Planning to do a home theatre in an approximately 17x24 foot room. I will try to keep as much light out as possible, but lets assume its normal blinds. Would like to use at least a 120 wide 16x9 screen.

Also have sensitive hearing so would prefer a quiet projector. Is there such an animal that would be quiet and bright enough to watch during the day for under 3K?

I understand I may have to compromise so don't be afraid to name something that will be good but not not fit exactly.

I should also mention, it must be 1080P.

Look at the mitsubishi hc1500. It's bright and quieter than the HD65 which is a little brighter.

thank you for the response, I should have mentioned I'm looking for a 1080P projector.

LCD
Epson 1080UB
Panny AE2000
Sanyo 2000

DLP
Benq W5000
Optoma HD80

The LCD's can go brighter, but the DLP's will have a little bit better blacks. The 1080UB is close to matching black level. The LCD's are easier to set up due to lens shift. There are others, but they might not be bright enough for you unless you get a screen with gain.

DLP
Infocus X10 (no lenshift)
BenQ W5000 (good vertical lenshift)

LCoS
Sony VW40 (limited horizontal lenshift, and 25% downward shift in upright position)

I was looking at the epson. It seems it would be bright enough, or brightest in the price range, but they say in the review that its not exactly quiet? Does anyone have one that can comment?

Can I use that on a 12 foot wide screen?

With poor light control you may want to consider a Dalite High Power or Screen Innovation Black Diamond screens depending on the throw and configuration of the room.

by high power, is that like a white high gain screen? I was thinking of using a carrada screen.

Planning to do a home theatre in an approximately 17x24 foot room. I will try to keep as much light out as possible, but lets assume its normal blinds. Would like to use at least a 120 wide 16x9 screen.


At Least? 120" Is pretty big for a standard home theatre projector to hit during the life of its bulb. At 120" and larger you may find yourself having to replace the lamp sooner and you will need a bright projector. That Sony someone suggested above wont be a good choice, it doesn't put out enough light. The Sony LCD's are known for having great black levels, at the expense of overall light output. A good screen with a high gain can help here.


Also have sensitive hearing so would prefer a quiet projector. Is there such an animal that would be quiet and bright enough to watch during the day for under 3K?


I think it depends on what your expectation level is....No projector is both bright and silent....bright means higher wattage lamps, which means heat, which means more airflow needed to cool them.....so the goal is to get something with a decent throw that isn't near you when its on. Or, conversely, to just turn up the sound a bit. :)

Projector noise is like A/C noise..after a minute you no longer notice it, it fades into the background.

I should also mention, it must be 1080P.
Well there are only a handfull of 1080p projectors under $3k, so your choices are limited.

The problem is alot of this is subjective....some people think a loud PJ is "quiet" because its their first PJ and don't know any better, others think a soft PJ is "too loud" because they have either heard really silent ones, or they expect them to be silent..when they aren't. Also, you mention you want a big screen, and quiet, and you want to watch it during the day.....do you care if the image looks like crap?

Projecotrs, even bright ones, throw a generally low-contrast image if there is ambient light in the room, particularly if its reflecting off the screen. Watchable? Sure.....but not really pretty.

A big screen means you'll need to throw alot of light, as the bulb ages that picture gets dimmer....perhaps too dim to watch during the day with blinds if there is light hitting the screen....and when you go with a big screen, during the daytime, you probably need to kick the lamp into high output mode and not economy mode, which will definately bump the fan noise up. So you'll have to either set your expectation levels accordingly, or re-think the room.

yes, I could up the budget if need be, but haven't seen anything above this range that seems significantly better for the price. I would try to keep the room as dark as possible. Probably would get blackout blinds. But the windows aren't just square so i don't know how perfect it would be. I would hang the projector most likely from the ceiling so maybe the noise won't be that bad. Is there anyway to quiet the noise?

Last, if you go with like a 1.85-1 screen, will that work for 2.35 movies with just space left at top and bottom and also will it work for normal tv with space just left at the sides?

Last, if you go with like a 1.85-1 screen, will that work for 2.35 movies with just space left at top and bottom and also will it work for normal tv with space just left at the sides?


I would just go with a 16:9 (1.78:1). The bars are so small when you watch 1.85:1 movies that they are almost unnoticeable. Plus if you watch any HDTV or Sports you will lose part of your image in the masking. It also seems like I've been renting more and more movies that are framed at 16:9.

If you do decide to go with 1.85:1, 2.35:1 movies will work fine. 4:3 material I think you'll end losing a little of the image on the top and bottom.

Hope this helps.

Yes, The Dalite Hi Power is a 2.8 gain white screen. It is retroflective, so if you shelf mount the projector at close to eye level you get a very bright image. It handles amibient light very well. However when viewing 2.35 movies you'll probably notice the "black" bars at top and bottom a little more. Alternaively, you can take a look at SI Black Diamond which comes in .8 and 1.4 gains. http://www.siscreens.com/si/ But it is expensive. I have a Stewart 1.3 gain and am considering getting either the HP or BD. My viewing environment has fairly good light control but light is still reflecting of the screen to the walls.
Instead of putting more money into a more expensive projector you may realize more benefit with getting the right screen.

I would just go with a 16:9 (1.78:1). The bars are so small when you watch 1.85:1 movies that they are almost unnoticeable. Plus if you watch any HDTV or Sports you will lose part of your image in the masking. It also seems like I've been renting more and more movies that are framed at 16:9.

If you do decide to go with 1.85:1, 2.35:1 movies will work fine. 4:3 material I think you'll end losing a little of the image on the top and bottom.

Hope this helps.

well I was originally planning to go 1.78:1 and I may still do that, the problem is, if I go 12 feet wide, the screen is most likely going to be almost floor to ceiling. Since I will mostly be watching movies on the projector, I figured maybe it was better to go with a 1.85:1 and then have emptyspace on the sides, but I"m guesssing I would need to refocus or rezoom everytime if I go that way? With 2.35:1, do I have to go and mask black around the white parts of the screen or will it be okay?

well I was originally planning to go 1.78:1 and I may still do that, the problem is, if I go 12 feet wide, the screen is most likely going to be almost floor to ceiling. Since I will mostly be watching movies on the projector, I figured maybe it was better to go with a 1.85:1 and then have emptyspace on the sides, but I"m guesssing I would need to refocus or rezoom everytime if I go that way? With 2.35:1, do I have to go and mask black around the white parts of the screen or will it be okay?

That is one giant screen:)

So basically your gonna have a 165" diagonal screen. The difference in height between a 1.78 and a 1.85 screen is only around 3". So if you wanted you could just go with the 1.85 and lose a little bit from the top and bottom in the masking area. It would still be less than a lot of TVs might overscan.

For 2.35:1 material you wouldnt have to mask the white bars. It would be preferable because it would improve perceived contrast. I've always found dark grey bars to be distracting. They show up the worse on dark scenes. I dont bother masking because I cant figure out an easy way of doing it.

Well good luck with your theater. When you get it finished post pictures if you get a chance.

okay, sounds good. Thanks for the help.