I have already started framing my basement home theater/game room and am now at a decision point. When I first started I was planning on either a 60" or 70" rear projection DLP or a wall mounted plasma.

After spending a lot of time in this forum I am now considering going with an overhead projector instead. However, outside of the crappy projectors I have seen in use at work or in bars I have never been able to view a true high def. projector in a home theater setting. I am apprehenisive because I am not familiar with the room darkness levels required for 1080p projectors these days and what I have seen used in the above mentioned applications have not impressed me (I am convinced that newer projectors with a high def source would be beautiful in a room that is totally dark).

I have windows in the basement that will have room darkening window treatments so I can get the room almost totally black, especially at night (the sun rises on the basement window side of the house and sets on the opposite side). However, there will be occasions when I will want to watch sports broadcasts and maybe a movie or two during the day. Also, I will want to have a high quality viewing experience at night when guests are playing pool which is located in the back of the room, opposite the screen about 30 feet.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how I might find local places where I can view a few different projectors in use? Best Buy does not seem to cut it.

Guys, I just saw another thread today from FHT123 that has a similar question. My question is a little different so to be clear I would like any suggestions on where to go to view some front projectors in use locally and try some different light settings if possible. I would also welcome comments from those who have a similar multi-purpose rooms and their experience with lights on vs. off while viewing an FP. Thanks!

Some of the CRT projector owners now are saying really good things about JVC RS2.

I know up in my area we have an Ultimate Electronics that has 2 - 3 projectors set up in a light controled room. You should be able play with the lights to see how the projector performs with some ambient lighting. Another place that we have is American, which has a projector room, but they only had one projector in their room. If you go to high end home theater sales place, usually you get just that, looking at projector that cost $10 to $20K.

I have an open style room, but I can also control my ambient light in the room. I have a 720P project (Panasonic AX100U) and it does a great job as far as picture quality, versatility (projector location), and picture quality with lights on.

If you were in my area I would offer for you to come by and check it out.

Hope this helps!
Cheers,
JJ

call some of these places to see what they have:

http://articles.directorym.com/Home_Theater_System_North_Carolina-r80-North_Carolina.html

Thanks, guys. I will definately check these places out! There are at least five within driving distance. I'll check and see if we have an "American" or "Ultimate Electronics" .

Back to your original question go for a projector. Think about a Stewart Firehawk screen and a reasonably bright projector. There are plenty of guys here who put up a projector in a mixed use room and I can't recall anyone complaining.

Have you seen BuffBakers build?

I have seen BuffBakers build, I have a photo of it stapled to my basement wall (as well as several others including the Arbor Oak bar) for inspiration. His is first on my list as to the look and feel I am going for.

Basically I want to do the FP and I am looking for justification to do it. I need to feel comfortable with the investment which I have little experience with and I need to be able to "sell" it to my better half as well. I'll make some calls to the local places and find out what I can see first hand.

For what it is worth when I started my basement project I planned to put a 70 inch Sony RPTV built into the wall with a sectional seating unit in front of it. After getting the drywall up i mocked up a 70 Inch screen on the wall and showed it to the Wife. She was unimpressed and said can't we go larger? Then I showed her a picture of Kirk's Uptown Paridiso and she said why can't you do that?

So what started out as a large TV ended up being a 3 row theater.

It turns out we still didn't go big enough so eventually we will get a bigger screen.

The type of light has a big impact.

Recessed can lights with narrow bean bulbs work well - I used track lights and I was getting shadow cast on the screen. I had to devise some sheilding so I could have low levels of light while using the PJ

Thanks, guys. I will definately check these places out! There are at least five within driving distance. I'll check and see if we have an "American" or "Ultimate Electronics" .

American is a Mid West company (stores only in WI, MO, IL, IA, and MI), so if you live in NC, it would be a bit of a drive.

MArcusj50,

Just came across this thread after I posted my answer to your question over in the Fog Valley Thread. I think you will find it workable to run a PJ in your basement. Big's advice is a good in regards to using a bright PJ. I mounted my Epson Pro Cinema 1080 UB about 14.5 feet away from a 110" Carada BW screen (1.4 gain). Decent picture for me during the day with the shades down.