I'll be finishing my basement soon and want to setup a home theater down there. My room dimensions will be roughly 7'4" ceiling, 12' wide, and 24' in length. There's really no obstructions to take into consideration so I’m flexible on throw distance. My biggest issue is the ceiling height being at 7'4" high. I'd like to get the biggest screen possible with a ceiling mount if I can.

I've been looking at the Optoma HD71 because of the amount of lumens it puts out. This will be a controlled light environment, but I want it for sporting events as well as movies so at times if I'm having a Packer party I would want the lights on so people aren't stumbling over things.

Would the Optoma HD71 work for me? I'm looking to spend no more than $1500 if possible. I did use the Projector Calculator and it states that with a ceiling height like mine, I will only get about a 75" screen, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I would like it bigger if It's possible.

What are your thoughts? Should I go with an LCD Projector so I can get lense shift?

Thanks

Dennis

Our ceiling height is 7 1/2 ft. Our fixed screen's frame top is installed next to ceiling so screen surface top is approx 4 inches from the ceiling.

Our projector throw lens-to-screen distance is 11 1/2 feet.

Our usual image diagonal is almost 120 inches and is outstanding.

In our personal experience you should have no problem achieving a nice big screen image. I suggest you buy a projector with a good bit of vertical and horizontal lens shift.
goodluck

The Panasonic Ax200 is also a good match for these requirements. I have a similar setup (7'4" basement ceiling, 120" screen) and the picture is awesome. The lens shift and throw ration make it flexible for a wide variety of placements.

I have a ceiling height of only 7ft and found that any of the DLP's needed to be tilted up slightly to work projecting 11ft back onto an 84" screen. Your extra 4" might give you the height you need but it depends on how big a screen you want to go with.

I just stepped up to a Sanyo PLV-Z2000 1080P LCD for around your budget and couldn't be happier with the image quality and the lens shift made it a snap to install. It puts out enough light for some ambient lights to be on no problem.

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm leaning towards the Panasonic Ax200 as of right now. It can be found online for around $1,200 or a little less and seems like it will fit my needs perfectly. The only downside I can see is the smooth screen feature which from what I have read can make the picture seem less sharp, but it's supposed to eliminate some of the sde. All the reviews I've found on it are very good.

I've wanted a projector for a lot of years and can finally afford one. I don't think I can even wait until the basement is finished to buy it. It's portable anyway so I can use it anywhere in the house. I just need to get my wife to let me pull the trigger on it. Then get her to let me purchase a blu-ray player as well.

Thanks for all of your advice. I went ahead and ordered the Panasonic Ax200U. From what I have read, all the reviews are very good and it will suite my needs perfectly. It should be here next week sometime, can't wait to check it out.

Thanks again

Did do consider Epson HC 720? If yes, why didn't you select that? It has the same lens shif options as panasonice, can IMHO is a better deal currently. I started a thread regarding that ... see if that helps:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1072818

Thanks for all of your advice. I went ahead and ordered the Panasonic Ax200U. From what I have read, all the reviews are very good and it will suite my needs perfectly. It should be here next week sometime, can't wait to check it out.

Thanks again

I didn't consider the Epson, sorry. I'm new to the prejector thing and was going off of what others recommended, then I'd do my research a go from there. The Epson does look like a nice projector, the Panasonic has 400 more lumens though. I'm not sure what the difference is between 1600 and 2000 lumens, but I did want one that would give a good image with ambient light so I can wath sporting events.

Keep us posted on how it turns out for you. Some pictures be good too if ya can. I am also finishing my basement and in the same situation.

It’s gonna be a while before the basement gets finished, winter project. But I figured I would get the PJ before I spent all of my money. Besides, it's portable; I can setup it up anywhere till the basement is done. I will post pics when everything is finished though.