First I just want to say how much I appreciate all the knowledge I've found on this website. I've been pondering a pj purchase for over a month now, and this website helped me make a more educated purchase of my first projector. It will be delivered tomorrow and I'm so ready to get this thing mounted and running.

I downloaded a copy of the projector calculator from the Mitsubishi web site and pretty much know all the dimensions I'll need for mounting. For now, I'll be projecting onto a painted sheetrock wall, but eventually I will be using some type of screen. I'm planning a 100" diagonal image on my (future) screen. So when I ceiling mount the projector and shoot the image on the sheetrock wall, should I make my image a couple of inches larger to compensate for the screen coming out two or three inches from the wall. I'm trying to avoid any zoom at all, as I've heard it affects the brightness.

Find the distance for 100" image, and then move the projector back the exact thickness of the screen. Also a tiny bit of zoom will make no difference in brightness. In fact most posters here recomment the zoom be half way for the best picture.

mitsubishi's calculator does not take zoom into account. Go to projector centralhttp://www.projectorcentral.com/Mitsubishi-HC1500-projection-calculator-pro.htm Mitsubishi's calculator can tell you how high the image can be (distance from floor and ceiling- for a 100 inch screen) but its estimate of throw distance is no good.

On projector central's calculator the throw is 11'11"-14'6"

Thanks for the reply on the Mit calculator. It does show a different throw range than the one you referred to. The Mit calculator gave me a throw distance of almost exactly 12', where the other one gave me a throw of 13.6'. Lot of difference.

So this now confuses me more than I was before. Will this work? The ceiling mount I purchased places the projector 5" below the ceiling. Could I put the projector upright on something to raise it off the floor 5" (stack of books or whatever), project an image on my wall, and then move it back or forth in relation to the wall until I get the desired picture size. I have no idea if doing it this way will give me an accurate distance since the projector image will be turned upside down once mounted on the ceiling. I also realize that there may be a small difference between the center of the lens/top of the projector compared to the lens center/bottom. I hopefully could remove any discrepancy in my final screen size using the zoom. Like I said, this is my first projector and I'm learning.

I just want to be sure of the location before I start punching holes in the ceiling and nailing wood between the joist above my ceiling to support the ceiling mount.

I found the Projector Central calculator to be right on. 14' 6" from the front of the lens to the screen will result in a 100" diagonal screen at minimum zoom. At that distance you can zoom out to a 121" screen. 100" at the middle of the zoom range has a 13' 3" lens to screen distance and you can play from there.

Chances are you won't want to go smaller , though. :D:D

Anyway, it's a LOT simpler once you get your projector, you'll see....:eek:

The Mitsubishi calculator does not take zoom into account at all, it only gives you the values with the zoom lens set to maximum zoom. Projector central gives you the entire range. As long as the FRONT of your projector is between 11'11" and 14'6" you can turn the zoom lens and get the 100" image you want. The only thing the Mits calculator is good for is telling you what offset goes with that screen size. From that it looks the top of your image would be about 19 inches below the feet of the projector, or about 24 inches from the ceiling with your 5" mount.

I might as well ask in here, I'm leaning towards getting the HC1500 and just would like to know if I can put it on a shelf (rather then a ceiling mounth) since my room slopes from high (I'd say 12 ft then back down to 9' on the side I want to put a shelf). Is this possible? The shelf would be 13' ft back and I want to project a 92" screen.

Many people "ceiling" mount from a shelf, and it is no problem with any ceiling mountable projector. You can hang it upside down below the shelf (use the ceiling mount screw holes to attach to the shelf), or build a stand to set it on top of the shelf (upside down). If doing the later (which is extremely easy) take into account the curved top. The stand can be as simple as 2 boards or phone books-one under either side of the projector. My DIY mount (secured to ceiling rather than shelf due to plaster walls) has it resting on 2 rails made of PVC pipe. With its shape- short and wide- this projector would be more stable on a shelf than other projectors. The projector could even straddle 2 shelf brackets without a shelf. Use your imagination. As long as you have it upside down at the right height facing the screen, it will work. Just one thing to add- do not block the air flow near the vents.

I just brough home a Mits HC1500 and we've been going round and round with each other trying to find the best place in my basement to mount.

I didn't do as much research on size of screen or throw distance. I thought I'd buy the PJ and then "figure out" the rest once I knew I had a good quality product.

Any ideas, suggestions, or scolding would be appreciated.

my ceilings are low (7ft maybe) and I have a large wooden foundation beam directly in the middle of the room.

Cant really shoot around it and if I did I'd have to KS the hell out of the pic to make it somewhat square.

Thanks for the help fellows