Hey all, new guy here, working on a project for my church.

What I am hoping to accomplish is a ceiling mounted projector setup near the front of the auditorium. The primary connection will be a PC for powerpoint slide shows.

However I will also need to play DVDs from time to time, and would like to be able to hook up pretty much any gaming console/AV advice that one would want to project.

Here comes the hard part. running the cables from the projector, back to the sound/pc booth where everything will be setup will be around 60-70 feet of cable to get from the ceiling down the wall then back to the booth.

Am I going to have problems running cabling that long with losing the picture??

I am thinking a receiver in the sound booth so I can hook up any AV device, then run the receiver and the PC to both the sound board and the projector.


Thoughts? Suggestions?? I haven't done much with projectors in several years, so I am behind the curve on that aspect, what are some decent budget ones to look at?

Thanks all.

-Tim

Hi Tim,

For that length, you'll either need a device to send DVI or HDMI over CAT5 or fibre, or a DVI / HDMI amplifier at the projector end. The amplifier would be the least expensive option. Gefen makes some good ones.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=5000

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4998

As far as the projector, you really need to post the screen size / ambient light / throw from projector to screen to get some good answers.

Without knowing these details, my guess would be The BenQ SP820 - 4x3, 4000 lumens, or BenQ SP830 - 16X9 3500 lumens can be had for under 2K and might be a good fit for your needs.

Jonathan

The basics needed here:

Main HDMI cable - plug this into your PJ and run back to your repeater found below.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024002&p_id=2893&seq=1&format=2


Connecting HDMI cable - run from the repeater to your receiver output
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024003&p_id=3991&seq=1&format=2

HDMI Active Repeater/equalizer - use this to ENSURE you get a good signal to you PJ. Some people say they have run 70 feet of HDMI without one but no need to try it and not succeed.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041907&p_id=2849&seq=1&format=2

Main component cable - high quality RG6 wire, this should work fine by itself, if you want to run an analog cable from the receiver to the PJ.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10235&cs_id=1023502&p_id=3053&seq=1&format=2

Just a not of caution on amplifiers/repeaters and CAT5 extenders. My company is in the digital signage business, and we've installed quite a few over the years. The only ones we've tried that have worked 100% reliably have been the Gefen units. Almost all other units we've tried have either failed entirely, or have been intermittent.

The reason I say this is that likely your amp/repeater will be on the ceiling of your auditorium, and not easily accessible.

This is not to say other products don't work or aren't reliable, just my experience. We have no affliliation with Gefen.

I'll echo reconlabtechs sentiments about monoprice cables. Great quality at unbeatable prices.

Jonathan

Thanks guys, that gives me some great places to start.

The projector currently being used is pretty old(at least 5 years) and we had it mounted at the back wall with digital zoom fully engaged to have it cover about a 7 or 8 foot section on the front wall.

To replicate the same size with no zoom(which is what we need to do so no more zooming when switching input sources) the unit needs to be placed about 12-15 feet back from the front wall if memory serves. Have not had it up there in a long time.

The current unit does have Component cable connectors, so those Component cables will probably do the trick fine to run to a receiver. Might even be able to keep the current unit, but a new one would be nice...

As far as lighting, the room is always brightly lit, the walls are all sheet-rocked and painted white. and there are windows(shaded) along each wall, so its pretty bright.

If viewing a DVD all lights are turned off(shades can be closed on the windows as well) and from the back of the room with full digital zoom its still a little washed out. the closer the unit is to the wall(and with no digital zoom) its obviously a lot better.

Ya know, don't need anything movie theater quality, just decent enough to play a short video during service with easy/clean transitions back to the powerpoint, but still be able to hook it up to other devices for other activities.

jrwhite, I'll take a look at the BenQ projectors, thanks!

The BenQ PJs are a good idea and you will have lumens to spare! Component should work fine for anything you want to hook up to the PJ, no need for HDMI unless you just want it.

Sounds like you just need a PJ and a ceiling mount!

Sounds like that will do it. I think it would still be wise to get a receiver for connecting other devices.

I looked at the BenQs and I think they may be a little above the budget level.

I found the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 for around $1100 with a free lamp.

That is about as high as I expect we will be able to spend, as we still need some wiring(PC still needs to be hooked up, whether by DVI or VGA - or maybe even through the receiver depending on what kind of receiver hook ups are available), then the receiver, and a newer dvd/cd player would be nice.

Thoughts on the Epson? thoughts on a decent budget receiver?

Thanks again!!!!

I wonder if instead of a receiver if I can just get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Go-Component-Digital-Selector/dp/B000AM3U2I/ref=pd_sim_e_6

I found a DVI to Component conversion cable for the PC, so I can run just power and 1 set of component video cables to the projector, then have the PC, DVD, and anything else attached to the box and audio output run from the box to the sound board.

No need for a receiver, multi-device hook-ups, only final thing I would need is I would kill for a tv monitor so I could see whatever is on the dvd player or console before putting it on screen.

So what is the general length where a HDMI cable would need an amplifier? Reason I ask is because I will be running a 45ft cable from the front of the room to the projector.

So what is the general length where a HDMI cable would need an amplifier? Reason I ask is because I will be running a 45ft cable from the front of the room to the projector.
I believe 50ft is the max before an amp is needed.

You could probably get away with a 45ft 24G CL2 cable but might want to get 22G just to be safe.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240

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