I'm thinking about turning my downstairs tv room into a front projector set up. I have a 2000 dollar budget for projector and screen combined. The dimensions of my room are:

12' 3'' wide x 23' 7'' deep

Ceiling height is 7' 10'' however I need to mount the projector underneath a 10'' drop from the ceiling that hides ducts and what not. This means that the lens will be somewhere around 6' 9'' off the ground. The throw distance will be 12 feet. I want to achieve a 100'' diagonal screen.

I'm considering the following projectors:

Sony VPL AW15
Optoma HD65
Mitsubishi HC1500
Optoma HD71

The room has two windows that do not face the screen wall. The windows are curtained with dark material.

Since I am a relative noob I'd appreciate anyones input on what they think would create the most successful picture for movie watching (upconverted standard def as well as HD/BluRay) and television watching. Feel free to suggest a nice fixed screen or another projector that I may have overlooked if you have time as well.

I am particularly concerned about the offsets of those projectors (can't find the information). I want the screen at a comfortable height off the floor so that I can fit my components on a shelf below the screen. So the ideal projector wouldn't require much offset as I am forced to mount below this drop from the cieling.

Thanks in advance for all your input!

Gianni

I'm thinking about turning my downstairs tv room into a front projector set up. I have a 2000 dollar budget for projector and screen combined. The dimensions of my room are:

12' 3'' wide x 23' 7'' deep

Ceiling height is 7' 10'' however I need to mount the projector underneath a 10'' drop from the ceiling that hides ducts and what not. This means that the lens will be somewhere around 6' 9'' off the ground. The throw distance will be 12 feet. I want to achieve a 100'' diagonal screen.

I'm considering the following projectors:

Sony VPL AW15
Optoma HD65
Mitsubishi HC1500
Optoma HD71

The room has two windows that do not face the screen wall. The windows are curtained with dark material.

Since I am a relative noob I'd appreciate anyones input on what they think would create the most successful picture for movie watching (upconverted standard def as well as HD/BluRay) and television watching. Feel free to suggest a nice fixed screen or another projector that I may have overlooked if you have time as well.

I am particularly concerned about the offsets of those projectors (can't find the information). I want the screen at a comfortable height off the floor so that I can fit my components on a shelf below the screen. So the ideal projector wouldn't require much offset as I am forced to mount below this drop from the cieling.

Thanks in advance for all your input!

Gianni

With the low ceiling height due to the duct you may be better off looking at LCD projector. If you read the reviews, they often tell you what the offset is. You can also look up the owner's manuals on line and get the offset info there.

I'm thinking about turning my downstairs tv room into a front projector set up. I have a 2000 dollar budget for projector and screen combined. The dimensions of my room are:

12' 3'' wide x 23' 7'' deep

Ceiling height is 7' 10'' however I need to mount the projector underneath a 10'' drop from the ceiling that hides ducts and what not. This means that the lens will be somewhere around 6' 9'' off the ground. The throw distance will be 12 feet. I want to achieve a 100'' diagonal screen.

I'm considering the following projectors:

Sony VPL AW15
Optoma HD65
Mitsubishi HC1500
Optoma HD71

The room has two windows that do not face the screen wall. The windows are curtained with dark material.

Since I am a relative noob I'd appreciate anyones input on what they think would create the most successful picture for movie watching (upconverted standard def as well as HD/BluRay) and television watching. Feel free to suggest a nice fixed screen or another projector that I may have overlooked if you have time as well.

I am particularly concerned about the offsets of those projectors (can't find the information). I want the screen at a comfortable height off the floor so that I can fit my components on a shelf below the screen. So the ideal projector wouldn't require much offset as I am forced to mount below this drop from the cieling.

Thanks in advance for all your input!

Gianni

At 6'9 and a requirement to rack your equipment under the screen leaves you with little choice but to go LCD. I'd recommend looking at Epson, Sanyo and Panasonic.

At 6'9 and a requirement to rack your equipment under the screen leaves you with little choice but to go LCD. I'd recommend looking at Epson, Sanyo and Panasonic.

why is it that you have little choice but to go with LCD if you want to put your components below your screen? sorry im new to this and i dont understand.

why is it that you have little choice but to go with LCD if you want to put your components below your screen? sorry im new to this and i dont understand.

The DLP projectors in this class have fixed offset. He can't mount a DLP projector in a 6'-9" high room so that it will project the image high enough above the floor for him to fit his equipment under the screen.

Sounds exactly like my basement room, even with the drop ceiling issue and lookout windows on one side!

OK, you really have to decide whether $2000 is your limit or not and if the DVD player and sound system is included or not. You will not be able to entertain a 1080P projector and BluRay player on this budget which is the holy grail for home theatre systems nowadays.

