have Revel Studios and would like to keep them. I could build a custom banquette on wheels and have the center channel (voice) in there and roll it in and out as needed. Surrounds could be Revel in ceilings or embrace on walls. May go for Anthem D2 with Anthem amplification. Since I may not need scaling with infocus, Anthem may be overkill. Eying the Integra 9.8
I have attached pictures. Please post thoughts on this project.

First off...gorgeous room! I can absolutely see why you would want to maintain its beuaty as much as possible.

First question...how much construction are you planning on doing?

Thanks Jason. Was not planning on doing lots of construction. I assume the ceiling will be pretty torn apart to get the motorized screen in. I am also thinking a motorized projector lift. Not sure if i have the ceiling depth above. May have to cut into the roof and recover. I also assume we'll have to cut some holes to fish wires. Very nervous.
I think that if I am going to go through all this work, I want a BIG screen. But I don't want to be an amateur and go too big and screw things up. Jason, I know you are a whizz with calculations and projector experience, so your insight is VERY welcome. After all, I bought 4 projectors, scalers and DVD max from you guys. Thanks again.

Posted pictures at night. Will kill all the lights of course.

Yeah most likely to get the electrical and such in there you are going to be doing some plaster work. My suggestion is a bright projector for sure...such as the IN83. Plus with the large offset and your high ceilings, it will likely be the best match.

I concur with your thinking...a motorized lift and recessed electric screen are going to be the most "attractive" in that room when complete. But, also are going to be a decent sized expense.

You could do the table mounted projector, but that would require a good bit of redoing furniture and such, which may end up costing similar anyways, and would certainly not be as clean.

So the Infocus IN83 is basically the brightest, best quality 1080p projector available for under $ 15,000.00?
I should stick with that choice for 2.35:1 150" diagonal (59" height, approx 123" 16 X 9 diagonal).

Well no. In a 1080p native, it is probably the brightest, but I wouldn't say the best. The tricky part is your huge screen size and room layout...you simply have to have a good amount of light output.

I hate to say it but why not just do this in another room?

First, you are going to spend a lot just hiding things so as to preserve the character of the room.

Second, the reason that you are hiding things is that the room really is too formal for a home theater (which should be more casual). I can't see relaxing in that room.

Third, as Jason hints at, you will likely be sacrificing image quality for lumens. There are way too many windows and light sources in that room.

Maybe you are OK with all of this and have considered it all already.

I expect that you would ultimately be unhappy with the picture quality that you obtain given the compromises that you will have to make.

Choose another room!

If you can put it in another room i'd do that but chances are it's your only choice. I have mine setup in the living room which it's nice but if I had the choice I would have placed it where theirs less traffic and distractions.

I am actually moving it from a small room which will now be a nursery :-) I have a beautiful guest room, but we can't use that. My den is used as an office, so no go in that room. I have a detached guest house that I rent out. One day.....that will be my reference thaetre, bat cave extraordinaire. Until then, I have to rent it out.
So it only leaves me the living room. It is actually a very relaxing room. I will only watch at night with lights off. That is why I want a very high lumen output projector, so i can have a big image and enjoy the size of the room. Is the best screen maybe a Stewart Firehawk?
Thanks for the advice. This is going to be expensive, but I am getting rental income that goes towards the project.

I can't quite get in my mind's eye what your floorplan is, but I have few thoughts.

first, that room and house is amazing! As much as I like A/V stuff I wouldn't want much in a room like that. But we can't have everything in life, we always need to compromise.

Some thoughts:
1. Those rugs you have on the wall look great, and will absorb sound. That's great. Maybe you could put one of those on a bar the rolls up the rug to reveal a fixed screen.

2. Maybe where that big box that has all the McIntosh stuff on it could be replaced with deep alcove sort of thing that houses all of your equipment including a large rear projection screen. That also can be covered by the roll down rug.

3. If your hard wood floors aren't special, and you have a raised foundation you could have a screen that pops up out of the floor.

4. Belkin makes a wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver. That might make projector placement easier.

5. Depending on the room layout, you may be able to have a hollow beam fabricated that looks just like the real ones, which can house a motorized screen.

6. Any screen you use could, some would argue should, be acoustically transparent so the speakers can be behind it. It really is nice when dialog from the center speaker is right behind the screen. rather than above or below. This is especially true for a very large screen.

You may also want to try to find some back issues of AV Interiors. Most of the home in that magazine were like yous.

~Jay

Very helpful points. I am trying to see if I can do acoustic perforated and maintain lumens. I am inclined to do a motorized screen and projector drop down and in-ceiling speakers for surrounds.