Hey guys/gals,

I've been trying to do some research on a projector that will work in the home theatre room that we're building.

The company that is doing the pre-wire have suggested some Runco model projectors, but they all seem to start at $19000 and go up.

We're looking for something that would have the "cinewide" feature.

We're looking to have a screen that will be about 12 feet wide, following the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

The room itself is 24 feet long, 14 feet wide and 9 feet high.

To power something like this, and still maintain a pretty good 1080p picture... where would we start?

Our goal is to obtain good 1080p picture, but without spending over $15000 (including cinewide) - the lower the better. :)

Any help would be much, much appreciated.

Thanks! :)

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EDIT:

Thanks a bunch for all of your help and PMs!

We've selected the following for the room:

Projector: Epson 1080UB or 7500UB (pending release)

Anamorphic Lens: Panamorph with motorized track

Screen: Draper Cineperm 132" Diagonal (Acoustically Transparent)

Masking System: Draper Eclipse V Motorized

Pre-Amp Processor: Anthem AVM 50 V2 w/ ARC (pending release)

Amplifiers: QSC 1400 x 4

Blu-ray Player: Panasonic DMP-BD55K (pending release)

HD-DVD Player: Toshiba HD-XA2

Speakers:
Fronts: 3 x Definitive Tech Mythos 2
Surrounds: 4 x Definitive Tech Mythos Gem XL
Subwoofers: 2 x Definitive Tech SuperCube

We're still deciding on which remote control will be used, but above is pretty much what the system will look like.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

You can achieve the results for less than half what your budget is. I do not like to suggest projectors because they are all within 10% of each other from the entry level models to the high end units but I am sure there are many others who could give there opinions.:)

Hey guys/gals,

I've been trying to do some research on a projector that will work in the home theatre room that we're building.
We're looking for something that would have the "cinewide" feature.

Thanks! :)

Maybe it's my english but you are planing a 2.35:1 setup? If so you have a anamorphic lens in the equation? 12 feet wide is big. What type of screen? Regular screen with a 1 to 1.5 gain or you have gain screen like the hipower?

Maybe it's my english but you are planing a 2.35:1 setup? If so you have a anamorphic lens in the equation? 12 feet wide is big. What type of screen? Regular screen with a 1 to 1.5 gain or you have gain screen like the hipower?

Sorry, that's correct. The 2.35:1 ratio would be right.

We're looking to have a perforated screen that will allow us to have speakers placed behind it.

Does anyone have any experience with Panamorph products/lenses?

Here is a link to the 2:35 forum. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=117
Panamorph makes great products.
I would recommend calling Jason here at AVScience or send him an email.
They sell any and all the products you will need and he will save you a lot of money compared to what your looking at. He will also steer you in the right direction without over selling you.
Tell him "scottyb" sent you.

Here is his contact info:
Jason Turk 1-585-454-1460 x102
jason@avscience.com

thanks...

bump.

any others with some info? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)

If you are planning a screen that wide consider

1. Light output of projector (enough brightness calibrated)
2. Seating distance. Personally I would use the room length divided by 5.18 to get the screen height, then times that by 3.68 to find the best seat in the house. I do this to keep the main listening position off the back wall for 7.1 sound.

You will be able to get a projector/anamorphic lens combo for way less than the Runco setup. As scottyb has suggested give Jason a call you will get a great service.

crabra.

Sorry, that's correct. The 2.35:1 ratio would be right.

We're looking to have a perforated screen that will allow us to have speakers placed behind it.

Might be a challenge with a perforated screen. SMX is threatening a 2x gain screen but as yet haven't released it. Their current is 1.16 (always wondered why they give 3 significant figures) and I use it. It's great but you'll need a good amount of light. Maybe the new JVC RS10? It's supposed to produce 1,000 calibrated lumens by some first-had accounts. That with an anamorphic lens and I think you'd be good with a young bulb. You'd get a theoretical 19 ft-lamberts... probably a more realistic 14 or so... OK

But do take seriously the advice crabra gave about keeping away from the back wall for surround sound and how that would effect seating distance and screen size. I think you're a little big for the depth you've got. Close... but a little big.

Edit: I've got a 10' wide screen in a 22' deep room. First row is at 10', second at 16' and the rear surrounds are nicely behind the second row.

12' is a good sized screen. If you take an average of HT projectors, ~600 lumens, on a 1.3 gain average screen, that only yields about 12.5 footlamberts...on the low side of what a theater does. But, that doesn't take into consideration dimming of lamp, and assumes a perfectly dark room. So, if you do want a 12' screen, you are going to want to shoot for something brighter than your average HT unit. That being said, you might want to consider the RS20 from JVC. It is rated at 1000 lumens (and they tend to test out pretty darn close). In fact it is brighter than any single chip Runco (basically the ones in the price range you mentioned). Adding the anamorphic setup is easy for most any projector.

Thanks a bunch for all of your help and PMs!

We've selected the following for the room:

Projector: Epson 1080UB or 7500UB (pending release)

Anamorphic Lens: Panamorph with motorized track

Screen: Draper Cineperm 132" Diagonal (Acoustically Transparent)

Masking System: Draper Eclipse V Motorized

Pre-Amp Processor: Anthem AVM 50 V2 w/ ARC (pending release)

Amplifiers: QSC 1400 x 4

Blu-ray Player: Panasonic DMP-BD55K (pending release)

HD-DVD Player: Toshiba HD-XA2

Speakers:
Fronts: 3 x Definitive Tech Mythos 2
Surrounds: 4 x Definitive Tech Mythos Gem XL
Subwoofers: 2 x Definitive Tech SuperCube

We're still deciding on which remote control will be used, but above is pretty much what the system will look like.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Um correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the epson1080ub doesn't support a anamorphic lens unless a scaler is used. The new panasonic ae3000u does a wide picture without the lens so you'd be saving some cost there. Also, reports have stated that the wide zoom function is pretty good.

Um correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the epson1080ub doesn't support a anamorphic lens unless a scaler is used. The new panasonic ae3000u does a wide picture without the lens so you'd be saving some cost there. Also, reports have stated that the wide zoom function is pretty good.

You're right. If the Anthem AVM50 is unable to do any of the processing/scaling, then we would look into an appropriate scaler as well.

Skip the HD-DVD player. HD-DVD is dead. No more players are made. No more HD-DVDs are made. Frankly, including one is nothing but a rip-off to drive the price up.

Skip the HD-DVD player. HD-DVD is dead. No more players are made. No more HD-DVDs are made. Frankly, including one is nothing but a rip-off to drive the price up.

Thanks for the input, but HD-XA2 that I've spec'd above is actually one that we have already. If it's there, might as well use it ;)

Thanks for the input, but HD-XA2 that I've spec'd above is actually one that we have already. If it's there, might as well use it ;)
Especially since it's one of the best upscalers around. Even my XA1 is good enough that when I lent it to a friend he called to ask what's up with SD DVD's! "They look great! Best I've ever seen", he said.