LCD projectors have the maximum lens shift and zoom so the Panny AX200 or Epson Home 720 (or the Sony AW10/AW15) would be the best for your ceiling mount and zoom distance. The Panny and Epson have more light output than the Sony but will run you around $1200. I have an older Panny AE900 720P which works fine with the projector being lined up with the top of the screen and about 11' away. I only wish I had a little more output and contrast (and 1080P of course).

A 100" Carada screen will cost $600-$800 depending upon frame and screen type. I have the 100" Criterion with the Brilliant White screen (1.78) which is wonderful and exactly the right size for my room. The brighter screen material gives me a little amplification which helps compensate for the projector (1100 lumen). I used a homemade screen for years so this was a step up.

Nearly $2000 is used up now. I also had an older Oppo upconverting player which did a great job on standard DVDs, better than Blu Ray players with SD DVDs. I would recommend that as well and load up on cheap DVDs for maximum enjoyment.

I recently went Blu-Ray and enjoy the setup but the cost is ridiculous for the player and movies and 1080P projector that has to be bought someday. I sometimes think I should have just waited another year but alas I caught the fever and jumped in. I am now waiting for the price of BluRay movies to drop like everyone else

You should note that everything I mentioned is available at the top of screen from the AVS supporters and well documented in the forums.

Good luck

The DLP projectors in this class have fixed offset. He can't mount a DLP projector in a 6'-9" high room so that it will project the image high enough above the floor for him to fit his equipment under the screen.

ok thanks for clarifying. So say i wanted a DLP projector. How high off the ground would my projector have to be to achieve a 92" screen and still be able to have a entertainment stand with my equipment in it?

Sounds exactly like my basement room, even with the drop ceiling issue and lookout windows on one side!

OK, you really have to decide whether $2000 is your limit or not and if the DVD player and sound system is included or not. You will not be able to entertain a 1080P projector and BluRay player on this budget which is the holy grail for home theatre systems nowadays.

LCD projectors have the maximum lens shift and zoom so the Panny AX200 or Epson Home 720 (or the Sony AW10/AW15) would be the best for your ceiling mount and zoom distance. The Panny and Epson have more light output than the Sony but will run you around $1200. I have an older Panny AE900 720P which works fine with the projector being lined up with the top of the screen and about 11' away. I only wish I had a little more output and contrast (and 1080P of course).

A 100" Carada screen will cost $600-$800 depending upon frame and screen type. I have the 100" Criterion with the Brilliant White screen (1.78) which is wonderful and exactly the right size for my room. The brighter screen material gives me a little amplification which helps compensate for the projector (1100 lumen). I used a homemade screen for years so this was a step up.

Nearly $2000 is used up now. I also had an older Oppo upconverting player which did a great job on standard DVDs, better than Blu Ray players with SD DVDs. I would recommend that as well and load up on cheap DVDs for maximum enjoyment.

I recently went Blu-Ray and enjoy the setup but the cost is ridiculous for the player and movies and 1080P projector that has to be bought someday. I sometimes think I should have just waited another year but alas I caught the fever and jumped in. I am now waiting for the price of BluRay movies to drop like everyone else

You should note that everything I mentioned is available at the top of screen from the AVS supporters and well documented in the forums.

Good luck

There are deals out there. The Mits HC4900 was going for $1,400.00 after rebate. You can get a 40 gig PS3 for $399.00. If you go through Sony Style and get their credit card you can get $100 off on the PS3. You can make your own screen for $100.00. You can also buy a DaLite screen and remove the material to use it for a fixed screen. You can get a 1080P projector, BR player and screen for less than $2,000.00 if you take your time, look for deals and can do a little bit of DIY.

ok thanks for clarifying. So say i wanted a DLP projector. How high off the ground would my projector have to be to achieve a 92" screen and still be able to have a entertainment stand with my equipment in it?

It depends on the projector. You will need to read the reviews on projectors that you are interested in or read the owner's manuals. The owners manual will give you off set info like the bottom of the screen will be 33% of the image above the center line of the lens. A 92" diagonal screen is 45" high. 33% of the image height is 15". This means that the bottom of the screen will be 15" above the center line of the lens. This is if you are table mounting. If you are ceiling mounting then the top of the screen will be 15" below the center line of the lens.

If you have a 7'-0" ceiling and mount your projector on the ceiling, lets say the center line of the lens ends up at 6'-4". The 15" (for 92" screen) off set would place the top of the screen at 4'-10". The 92" screen is 3'-10" high so that would place the bottom of the screen 1'-0" above the floor. This is why people suggest an LCD rather than a DLP projector for rooms that have low ceilings.

mjg100 - I would tend to agree that if you can find a Mit HC4900 for $1400 and you build your own screen you can get to a 1080P system for $2000. However, I have not seen any pricing recently that low and the projectors start around $2000 min.

I just hope that there is an amp and speakers figured in somewhere for this HT.

You may want to look into the Sanyo-Z2000. After rebate it is around $1600. Then look into the Elite SilverFrame (high contrast). All said tt will be around $1900/$2000.